Superlative Adjectives

A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.

In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":

A B C

A is the biggest.

Tip: We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).

Formation of Superlative Adjectives

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-est"
• long adjectives: use "most"

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-est"	old → the oldest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st	late → the latest
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant	big → the biggest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	happy → the happiest
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "most"	modern → the most modern expensive → the most expensive

Tip:

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':

• quiet → the quietest/most quiet
• clever → the cleverest/most clever
• narrow → the narrowest/most narrow
• simple → the simplest/most simple

Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good → the best
• bad → the worst
• far → the furthest

Use of Superlative Adjectives

We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at these examples:

• John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.
• Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.
• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in the table below:

	Earth	Mars	Jupiter
Dia- meter (km)	12,760	6,790	142,800	Jupiter is the biggest.
Dis- tance from Sun (million km)	150	228	778	Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun.
Length of day (hours)	24	25	10	Jupiter has the shortest day.
Moons	1	2	16	Jupiter has the most moons.
Surface temp. (degrees Celcius)	22	-23	-150	Jupiter is the coldest.

Tip:
When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":

• England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)
• My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)

Comparative Adjectives

When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences.

Tip: We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).

In the example below, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":

A1 A2

A1 is bigger than A2.

Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-er"
• long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-er"	old → older
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r	late → later
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant	big → bigger
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	happy → happier
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "more"	modern → more modern expensive → more expensive

Tip:
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':

• quiet → quieter/more quiet
• clever → cleverer/more clever
• narrow → narrower/more narrow
• simple → simpler/more simple

Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good → better
• well (healthy) → better
• bad → worse
• far → farther/further

Use of Comparative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things).

Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".

Look at these examples:

• John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.
• America is big. But Russia is bigger.
• I want to have a more powerful computer.
• Is French more difficult than English?

If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table below:

	Earth	Mars
Diameter (km)	12,760	6,790	Mars is smaller than Earth.
Distance from Sun (million km)	150	228	Mars is more distant from the Sun.
Length of day (hours)	24	25	A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on Earth.
Moons	1	2	Mars has more moons than Earth.
Surface temperature (degrees Celcius)	22	-23	Mars is colder than Earth.

Tip:
Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of things.

• Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.

Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).

Adjective Order

There are 2 basic positions for adjectives:

1. before the noun
2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)

		adj.	noun	verb	adj.
1	I like	big	cars.
2			My car	is	big.

Adjective Before Noun

We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:

• I like big black dogs.
• She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.

What is the correct order for two or more adjectives?

1. The general order is: opinion, fact:

• a nice French car (not a French nice car)

("Opinion" is what you think about something. "Fact" is what is definitely true about something.)

2. The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, colour, material, origin:

• a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table

3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives:

• articles (a, the)
• possessives (my, your...)
• demonstratives (this, that...)
• quantifiers (some, any, few, many...)
• numbers (one, two, three)

Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:

adjectives					noun
deter- miner	opinion	fact
		age	shape	colour
two	nice	old	round	red	candles

When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with "and":

• Many newspapers are black and white.
• She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.

Adjective After Certain Verbs

An adjective can come after some verbs, such as: be, become, feel, get, look, seem, smell, sound

Even when an adjective comes after the verb and not before a noun, it always refers to and qualifies the subject of the sentence, not the verb.

Look at the examples below: subject verb adjective

• Ram is English.
• Because she had to wait, she became impatient.
• Is it getting dark?
• The examination did not seem difficult.
• Your friend looks nice.
• This towel feels damp.
• That new film doesn't sound very interesting.
• Dinner smells good tonight.
• This milk tastes sour.
• It smells bad.

These verbs are "stative" verbs, which express a state or change of state, not "dynamic" verbs which express an action. Note that some verbs can be stative in one sense (she looks beautiful | it got hot), and dynamic in another (she looked at him | he got the money). The above examples do not include all stative verbs.

Note also that in the above structure (subject verb adjective), the adjective can qualify a pronoun since the subject may be a pronoun.

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and noun phrases.)

An adjective "qualifies" or "modifies" a noun (a big dog).

Adjectives can be used before a noun (I like Chinese food) or after certain verbs (It is hard).

We can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady).

Tip: It is sometimes said that the adjective is the enemy of the noun. This is because, very often, if we use the precise noun we don't need an adjective. For example, instead of saying "a large, impressive house" (2 adjectives + 1 noun) we could simply say "a mansion" (1 noun).

