NEW PT3 FORMAT

From 2019, the PT3 English examination will be taking on a new format. Here is an
introduction to how it will look like and what students can expect.
The PT3 English examination will comprise of four papers:
Paper 1: Reading
Paper 2: Writing
Paper 3: Speaking
Paper 4: Listening

PAPER 1: READING
This paper is divided into five parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. Students are
advised to spend 1 hour 15 minutes answering this paper which carries 40 marks in total. This
paper constitutes 25 per cent of the overall marks.

Part 1: Short Texts – Message, Advertisement, Email and Signs

There will be eight objective questions for Part 1 covering eight
marks. Students are allocated eight minutes to answer all questions.

Part 2: Error Correction

Eight questions will be asked in this section that requires students to identify grammatical
errors in the text given. Each question carries one mark. Students are advised to spend eight
minutes on this section.

Part 3: Information Transfer

This section comprises eight questions with one mark allocated for each. Students are
presented with non-linear text that requires them to answer each question with limited
words. The time allotted for this section is also eight minutes.

Part 4: Short Answer

In this section, there will be eight questions carrying eight marks based on linear and
nonlinear texts. Questions will be in the form of comprehension questions or note
completion.
There will be two vocabulary questions. Students are advised to spend ten minutes answering
this section.

Part 5: Matching (Gapped Text)

There will be six questions tested in this section. Each question carries one mark. Students
are required to fill in the missing sentences into the text using the options given. The time
allotted for this section is six minutes.

Here are some sample questions and answers for Paper 1.

Part 1 Questions 1 – 8
Read the text carefully in each question. Choose the best answer A, B or C. For each
question, mark the correct answer A, B or C on your answer sheet.
1. Adam will be
A. baking a cake for Kris.
B. dropping a cake at Kris’s place.
C. slighty late to collect the cake from Kris.

COMMENT: The correct answer is option C. The other two options cannot be used as the
answer as it changes the meaning found in the text. FREE* Breakfast Set on 28th January in
conjunction with Malaysia Breakfast Day at Jiggy Corner! *Applicable for the first 100
customers only.

2. You can get a free breakfast set

A. any time on 28th January.
B. if you are the 59th customer on 28th January.
C. only if you are the first customer on 29th January.

COMMENT: The correct answer is option B. Pay close attention to all the details found in
the text.

Dear Kadir,
Thank you for the bicycle. It is exactly like I pictured it with pink handles and a huge white
basket in the front! I’ve included a picture of me riding the bicycle at our garden. I hope you
like it just as much as I like the bicycle. Sarah

3. Kadir has just

A. received a bicycle from Sarah.
B. gifted Sarah a bicycle that she had wanted.
C. bought a bicycle with pink handles for himself.

COMMENT: The correct option is option B. You need to comprehend all the options in order
to choose the correct option.

Part 2

Questions 9 – 16 MALAYSIA BREAKFAST DAY

Read the text below and correct the underlined errors. For each question, write the correct
word in the space provided on your answer sheet.

RAINFOREST

The world’s longest rainforest canopy walk (0) are Tree Top Walk Sungai Sedim which is (9)
on a length of 925 metres and a height of 26 metres above the forest floor at its (10) high
point. The rainforest canopy walk crosses the river twice and (11) follow a roughly
rectangular shape. Situated about a 30-minute drive from the town of Kulim in Kedah, Tree
Top Walk Sungai Sedim is (12) hide in the unspoilt scenery of Sungai Sedim Recreational
Park. The Tree Top Walk (13) are open daily from 9 a.m. until 5.30 p.m. Entrance (14) fees is
priced at RM10 for adults and RM6 for (15) child. There are also other attractions at Sungai
Sedim such as (16) hike, white water rafting, abseiling and paint-bailing which makes it a
perfect place for team building activities.
PIZZA!

Almost everyone enjoys pizza which is truly a universal food. Some slices of the pizza are a
nutritious addition to your diet while others are nutritional nightmares. It is advisable to know
the difference between a healthy piece of pizza and an unhealthy one.
Some pizzas contain gluten. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, rye and barley, as well
as foods made with these ingredients. The traditional pizza crust is made with white or wheat
flour, so these varieties do contain gluten. Gluten-free pizza does exist in certain
supermarkets or at restaurants offering a gluten-free menu. Thus, the crust is made with rice,
soy, potato or bean flours. Most toppings, including cheese, tomato sauce and vegetables, are
naturally gluten-free.

Pizza is not a sweet-tasting food but it actually contains some sugar. It is important to keep
track of your sugar intake from all food and not just from sweets such as soda and desserts.
Too much sugar can cause weight gain, tooth decay and increased triglycerides, which raises
your risk of heart disease.

The amount of fat in a slice of pizza depends on what toppings it has. The majority of the fat
in most pizzas is saturated fat. Eating too much of saturated fat increases your risk for heart
disease. Limit the saturated fat that you eat to 10 per cent or less of your total caloric intake.
Most frozen pizzas also contain trans-fat, which is the unhealthy kind. It raises your
cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart damage.

