MATSEC AM Arabic study plan

Conjugate 30 sound, hollow and defective verbs in the perfect and imperfect indicative, active and passive, writing full paradigms from memory.

Parse the case and mood endings of every noun, adjective and verb in two 150-word modern standard Arabic passages, naming the governor (عامل) for each ending.

Reproduce the ten derived verb forms (I–X) with one root each, stating the meaning shift each form produces.

Read one 400-word unsigned MSA article without a dictionary, mark every unknown item, and infer at least half of them from context or pattern before checking.

Derive the masdar and the active and passive participles for 25 roots across forms II–X, and check each against a dictionary.

Distinguish and translate 40 minimal pairs that differ only by form or vowel pattern (kataba / kattaba / aktaba / inkataaba).

Read two 350-word opinion pieces and answer inference, attitude and reference questions rather than literal-lookup questions.

Compile a personal error log of 30 recurring mistakes, tagging each by grammar rule and by text type.

Repair 20 faulty sentences by applying idafa, adjective agreement and the full case system, and justify every change with a rule.

Analyse how kana, inna and their sisters restructure 15 sentences, then rewrite each sentence with and without the particle.

Produce 15 correct numeral-plus-counted-noun phrases covering the 3–10, 11–99 and 100+ agreement patterns.

Complete a full syntactic parse of one 250-word MSA passage, naming the function of every clause.

Translate two 250-word MSA prose passages into idiomatic English in 45 minutes each, keeping the source register.

Resolve 20 collocational and idiomatic traps by selecting an English equivalent instead of a literal calque, and record the rejected option.

Diagnose the grammar errors that translation exposes (definiteness, aspect, participle versus verb) and correct them in the source analysis.

Edit your own draft for register, splitting Arabic-style long sentences into readable English ones.

Convert 15 English sentences into MSA, applying verb-initial word order, definiteness and the correct case endings.

Render 10 English idioms and fixed phrases with genuine Arabic equivalents rather than word-for-word transfers.

Draft three 80-word Arabic paragraphs, each built around one discourse marker (however, therefore, in addition).

Use a bilingual dictionary on 20 unknown terms, verifying root, pattern and the meaning that fits the context before using it.

Plan and write a 300-word argumentative Arabic essay with a stated thesis, two developed supports and a conclusion.

Deploy 8 discourse markers and 5 complex structures (relative clause, hal clause, conditional, passive, verbal noun) inside one essay.

Summarise a short literary extract in 120 words of your own Arabic prose, preserving theme and tone.

Self-edit a draft for agreement, case endings and hamza spelling using a checklist before any external marking.

Build a timeline of the Jahiliyya, Umayyad, Abbasid, nahda and modern periods, listing three defining features of each.

Describe six major poets or prose writers with one representative work and one characteristic theme each.

Answer 20 factual recall questions on literature, culture and civilisation, then re-study every item missed.

Read one modern short story in Arabic and identify theme, narrative voice, setting and the social issue it raises.

Sit a full timed mock covering all five sections under exam conditions with no dictionary for reading and grammar.

Mark the mock against section weightings and rank your weak areas by domain rather than by question.

Re-drill 30 items from your error log until each rule is reproduced correctly twice in a row.

Commit to memory 20 culture and literature facts plus 15 reusable essay phrases for rapid retrieval in the exam.