Determiners

Determiners are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at the beginning of noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same noun phrase.

Articles:

• a, an, the

Possessives:

• my, your, his, her, our, their

Other determiners:

• each, every
• either, neither
• any, some, no
• much, many; more, most
• little, less, least
• few, fewer, fewest
• what, whatever; which, whichever
• both, half, all
• several
• enough

Determiners: A, An or The?

When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable nouns.)

The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:

Articles
Definite	Indefinite
the	a, an

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.

We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.

When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an.

Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would say:

• I saw the moon last night.
• I saw a star last night.

Look at these examples:

the	a, an
The capital of France is Paris. I have found the book that I lost. Have you cleaned the car? There are six eggs in the fridge. Please switch off the TV when you finish.	I was born in a town. John had an omelette for lunch. James Bond ordered a drink. We want to buy an umbrella. Have you got a pen?

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples:

• We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
• Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)

Determiners: Each, Every

Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.

Each = every one separately
Every = each, all

---

Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:

• Prices go up each year.
• Prices go up every year.

---

But often they are not exactly the same.

Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.

Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in general.

Consider the following:

• Every artist is sensitive.
• Each artist sees things differently.
• Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
• The President gave each soldier a medal.

Each can be used in front of the verb:

• The soldiers each received a medal.

Each can be followed by 'of':

• The President spoke to each of the soldiers.
• He gave a medal to each of them.

---

Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:

• He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

Every is used to say how often something happens:

• There is a plane to Bangkok every day.
• The bus leaves every hour.

---

Determiners: Some, Any

Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount

Any = one, some or all

Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?) sentences.

	some	any	example situation
+	I have some money.		I have $10.
-		I don't have any money.	I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have $1,000,000. I have $0.
?		Do you have any money?	Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

Tip: In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any.

Look at these examples:

• He needs some stamps.
• I must go. I have some homework to do.
• I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
• I can see somebody coming.

• He doesn't need any stamps.
• I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
• I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
• I can't see anybody coming.

• Does he need any stamps?
• Do you have any homework to do?
• Do you want anything to drink?
• Can you see anybody coming?

We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.

• I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)
• She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)

Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)

• Would you like some more tea?
• Could I have some sugar, please?

Nouns

It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb).

What are Nouns?

The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:

• person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary
• place: home, office, town, countryside, America
• thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey

The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb.

Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:

1. Ending
2. Position
3. Function

1. Noun Ending

There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:

• -ity > nationality
• -ment > appointment
• -ness > happiness
• -ation > relation
• -hood > childhood

But this is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in -ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.

2. Position in Sentence

We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.

Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):

• a relief
• an afternoon
• the doctor
• this word
• my house
• such stupidity

Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:

• a great relief
• a peaceful afternoon
• the tall, Indian doctor
• this difficult word
• my brown and white house
• such crass stupidity

3. Function in a Sentence

Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:

• subject of verb: Doctors work hard.
• object of verb: He likes coffee.
• subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.

But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My dog is playing.
• My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

• I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
• Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

• I like oranges.
• Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

• I've got some dollars.
• Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

• I've got a few dollars.
• I haven't got many pens.

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• music, art, love, happiness
• advice, information, news
• furniture, luggage
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

• This news is very important.
• Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

• a piece of news
• a bottle of water
• a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

• I've got some money.
• Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

• I've got a little money.
• I haven't got much rice.

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

Countable		Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee!	hair	I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom.	light	Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.	noise	It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper)	paper	I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?
Our house has seven rooms.	room	Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party.	time	Have you got time for a coffee?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.	work	I have no money. I need work!

Writing Tips

1. Before writing an essay, you must know its basic structure. A MUET reference book might show you this.

2. Do task 2 first, because it is worth more mark and easier

3. Don’t waste too much time on Task 1. Learn all specific writing structure for each type of task 1. In the real test, you just have to apply that structure with new data and suitable verb tenses. Read sample essays and take note good structure to have a wide range of academic structures for task 1. Some structure might be used in task 2 as well.

4. You must complete both tasks. I don’t care how difficult the test is, I don’t care how little time you got. You MUST complete your test at any cost. If you don’t, you will be penalized very heavily.

5. Again, practice writing. Do both 2 tasks in one hour. You can focus only on task 1 or task 2, but before the test, you should practice writing both tasks to familiar with time limit.

