gamsat essay topics

Gamsat Review Blog

Everything you need to know about GAMSAT by Dr Peter Griffiths

Past GAMSAT Essay Topics

Here is a list of some past Gamsat essay topics which have come up before in the test.

These previous Gamsat essay topics have been reported by actual candidates after past sittings of the test over several years so we know they are accurate.

If you'd like to download these as a PDF just click here > Gamsat Essay Topics

After the general previous Gamsat topics below I've also included some Gamsat style quotes you can use to practice writing your own essays. These are also included in the PDF above.

If you'd like to get a full length Section 3 Practice Test with worked answers and which also contains two more essay prompts for Section 2 then fill in the form to the left on this blog or click the link below.

https://www.gamsatreview.com/gamsat-practice-test

Past GAMSAT Essay Topics Task A

Equality/whether everyone has equal opportunities

Respect towards people of power/discipline/questioning people in power

Trust and respect in society

Over population

Taxation/welfare systems

Tolerance and prejudice

Affirmative action

Intelligence vs. knowledge

Relationship of past, present, future

Nature vs. nurture

Originality

Benefits of technology

Climate change

Past GAMSAT Essay Topics Task B

Whether the rich/poor are happier

Marriage and the idealism around it

Recreation and rest/we used to not have enough, now too much

How our habits define who we are

Celebrity and influence

Happiness/what defines a good life

Respect for age vs. pursuit of youth

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

Does pain make you appreciate joy?

Do looks matter?

Now you've read the list of some past Gamsat essay topics let me say something about them.

I've published them here to satisfy student demand, everyone asks about them. Maybe you arrived here yourself as a result of an internet search for this topic.

But they really won't help you that much...

At most these examples will give you some psychological comfort when you see that most of them aren't that difficult. They're the sort of typical bland, boring essay subjects that you would guess would come up if someone asked you to take a guess and make a list.

There's nothing surprising or mysterious here.

Now maybe you are one of those people who thinks that if you practice writing essays on a LOT of different prior topics, then maybe one of those same themes will come up in your actual test and so it will be that much easier for you.

But that is a fallacious idea.

First of all even if ACER does re-use topics (it has never been confirmed) the chances of one of them coming up in your particular sitting is miniscule. Add to that the fact that in recent years we are seeing that not everyone gets the same topics or sets of quotes for section 2 anyway. So even if they did happen to re-use a set of themes the chances of you getting them are even smaller.

It will be a much better use of your time to practice an ESSAY WRITING SYSTEM which can cope with turning ANY set of quotes into a high scoring essay.

That way you won't have to rely on luck or be at the mercy of any particular topic. A good essay writing method should enable you to deal with any subject or theme that the Gamsat throws at you.

The essay writing system inside the Gamsat Review Home Study Course for example is designed to do exactly that.

Tips To Improve Your GAMSAT Essays

1. Argue for both sides of an issue rather than just giving an opinion piece from one point of view. This will demonstrate thought and consideration and help you pick up the marks for quality of thinking.

2. Learn a variety of stock phrases for openers, closers, introducing your arguments and your conclusions. This will help you avoid repetition and also help give your essay structure.

3. Try to express ideas and reasoning rather than reproducing large chunks of memorized facts. The examiners want to assess your intellectual reasoning, not read a history book or a technical manual.

4. Develop your knowledge of history, philosophy, psychology and political thought. There is no short cut to this but you can get a head start by reading works designed to give a quick introduction to the main concepts and ideas. I recommend the book 50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know by Ben Dupré which is an easy to read and quick guide to the main concepts of Western thought covering philosophy, religion, politics, economics, the arts and the sciences.

5. Practice writing your Gamsat essays under exam conditions. Sticking to the 30 minute time limit will focus your mind and develop the speed necessary for the real thing. It will also help develop your handwriting skills. Don't underestimate the difficulty of maintaining nice legible writing for the examiner to read after writing as quickly as possible for an hour straight. Especially if like most people you usually work on a computer.

6. Get your essays looked at by a qualified person after you've written them and ask for feedback. A qualified person probably isn't another Gamsat candidate in the same position as you that you met on a student forum or in a Gamsat Facebook group. Try and get one of your teachers or university lecturers to take a look or someone who has done Gamsat before and scored highly in section 2. Or, even better, you could get them marked by a professional Gamsat Essay Marking service.

7. Finally practice, practice, practice. Essay writing is a skill which must be developed. To help you, below are two essay tasks very similar to what you will find in the real test. Find a quiet place for 30 minutes and try and write two essays putting into practice all the advice given above.

Example Gamsat Essay Topics

Writing Task A

Consider the following comments and develop a piece of writing in response to one or more of them. Your writing will be judged on the quality of what you have to say in response to the theme, how well you organize and present your point of view, and how effectively you express yourself. You will not be judged on your views or attitudes.

The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative.

                                                                                                               John Dewey

A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.

                                                                                                               Horace Mann

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

                                                                                                               Oscar Wilde He who opens a school door, closes a prison.                                                                                   Victor Hugo

It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.

                                                                                                        Robert Green Ingersoll

Writing Task B

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.

                                                                                                                        Mark Twain

Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire.

                                                                                                                        William Penn

Expensive clothes are a waste of money.

                                                                              Meryl Streep

I don’t design clothes; I design dreams.

                                                                             Ralph Lauren

It is interesting to question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.

                                                                                                      Henry David Thoreau

Further Resources

For more help with GAMSAT check out Griffiths Gamsat Review Home Study System which takes you step by step through all three sections with advanced strategies for each.

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Specialist S1 and S2 | Australia

GAMSAT Section 2 Resources

In your preparation for the GAMSAT Section 2 exam, a sound knowledge of historical as well as contemporary ideas is key to helping you respond to a wide variety of themes. The best essays will present unique examples to support their arguments whilst providing an astute insight into the issue. Ideally, you’d watch, listen and read across a broad range of media sources in Australia and internationally to develop your understanding of why and how alternative perspectives could present themselves.

I will continue updating this list as I encounter them. Here are some great resources you can access for FREE to build up your memory bank of examples and analysis to use in your GAMSAT essays.