Cheese is one way to boost your intake of protein which helps your body repair itself, build
muscle and give you energy. Cheese is a complete source of protein as it contains all the
essential amino acids. The protein you eat is digested into amino acids to replace the protein
you lose as your heart beats, your brain works and your muscles move you from place to
place.

Most people fall short of the daily goal for fibre. This makes the digestive system unable to
function efficiently which leaves you susceptible to constipation and haemorrhoids. Fibre
also helps lower your cholesterol, which can reduce your risk of heart disease, and it might
lower your chance of getting certain types of cancer.

The nutritional value of your pizza depends on what you put on it. Opt for a low sodium
version to get the nutrients without a lot of salt. Vegetable pizza is even better because it
contains vitamin C, vitamin A and more fibre than cheese or meat varieties.

Questions 25 -32
Answer the questions below. Choose no more than five words and/or a number from the text
for each answer. For each question, write your answer in the space provided on your answer
sheet.

25. Some pizzas have nutritional values for your diet but some can cause
_________________________________________________________ [1 mark] Tips:
“while” found in the second line is the clue and is similar to “but” found in the question. The
answer is nutritional nightmares.
26. Pizza crust made with rice, soy, potato or bean flours and cheese, tomato sauce and
vegetable toppings are ____________________________________ [1 mark] Tips: This
answer is quite direct. The answer is naturally gluten-free.

27. Sugar intake must be reduced as it causes weight gain, tooth decay and increased
triglycerides which ________________________________________ [1 mark] Tips: “raises
your risk of heart disease” cannot be written like that directly. In the rubrics it is stated “no
more than five words and/or a number”. As such, the answer can be ‘raises risk of heart
disease’.

28. The large quantity of fat found in most pizzas are _____________________. [1 mark]
Tips: There are two possible answers. However, the word “disadvantage” requires only one
disadvantage only. So the answer can be either it raises your cholesterol levels or can lead
toheartdamage. Remember to limit your answer to only five words.

30. What does cheese contain to make it a good source of protein?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark] Tips:
all the essential amino acids is the answer. The word “amino acids” is mandatory.

31. What do we need for our heart, brain and muscles to function?
____________________________________________________________ [1 mark] Tips:
Protein is the correct answer.

32. The two problems we would face with a shortage of fibre are __________
____________________________________________________________ [1 mark] Tips:
The answer is constipation and haemorrhoids. Both these problems are mandatory to obtain
one mark.

Questions 33 and 34
Complete the table below with a word from the text. For each question, write your answer in
the space provided on your answer sheet.

PAPER 2: WRITING

This paper is divided into two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Students are advised to spend 1 hour
answering this paper which carries 40 marks in total. This paper constitutes 25 per cent of the
overall marks. Candidates will be assessed according to the following criteria: content;
communicative achieving; organisation and lastly, language.

Part 1: Short Communicative Message There will be one question for candidates to answer
comprising a stimulus in the form of a short communicative message.
In this section which carries 20 marks, students are advised to spend 25 minutes writing a
message in response to the short communicative message given.

Part 2: Notes Expansion In this section, students are given notes on a particular topic and
asked to expand them into an essay of about 120 words.
Students are advised to spend 35 minutes on this question which carries 20 marks.
PAPER 3: SPEAKING

This paper is divided into three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Students are advised to spend a total of 11 minutes for this paper which carries 20 marks in
total. This paper constitutes 25 per cent of the overall marks for the PT3 English examination.
The test is designed to cover a range of CEFR levels but basically targets ‘A2/B1’ level.

Part 1: General Questions There will be two questions asked for each student as a warm up.
The questions will be general and could be on any topic. No marks are allocated for this
section. Time allocated for this section is two to three minutes.

Part 2: Story Telling Students will be asked to tell a story based on given prompt cards. Five
marks are allocated and students are advised to spend four to five minutes on this section.

Part 3: Discussions Students will be given a topic to discuss. Prompts in forms of mind maps
will be provided and students will be asked to elaborate on the points given.
15 marks are allocated and students are advised to spend three minutes on this section.

PAPER 4: LISTENING This paper is divided into five parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and

Part 5. There will be five questions in each part. Students are advised to spend 35 minutes to
answer this paper which carries 25 marks in total. This paper constitutes 25 per cent of the
overall marks.

Students should blacken the answer they have chosen for the questions on the answer sheet
given.

Part 1: Visual Students will listen to an audio recording and answer five questions in this
section. There will be threeoption answers for each question in the form of pictures.

Part 2: Matching Students will listen to a recording about a topic (sequence/procedure). There
will be seven-option answers but, students are required to pick five.

Part 3: Objective Students will hear an audio recording on a news report and will answer five
objective questions based on the audio.

Part 4: Note Completion – Monologue Students will listen to an audio recording about an
event or a programme e.g. writing workshop. Then, students are required to complete the
notes with five pieces of information about the event.
Students may use no more than three words and/or a number for each answer.

Part 5: Note Completion – Dialogue Students will listen to a conversation between two
people. Then, students are required to complete
the notes with five pieces of information from the conversation.
Students may use no more than three words and/or a number for each answer.