4/3/2014

MUET my way...: March 2014 MUET Report Writing Question

March 2014 MUET Report Writing Question

Hi people. Here are my thoughts on the report writing question. Firstly , it was relativ ely easy and clear cut. I think that with a bit of critical thinking most students would hav e found it easy to score in this section. Below is a breakdown of how to answer the question. Follow the format giv en by MPM. A) T itle B) Introduction sentence. (What are the stimuli?) C) Ov erv iew/T rend (What is the most outstanding idea that LINKS all stimuli?) D) Key Features (Most outstanding features as opposed to listing down the obv ious features) E) Conclusion sentence. (Similar to Ov erv iew but just written from a different angle.) Based on the format giv en, y ou could easily write 1 50 - 200 words.

A) T itle: V isitation of Y ouths to the Dentist from 1 97 1 -201 0 B) Introduction: The stimuli present a bar graph on the Number of Y ouths v isiting the the dentist ov er four decades (1 97 1 201 0) and a table listing medical and cosmetic reasons for two periods (1 97 1 -1 980 and 2001 -201 0). C) Ov erv iew/T rend: In general, v isits to the dentist has risen steadily for both genders and girls recorded the highest v isitations mainly for cosmetic reasons. D) Key features: ANALY SIS (within each stimulus) * According the the bar graph, v isitations to the dentist by both genders increased steadily . * The lowest recorded v isitations was by the girls in 1 97 1 -1 980 with only 26,000 v isits. This total almost tripled to 7 5,000 in 2001 -201 0 which is also the highest recorded for both genders. * The lowest recorded v isitations by boy s was also recorded in 1 97 1 -1 980 with 30,000 v isits which doubled to 60,000 in 2001 -201 0. * 1 97 1 -1 980 was the only period where the number of boy s v isiting the dentist was more than girls.
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4/3/2014

MUET my way...: March 2014 MUET Report Writing Question

* According to the table, the main reason for v isiting the dentist for both genders is for filling cav ities. * Girls showed a drastic increase of reasons for v isiting the dentist where they only went for medical reasons in 1 97 1 -1 980 to going for both medical and cosmetic reasons in 2001 -201 0. * In 1 97 1 -1 980, boy s v isited the dentist for more medical reasons than the girls and later in 2001 -201 0 they clearly v isited the dentist only when they had medical reasons rather than cosmetic ones. * By 2001 -201 0, girls showed v ery high concern for cosmetic reasons compared to boy s as records showed that they v isited the dentist to fit braces and to whiten or clean their teeth whereas boy s only had braces fitted. SY NT HESIS (Linking between stimuli) * The number of v isitations for both genders showed a steady increase which is parallel with the increase of reasons for going to the dentist ov er the y ears. * Girls recorded the lowest v isitations to the dentist with only 26,000 in 1 97 1 -1 980 because they only went for one medical reason which was to fill cav ities. * In 1 97 1 -1 980 as well, boy s recorded a slightly higher rate of v isitations than girls (30,000) because they went for more medical reasons which was to get their teeth ex tracted as well as cav ities filled. * The data shows girls recorded the highest v isitations (7 5,000) to the dentist in 2001 -201 0 when cosmetic treatments like fitting braces and the whitening and cleaning of teeth were av ailable. * Boy s also recorded the highest v isitations to the dentist in 2001 -201 0 (60,000) which is double the number in 1 97 1 -1 980(30,000) but they mainly went for medical reasons rather than cosmetic ones. E) Conclusion: In conclusion, v isits to the dentist steadily increased for both genders by 2001 -201 0 whereby boy s showed more concern for medical reasons while girls focused more on cosmetic reasons. Basically , a high band answer will hav e m ore sy nthesis than analy sis because it is stated v ery clearly in the instructions/rubrics that y ou should ANALY SE the results of the surv ey and LINK the inform ation presented in the two v isuals. Y ou will still get m arks if y ou analy sed the v isuals correctly , but if y ou were to relate the data using a y ear to y ear ex planation this would not award y ou m any m arks as y ou are m erely stating the features. T herefore, a good MUET student would be able to identify which points ARE T HE MOST OUT ST ANDING ideas y ou can get from LINKING the v isuals rather than m erely retelling the data which ev ery one can see for them selv es. Am I m aking sense? I hope so. T herefore, teachers, the challenge is for y ou to m ake students realise the difference between Key Features v s Features and Analy sis v s Sy nthesis. Easier said than done,right?! Hence the need for higher critical thinking skills. Stay tuned... nex t blog post is about the essay question and why m ost people cannot get higher than a band 3-4... (in m y hum ble opinion only , take it with a pinch of salt!)

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