For the past two days, I had the opportunity of attending the PT3 course.

I will fill everyone in

with what I've been enlightened so far. It was an exciting two days although I personally enjoyed
the second day more. You will find out the reason as you read on. All of us have been wondering
how PT3 is going to be like and now, we are almost at the end of the tunnel. Not quite just yet but
nearly there....=D I am honoured to be chosen to attend this course. In this course, we were
taught to 'set' the questions and mark the papers. However, in this post I will only share the
layout of the assessment and explain about the marking scheme for PT3 - English.
Day 1:
We touched on written test which I am sure most of us would have seen it by now. For the benefit
of those who hasn't, I will put it up for your perusal section by section.
I will first explain about the different parts of PT3 (Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga) papers before
scrutinising one by one. So there are FOUR parts to the English paper. Listening, Speaking,
Reading and Writing. All the four skills will be tested.
Written Paper will be conducted between 12-17 October 2014. There are 5 written papers for
PT3. Since it is a school based assessment, the school will set the assessment timetable.
Hence, it will be different for each school but every school must start and finish the examination
on the given dates.
Duration of the whole paper : 2 hours
Section A - 15 minutes
Section B - 40 minutes
Section C - 20 minutes
Section D - 45 minutes

Section A: Question 1 - Error Correction

Students will be asked to identify the errors, underline them and fill the correct answers in the
blanks provided. Each line will consist of only ONE error. It will be testing solely on grammar.
For example: tenses, SVA, adverb, preposition, article (no spelling or punctuation error tested)
Marking scheme:
2 marks will be awarded when error identified is underlined and corrected. (that's clear cut)
1 mark will be awarded when error identified is underlined but wrongly corrected.
No marks will be awarded when error identified is NOT underlined but corrected.
Therefore, it is very crucial to remind our students that underlining the errors is a MUST.
If you look at the total marks for this section, it is 10 marks only. However, looking at the marking
scheme, 1 mark is awarded for identifying error and 1 mark is awarded for correcting the error.
There are total of 10 question, hence making it 20 marks altogether. When you count, add up the
number of the correct answers and divide it by 2. That is the total marks the students will get for
that section.
For example:
After marking, the student scores a total of 14 marks (identifying+correcting). Then, you take 14
divided by 2 and you will get 7 out of 10 marks for this section.

Section B: Question 2 - Limited Response (Information Transfer)

****
Students will be given a passage, read and transfer the information into the graphic organiser
given.
Marking scheme:
1 mark given for every right answer. Students are not allowed to paraphrase the answers. They
are supposed to TRANSFER the information required FROM the text to the graphic organiser.
For example:
If the phrase that the student is supposed to transfer is 'gain knowledge' but the student wrote,
'get knowledge' (This is acceptable - minor grammatical error)
If the phrase that the student is supposed to transfer is 'do well in school' but the student wrote,
'score good marks in exam' (This is wrong - paraphrasing)
However, if students change the grammatical structure of the phrase, for example:
If the word given in the text is 'businessman' but students wrote 'businessmen' (This is
acceptable - a matter of singular and plural) OR
'read books' instead of 'read a book' (This is acceptable - article)

Section B: Question 3 - Non- Linear Text Comprehension

The first part is TRUE or FALSE questions. (Always encourage students to write TRUE or
FALSE).
However, if students still insist in writing T or F or give a 'tick' symbol and an 'X' as their answers
at the end of the day, it is still acceptable.
BUT
If their answer is 'Yes' or 'No', then it is unacceptable.
Followed by questions which require students to write the answers. The answers do not need to
be a complete sentence. As long as the key words are there, marks will be awarded.
For example:
e) Where can tourists go to visit museums?
Answer: Penang
It doesn't need to be: Tourists can go to visit museums in Penang.

