Hello! Yesterday, was the release of the NUS QET1 (Qualifying English Test 1) results for those who had taken their tests on the 6th July 2021. As I was preparing for this test, I found limited resources, with this post being one of the few out there (A huge thank you to Yuelun for her guide). It was very helpful in helping me do well in QET (I scored a band 3!). As a result, I decided to write this blog posts to help out other confused students.
What's QET?
A 1.5h English argumentative essay test. For this year (2021), the test had a character limit of 4.5k words. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the test was held online, through the examination software on Exemplify and Zoom for proctoring.
Who would need to take QET?
The general guideline is that students who do not possess the necessary English language qualifications are required to sit for the QET. All local and international international students informed by the Registrar’s Office to take the QET would have to take the test in order to matriculate. There is a very detailed list of various English language qualification tests here as listed by NUS. One of the more common criteria would be students scoring a D and below for H1 General Paper at A levels (I fell into this category haha).
Why do you want to do well in QET?
There is a 3 band-scoring system for QET. Which band you fall into depends on your QET performance.
- Band 1: You'll have to take module ES1000 followed by module ES1103
- Band 2: You'll have to take module ES1103
- Band 3: You do not need to take an additional English modules
Unless you'd want to take additional English modules, I highly suggest scoring a band 3!
QET Briefing
As part of the registration for the QET itself, you'll need to register and attend a briefing session. It is compulsory to attend a briefing session and attendance would be taken. There is some preparation that you'll be expected to complete prior to the briefing session as elaborated on the NUS website.
The briefing session this June / July 2021, went through the technical set-up for the test, including camera angle, an introduction to exemplify etc. There was a short briefing session on the grading criteria of the test, and finally the password to the practice paper for QET that was uploaded on exemplify.
1. Understanding the QET Assessment Criteria
Organisation
- Clarity of overall structure
- Logical development of ideas
Content
- Fulfillment of task
- Sophistication and sufficiency of ideas
- Analysis and use of information from the reading texts to support ideas
Language
- Accuracy – grammar, mechanics, cohesive devices
- Fluency – communicative quality, vocabulary use and register
The assessment criteria as listed above is directly taken from the NUS website. This would be the assessment rubrics that the examiners would be grading you on, and it is important that you understand what the markers would be looking out for.
2. Structure / Organisation of the essay
The structure of the essay is strikingly similar to that of an argumentative essay and that of an application question response (for those who took GP at A levels). Due to the character limit, I would be describing the bare requirements for the structure of the essay (the one I used for QET).
Introduction
- Hook - e.g. capture the reader's attention with a fun fact!
- Brief introduction to the topic / Explanation of hook - Sort of like a quick overview of the topic, including the definition of the key words. E.g. Define what the body positivity movement is, what is it like in the current day context?
- Thesis + an outline of your points / arguments. Your thesis would need to answer the question directly. E.g. I support the view that university rankings play an increasingly important role in shaping the opinions about the quality of tertiary education institutions, in terms of government organisations funding research and companies hiring fresh graduates. The bolded parts is the thesis, while the underlined portions are my arguments / points / topic sentences.
Body Paragraph 1 (For) - PEEL
- Topic Sentence / Point / Argument. Stick to your claim throughout the body paragraph! Make sure you're answering the question!! The topic sentences would work the same way as you did AQ -- identify and paraphrase the points of the author of the texts!
- Explanation - Explain your point, what does it mean?
- Example - Draw examples used in the text to exemplify your point!
- Link - Tie back to the topic sentence!
Body Paragraph 2 (For) - PEEL
Body Paragraph 3 (Against) - PEEL
Conclusion
- Reiterate your thesis
- Summarise your points
- Provide an insightful comment!
3. Fulfilling the content requirements
Take this question for example (2021 practice paper):
"Some believe that university rankings play an increasingly important role in shaping the opinions about the quality of tertiary education institutions, while others argue that the over-reliance has caused reasonable concerns for their misinterpretation. Which view do you support (1)?"
"Using information from the texts (2), your knowledge (3) and experience (4) to support your arguments."
These highlighted portions are the standard content requirements you'll be expected to fulfil in your essay.
(1) should be fulfilled in your thesis! The thesis is when you'll directly answer the question and state explicitly which of the views you support.
(2) would be fulfilled in your body paragraphs, as part of the topic sentence (but paraphrased), and the explanations and examples. For QET1 in 2021, we were expected to provide APA in-text citation (you don't need to do citation at the end! just the in-text ones) when quoting / paraphrasing points from the given texts. Here are some of the standard examples:
- According to Ridout (2019), --> According to Author's_Last_Name (Publishing_year),
- Ridout (2019) argues that... --> Author's_Last_Name (Publishing_year) argues that...
- ... (Ridout, 2019) --> ... Author's_Last_Name (Publishing_year)
(3) & (4) could be briefly touched upon in your body paragraph's explanation / introduction / conclusion. I personally barely touched on this two points, only briefly mentioning it in the introduction / conclusion as part of my concluding statement haha.
4. Improving your vocabularyYuelun's guide was very helpful in this aspect. She has a very long and updated vocabulary list that I have found very helpful. You don't have to learn many sophisticated and complex new words, but more of just replacing commonly used words with slightly more difficult ones! Here's a short list to help you get started:
- Multiplicity / Variety - a large number / variety
- Plethora / Myriad - a large amount of
- Engender - cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition)
- Employ - uses
- Galvanise - shock / excite someone into taking action
- Ameliorate / Enhance - improve / better
- Exacerbate - worsen / aggravate
- Elucidate / Clarify - make something clear / explain
- Concur - agree
- Alleviate - make (suffering / problem) less severe
- Inherent / Innate / Intrinsic - deep-rooted / essential / fundamental
- Novel - interestingly new
- Paramount - utmost importance / foremost / crucial / essential / critical
- Profound - intense / overwhelming
- Plausible - seemingly reasonable / probable
- Quandary - dilemma / plight / predicament
- Pervasive / Omnipresent / Prevalent / Ubiquitous / Extensive
I employed most of the novel vocabulary to enhance my QET essay. The myriad of word choices had enhanced my essay and helped me achieve my goal.
5. Practice makes perfect!
Try to find the time to at the very least, come up with some points for the practice paper provided. It will help you have a better grasp of what you will be expected to complete on the day itself, as well as get you used to the requirements of the essay! Another thing you'd want to take note on would be the time management, especially if you aren't good on typing on keyboard / haven't done an essay in a couple of months / years. It would also be a good short practice to come up with some sentences using some of the new vocabulary you've learnt to get you used to them, so you won't be stuck in a quandary during the actual examination.
And that would be all from my end! It took me under a week to prepare for the QET (if you'd like to use it as a guideline). I believe that you can achieve your goals too! Good luck!