GAMSAT Section 2 Essay Quote Generator

• 1.1 Socio-political Issues
• 1.2 Economics
• 1.3 Insightful
• 2.1 Socio-political Issues
• 2.2 Economics

Socio-political Issues

1. The Yearly with Charlie Pickering – comedic episodes that present contemporary issues in an easy to digest manner

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/yearly-with-charlie-pickering-2020

2. Q&A on ABC – fantastic commentary on socio-political issues that are pertinent and important to Australians

https://www.youtube.com/user/abcqanda

3. David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet on Netflix discusses the impact that we have had on our planet and what we need to do to make amends in vivid cinematography.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64R2MYUt394&ab_channel=Netflix

4. Insight Current Affairs SBS TV – one of my favourite shows, covers a range of socio-cultural topics from an Australian perspective with a panel of guests and audience. You will need to make a login and password, and advertisements are present throughout episodes, Nonetheless, highly recommended for Part B with its wide coverage of topics from ‘The dental gap’ to ‘Unplanned’ and ‘How to Exercise’.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/the-top-insight-episodes-to-binge-watch

5. Media Watch – critically analyses the media and highlights news that have been misrepresented or manipulated. You can also watch Media Bites for a more concise analysis if you are time-poor!

https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/

6. The New York Times Visual Investigation – powerful and comprehensive journalism which details significant events in our world, e.g. How Trump supports took the US Capitol, How a US drone strike killed the wrong person. Watch this whilst you’re relaxing and consider WHY, HOW this might happen and the flow-on impacts this might have on our world.

https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/visual-investigations , https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4CGYNsoW2iAZt9-UzPyPZOH-AlRMxcIE

1. Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman – discusses his highly influential economic philosophy on the need for competitive capitalism to achieve economic and political freedom, whilst ensuring businesses have a social responsibility

Is capitalism humane? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Tf8RN3uiM&ab_channel=FreeToChooseNetwork

Friedman Fundamentals (Capitalism): What Drives Economic Progress – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOP967HImSY&ab_channel=PolicyEd

1. TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the danger of a single story. A fantastic speaker and novelist, she warns how a single story create stereotypes, which are problematic not because they are untrue but because they are incomplete. ‘It makes one story become the only story’. Consider this in relation to GAMSAT themes such as stories, stereotypes, power, history, literature.

Reading one news article a day (on the tram, during breakfast) is one of the simplest thing you could to keep up to date with current affairs. Read articles that are opinionated and persuasive, noting down any phrases that are unique or interesting. Focus on reading comprehension, information retention as well as vocabulary – helpful also for Section 1.

1. Sydney Morning Herald/ The Age/ the Guardian opinion pieces – left(ish)-wing newspaper with differing perspectives on current affairs, science, politics and history. Updated daily and with multiple authors, e.g. Australia day saw a multitude of articles titled ‘Simple solution to solve Australia Day controversy’ to ‘On Australia Day in the lucky country, let’s focus on achievements’.

As these websites typically have a paywall, use your university’s VPN for access.

https://www.smh.com.au/opinion

https://www.theage.com.au/topic/the-age-editorial-1re

https://www.theguardian.com/au/commentisfree

2. The New York Times Sunday Review – longer, complex and well-researched articles with a focus on American politics with a sprinkling of international affairs. Has a paywall and a limit of 5 articles per month.

https://www.nytimes.com/international/section/opinion/sunday

• Download text here: http://digamo.free.fr/23things.pdf
• Download text here: https://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Naomi-Klein-NO-LOGO-Taking-Aim-at-the-Brand-Bullies.pdf
• Significance of Australia’s federal election
• Reconnecting democratic politics to everyday life
• Ethical dilemmas of crowd-funding platforms

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/theminefield/

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How to Write Essays for GAMSAT Section 2

For those that are sitting GAMSAT for the first time or with an ESL background, essay-writing is not as hard as it seems. Rather, it is something that can be well thought out and planned ahead of time. To do superbly well (80+), focus should not be placed merely on the depth but also the organisation of your ideas. It doesn’t have to be based off obtuse philosophical ideas, but simple and logical ideas that are insightful and reveals that you understand socio-cultural and personal issues are not just black and white – that is, there are always layers of grey.

ACER specifies that ‘ your writing will be judged on the quality of what you have to say in response to the theme’ . This means that your essay will be marked based on:

• Thought and content – the quality of what is said
• Organisation and Expression – quality of structure developed and language used

This post will outline how to tackle the quotes, generate ideas and structure your writing so that you can receive a stellar score! In GAMSAT, time is of the essence and your essays are a way of showing whether you think under pressure and communicate your ideas well.

Analysing Quotes

You will be given with a list of quotes to start (4-5) and asked to produce an essay on one of these quotes – which may be esoteric, abstract or contemporary in nature. The first step is to identify the theme that is present across the quotes and then think of an argument or personal experience you’ve had regarding this. There is no limit on how many quotes you can use but I would advise that you stick to one that you connect with and generate ideas regarding this. Other quotes can be used as idea generators.

Think about:

• What is being said?
• Why is it being sad?
• What does the quote reveal about the role of (theme) within society?

Hang on to the quote you’ve chosen as we’re about to reference it throughout your essay!

Generating Ideas

On the day of the GAMSAT exam, generating ideas for an unseen topic can be nerve-wracking. To overcome this, preparation is key . This means that a few months before the exam, focus on coming up a with a lost of as many socio-cultural and personal topics that can possible be asked in either Part A and B. You want to focus on creating an ‘IDEA BANK’ where you outline topics of interest and write down topic sentences as well as evidence (historical or current affairs) that help to support what you wish to say.

An example is given below. Your GOAL is to create essay structure outlines for all possible topics. Whilst practising essays are still an important part of GAMSAT preparation, it saves you having to write 100 essays for all the possible topics ACER can ask! You will realise that after doing there are many ideas that overlap.

Click here to buy Part A Idea Bank

Click here to buy a step-by-step study guide to mastering GAMSAT essay writing

Structure Overview

Having a structure in your head is one of the most important preparation that you can do before entering the exam. This is the structure I used to formulate my essays:

This is very much a rough guideline and not a fixed rule! They are a myriad of other ways to write a fantastic essay – and many of them have been written as editorial or opinion pieces in newspapers!