After that, you have finding the phrases from the passage to match the meanings given.
For this part, marks will still be awarded although minor grammatical errors are made as long as
meanings are not distorted.
For example: 'local food and delicacies' - mouth watering Malaysian cuisine. (this is acceptable
although this is considered over lifting)
'an overall sight from a high angle' - a bird eye view (this is acceptable although it should
have
been a bird's eye view)

Students will need to write a short response in which the sample given was to write a postcard.
The question:
You plan to visit one of the popular destinations in Malaysia. In about 50 words, write a postcard
to your friend. In your postcard:

encourage him/her to join you

give reasons to support your choice
add other relevant information to make your writing interesting
You are NOT encouraged to ask your students to lift the answers from text directly although the
points may be available on the text. This will pull their marks down. However, when I was
attending the course, marks for this section is not given yet. Hence, we marked according to the
band first while waiting for them to finalise the marking scheme.
This is the descriptors that we receive during the course and I have put in the marks according to
the descriptors.

Section C: Question 4 - Linear Text - Comprehension Passage

Basically the way this question is marked is similar to Question 3 (refer to the one highlighted in
blue above)
Take note:
For Question c:
Examiners take your first two answers if you happen to give three answers.
For instance:
i) students give two points with one right and one wrong (1 mark)
ii) students give one correct point (0 mark)
Total marks: 1/2
i) students give two points but all wrong (0 mark)
ii) students give 1 correct point (0 mark)
Total marks: 0
i) students give two correct points (2 marks)
ii) no answer (nevermind, because for the first point, the student already give 2 points)
Total marks: 2/2

Section C: Question 5 Literature

Only poems will be tested in this section. (Forms1-3)

Marking scheme:
The way this section is marked is still the same. Probably I'll just highlight the last question where
they usually ask for students' opinions. (HOTS - higher order thinking skills)
For example:
If you were 'Dad' would you answer the questions asked by the persona? Give a reason.
If students answer Yes followed by an acceptable reason - 2 marks
If students just give an acceptable reason without answering the first question - 1 mark
If students answer Yes without any reason - 0 mark

Section D: Question 6 - Guided Writing

Students will be required to write an essay between 120-150 words.

Prompts will be given.
Section D: Question 7 - Novel
For this section, students are required to write about a character that shows determination based
on a novel that the students have read.
Marking scheme:
Students should write the answer in 4 paragraphs.
1st paragraph - Introduction
2nd paragraph - 1st point + evidence
3nd paragraph - 2nd point + evidence
4th paragraph - Conclusion
It will be assessed based on:
reading skills - understanding the rubric and fulfilling the requirements of the writing task
thinking skills - ability to reflect in depth and show maturity of thinking by giving ideas, reasons
and supporting them with appropriate elaborations
language skills. - language used is appropriate to provide correct tone, form and content as
required by the task. Accuracy of the language is also being assessed.
Marking Criteria for Questions 6 and 7

Day 2:
I guess this is the most awaited part because everyone is clueless as to how it is conducted (at
least that was how I felt. I was so looking forward to learning how listening and speaking test will
be conducted)
Listening Test
The listening test comprises of TWO sections:
Section A - 10 multiple choice questions (objective)
Section B - 10 limited response questions (subjective)

Speaking Test
There are two sections to this test as well.
Section A - Reading Aloud
Section B - Spoken Interaction
Total marks - 30 marks
Duration - 10 minutes
Section A - Reading Aloud
Students will choose one out of 3 texts to be read aloud in front of the teacher.

The marking scheme (above) will be given to the examiner. Basically, students will be assessed
based on their:
pronunciation and articulation
fluency and rhythm
awareness of audience, purpose and context. (in this context, the audience will be the teacher
but purpose and context depends on the type of passage the student is reading.)
Section B - Spoken Interaction (the unimaginable..nightmare for my kids...T.T)
10 questions will be given and students can choose one of the ten questions.
For example: One of the topics is regarding hobbies.
We are going to talk about hobbies. You have a moment to think about this topic.
[Pause]
PROMPTS

Do you have a hobby?

Can you tell me something about your hobby?
What are the benefits of having a hobby?
Imagine one of your friends wants to take up a hobby. Suggest a hobby your friend could
take up.
Why would you suggest this hobby?
If your students do not understand the prompts given, you are allowed toparaphrase the
question and ask other questions to scaffold your students.
Assessment criteria
personalresponse
fluency
languageaccuracy
pronunciation

for

Spoken

Interaction

(above)

is

based

1 mark is awarded for students if any other language

No mark is awarded if students do not give any response in English.

is

on

used

the

following:

predominantly.