MATSEC AM Arabic common mistakes
MATSEC AM Arabic · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Selecting a reading-comprehension answer because it matches the general topic of the passage rather than because the text explicitly states or implies it.
Unvocalised Arabic and unfamiliar vocabulary push candidates toward guessing from familiar keywords and background knowledge instead of parsing the sentence.
What to do instead
For every answer, underline the exact phrase or sentence in the passage that supports it; reject options that cannot be tied to a line. Practise locating pronoun referents and discourse connectors (لكن، لذلك، ومع ذلك) before choosing.
Producing incorrect case endings (i‘rāb) on nouns and adjectives, especially after prepositions, in dual and sound masculine plural forms, and in verbal sentences.
MSA case marking is largely invisible in unvocalised writing, and candidates often rely on dialect intuition or English word order rather than identifying the governing operator.
What to do instead
Drill noun phrases by first naming the operator (preposition, verb, particle resembling a verb, idāfa) and then applying its case rule. Build a one-page table of dual/plural endings and test it in short constructed sentences.
Misforming broken plurals and verb-derived nouns by attaching the wrong pattern (wazn) to a root, e.g. using a sound plural where a broken plural is required or confusing Form II and Form IV verbal nouns.
Candidates memorise isolated vocabulary instead of learning roots with their pattern families, so they cannot predict forms or recognise them in reading.
What to do instead
Study vocabulary in root-and-pattern groups (e.g. ك-ت-ب with كتاب، كاتب، مكتوب، مكتبة). For each new word, record root, pattern, plural and verbal noun; then use the pattern to decode unseen words in context.
Breaking idāfa chains or making adjectives disagree in definiteness, gender, number or case, producing phrases such as *الكتاب الجديد الطالب instead of كتاب الطالب الجديد.
English noun+adjective order and article use are transferred directly into Arabic, and the rule that an idāfa is definite without al- is easily forgotten under exam pressure.
What to do instead
Write ten idāfa chains and insert adjectives after the whole chain, checking that the adjective agrees with the head noun and that the first term never takes al- when the second term defines it. Revise with error-correction exercises.
Translating Arabic idioms, religious expressions and culture-specific terms word-for-word into English, producing unnatural or misleading renderings.
Candidates treat the dictionary as the only resource and do not check whether the whole phrase has a conventional English equivalent or needs explication.
What to do instead
Build a glossary of frequent collocations and idiomatic expressions with functional English equivalents. In practice, translate the meaning first, then polish; where no equivalent exists, use a brief explanatory phrase rather than a literal calque.
Writing English-to-Arabic translations that keep English clause structure, passive constructions and relative-clause order, resulting in grammatically correct but unidiomatic Arabic.
L1 syntactic transfer and fear of changing the source sentence lead candidates to mirror English word order instead of recasting it in Arabic verbal or nominal patterns.
What to do instead
After a literal draft, rewrite each sentence into an Arabic-appropriate structure: choose verbal vs nominal sentence, front the topic naturally, and replace English passives with active or impersonal constructions where Arabic prefers them. Compare with model translations.
Writing an essay that drifts from the prompt, lacks a clear thesis, and relies on memorised opening formulas that do not answer the question.
Candidates prepare generic essay templates and, under time pressure, reproduce them instead of analysing the specific wording of the task.
What to do instead
Spend five minutes planning: identify the prompt’s key words, state a thesis, and outline three topic sentences that directly address it. In the introduction, answer the question explicitly; in each paragraph, begin with a claim tied to the prompt.
Mixing colloquial Arabic, English loanwords or overly journalistic phrasing into a formal MSA essay, and using repetition instead of developed argument.
Everyday spoken exposure and social-media Arabic normalise dialect forms and short, emotive sentences that are inappropriate in formal written composition.
What to do instead
Keep a personal list of colloquial markers to eliminate (e.g. dialect negations, borrowed fillers) and revise the draft specifically for register. Replace repetition with exemplification, cause-effect reasoning and precise MSA connectors.
Attributing a literary work to the wrong author, period or genre, or describing a text only by plot summary without reference to its formal features.
Revision focuses on isolated names and titles rather than mapping works to historical periods, movements and stylistic characteristics.
What to do instead
Create a timeline of periods with representative authors, genres and one distinctive feature per work. For each set text, prepare three points on form, theme and context, and practise matching titles to authors and periods under timed conditions.
Making anachronistic or overgeneralised claims about Arab culture and civilisation, such as treating the whole Arab world as a single homogeneous society or dating a development to the wrong century.
Candidates rely on broad stereotypes or present-day assumptions instead of distinguishing regions, periods and religious/ethnic communities.
What to do instead
Anchor each claim to a date, place and community; use phrases such as في العصر العباسي or في مصر الحديثة rather than generalisations. Revise a chart of key historical periods and regional differences, and practise qualifying statements in essay answers.