Introduction

Don’t   begin with a very general opening statement: “Technology has had many beneficial impacts on our world…” or “The definition of virtue is something that philosophers have debated for centuries…”

Don’t  introduce your argument within a grand historical narrative

Do  outline your argument and what your main thesis will be.

The most important aspect of the GAMSAT introductions is that it should engage and roadmap – i.e. offeran outline or sketch of the essay. Here, it’s important to be specific about the arguments and positions that will be taken. It should also explain to the reader why it is important to care about your argument/issue.

Body Paragraphs

Your arguments take centre stage here. Develop a response to the quote you have selected and make clear what evidence you have to support this. Stronger essays will give a critical appraisal of the issue presented and its implications not only for the individual, but also for society.

Avoid making unsupported assertions – back up your claims with evidence, and connect up your ideas so that they progress logically toward your conclusions. Whilst it is good to consider various objections to the idea you have presented, don’t go too far as to completely obliterate your own arguments.

An example of how an argument was presented and analysed within the context of an example. Note that I did NOT just merely recount.

This is a body paragraph in response to the quote, ‘‘Imagination is one of the most important kinds of thinking” .

“Aside from this, imagination can be utilised to be able to better understand other people and their cultures. From watching the film, Parasite (2019) by Bong Joon-Ho, … The film showcases how there is a clear gap in living between those of different socio-economic groups contrary to the technologically advanced and superior façade that Korea depicts. In following the journey of the Kin clan, we see how their greed for money coupled with the arrogance of Park family ultimately leads to both their demise. It reveals not only the disproportionate living conditions of the poor and rich but also provides a commentary on the illusion of privilege. We are far often too caught up in our own world and our desire for progress to realise how our actions might affect others or that we have the power to change someone’s life – the Park family have the privilege to pay the Kin family and the Kin family in having a relatively normal family yet they do not realise this. This ultimately highlights how books, films and even music can be utilised as a means to educate and expose, to the broader society, about topics and ideas that they may not realise or understand in a way that is also entertaining.”

Click here to buy sample 80+ Part A and B essays

Don’t feel as though you must summarise all of your results. You only have 30 minutes to complete one essay and this would be a waste of your time.

Don’t  end with a hedged claim like “Though technology has had many beneficial effects on our society, its ill-effects still remain largely overwhelming”

Do  find some nice way of wrapping up your essay.  It is unlikely you have addressed every facet of this issue, and your conclusion can set out problems that still remain. You might provide a potential solution, criticism or recommendation for the short, or long term future.

Once you have a draft

The principal virtue in GAMSAT essay writing is clarity.  As you reread each sentence and paragraph of your draft, ask yourself: “Is this point expressed clearly?”  Your essay should be simple and direct.

Organisation – Look for opportunities to improve your paper, considering whether you could add an example in some areas or rewrite an awkward sentence.

Proofread – spelling mistakes and grammatical errors can distract and diver the marker from your argument.

Ultimately, the distinguishing factor between an excellent and merely decent essay is the depth and quality of one’s explanations.  The decent paper may not make any obvious mistakes; it often just does not provide a unique insight or communicate its message as clearly and effectively as the excellent essay does.  Always try to find ways of strengthening your explanations and providing examples to support your thoughts.

Section 2 Score & Final Remarks

Remember that greater effort  ≠ grades.

Focus on the right things, work hard(er) according to your own abilities and let’s get a great GAMSAT essay score!

Contact me here

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Free GAMSAT Part B Essay Example on Pets – learn how to reflect on your personal experiences 👨🏻‍💻✍🏻💡

GAMSAT Essay Example Fear

Free GAMSAT Part B Essay Example on Fear – learn how to reflect on your personal experiences

GAMSAT Essay Example Affirmative Action

Free GAMSAT Essay Example on Affirmative Action – learn how to write an argumentative essay

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by Michael Sunderland  

Task B Aesthetic in a 90+ GAMSAT Section 2 Essay

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January 12, 2021 in  Task B

Task B Aesthetic

By Michael John Sunderland, S2- 91

So what is an ideal Task B response?

An ideal response is one that achieves its intended outcome in responding to the task in the way that ACER wants you to. The only indication of what ACER want comes from the ACER information book in which it is designated that the essential quality that is being provoked is the “quality of thoughts and ideas.” ACER, of course, indicate that “language and structure” is assessed but “only insofar as it contributes to the thoughts and ideas, not in isolation.” I interpret that to mean that they are not testing what you write, but where what you write comes from or, loosely, you. Your writing is a reflection of you, but it is the degree to which you are able to think in high-order and high quality ways (in the first instance) and then your ability to show that you are able to do so to ACER (in the second instance) that is the origin of a high score.

Now your thinking and communication may both be brilliant, but if you are not writing in a style that enables you to showcase the various faculties within your intelligence or thinking that make it high quality, you have necessarily limited yourself and the ceiling value of your mark in Section II. It seems prudent, then, to develop (or use) a structure that removes these limitations and allows you to show what you can do to the marker. This is what I did. I have written out how to do it below.

How does an ideal Task A and an ideal Task B response differ?

Well, on one hand they don’t necessarily differ at all. Plenty of people have written two argumentative essays and done well. I wanted to get 100, so I abandoned that early on and learned two styles so that I could be agile in how I was able to deal with a given prompt if I felt that a particular set would perform better in one style or the other.

If a 90+ Task A is a tour-de-force of high-order thinking, logical internal structure, and surgical delivery; a 90+ Task B is a panoramic micro- and macroscopic inspection of a prompted dimension of the human lived experience. It structurally facilitates an examination the interiority of human subjectivities to a given theme, in acknowledgement that peoples’ lived experiences frame their perspectives (true of both ourselves and others). Our reflections then get expanded from the level of individual, to the level of other, to the level of society, and then ideally to the level of history, philosophy, psychology, sociology; or some other epistemological framework that aids in our investigation of the theme.