6. Practice makes perfect. In writing, this statement is completely true. But it is better if there is someone to check writing for you and you can learn from your mistakes.

7. Writing requires wide academic vocabulary. You also have to buy a vocabulary book to work on and enrich your vocabulary.

8. Avoid all informal ways of writing. There are some rules of writing you should follow. For example: no abbreviations, no 1st and 2nd pronoun or possessive (I, you, me, my, your), except in conclusion where you have to state your opinion.

9. Each body paragraph has to include: topic sentence, supporting sentences (2-3 sentences), development sentences (evidence: example, experience, data). In many languages (English included), there are many ways to develop a body paragraph, which results that topic sentence is not the first sentence. But you are advised to put topic sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph. Don't be creative in this case.

That is all I can think of. I hope you will be lucky in your exam and what I wrote will help you in one way or another. But REMEMBER, to reach success, you MUST make an effort. You should have a clear motivation and a strong will to overcome difficulties. When I did practice tests, I was exhausted. But no success comes easily. Practice is the only way to gain success. Don’t just wait for lucky break, it will never come if you don’t know how to grab it.

And the final point I want to mention is:

Relax before the test!

Attempting to do one or two practice test before the real test won’t help you increase your score. In return, it will make you feel stressed and unconfident.

Sample Essay: Narrative

Think of an event in your life that seemed unfortunate but eventually turned out to be good. The readers must understand how an event that seemed negative turned out to be a valuable experience.

“Mummy ,mummy ,Amin is not moving ,”I voiced out loudly calling mummy in the kitchen while me ,myself did not know what actually happened to my brother but I kept scolding him for playing fool on me. I thought he painted his face with white and coloured his lips to blue. Well ,of course he played against the hide and seek rule. This is not fair!

“Ok ,I give up ,I give up! Come on ,you’re scaring me!,” worthless he was still like that.

After a few seconds , mummy rushed to the phone and called somebody . I could see tears rolling down her cheeks and I felt the gesture now and keep asking,
"Mummy ,what happened ?!!”

I could see daddy moving with hands at his back and mummy holding tissue ,almost crinkled into pieces. I exactly do not know where we were now. I only knew it was a big and white place with a lots of white room and many sick and miserable folks. However ,this situation does not scary me albeit for a little. What was kept rushing in my mind now was Amin. Amin still there ,inside the scary-look door with round and transparent mirror. He was there for almost an hour. I wanted to ask mummy and daddy but it seemed like there were also waiting for explanation.

A few minutes later ,a big and tall man with a thick moustache wearing white coat , approached daddy . His mouth were moving fast while his hand hold my father’s shoulder. I tried to spell his words and what I could puzzle off was,

“There is nothing more I can do ,only miracle can help him now,”he said while showing a big picture in black and white illustrating and of course ,the picture not interesting to look at. I could see something white and round-shape like inside the picture and I asked to myself,

“Is that the miracle? Hmm…maybe not. It’s ugly…Miracle should be something beautiful and colourful...not something like this!

I searched in house for the miracle. Under the dining table ,behind the curtain , inside toilet bowl and even bath tub! No miracle at all! I sighed and stopped for a while ,thinking with fingers pointing regularly on my head. I looked around the kitchen ,scanning for the miracle and suddenly I saw a bottle written ‘cough syrup’ ,bought by mummy last month and the syrup help me a lot!

“Now ,I know where I can get the miracle!”

I ran to my room ,searching for my ‘Tweety’ piggy bank. I took out all the money inside and started counting,

“Ten cents ,thirty cents ,fifty cents………..Now ,all together is one ringgit and eighty-cents,” I smiled with my mouth open widely showing my sparkling teeth. I went to the shop where my mother bought me the ‘cough syrup’.

“Miracle ,here I come!”

Standing on my feet toes ,I tried to reach the high counter while shouting,

“Excuse me mister. My name Ellie and I am seven years old. Can I get a bottle of miracle , please?”. However ,there was no reply from the man . I repeated my question and stomped my feet but there was still no answer ,again and again. I could feel my ears turned hot and my blood flow rapidly. I gargled and produce disgusting voice to attract that both men. I put my hand inside my pocket and bamed my money onto the counter.

“Hello ,my name Ellie and I am seven years old. I got one ringgit and eighty cents here ,so ,would you give me a bottle of miracle ,please !,”louder and clearer. The man was shocked and said

“Sorry little girl ,we do not sell any miracle ,”He smiled and laughed to me ,showing his yellow teeth.

