Sasbadi, RM33.90, ISBN 978-983-77-3854-4
Education, 2024
While Focus SPM: English from Pelangi Publications does contain good advice and tips for candidates with weaker to middling proficiency in English, that book in general is such a hot mess that, for once, it leaves Sasbadi with one fewer contender to deal with in the proverbial ring.
Fortunately, this is a far less messy and hence better book, although it lacks the step-by-step guide that the other book has.
Authors
Choo Wan Yat, Yee Sook Fen, and Yeoh Wei Tzee frequently write together, as I see their names on the cover of a number of Malaysian University English Test (MUET) books.
Choo Wan Yat’s name pops up in some secondary school English workbooks as well, and I’ve seen his name come up in English communication talks and workshops in certain colleges now and then.
Therefore, while the cover of this book is uncharacteristically subdued in terms of proclaiming the authors’ credentials, they do make the rounds and know their stuff.
Design
As I’ve mentioned before and I’ll repeat what I said here: the design of the 2024 Masterclass SPM series is impeccable, very impressive to a degree that I have never seen before in SPM reference books from other publishers.
The use of colors aside, this book is much wider than normal. This is because every page comes with a 6.5 cm-wide colored side bar that is used for annotations as well as a box for one to put in the date when they revised a certain chapter.
This side bar is fantastic because there is more than enough space to put in one’s own notes. In this case, one can write in new words one has learned and their meanings, advice and tips from elsewhere, URLs, and other details to make this the one-stop reference book for one’s English revision needs.
The fact that one can jot down notes also makes this book the perfect vehicle for active learning, which research has found to be far more effective than just passive reading. With plenty of space to add in notes, illustrations, and even small mind maps, this book is designed for this very purpose, so much kudos to the people that did the design and layout.
Furthermore, the width of the pages and the presence of the side bar produce plenty of white space on every page. The result is uncluttered, colorful pages that are easy to read without feeling overwhelmed.
I can’t get enough of the beautiful and practical layouts of every page, so much so that it’s tempting to take this book to read and kill time when I’m in the toilet!
Content
This is a pretty unusual reference book in that the authors take advantage of the 6.5 cm-wide side bar to often include quotes, trivia (even about BTS!), links to websites that offer nice examples of articles, and even snippets of amusing poetry. While all these things may seem quaint and serve as a diversion to keep the revision session from being too deep and heavy, it should be noted that these things may come in handy when one is brainstorming content for the composition writing part of the SPM English paper!
I also love how even on the practice exercise pages, the authors still take time to point out words that may be tricky to understand for some candidates and explain the meaning of these words. Truly a nice way to practice and learn as one goes along!
However, because the authors don’t hold the candidates’ hands step by step, the materials in this book may be tad challenging for candidates with weaker proficiency in English. Still, I’m certain that these challenges can be overcome with a dictionary or Google translate can’t help along with some chat with a tuition teacher or ChatGPT. After all, like other languages, English is after all best learned through a variety of medium plus having conversations in that language.
Also, the practice questions aren’t always easy. They can be tricky at times, and a few questions can pose as a challenge even to candidates that think they are all that already.
I do notice that the authors don’t touch on proverbs and idioms. This doesn’t matter much as candidates can and will still do fine without knowing an exhaustive list of these things—this isn’t the SPM Bahasa Melayu paper!—but still, even a short list may be useful for candidates that want to take their composition writing to the next level.
Are the Multiple-Choice Questions Messy?
Having been burned, no, scorched by the other book, I scrutinize this one far closer with some degree of trepidation, but of the numerous questions here, I only find three questionable ones.
One, on page 22, isn’t that bad as two of the three options are obviously the wrong answers, but the correct answer equates “work on a daily basis” in the option to “9.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday” in the stimulus graphic. Is it really working on a daily basis when one gets the weekend off? It is, I suppose, if one wants to be pragmatic and apply some common sense to this question, but one wants to be pedantic, “9.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday” is “working on weekdays” instead of on a daily basis! All this semantic debate could have been avoided had the authors worded the correct option in a more precise manner.
The remaining two questions are more problematic in that there is no obvious one correct answer in spite of the wording of the options; in fact, there can be more than one correct answer.
Here’s one, from page 253. I’ve replicated the words in the stimulus graphic without changing anything:
Fun Eco Ride
(5 km)PUTRAJAYA BOTANICAL GARDEN
28 NOVEMBER
- Suitable for all ages
- Bicycles and helmets are provided
- Registration fee: RM50
- Free T-shirt and goody bag
- Limited to only 100 participants
Don’t miss this great family bonding opportunity!
Register before 1 November at www.PBGecoride.com
Now, here’s the question:
What does the poster say about the event?
- It is suitable for young people.
- Registration will be closed on 1 November.
- Participants bring a bicycle and helmet home.
The official answer given is B. Well, that’s fine… except A can also be considered the correct answer, since the poster says, “Suitable for all ages.”
The other question is on page 255. Here’s the stimulus image, replicated here without changing any word:
Crazy SALE
50% or more off for all new arrivals! We offer the lowest prices in town.
Your money back if you can get the same item cheaper in town.
Check out our latest fashion for children:
- cartoon print T-shirts
- matching party clothes for parents and kids
- shoes and footwear for boys and girls
Available while stocks last.
Here’s the question:
Which of the following is true about the advertisement?
- The shop sells children’s clothes of the latest fashion.
- Customers get a refund if they can get the identical item cheaper from a different shop.
- The advertiser promises at least 50% discount for all items available in the shop.
The official correct answer is B. That’s fine. C is obviously false. However, why is A a false statement when the advertisement clearly says, “Check out our latest fashion for children”? Doesn’t this suggest that the shop does sell children’s clothes of the latest fashion?
However, the number of questions that give me pause is pretty low compared to the total number of questions. I’m not excusing the authors, but since no one can contact them directly for a clarification, the fact that there are so few WTF questions makes this, at the very least, a better option to practice one’s English on compared to some other SPM English reference books from other publishers!
Conclusion
- Presentation and design – excellent. The bright and cheerful colors actually make this book feel more like some fun puzzle game book than a “serious” book, which makes revision a far less stressful time!
- As a bonus, lots of amusing trivia and facts and diversions in the side margins to offer some diversion while being potentially useful fodder materials for composition writing.
- On the whole, the multiple-choice questions are well thought-out, although there are some head-scratchers that could have been done better.
- This book is best suited for candidates with middle to higher levels of English proficiency. The ample space to enhance the existing content with one’s own notes and cross-references easily make this a near-perfect one-stop reference book for that subject.
- However, given how easy the SPM English paper can be for these students, the bigger consideration here would be whether they want to pay RM33.90 for this book or buy a few much cheaper SPM English workbooks instead.