A disclaimer

Before I get stuck into it I want to foreshadow a later acknowledgement in this blog of the complexity of the subject matter. I write blogs like this because I get asked day and night on Facebook about how to do x,y,z when it comes to Section II; and it’s easier to just write about it and post it than answer every message. Also I feel it’s incumbent on me to leave behind a paper trail of how I did what I did, and what I learned as it appears to be of unique value to the next generation of GAMSAT-sitters. Even so, as I have written in each of my books there is no one way . You don’t need to listen to me or do it this way to be successful. It’s just something that has worked well. If you do this as I did it, you can get a 91 – this is known. But take it with a grain of salt, and don’t be overwhelmed. I will take care to explain why it is the way it is, rather than just say what I did, so that you can incorporate it into your existing writing if you wish to do so. I hope you find something of use; but equally don’t worry if it doesn’t all make sense on the first pass; and focus on the basics of language and structure if you have not mastered them, before moving onto some of the higher order things. Ok, moving on.

The context for a high-level Task B response: How does our unique lived experience mediate the validity of our perspectives?

I’ve created a pretty picture and done it in neon so you don’t forget it. You can see at the bottom that your lived experience as an individual is couched in your experience of yourself in relation to; others (your mother, father, partner, children); your community (workplace, university, social groups); and nation (the country you live in, or used to).

You could, if you wished, take it up to ‘species – human’, ‘living entities.’ When you see your perspective, psychology and mind as a subjective expression of the collective human perspective/psyche/intelligence, you stop being so fixated on your view and acknowledge that all views are necessarily limited by their unique subjectivity. If the collective human consciousness could be contained in a four-walled room with windows, your subjective experience of that collective intelligence would be akin to standing for your whole like looking out of one window. It’s not to say that you are seeing anything incorrectly, you’re just too close to the situation as a byproduct of your upbringing, beliefs, gender, experiences that you can’t see the whole picture.

As an outcome of the universal limitation on human perception due to our varied lived experiences; all worldview therefore all valid (and make complete sense!) within their respective ontologies. Perspective then becomes more interesting. Instead of relating to views or prompts as existing on a binary spectrum of right-wrong, it becomes more three-dimensional and interesting.

To my son’s puppy toy on the left – the teapot in the middle clearly has a handle, and no spout. To his dinosaur, it has a spout, and no handle. Both of these toys will swear blind that the pot either has a handle and no spout; or a spout and no handle. It is a function of their position, experience, perspective. And in each of these subjectivities they are 100% correct. Now both perspectives face inward on an estimation, but not a clear read, on the objectivity of the situation. Understanding other people’s perspectives allows us to calibrate our own. The point here is, there are multiple perspectives that are worthwhile considering to get a panoramic and multi-dimensional read on a situation.

So what’s the process?

A very high-level (as in, brief) and structurally-focussed overview of an ideal Task B response is as follows:

Introduction:

If the teapot is the theme, we look at it first through our lived experience via figurative narration; painting a picture of a situation or experience from our personal experience which gives us insight into the theme. This is the most internal view of the theme. We often experience our memories as if through squinted eyes. Unnecessary detail beyond that which is relevant to our experience of the situation is often obfuscated by the passage of time. A narration, then, deals with only an intra-personal, interiorly broad-brush, reflection of the theme. It is one level. The first level. We don’t stop here.

As discussed in great depth in my blog on The Task B Hook, you want to avoid being bleak or misanthropic. Not to say don’t explore these motifs, but be positive, optimistic, hopeful, and upbeat about the future. Use humour and self-awareness to frankly acknowledge your own weaknesses or bad qualities. Get the reader to like you, by being likeable, self-effacing. You are skin and bone; I am skin and bone. We are not so very different, you and I.

Be sure to tie the significance of your narrative specifically to the theme. I promise you, the link is not as obvious as you think it is; and even if it were, it helps concision and clarity to make it explicit. I have discussed somewhere else, I can’t remember where now, the benefit in limiting the connotative space in your writing, and being more denotative. What is meant by this is, for example, becoming aware of how there is a space around the use of the word Elon Musk in the phrase “Elon Musk examples this spirit of creative industriousness perfectly” in that you, the writer, rely on a similarity between our interests, understanding, prior experiences in order for your point to be conveyed. This is a connotative space. It should be limited. Better is, “Elon Musk, CEO of electric car company Tesla, is a paragon of creative industriousness.” This is denoting.

Body paragraph 1, part one:

Reflection from the altitude of your growing maturity

Have you ever used Google Maps or, particularly, Google Earth? You can hit the slider and zoom out.. from the level of individual (your house), to your suburb, city, country, and then to the whole Earth. This is what we do in an ideal Task B. So after reflecting on our lived experience in light of the theme, the opportunity is ripe for broadening the intra-personal reflection we have done by inspecting it through the lens of our breadth of experiences and maturity which (we hope) has deepened or broadened since that time. I’m reminded of Diogenes, ancient Greek Cynic philosopher who lived in a ceramic jar on the streets of Athens in pursuit of eudaemonia (literally “freedom from smoke,” or ‘mental clarity’) through asceticism. The Cynics shirked worldly possessions to turn into introspection and reflection on self. I’m not saying live in a jar to smash Section II, but for a moment be an ancient Cynic (note: the word has since shifted in connotation – I am not saying be cynical). Just cultivate the quality of self-reflection and express it in your writing to show an ability to view your behaviour and actions objectively and with maturity.

It is beneficial to write from “what I didn’t see at the time was how *insert link to the theme*. Reflecting back now, I can see that *further commentary on the theme that this example has enabled you to explore*”.

Following an in-the-moment narration chosen to facilitate a multi-dimensional exploration of the theme, and a reflection from your growing maturity; it becomes time to leave the self, and explore others’ perspectives.

Before moving on, for a clarification of what is meant by ‘theme’ in a 90+ response, please see this blog on how to correctly interpret the quotes – the theme does not mean the one word that crops up in each prompt; this is reductive and the surest way to write a low-scoring essay.

Body paragraph 1, part two:

Reflection from others’ perspectives

We now examine the theme from the perspective of the antagonist in our narrative. How did others experience you? How might they have felt about the situation or you?

It becomes necessary, here, to sprinkle in a psychometric awareness of situadedness. That is, an awareness of how the fact that behaviour and perspectives arise out of unique sets of beliefs, experiences, socio-economic circumstances, genders, ethnicities etc; is a limit to your empathy, and also something necessitating your sympathy with others that you necessarily are unable to fully empathise with. You can suppose how others might have felt, and where their behaviour or response to you came from; but to explicitly state it as something that is known, no matter how obvious it might appear to you, is to disenfranchise the infinite preciousness of the uniqueness of that persona and their experience by imposing yours onto it. It is to conflate two world views which do not perfectly cohere, and therefore to have reduced the world around you; and that person’s perspective and subjectivity into your own.

