EST....

It's the last subject. There is no rules, no reading, no revise on this subject... simply testing your knowledge. That's why you have to know that when dealing with this subject, you must know the techniquessss....and just because of an A1.

It has a total marks of 80 (50+30). For last year, you get an "A" when your mark is higher than 56. Most students couldn't get an "A" although they do well in English, and the low results are mainly caused by essay section, according to a chief examiner. She said to me, "Do you know what EST means?? It stands for English for Science and Technology. know? SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY!!!"

Ok, back to the topic. There are some techniques in writing EST essay. But first, you must know how they mark. There are 4 aspects in marking the essays :
P (points given in the question)
E (Elaboration)
A (Advanced knowledge of science)
C (Conclusion)
Each aspects are marked and given a grade from "A" to "E". Then, the examiner will give an overall grade according to four of those aspects. After that, the numerical marks will be given based on the overall grade, e.g. if I get A,D,E,C for 4 aspects, my overall grade is "D+", and I deserve maximum 9 marks out of 30.

Question: Advantages and disadvantages of natural gas vehicle (NGV)
- High pressure compressed natural gas - composed of methane
- produce less amount of CO2
- 77 litres of natural natural gas cost Rm12 - for approximately 200km
-Installation of natural gas is very expensive
-Natural gas tank takes up most of the car boot space
-Very few petrol stations provide natural gas

1. Classify the points to advantages and disadvantages.
2. Write ALL the points and elaborate. (Aspect P, E)
3. When writing, make sure you put at least 2 points which you think are ADVANCE about scientific knowledge in some points or parts of the essay (Aspect A). Examples below.
4. provide relevant points/suggestions if the question asked.
5. Don't care about the length of your essay, the more the better, but be careful with the time.
6. No word count, no marks given.
7. Always write conclusion (Aspect C)
8. No marks for format and language, but don't take risk. If u write a speech instead of an article, god bless u. Good language means good explanation, good explanation means good marks. =)

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Most students failed to get high marks for the aspect "Advance knowledge of science", because they don't know it is included in the markings. Remember, EST is for SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY. Here's an example for the same question:

Ans 1 : ...Using natural gases as fuels are widely known in developing countries. It is an alternative to petrol-based vehicles. Natural gases are compressed with high pressure to liquid form as fuel used by vehicles. It is mainly composed of methane. Due to its composition, it can burn completely and produce less amount of carbon dioxide which is insufficient to pollute the air. This means that using natural gas vehicles does not emit pollutants or waste gases to the surroundings so our health won't be affected......
Good elaboration, if the examiner didn't read the question. It has almost the same points given in the question. Overall simple elaboration without showing any advance scientific fact e.g who doesn't know that less amount of CO2 won't pollute the air?

Ans 2 : ...Natural gas was formed million years ago when the dead remains of animals and plants were compressed by the weathering and natural environment. It then become trapped by layers and layers of soil and rocks deep beneath the Earth's crust. The effect of heat formed petroleum which is normally separated in a refinery to produce fuel for cooking, vehicles and making tar for the roads. It also produce natural gas from the gas which floats on top of the petroleum, since it is much more lighter. Oil rigs are often set up in oceans and sea to remove this layer of natural gas....
(bla bla bla)...
...Some vehicles also uses ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10) to power it as an alternative to methane. These gases are commonly produced in the environment and chemical laboratories making it easily available....
This extract is taken from the the essay of one student of the best EST results in the chief examiner's school. The extract up there shows that he/she knows much about science and able to show his/her knowledge of science. He/she wrote 2 points about advance knowledge in science (how natural gas formed and process, examples of other natural gas) and deserves a 20 mark for the essay section.

Nothing more, at least 2 points of advance science knowledge. Anything you can write from bio, chemistry and physic textbook gives u higher marks.
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Remember : EST stands for???