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.

Selamat Berpuasa

Verb Forms: Helping Verbs

Forms of Helping Verbs

All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are 2 groups of helping verbs:

• Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and in making questions and negatives.
• Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.

Study the table below. It shows the principal forms and uses of helping verbs, and explains the differences between primary and modal helping verbs.

* Sometimes we make a sentence that has a helping verb and seems to have no main verb. In fact, the main verb is "understood". Look at the following examples:

• Question: Can you speak English? (The main verb speak is "expressed".)
• Answer: Yes, I can. (The main verb speak is not expressed. It is "understood" from the context. We understand: Yes, I can speak English.

But if somebody walked into the room and said "Hello. I can", we would understand nothing!

Helping Verbs
Primary		Modal
do	(to make simple tenses, and questions and negatives)	can	could
be	(to make continuous tenses, and the passive voice)	may	might
have	(to make perfect tenses)	will	would
		shall	should
		must
		ought (to)
"Do", "be" and "have" as helping verbs have exactly the same forms as when they are main verbs (except that as helping verbs they are never used in infinitive forms).		Modal helping verbs are invariable. They always have the same form.
Primary helping verbs are followed by the main verb in a particular form: do + V1 (base verb) be + -ing (present participle) have + V3 (past participle)		"Ought" is followed by the main verb in infinitive form. Other modal helping verbs are followed by the main verb in its base form (V1). ought + to... (infinitive) other modals + V1 (base verb)
"Do", "be" and "have" can also function as main verbs.		Modal helping verbs cannot function as main verbs.

Verb Forms: Main Verbs

English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb to sing can be: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 6 forms. Not many, considering that some languages (French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English tenses may be quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually very simple! With the exception of the verb to be, English main verbs have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. To be has 9 forms. Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb forms to make the tenses, but they are not the same thing.

Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbs (except the verb "be") have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. "Be" has 9 forms.

		V1	V2	V3
	infinitive	base	past simple	past participle	present participle	present simple, 3rd person singular
regular	(to) work	work	worked	worked	working	works
irregular	(to) sing (to) make (to) cut	sing make cut	sang made cut	sung made cut	singing making cutting	sings makes cuts
	(to) do* (to) have*	do have	did had	done had	doing having	does has
	infinitive	base	past simple	past participle	present participle	present simple
	(to) be*	be	was, were	been	being	am, are, is

In the above examples:

• to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts
• to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works
• to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings
• to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

The infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both infinitives. We often call the infinitive without to the "bare infinitive".

At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participlepresent participle3rd person singular present simple by heart - for another very simple reason: they never change. The present participle is always made by adding "-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding "s" to the base (though there are some variations in spelling). (sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs. They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they are formed by adding "-ed" to the base. They do not learn the and

* Note that "do", "have" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).

Example Sentences

These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.

Infinitive

• I want to work
• He has to sing.
• This exercise is easy to do.
• Let him have one.
• To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Base - Imperative

• Work well!
• Make this.
• Have a nice day.
• Be quiet!

Base - Present simple
(except 3rd person singular)

• I work in Kuala Lumpur.
• You sing well.
• They have a lot of money.

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

• I can work tomorrow.
• You must sing louder.
• They might do it.
• You could be right.

Past simple

• I worked yesterday.
• She cut his hair last week.
• They had a good time.
• They were surprised, but I was not.

Past participle

• I have worked here for five years.
• He needs a folder made of plastic.
• It is done like this.
• I have never been so happy.

Present participle

• I am working.
• Singing well is not easy.
• Having finished, he went home.
• You are being silly!

3rd person singular, present simple

• He works in Kuala Lumpur.
• She sings well.
• She has a lot of money.
• It is Vietnamese.

What are verbs

The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word.

Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action.

But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of "being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.

A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "Halim speaks English", Halim is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:

• action (Lokman plays football.)
• state (Salbiah seems kind.)