“Don’t worry about the money ,I got enough to buy it ,I have one ringgit and eighty cents.”

“Sorry little girl ,I got customer right now ,see ,” he said while pointing towards a bold man beside him. Then ,I muzzled my mouth and felt like crying but I could feel a hand holding my shoulder ,the bold man did .

“What’s wrong little girl?”

“My name Ellie and I am seven years old, I want to buy a miracle for my brother .Amin. I heard from my dad that only a miracle can save my brother. He get ‘tumor’ in his head ,but I do not know what it was. I want to play high and seek with him again. Do you know where I can get the bottle of a miracle?”

“How much do you have right now Elie ?” He asked ,smiling.

I grinned,”One ringgit and eighty cents.”

The man nodded and then ,he stood up .He hold my hand and winked at me,
“Can you show me where you live? I think I know where to get miracle for little boys like Amin ,”

I smiled and kissed his right cheek.

What happened after that ,I could barely remembered. All I could recall was the time daddy drove me to the ‘white building’ next day and told me,

“Amin is in operation right now .He’ll be fine.” I looked up ,beaming ,”Really?” Daddy nodded, smiling ,”Yes ,guess what? A real nice doctor , a neurologist came to volunteer and scheduled an emergency operation for Amin. Amin will be alright in no the ones he gets the tumor out of his head ,” I was still grinning. That could only mean one thing ,Amin would be back to play hide and seek with me again anytime soon!.

After a few hours ,I went inside the room where Amin was there lying on bed with wires all over the body with head white bandaged .Mummy and daddy had ready by his side .Mummy stroked up her small head and said to dad,

“God and the miracles have saved you ,Amin. If not for that ,only God knows how much would have to pay for that.” I heard her as I looked at Amin who was still unconscious. Taking his hand lovingly ,I giggled and silently whispered to his ears,

“I know that ,only one ringgit and eighty cents.”

Amin always there to play hide and seek with me until today . I may never win any Olympic medals or break any records in World Guinness Book of Record or my name in the Hall of Fame but at least I managed to save my lovely brother with one ringgit and eighty cents .

Sample Essay: Descriptive

Grandparent's house

My grandparents' house is tucked away in a small Malay village at the south of Sabah, named Kampung Berungis- a place where the development is still happened moderately. It is also a place where I find all the peacefulness that I seek in my life;by looking at Gunung Kinabalu which I can see only its top from my grandparents' house. This mountain creates the beautiful background of my grandparents' house especially early in the morning when the morning mist is still engulfing its peak. This will mesmerizing anyone who know how to appreciate the nature that was created by the Almighty.

I always imagine about the captivating picturesque scenery of its surrounding. It is full of colourful fresh flowers from different species that scenting the morning breeze in my grandmother's garden. The greenery which surrounding the house is the habitat for the living creatures such as birds that always restart the new day with pleasant songs and full of harmony.

Behind my grandparents' house is a narrow river about two metres width. Its crystal clear water flows calmly to the north and gives a serene rural landscape to my beloved grandparents' house. The song of the creatures and the sound of the flowing water enhance the beauty and the calmness of the house. The cleanliness of the river is a proof that the place is still safe from the destructive development.

In front of the house is a small badminton court where my cousins and I used to play when we were still young, chubby kids. Although it is very old and has many holes on its floor, we still use the court to play. At far right of the house is the green paddy field which spreads three acres away to the north. It brings serenity to my grandparents' house.

Not forget to mention is about my grandparents' house. Ten years ago, it was only an old wooden house. But after being much upgraded, now, it is a blue roof bungalow with the combination of the modern and traditional style. It is not too big and also not too small as it still fit for our big family to gather at a one time.

This beautiful house has three bedrooms on the first floor plus the master bedroom at the right on the ground that make it so comfortable for us to stay there if we visit our beloved granny. The living room which situated next to the master bedroom is fitted with a set of red sofa. The simple but still attractive decoration of the living room, warmly welcome the guests to the house.

Opposite the simple living room is the dining room and the kitchen. The dining room is comfortably fitted with a table with six seats. At the left of the dining room is a room where our family love to gather. The walls of the this room is decorated with a lot of photos of our family. It looks just like a gallery; for us to remembering all the sweet nostalgia that we had together.

