MUET Writing 800/4 tips :

Factual Writing
Hey all... I'm back.. hehe sort of.
Anyway, I've recieved some great
emails and messages on facebook (add
me as Audrey Wiles) about my blog
and the good stuff you've gained from
it. Hopefully I didn't disappoint.

Right, I've been thinking about why

my students cant score higher than
band 3 and 4... and I've finally hit the
nail on its head. It's because students
these days include too many
generalisations and sweeping
statements which are not backed up
by facts. So then I sent them of a fact
finding research and they have come
back with key facts that can be used in
their essays. I've then compiled (the
first batch below) the info and written
MUET style academic sentences
which addresses key issues. I then
printed out the samples below and got
them to highlight whichever parts
they considered as factual. Then in my
next lesson, I will give them some
sections with fill in the blanks activity
(fill with facts) and some sections
where they have to write their own
sample sentences using the facts they
can recall. Anyway, whichever style
you use to present is not the issue but
the fact that Band 5 & 6 students are
expected to have a very HIGH LEVEL
OF CRITICAL THINKING and
maturity of ideas is reflected based on
the content of their academic essays.
So students out there, read the
examples below and highlight the
facts. Teachers, get your students to
do it. An enrichment activity is you
can give them more issues and they
can write their own samples, maybe
one group one issue.

My next blog will be on using

Malaysian government policies as
content for factual and academic
writing. So stay tuned and don't forget
to comment about this technique. Was
it effective for you? Your students? :P

FACTUAL WRITING

1. WAR
In terms of world peace, we
should never repeat the mistakes
of World War I in 1918 where we
lost about 5 million people and
World War II in 1945 that took
the lives of more than 61 million.
These wars are concrete
examples of why killing and
death are not acceptable.
Instead, we should find a way
through the United Nations and
other such organisations to
conduct peace talks at all costs
because wars give nothing but
negative impact to the human
race.

2. ENVIRONMENT
Mankind is doing irreparable
damage to mother nature to the
extent that more and more
natural disasters have occurred
in recent times such as the
undersea earthquake a day after
Christmas in 2004 which
unleashed multiple tsunamis in
14 countries killing over 230,000
people. More recent are the
earthquakes in New Zealand last
year and this year Japan was hit
full force by a tsunami that
almost destroyed the Fukushima
nuclear power plant and caused
a nuclear meltdown similar to
the radioactive disaster in
Chernobyl, Ukriane (1986).
Therefore, we must reduce our
negative impact to the
environment because it will
definitely affect mother nature.
3. NATIONAL UNITY
There are many lessons we can
learn from our own history
including the May 13 1969 racial
riots between the Malay and
Chinese especially in Kampung
Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Almost
200 people were killed and this
really emphasised why we need
to be more understanding,
tolerant and respectful of each
others cultural differences.
Otherwise, another terrible
racial riot will occur and this will
destroy the national unity that
we have worked so hard to
achieve for the past half century
of independence.
4. TERRORISM
World peace is threatened when
terrorists launch attacks such as
the 9/11/2001 hijacking of two
767 jets into the twin towers of
the World Trade Centre in New
York City. This is such a tragedy
because it took 2,753 lives but
there are uncountable more
lives, maybe millions, that have
been shaken by this terrible
event. This has led to more lives
lost through the hunting down of
Saddam Hussien and Osama bin
Laden, both of whom were
influential leaders that
commanded troops of terrorists.
Hence, the governments of each
country need to work hand in
hand to protect its citizens from
further terrorist threat.

5. PATRIOTISM
In recent times, the world has
seen a number of tragedies that
are unbelievable and atrocious
such as the bombing in Oslo,
Norway where Anders Brevik
went on a shooting rampage and
killed at least 77 youths because
he was against multiculturalism
and Muslim immigration. Thus,
although we should be patriotic
at all times, there must be
moderation because the
extremism showed by
Norweigian Anders Behring
Breivik is very unhealthy and
this does not create peace, but
instigates world wars.
6. PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN
We should be proud to be living
in a peaceful land as there are no
wars, enough food and
opportunity to improve our
standard of living. On the other
hand, places like Palestine face
the uncertainty and horrors of
war every day, while there are
many crisis elsewhere such as in
Somalia, Afghanistan and even
in Thailand which is our direct
neighbour. In short, we need to
defend our peace and freedom
not just for this generation but
for our children, and our
childrens children.
7. ENDANGERED ANIMALS
Datuk Michelle Yeoh from Perak
is an international actress most
famed for her role in action
movies and being the Bond girl
in Tomorrow never dies is also
known for her full support of the
anti-smuggling of endangered
animals campaign. Along with
celebrities such as Jackie Chan,
they both support the saying,
When the buying stops, the
killing will too. Therefore, we
should also support this
campaign to stop the buying of
illegal animal products such as
ground rhino horn, ornamental
elephant tusks and animal fur
and skin to make clothes and
accessories.
8. INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed is
an extremely inspirational man
as he was the longest serving
prime minister of Malaysia from
1981 to 2003 during which he
was called the Father of
Modernisation. We have a lot to
thank him for including our
aspiration to achieve the
developed nation status through
Vision 2020. He was also behind
the successful programs such as
Multimedia Super Corridor,
Proton cars, KLCC and KL
towers, Formula 1 Sepang
Circuit and many more which
have brought prosperity and
countless opportunities to fellow
Malaysians. Therefore, to me he
is truly inspirational as even
today he has his own website,
blog and Facebook page where
he shows eloquence and critical
thinking even though he is now
86 years old.

9. SPORTS
Malaysia has a lot to be proud of
in terms of sports as today we
have two individuals in racquet
sports that are ranked No. 1 in
the world. They are Datuk Lee
Chong Wei for badminton and
Datuk Nicol Ann David for
squash, both hailing from the
island of Penang. The two are
prime examples of a
combination of hard work and
good upbringing because they
have managed to divide their
time to be a successful
sportsperson. Datuk Nicol is 28
years old and been playing
squash intensively since young
but she still managed to score
flying colours in her SPM where
she obtained 7As. This is
evidence that with the right
attitude and diligence, anything
is possible.

10. BUSINESS
Malaysia is proud to have
businessmen who have carved a
name for themselves in the
international arena. Tan Sri
Anthony Francis Fernandes,
CEO of Air Asia, owns the world
best low-cost airline (2009-2011)
which has created countless
opportunities for Malaysians to
travel around the world for
business and leisure. With his
amazing tagline, Now everyone
can fly, it is truly wonderful
that we can experience
international travel because
travelling is now affordable for
all. Another famous Malaysian
entrepreneur is Datuk Jimmy
Choo, famed for his exquisite
handmade heels which are
sought after by all the celebrities
in America and the whole world
including the fashionista Sarah
Jessica Parker, a famous
Hollywood actress. Therefore,
we should always look for
opportunities to expand our
business not just in the
Malaysian market but penetrate
the international market as well.