If you would like to hear more on situatedness and an example is discussed in this podcast between myself and Fraser’s GAMSAT between minutes 33:52 and 35:48.

This brings us to the end of the first body paragraph, so far having examined the theme in light of your history and current understanding, as well as others’ perspectives of the same. Done correctly an idea or understanding about the theme should be beginning to develop/emerge.

These reflection have been necessary steps, but up until now we are too prominently situated in our own experience (in that the examination of others perspectives was still looking inward on an experience that was intimately related to you). We must now zoom further back.

Body Paragraph 2:

Tie to society more broadly

We now must tie our developing understanding and investigation into the theme, into contemporary affairs in light of sociology/philosophy/psychology (or another epistemological framework) ; including if possible a reference to history. We situate our ideas in their broader socio-economic, or geo-political, or historical contexts.

This paragraph essentiall yreads like a Task A body paragraph. You can find nearly a thesis worth of description on that in my books, but in particular “ How to Kick *ss in Task A. ” Alternatively, these two blogs are free chapter excerpts from the book and unpack this further:

The Ontology of Task A Structure – Logic (this was also explored in greater depth in on YouTube )

The Use of Evidence in an Ideal GAMSAT Section 2 Task A Response

Equally, my essays are available on the shop and I’ve posted one of my Task B essays free in my Facebook group where I work each day for free providing analysis to students’ essays and provoking deeper and more critical thinking into the world around us, so that it can be reflected in the quality of your writing.

So, the theme will have now been acknowledged, and explored at many levels – from the intra-personal lived experience, intra-personal reflection, inter-personal reflection, social reflection. We have scaled the series of consecutive circles mentioned at the beginning of the article from the bottom to the top and addressed each level in turn. Furthermore, we will have adroitly utilised a range of stylistic and intellectual devices: from figurative expression in the introduction, to an almost literary reflection in body paragraph 1, to logical critical analysis in body paragraph 2. This shows a panoramic view of your capabilities as a person and your understanding and integration of the world around you.

The conclusion

As far as the conclusion, I will leave that out of this piece lest it become unwieldy. For those familiar with my work, you can just do the conclusion as in the Task A style. There’s more about that in the aforementioned blog the ontology of task a structure.

Final comments – you can do it, too!

At this stage, if these ideas overwhelm you, I feel it is incumbent on me to relate to where those reading this may be at. There was a time in my GAMSAT preparation (in fact many times right up until I got my mark) where I was filled with doubt. Where it felt like success was reserved for a special elite who I could never academically look in the eye. The thoughts presented here are deep and complex, no doubt, but I am not a super nerd. I am just a normal dude . I’m a science student at Unimelb – I get good marks, sure, but that’s because I work hard. The point is I learnt this stuff during my preparation. I am now just giving it to you. There is nothing stopping you from using this as a light to guide you in a particular direction.

Whether you get to 90+ is not the point. For many, an extra five points would make all the difference. I also want to say again that there is no one way. You emphatically do not need to follow this aesthetic to be successful. In fact, you don’t even need to write a reflective or discursive essay. Two argumentative essays will do just fine. I know many people that score highly doing just that. I present this here principally because there are students in the group I run with the ability to integrate these ideas cohesively and improve their marks in doing so; not because I think this approach should be done by all people. My recommendation is to take it for what it is, but do not be moved by it unless it is constructive. The only relevant question is “what is the single thing that is currently holding my writing back the most, and how do I change it.” Address this in a vacuum as if nothing else existed. And then rinse and repeat. If you do this enough times, and take enough steps in a positive direction, you will be sure to do well.

Golly gosh, that was hectic to write.

I hope some of you find some benefit from it.

About the author 

Michael Sunderland

My name's Michael, I achieved 91 in Section II, and 82 overall, in the September '20 sitting. I'm here to show you how I did it. Let's get to work :)

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What a great read! Thank you for your effort, time, and commitment to helping those coming after you. I relate to your story quite a bit, so it’s inspiring to see how you have turned your life around. I am in the process of doing the same. I am sure your advice (if I manage to apply it well) will be immensely helpful in improving my SII score and general understanding of pieces of writing 🙂

Such amazing invaluable content, thank you so much!

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Guides & Info

The Ultimate Guide to GAMSAT Section 2

Please note that GAMSAT ‘Section II: Written Communication’ has been renamed to ‘Written Communication Section’. To ensure this article is easy to follow, we’ll refer to this section as ‘Section 2’ throughout. Read about the latest changes to the GAMSAT .

In our GAMSAT Section 2 guide, we’ll walk you through what to expect in Section 2 and how best to prepare for it. We’ll also go through a free example Section 2 task with expert guidance on how to structure this essay.

Just starting GAMSAT revision? We recommend building your GAMSAT knowledge by going through GAMSAT preparation material, such as:

• GAMSAT FAQ – view 30+ GAMSAT questions, including which dental/medical schools require the GAMSAT
• GAMSAT preparation tips – find out how to get the most from your revision
• GAMSAT preparation mistakes – explore common pitfalls to avoid while preparing
• GAMSAT timing – learn how to overcome GAMSAT time pressure

Once you’ve finished going through this article, we recommend reading the ultimate guide to GAMSAT Section 3 , to give you a comprehensive overview of the entire GAMSAT exam. If you missed the first article in this series, make sure you check out our ultimate guide to GAMSAT Section 1 too.

Table of contents

Gamsat section 2 structure, what does gamsat section 2 test, how should i approach preparation for gamsat section 2, free example task for gamsat section 2.

GAMSAT section

Number of GAMSAT questions

Section time

Time per question

Written Communication

Approximately 30 minutes

For GAMSAT 2024 testing, Section 2 will now be delivered via remote proctoring and will take place approximately two weeks before Section 1 and 3 (these sections will take place at a test centre as normal). Remote proctoring is a form of online remote test delivery which includes being supervised by a remote proctor via screen sharing and webcam monitoring. Learn more about how remote proctoring will work including top tips for ensuring it goes smoothly.