Although someone will think that my grandparents' house is just like a usual Malay house with the landscapes of the paddy field and the river, for me, it is the most beautiful place that I have ever seen and also the most special place to me because there remain a lot of my childhood memories and also the memories of my late grandfather.

Sample Essay: Argumentative

Do you agree that youngsters nowadays spend too much time on the computer chatting with their friends?

In my point of view, I absolutely agree with the statement. Averagely, youngsters these days always fill their leisure in front of the computer. However, this seems not to be during their leisure time only, but mostly of their time they spend to chat with their friends. The matters are, how one could be ‘tenaciously ‘ keeps their point just to chat with his or her friends? Moreover, what actually are the effects would be on them?

The most probable reason why the teenagers spend too much of their time chatting with their friends on the computer is nonetheless they lack of love and attention from their parents. Most of the parents today are busy with their works rarely spend their time on their own. Usually, they will enjoy and have fun with their friends through computer chatting. Furthermore, it is the easiest way to keep them in touch. However, it seems that they take too much time chatting until they tend to neglect their study, their homework and many more. Thus, it will propel the youngsters to become irresponsible on the tasks or works that they need to accomplish at the first place.

Besides, living in such a hectic world that is showered with modern tech, teenagers are prompted to enjoy the achievements of the high-tech. One of it is through the computer chatting. Yes, it is undoubtedly that it is the easiest and simplest way for communication. All you have to do is just sit in front of the computer and start typing anything you want to talk about. That is easy, right? Consequently, youngsters will take too much time to enjoy the chatting with their friends. As the result, there will be lack of communication among family members. Besides, they also rarely mix up with other people out there. For worst, they will ignore the importance of living in one society.

Since the youngsters spend too much time on the computer chatting, so this dilemma can be solved through co-operation and understanding between parents and their children. Parents should wisely divide their time and try to spend with their children. Parents can bring their children for vacation and share fun time together. Apart from that, parents also need to educate their children on how to mingle with the modern technology. On the other hand, youngsters should understand and know their responsibility as a child and also a student. Youngsters should spend time with their friends in other ways. For example, they can enjoy playing any outdoor games together. They also can discuss their homework together. Therefore, they will spend their time on computer chatting less. So, parents and children should play their own roles in order to overcome this problem.

As a conclusion, we all know that there are bad effects for youngsters who spend too much time on computer chatting. Fortunately, there are also solutions to solve these problems. So, try to think and act wisely thus happiness can be achieved in life. As the saying said, time is gold, right? Therefore, appreciate the time we have by doing something beneficial so that we can stand survive in this challenging world.

Sample Essays - Seminar

ESSAY 1

"Mu-et....Moo-et....M-U-E-T...",different intonation and pronounciation for MUET,Malaysian University English Test and Puan Sharifah Adilah,the first speaker for MUET Seminar last week proceeded those before she started her session.A secret to master English was not just in one night but the whole journey of life or in other word,continuous learning but how?Of course she said,the key is reading.By reading,we could enhance our vocab,grammar and words.Puan Sharifah said that one English word leads to various meanings.I could still call to mind three different meanings of 'Put' when it is combined with preposition 'up','off',and 'in'.What I could say was "Wow..English is fun" and after all,I need to have a Reader's Digest from now on.

In addition,she exposed us in a different sight of English.For instance,how Malaysians use it in humorous way by direct translating words such as 'cow car' and 'flower tyre'.Funny right?Of course she told us that she stopped marking and started laughing.To make it worst,MUET candidates did the witty things while her PMR students could do better!What was in my mind on that time was if the paper was mine,it would be a major embarrassement and definitely I have to do something to cope with this.Still,I need a lot of reading and the enchanting thick thing,the dictionary,will be my companion from now on.

Moreover,she coached us to use the correct terms and appropriate words in a sentence.For example,"I found him exhilarating"Actually he or she wanted to say that his or her friend excites him or her but is it the correct word?Well,in this case,I don't think so!It is encouraged to use bombastic words rather than using the same monotonous words for every sentences or paragraphs but wrong usage of words would baffle the readers and the examiners alike.The same answer for this problem,reading is the clue to everything.

Then came our second speaker,Puan Hasnah Bt Mohd Rais.She leaded us on how to speak and listen properly especially in MUET.Amazing slides,great presentation and good sense of humour,all in 2 hours.She tried to demolish our fear when it comes to public speaking.She attracted the crowd and boosted my confidence and actually my voice was a little faint at first in front of hundreds of big crowds but 'Haah...what a relief..'.At last, I could voice out my curiousity.'Yay!I overcome an obstacle myself!' Thanks to her..