There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms:

• to work, work, works, worked, working

Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty or more forms for a single verb.

Verb Classification

We divide verbs into two broad classifications:

1. Helping Verbs

Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:

• I can.
• People must.
• The Earth will.

Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not! That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.

2. Main Verbs

Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:

• I teach.
• People eat.
• The Earth rotates.

Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs.

In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs. Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping verb.

	helping verb		main verb
Amin			likes	coffee.
You			lied	to me.
They			are	happy.
The children	are		playing.
We	must		go	now.
I	do	not	want	any.

Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided.

Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verb. They "help" the main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping verbs in English, and we divide them into two basic groups:

Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)

These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the following cases:

• be
  • to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.)
  • to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.)
  
  
  
• have
  • to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.)
  
  
  
• do
  • to make negatives (I do not like you.)
  • to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?)
  • to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.)
  • to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she does.)

Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)

We use modal helping verbs to "modify" the meaning of the main verb in some way. A modal helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that sense. These are the modal verbs:

• can, could
• may, might
• will, would,
• shall, should
• must
• ought to

Here are examples using modal verbs:

• I can't speak Chinese.
• Yatie may arrive late.
• Would you like a cup of coffee?
• You should see a doctor.
• I really must go now.

Main Verbs

Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".

Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:

Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive verb does not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look at these examples:

transitive:

• I saw an elephant.
• We are watching TV.
• He speaks English.

intransitive:

• He has arrived.
• Haziqah goes to school.
• She speaks fast.

Linking verbs

A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs).

• Fatin is a teacher. (Fatin = teacher)
• Zizi is beautiful. (Zizi = beautiful)
• That sounds interesting. (that = interesting)
• The sky became dark. (the sky > dark)
• The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)

Dynamic and stative verbs

Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with continuous tenses with a change in meaning).

dynamic verbs (examples):

• hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

• be
• like, love, prefer, wish
• impress, please, surprise
• hear, see, sound
• belong to, consist of, contain, include, need
• appear, resemble, seem

Regular and irregular verbs

This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• look, looked, looked
• work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• buy, bought, bought
• cut, cut, cut
• do, did, done

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.

One way to think of regular and irregular verbs is like this: all verbs are irregular and the so-called regular verbs are simply one very large group of irregular verbs.

Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.

Muet Tips

Normally, Candidates do not pass or fail the MUET. They are classified into six bands ranging from Band 1 to band 6.here are some tips...

Familiarisation

• Be familiar with the examination format - the time allocated for each section, the number of questions in each section, the types of questions, etc.
• Get acquainted with the kinds of topics covered in the different sections.
• Read the notes given in this book on the ways to prepare for the examination, the strategies to use when answering questions and the analysis of how candidates score in the examinations.

Preparation

Three months before the examination

• Attempt the model questions for Paper 1 (Listening) and Paper 3 (Reading)
• Check your answers
• Practise writing the summaries and essays for Paper 4 (Writing) in Model Tests given.
• Edit your summaries using the answer key as a guide.
• Ask a friend who is proficient in English to read and edit your essays.
• Practise the tasks in Paper 2 (Speaking) with a firend /groups of friends who are willing to work with you.
• Try to adhere to the time allotted for each of the questions.

One week before the examination

• Make sure you have attempted every type ofd question given in the MUET Tests.
• Re-attempt the questions which you may not have performed well.

One day before the examination

• Check to make sure you remember the examination format.
• Read again the notes given on these strategies to use when answering questions.
• Sleep early so that you are well rested on the day of the examination.

On the day of the examination

• Glance through one of the Model Test papers you have attempted.
• Make sure you have all the stationery that you may need - 2B pencils, sharpener, eraser, ballpoint pens (preferably black) stapler with stapler with staples and ruler.
• Eat a good breakfast so that you have the energy to sit through the whole exam.
• Compose yourself, be calm and try not to panic.

Good luck!