GAMSAT Section 2 Resources

Section 2 tends to be seen as the hardest section to practice for, since:

Being an open-ended writing exercise, there are no strict rules to follow.
- Even though candidates usually go for argumentative or reflective essays, you can find yourself accidentally writing haikus or Shakespeare – which is both dangerous and awesome.
  Poetry is everywhere
- For the purposes of conventional GAMSAT prep, I’ll assume you’re all practicing the essay format, and will refer to pieces of writing just as “essays”.
It’s easy to lose structure and kind of ramble on in a roundabout sort-of way.
It’s even easier to run out of time.
It’s probably easiest to not end on a strong point, or to not have many powerful points in your essay at all.

Points 1 to 3 can be helped by practicing essay-writing, drafting, and time-management: You can get competent with these factors quite quickly with practice (I go over essay practice tips in my study guide), and there are plenty of resources out there about these, so I won’t bang on about them.

It is Point 4 that I want to focus on: This is the difference between a meh mark and a high mark, because:

Essays with strong and/or interesting points are more engaging to read, and get higher marks.
It’s hard to have interesting and/or original points, if you’re not already growing them organically, or you don’t know where to look.
It’s harder to culminate all these points into your own informed opinions.
It’s hardest to apply your opinions and example points to an essay in a logical, persuasive, integrated, and engaging way.
- With a time limit hanging over your head.

So, what does Point 4 take? Practice.

But not just practice – relevant practice.

You can only write essays using strong/interesting/original points in the actual exam, if you’ve already been generating and applying these higher-quality points.

It takes time and effort to absorb and digest these points – but first you need to know what to look for. Then you have to find them.

I have compiled a list of resources which are rich in anecdotes, evidence, and opinions – if you like watching lectures, listening to podcasts, or reading texts, you’ll find something up your alley, somewhere, somehow.

See, you've already learnt a new word today. — See, you’ve already learnt a new word today.

I recommend giving different learning formats a shot – you may enjoy or learn better from something you’ve never tried before!

[Below are a list of resources which may or may not be linked yet, but will be as soon as they are posted.]