In details,she showed us how to manage limited time wisely during the communicative skills test including to take down notes whatever other candidates have presented during individual presentation and how fluency and confidence take place on that time.She tutored us to provide at least 3 points with the elaborations and the most vital things are not to dominate the whole discussion,make suggestions and express recommendations,that was how the Band-6 candidate achieve his score and hopefully I would be the one!

"Band 4 is the minimum level to pass MUET exam.."That was what both speakers said.However,would that be a satisfying level for me who have studied English since kindergarten?Definitely not!English is actually exciting,universal and can be 'exhilarating'.Just like Professor Barbara Seidlhofer from University of Vienna said,"English is a Lingua-Franca.As a result of the unprecedented global spread of English,it becomes reality."No wonder everybody speaks English nowadays as well as there are candidates who can achieve Band 6.I was attracted to my friend's words.."Nothing is impossible and actually impossible is nothing.."If the others can achieve the highest band for MUET,so do I!


ESSAY 2

When I first heard that we, ‘Tamhidian’ students of Islamic Science University of Malaysia, had to spend a whole day of our weekend listening to a lecture about MUET, my heart started to scream in protest. Not that I thought MUET is not really important, but it was just not the right time. Since the attendance is compulsory and I am a discipline student, I missed my family gathering in Malacca and reluctantly came to the campus. Moreover, I had already paid RM30 for the seminar’s fee. So, like it or not, I had to attend.

The seminar started an hour late than scheduled since it was raining and our speaker encountered a few problems on the way. So, while waiting we were fed with, in my opinion, quite a heavy breakfast, rice with anchovies and chicken. “ This really worth RM30. If we got this for breakfast, I wonder what we’ll get for lunch” I thought.
But, when our first speaker started to speak, I knew this seminar was really worth spending for. Both our speakers were full of experience and quite humorous teachers too. They were capable to force us, well at least me, to listen to them attentively. I found that their talks were rather enjoying and I knew I could learn a lot from them.

For a start, I had got clearer picture about what MUET really is from the first speaker. MUET actually stands for Malaysian University English Test set by the government. It is opened to any citizens who had seated at least for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). There are four components that will be tested, which are reading, writing, listening and speaking. The participants will be graded from Band 1, which is the lowest standard, until Band 6.
Besides that I also learned more about English Language from this seminar. In English there are also certain words that are usually used in speaking only called colloquial, just like in Malay Language we called ‘Bahasa Pasar’. This kind of words I usually used in my writing since I did not know about this rule. I also learned how to pronounce certain words correctly. From that day onwards, I was aware that I had to be very careful in writing and also speaking so that I would not jeopardize this language and also make a fool of myself.

Furthermore, we, the participants had been reminded again and again that in order to improve our skills either in speaking or writing we have to read. Reading is really vital if we want to learn any language. From reading, first of all, you can increase the number of your vocabulary since you will bump into many words that you never encountered before. In addition you can also distinguish the usage of words in sentences. Some words cannot be used in certain sentences although the meaning seems correct. Moreover, your grammar will also be better.

The most important lesson that I had learned from that seminar was the reason why do we have to be fluent in English, why do we have to master this language? It is not because English is the main language of the world and we have to speak in English everyday. It is just for survival. For instance when you are searching for a job you have a major advantage if you are fluent in English. Most employees state that they required employers that can speak in English because if you are going to have a business with foreigners you need to communicate in English. But, this does not mean we have to use English language for the whole life. As Malays we also have our own language that our ancestors had used, our parents use and even our Prime Minister uses it. Malay language also once had been lingua franca. So we have to be proud of it, we have to preserve it or it will be forgotten, if not now in the future. If we Malays do not want to preserve it who will? The Chinese? The Indians? They have their own language why would they bother about ours? It is really vital for us to learn English, but it is up to us also to preserve our national language.

In a nutshell that seminar had taught me a lot of lessons that I thought I would never get them anywhere else. It was a RM30 program after all so I had to grab all the information and lessons or it would be a waste of money and time. I also will strive to try and reach my target of getting at least band 5 for MUET that will be hold in this upcoming October.


