16 July 2014
0930 – 1115 hrs
Incoming undergraduates who do not possess relevant English qualifications are required to take the Qualifying English Test (QET) in NUS. All polytechnic graduates, including myself, had to take the test. I was rather worried from the start; it had been three years since I last wrote an essay. After browsing various forums for last-minute tips, I felt ready for the test.
The requirement for the test is to write a 500-word essay based on a one-liner question in 1 hour 45 minutes. The question, if I remember correctly, was among the lines of “Do you think robots can be useful for elderly care in Singapore?”. We were also provided two short articles from online sources to reference from, which comes together with the test paper itself. It was kinda hard for me; I literally used up the entire 1 hour 45 minute duration.
When the results were released two weeks later, I heaved a sigh of relief as I achieved a Band 3, which means I am exempted from the English modules. Students who obtain Band 1 or 2 would have to take 1-2 additional modules.
Some tips from myself:
- Plan your essay structure. I hastily sketched a rough structure on a blank page. What I did: introduction -> 2 supporting points -> 3 argumentative points -> conclusion
- Remember to answer the question given. In my example, the answer “Yes” or “No” should be clearly stated somewhere in the essay, either the start or towards the end.
- Use in-text citations whenever you reference the text provided. I used APA’s in-text citation.
- Bombastic words aren’t necessary. I made do with really basic vocabulary.
bunnystring 