The purpose of GAMSAT Section 2 is to test your ability to effectively and logically express your thoughts. Essays marked will be judged on quality of thinking and how well you articulate this thinking through written language. In order to do this, you must identify the common theme running through the presented comments, and plan and structure your essay before you begin writing.

This section is split into two writing tasks: Task A and Task B. In each GAMSAT Section 2 task, you will read four or five comments on a common theme and must write an essay that responds to one or more of them.

• Task A tends to focus on socio-cultural issues, such as law, religion and economic narratives. It’s best suited to an argumentative essay style. 
• Task B tends to focus more on personal and social issues, such as emotions, feelings and the lived experience. Therefore, a creative or reflective essay could be the best option if you feel comfortable writing in this style.

For those with a pure science background, Section 2 can be the most daunting part of the GAMSAT exam. Not only this, the digital exam format means you’ll need to type out your responses (with no automatic spelling and grammar checks). If this is something you struggle with, we advise improving your typing speed and accuracy before sitting the GAMSAT.

For GAMSAT Section 2 preparation, we recommend that you break down the steps and timing for each task as follows:

• Assess the task (2 minutes)
• Brainstorm your response (4 minutes)
• Outline your essay (4 minutes)
• Write your essay (17–18 minutes)
• Review your essay (2–3 minutes)

As you can see, you should spend just over a third of the time limit planning and reviewing your essay, and allocate the rest to writing time.

According to the ACER GAMSAT Information Booklet , you’ll be assessed on ‘the quality of the thinking about a topic’ and ‘the way in which ideas are integrated into a thoughtful response to the task’. This means you should concentrate more on the depth and organisation of ideas, rather than breadth. A sensible guideline to follow for a non-creative essay is an introduction, a few body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

To perform well in this section, it’s critical that you demonstrate that you have correctly understood the theme, thought through different angles on the issue or topic, and taken a clear stance in relation to it. This can be achieved through analysing the task and brainstorming carefully.

In GAMSAT Section 2 essays, it’s a good idea to write about a few concepts that you understand, and communicate these in a logical and coherent way, rather than to present too many ideas in an unstructured manner. Also, some students can focus too heavily on individual quotes and end up missing the overall theme, or fixate too much on the theme and neglect the variety of opinions on a topic. Success in GAMSAT Section 2 requires a careful balance between the two.

Task A example essay question

Consider the following comments and develop a piece of writing in response to one or more of them.

Your writing will be judged on the quality of your response to the theme, how well you organise and present your point of view, and how effectively you express yourself.

Comment 1 The internet is an elite organisation. Most of the population of the world has never even made a phone call. Noam Chomsky

Comment 2 The internet is forever demanding that the real world be redefined to suit its whims. Terry Pratchett

Comment 3 The Web is a tremendous grassroots revolution. Tim Berners-Lee

Comment 4 The internet’s primary function is to allow people to hear what they want to hear.

Task A example essay guidance

Here’s a step-by-step process of how to approach this task:

Step 1: Assess the task (2 minutes)

1. First, assess the task by reading through all the comments and identifying the overarching theme. In this initial stage, your focus should be on determining which comments you can thoughtfully explore in relation to the theme. This will guide the subsequent decisions you make when planning and writing your essay. As we know that Task A will generally be on a socio-cultural theme, this can help with the first step of identifying the theme in the task. 

Step 2: Brainstorm your response (4 minutes)

2. After identifying the core theme and comments you wish to use, you should think about some pros and cons, as well as your own opinion. In this brainstorming phase, you should reflect on both sides of the topic and note down a few succinct examples for each side. Try to pursue ideas that you find interesting or exciting, as this sense of authenticity can develop your ideas and improve your writing. 

You can use any method to capture your thoughts in response to the task, such as a spider diagram or a table with arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’ the statement. By the end of this step, you should have comprehensive notes on many relevant ideas and examples, ready for organising.

Step 3: Outline your essay (4 minutes)

3. Now it’s time to decide how you would like to present all of this thinking to the reader. You should carefully select ideas that will strengthen your essay, and disregard anything that doesn’t contribute to the overall argument. Make sure you decide on your conclusion before organising your chosen ideas into a logical and coherent structure as follows:

• Introduction: Identify the theme and define the key concepts (use relevant brainstorming notes).
• Two body paragraphs: Explore one side of the issue in the first paragraph and explore the other side of the issue in the second paragraph. Provide examples in both paragraphs and arrange all your notes on comments, pros and cons, and examples.
• Conclusion: This is where you should state your own opinion. A strong conclusion accounts for everything that has gone before it (both pros and cons), and makes a logical deduction from that.

Step 4: Write your essay (17–18 minutes)

4. After assessing and planning your essay, it’s time to start writing! 

• Introduction: The purpose of the introductory paragraph is to provide a clear indication of what’s to come. Identify the core theme, briefly define any key concepts within this theme, and then finish by indicating the other side of the theme.
• First body paragraph: Present the first side of the argument as clearly and convincingly as you can, and include one or two points with supporting examples which connect to one of the comments.
• Second body paragraph: Present the other side of the argument as clearly and convincingly as you can, and include one or two points with supporting examples which connect to one of the comments. The key difference between this and the first body paragraph is that you’ll need to show an awareness of the previous paragraph, such as through terminology like ‘however’. 
• Conclusion: In the final paragraph, you should assert your own opinion – this means you need to pick a side. You could start by directly stating your opinion, and then give reasons as to why you come down on that side. Alternatively, you could briefly summarise both sides, then move swiftly to your opinion. Whatever approach you take, try to end on a strong note to show that you’re in control of the logic presented in the essay.

Note that you can easily adapt this structure to write an essay with a different number of paragraphs. For example, if you want to write one paragraph for all three comments in a task, you would simply plan for three body paragraphs instead of two.

Step 5: Review your essay (2–3 minutes)

5. If you’ve successfully carried out the first four steps, then this step shouldn’t take too long. You can use this time to proofread your essay, which includes checking the grammar, spelling and punctuation. If you have time, you could even add a sentence or two throughout to strengthen the essay if needed. However, by this point, your essay should be close to perfect. This time would be best spent reviewing your work rather than making any major changes.

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Don’t forget to check out our ultimate guide to GAMSAT Section 1 and GAMSAT Section 3 if you haven’t already!