ESSAY 3

MUET stands for Malaysian University English Test.It is taken by students who intend to pursue their tertiary education at local public universities since it is a mandatory test to gain entry into degree courses offered at all Malaysian public universities.It is also a test to measure candidates english proficiency comprising from reading,writing,listening and speaking skills.In order to assure candidates pass the test with flying colours,seminars have been made by profesionals to expose to them about the ins and outs of MUET.Fortunately,the seminar was held at my university and I was grateful to attend the seminar.

The seminar was divided into two sessions: the first session was about reading and writing which was done in the morning,in the evening,was on listening and speaking skills.To make things smoother during the seminar,students were given handouts as a reference.At first,my intention towards the seminar was a bit dull,I thought the test would be like the same SPM level question and probably there's not going to be a big problem in answering.However I was wrong about it,the presenter told that as we are now in a university,therefore the question level should suits our standards.She explains that due to students tend to take the test for granted,as a result many of these students end up with getting band scale 4.0 and below and unfortunately,students that got band scale 3.0 and below had to resit the test for the second time.I really hope that I will take the test just for once.

The presenter then cools us down by explaining that there's nothing to be worry about,'that is why I'm here to help',she said.For reading,we must be able to understand the passage or text in order to answer the question and some of the words in the text are quite flowery thus we need to be able to guess the meanings.I viewed some of the samples in the booklet,and I admit it is slighty hard from the one I had during SPM.She gave us some tips on reading,which is to get the general idea about the passage and read twice for some of the important words we might overlooked.She also told us to be prepare with some of the current issues that are being discussed at present.For instance,Global Warming,Diseases,Innovations in Science and so on. I'd rather say my weakest capability is in writing,because I need ample of time to generate ideas before putting it into sentence on a paper and sometimes I felt that somewhere I'm stuck in generating ideas and there's no connection to be related from one idea to another.Therefore,the presenter told us to train our minds to give points in a second as many as we can and identify the main points, supporting details and some implicit points which are necessary.

The evening sessions was a bit lively I say,probably it's because it revolves around speaking and listening.We were shown a real recorded video on speaking,involving candidates just like us whom have took the test.Although there were laughter in the hall but I believe that deep inside each one of us were the feelings of nervous when we will be facing the same situation.The presenter for this session invigorates us by showing some students who got band 5.0,4.0 and 3.0.This is just to make sure that we are determine to get at least band 4.0 to be safe.For listening she just reminds us to be attentive,such a simple word but hard to achieve.

In a nutshell,this MUET seminar undoubtedly have given me a rough idea on what's going to happen during the test.I need to prepare mentally,do a lot of readings,practise on speaking as the presenter stress out that we need to create english environment,and to be able to handle the pressure and feelings.

Sample Essay: Argumentative

In this day and age, the costs of a university education has increased significantly. This has led many to question whether or not it is still economically viable to pursue a university education. Apart from that, many also question whether or not a university education is still relevant in today's rapidly changing world in view of the large numbers of jobless graduates out there. Thus there are many who would now rather forgo a university education and enter the job market right after leaving school. I however strongly believe that a university education remains important and relevant in today's world.

I believe that a university education is an important part of one's educational journey. There are several reasons why I believe so. Firstly, universities are temples of learning and scholarship. They provide students with a learning environment unlike any other. A university education can allow students to increase their knowledge in ways they never could elsewhere. For example, many universities are also centres of research and new discoveries are being made all the time. A student could gain much from interactions with working researchers and would learn much more than if they just studied textbooks at home.

Apart from increasing one's knowledge, a university education also helps students to significantly increase their intellectual ability. Through the process of seeking knowledge at university, students will be able to develop their critical thinking skills and reasoning abilities.They will also become independent learners. A university education will also help deepen students love of learning and knowledge. They will also realise that education is not merely a means to an end but has its own intrinsic value and beauty.

At university, students will also come into contact with people from various backgrounds. They will be able to make new friends and develop a social network that will be advantageous in future. Through interactions with foreign students at their respective universities, they will develop greater intercultural understanding. Students will develop a greater understanding of the common humanity of all men, as they are all united by their desire for knowledge. Thus a university education will greatly improve one's interpersonal skills.

Apart from that, a university education also helps students to become more independent and mature and learn various soft skills such as leadership and problem solving skills. They can do so through participation in various non-academic activities on campus.

In conclusion, a university education is still very important in today's world. I strongly believe that a university education will continue to remain relevant to society as it has always been throughout much of human history.