ENHANCING MUET PERFORMANCE Reading 800/3 Presented by: Mdm. Audrey Koh Sui EanB. Education TESL (Honours) UK
Reading Carries the Highest Weightage….. 40%• 6 Sections x 45 questions x 1½ hours:1. One passage with graphics (Non-Linear)2. 5 Comprehension passages• Question types:1. 3 option objective questions2. 4 option objective questions
3-Option MCQThis questioning technique is introduced to reallychallenge candidates’ reading ability.1.True2.False3.Not statedRead very carefully beforechoosing the right answer.* Do not use your general knowledge to answer thequestion, if it is not in the passage, don’t assumeyou know the answer by choosing the one that islogically right.Select ‘NOT STATED’ if it CANNOT BE FOUND inthe passage or stimuli.
Information Transfer Tip No. 1: NON-LINEARIdentify the type FORMS:of non-linear 1.TABLESforms used. 2.PIE CHARTS 3.FLOW CHARTS 4.BAR GRAPHS 5.LINE GRAPHS 6.PICTOGRAMS
Information Transfer Tip No. 2:Learn the vocabulary commonly used ininformation transfer exercises. • Rise • Fall/Drop • Go up • Go down • Gain • Loss • Increase • Decrease • Improve • Depreciate • Escalate • Deteriorate • Incline • Decline
• More than• Higher than • Less than• Most • Lower than• Highest • Least• Largest • Lowest • Smallest
• Constant • Steady • Erratic• Stable • Gradual • Sharp • Fluctuating• Equal • Slight • Drastic • Maintain • Steep • Minimum • Strong/Weak • Marginal • Maximum • Record High/ Record Low • Doubled/2 Times • Tripled/3 Times • Quadrupled/ 4 Times
Reading Comprehension• Usually the difficulty level of the comprehension passages will increase with each passage.• For each passage, there will be 7-8 questions that cover:1. Content2. Vocabulary3. Critical Thinking
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 1 • Answers usually follow the sequencei.e. Read the passage carefully as theanswer for the 2nd question is usuallyfound between the answers for Q1 & 3.eg. If the answer for Q1 is in LINE 5 andQ3 is in LINE 20, then the answer forQ2 is most likely around LINE 6 TO 19.
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 2 Use the anaphoric (before) or cataphoric (after) referencing technique to find the answer.
Anaphoric reference (before the word):A study was conducted on 200 Malaysianrespondents. The researchers conducted thesurvey by giving them questionnaires to answer.1) The word ‘them’ refers toa) the studyb) the respondentsc) the surveyd) the questionnaire
Cataphoric reference (after the word):It is one of the most common sleepdisorders and a major health problem. Infact, insomnia affects normal rest patternsand as a result insomniacs find it difficult tofall asleep.1) The word ‘It’ refers toa) sleepb) healthc) insomnia
Reading Comprehension TIP No.3:When you cannot locate the answer directly you needto ‘infer’, i.e. make intelligent assumptions.Eg. Many people bought the product. Profits increaseddue to high sales.All of the following statements are false except:a. The product was a failure.b. The product was a success.c. The product was expensive.d. The product was easy to use.* Pay attention to words like ‘except’ and ‘not’ as it maytrick you into choosing the wrong answer. Other commonphrases used include: ‘Which of the following is true?’
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 4 • For Vocabulary:Eg. The word ‘___’ in line 3 refers to1. Eliminate impossible answers.2. Identify the root word.3. Identify prefixes and/or suffixes.4. Use anaphoric or cataphoricreferencing.5. Select the most likely answer.
Can you break this word down? deforestation forest – root word de – to remove -ation – noun to show processie. Deforestation is the process of removing trees from the forest.
Now can you figure this word out? degradation grade (level of quality) – root word de – to remove -ation – noun to show process ie. Degradation is the decrease of quality of something.
Now can you figure this word out? desalination saline (salty water) – root word de – to remove -ation – noun to show process ie. Desalination is the process of removing salt from water.
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 5 • For Prediction:Eg. A suitable title for the passage is______.Read the text carefully before selectingthe best title.• Drawing Conclusion:Eg. It can be concluded that ______.Read the entire text carefullybefore summing it up.
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 6• For Writer’s Style:Eg. The writer develops his ideas usingA compare and contrastB problems and solutionsC cause and effectD timelineYou need to read the text carefully tosee the writer’s line of argument.
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 7• For Writer’s Tone:Eg. The writer’s purpose is toA supportB informC go againstD persuadeYou have to think about the writer’smain intention of writing the text.
GENERAL TIPS The ONLY ways to improve are:1.READ, READ & READ SOME MORE. (read at least 1 newspaper a day &1 book a week)2.PRACTISE, PRACTISE & PRACTISE EVEN MORE. (do each reading comprehension test TWICE, 1st time without referring to dictionary or friends, 2nd time with reference. Logically, the 2nd try will be higher than the 1st or there is something wrong with…….YOU!
If you do well in reading,half the battle is won! Good Luck!