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10 Top Tips for GAMSAT Section 2

Section 2 of the GAMSAT is known as ‘Written Communication’. You are required to write two written pieces, one from Section A and one from Section B. You are provided with five quotes and comments that are related to a common theme and you are asked to write a piece in response to one or more of them.

Read this guide to improve your essay writing and achieve a great mark for GAMSAT section 2!

GAMSAT Section 2

10 top tips for gamsat section 2.

• Develop a strategy
• Create an ideas bank
• Read more in your spare time
• Get feedback
• Familiarise yourself with politics, philosophy and psychology
• Work on spelling and grammar
• Time yourself

1.     Practice for GAMSAT Section 2!

Practice writing as many essays as you can and try to write on a variety of different topics. You will probably come across topics that you find easier to write about but challenge yourself and make sure to practice topics that you are less comfortable with.

Also use this time to see whether you are able to use more than one comment. You can write a response to one or more of the comments so this is the perfect time to see whether you can handle developing more than one comment. I wouldn’t recommend trying to use more than three as this will most likely disrupt the flow.

When you begin practising, do not feel as though you need to stick to a time limit, it is a good idea to just let yourself keep writing and developing your ideas.

Aim for approximately 500 words per piece. You may find that you do not have enough time for this but don’t worry, it’s the quality of the essay that is the most important aspect.

2.     Develop a strategy for GAMSAT Section 2

Become familiar with the general layout of a GAMSAT section 2 essay, it normally consists of an introduction, 2 or 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. 

Plan how you are going to tackle section 2;

For example:

• Read the comments and decide on the common theme
• Select your comments then brainstorm your ideas
• Plan the structure and layout of your paragraphs
• Then start writing!

Also plan how you are going to ensure you produce a good essay; 

• Keep your body paragraphs balanced and a similar length, this will allow you to develop each idea equally.
• Write concisely and try to keep every sentence relevant.
• Use rhetorical questions, these will keep the reader engaged.
• Use analogies and metaphors; real world examples and personal reflections can help to explain your ideas and opinions.

3.     Create an ideas bank

Although the themes that come up in GAMSAT section 2 are completely random and it is unlikely a topic you have practiced will come up, it’s a good idea to create an ideas bank. Examples or opinions that you develop in your practice essays may be applicable to other themes. For example you may develop ideas and opinions on the importance of friendships and these may be relevant if asked to write about familial relationships.

Creating an ideas bank will also increase your creativity and may help to make your essay more unique. Don’t be afraid to reflect on your own personal experiences.

Here are some sample topics for an essay idea bank:

• Discrimination

TED Talks and ‘The Meaning of Things’ by AC Grayling will help you to gather ideas for GAMSAT section 2.

4.     Mind map

You are presented with 5 comments in each part of section 2 and it can be hard to identify the best comment(s) for you to use.

Whilst practising, it is a good idea to mind map for each comment to determine which you will be able to write the most on. You won’t have time to do this during the exam but practising this will allow you to identify the most suitable comment in less time.

Students can fall into the trap of picking a comment which may not be best suited to their ideas and opinions so practising this will help to avoid it on the day of the exam.

5.     Read more in your spare time

Whether it’s a magazine, a newspaper or a novel, reading will help to improve your creativity and will give you ideas for your essays, add these to your section 2 ideas bank! 

Reading will also help you to improve your grammar and spelling for the GAMSAT.

You can also incorporate quotes into your writing so highlight any that you feel may be useful in your essays.

The Economist

The New Yorker

The Australian

6.     Get feedback

It’s important to get feedback on your writing in order to improve and develop your essay writing. This will allow you to see whether you have developed your ideas in a way that can be understood by others.

Getting another opinion can also allow you to come up with more ideas, ask anybody that is willing to read your writing! 

Feedback is also very important for grammar and spelling as you may not be able to see your own mistakes. 

Feel free to ask your tutor to correct your GAMSAT section 2 essays. Click here for more information about our tutoring options.

7.     Familiarise yourself with politics, philosophy and psychology

When expressing an opinion, it is a good idea to use real world examples to back up your opinion. 

The news and documentaries may provide you with current political or philosophical events that may be relevant to your essay, this will allow you to create a powerful argument and will also show the examiner that you are self-aware and conscious of world issues and events.

8.     Work on spelling and grammar for GAMSAT section 2

Whilst writing practice essays, be aware of autocorrect if you are using a digital device. It can be all too easy to get used to relying on these devices to perfect your writing so make sure to turn this feature off. 

On the flipside, practising on a digital device such as your laptop can be beneficial as it will point out spelling and grammar mistakes and provide you with a correct option. Just make sure these are highlighted and not automatically corrected.  Make note of any continuous spelling or grammar mistakes.

9.     Time yourself

As you get closer to the GAMSAT, begin timing yourself as this will allow you to see how quick you can plan and will also show you realistically how many words you will be able to produce within the time frame.

It is recommended that you roughly divide your 30 minutes for each GAMSAT section 2 essay into: 5 minutes of planning, 20 minutes of writing and spend the last 5 minutes proof-reading.

10.  Relax

If unusual topics or themes turn up in GAMSAT section 2, don’t panic! There is a common misconception that these essays are a test of your knowledge of current world affairs but don’t worry if you don’t have concrete examples of events. The main purpose of these essays is to test your ability to express your ideas.

Sample essay themes:

• Civilisation
• Genetic modification
• Natural disasters

In conclusion, practising section 2 essays is of great importance and getting feedback is even more important! Don’t be afraid to include personal reflections and get creative with your ideas and opinions. And on the day of the exam, do not panic if unfamiliar themes are included in GAMSAT section 2. Make sure to check out our GAMSAT tutoring options, follow this link .

Feel free to leave any comments or questions below

Frequently Asked Question

→what is gamsat section 2.

GAMSAT Section 2 is the Written Communication section of the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT). It is designed to assess the writing skills of applicants to medical school, and consists of two tasks: a personal essay and a reflective essay.

→How do I improve my GAMSAT Section 2?

10 top tips for GAMSAT Section 2: Practice Develop a strategy Create an ideas bank Mind map Read more in your spare time Get feedback Familiarise yourself with politics, philosophy and psychology Work on spelling and grammar Time yourself Relax

→What is a good score for GAMSAT Section 2?

The average score for section 2 is slightly higher then section 1. Aim for a score above 63 where the average score is between 59-65.

→How do you write a GAMSAT Section 2 essay?

Keep your body paragraphs balanced and a similar length, this will allow you to develop each idea equally. Write concisely and try to keep every sentence relevant. Use rhetorical questions, these will keep the reader engaged. Use analogies and metaphors; real world examples and personal reflections can help to explain your ideas and opinions.

→How can I avoid going off on tangents in GAMSAT Section 2?

To avoid going off on tangents in GAMSAT Section 2, it is important to plan your essay before you start writing, and to stay focused on the topic throughout your essay. You should also use clear, concise language and avoid including unnecessary information.

→How can I use examples effectively in GAMSAT Section 2?

To use examples effectively in GAMSAT Section 2, you should choose relevant and specific examples that illustrate your points. You should also explain how the examples relate to the topic, and use them to support your arguments and conclusions.

→Why is GAMSAT Section 2 important?

GAMSAT Section 2 is an important part of the GAMSAT because it allows admissions committees to assess applicants’ writing skills and their ability to communicate effectively. Good communication skills are essential for success in medical school and in the medical profession.

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Common GAMSAT Essay Topics – Read Now!

Re: gamsat essay topics.

GAMSAT essay topics are usually abstractions taking the form of a famous quote, controversial statement or witty idea. As you most likely know:

Task A of the GAMSAT essay topics is most likely contentious, argumentative and critical which asks you to write for or against the proposition.

Task B of the GAMSAT essay topics is most likely more abstract, reflective, expressive, even poetic in its proposed contemplation and response. Since Task A is most likely political, it is best to be well-read in current global events. Since Task B is most likely reflective it is best to be well-read in aesthetics and literature.

Since you are given a number of quotations for either task, one can respond either directly to one quote, to the general implied idea behind the quotes, or use the quote as a theme to respond to. In a Task A marking, the highest standards are most likely evidence and support to back up claims made in the essay. In Task B markings, the highest standards usually revolve around an experiential evaluation based in style. This dichotomy is somewhat arbitrary when both standards work in conjunction for both essays.

Before we cover common examples of GAMSAT essay topics you can  click the yellow button below to download your Free GAMSAT Essay Questions for Section 2.

Free GAMSAT Essay Questions

We have also released a free GAMSAT essay writing book . Click below to download your digital version now for free – this will teach you everything you need to know for Section 2 of the exam!

Free GAMSAT Essay Book

Examples of GAMSAT essay topics could be almost anything; so a wonderful source for practice and study is a book of quotations or a list of quotes found online. In addition, higher-grade periodicals, such as The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone, et. al. can help immensely! These periodicals cover current events well, have a strong op-ed section, as well as showcase artistic pursuits.

Of course, the best practice in preparing for the GAMSAT essay topics is to actually write. Choose some common universal themes (Friendship, Love, Suffering, etc.) in a book of quotations and respond in writing. Read up on current controversial topics (politics, social injustices, etc.) and formulate a response. Share these with friends for feedback or post on your favourite online forums to generate responses.

You can also submit your essay to our Essay Marking Service to receive a sample grade and detailed feedback from our essay marking specialists!

Click the ‘Essay Marking Service’ link below to submit your essay for marking. Essay Marking Service

We will now quickly overview a range of common GAMSAT essay topics.

Common Topics GAMSAT Task A

Task B of the GAMSAT is targeted to be the reflective essay. The quotes that students receive usually have a personal theme to allow students to relate the themes with their own experiences in life.

Common Topics GAMSAT Task B

• Originality

Quick Tips For Writing Your GAMSAT Essay

1. It is highly recommended that students write about these GAMSAT Essay Topics. Students should find quotes that relate to these themes and write as many essays as possible. When students are in the actual exam they will already have so many examples in mind for each theme to back up their essays – This will greatly improve their timing in the essay!

2. Students should write practice essays for each of these themes and have them looked at by a professional or a friend who has gone exceptionally well in the GAMSAT

3. When practicing essay writing students should work under timed conditions and try to simulate the actual exam environment as much as possible. Find a quiet place and sit down at a desk. Students need to actually write the essays out on lined paper – just like they will need to do in the actual GAMSAT exam. This is also beneficial as it will train the writing muscles to cope with 1 hour of continuous writing in section 2.

Also, a great book that covers many GAMSAT essay topics is called ‘The Meaning Of Things’ by AC Grayling.

Finally, a word of advice, think of your writings not as practice, but as rehearsal. By rehearsing each day, you will develop the optimism in your responses to Ace the GAMSAT!

For GAMSAT Tips click here: GAMSAT Tips

To get a Full-Length GAMSAT Practice Test click here: GAMSAT Practice Test

To get our GAMSAT Study Package click here: GAMSAT Preparation Material

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Google Rich Snippet Description: Learn more about GAMSAT Quote Generator. The best way to use the GAMSAT Random Quote Generator is to emulate the real exam as best you can.

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Free GAMSAT Quote Generator - Section 2 Essays

One of the key steps in preparing for Section 2 of the GAMSAT ® exam is getting into the habit of writing GAMSAT ® essays regularly - The earlier, the better. To help you do this, we’ve put together a free and comprehensive GAMSAT ® Quote Generator with over 90 Section 2 Essay Prompts, covering 40+ themes to help you generate Quotes for GAMSAT Section 2 Essays.

Take advantage of our GAMSAT ® Quote Generator to get you started on your GAMSAT Essay Writing Preparation - Click the generate button to display a new random essay prompt!

Theme: Suffering

• Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
• There is no beauty in sadness. No honor in suffering. No growth in fear. No relief in hate. It’s just a waste of perfectly good happiness. Katerina Stoykova Klemer
• The wound is the place where the Light enters you. Rumi
• One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside. John Lennon
• Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Kahlil Gibran

How to make best use of GAMSAT Quote Generator

The best way to use the GAMSAT ® Random Quote Generator is to emulate the real exam as best you can. This means limiting the materials you have available to you, putting on a timer and trying your best to treat the essay like the real thing. This will help you build up important examination skills, whilst also improving the writing itself.

You don’t have to do this from the start - but rather build up to this kind of situation gradually. This will allow you to focus on getting the quality of writing first, and then achieving this same quality under pressure.

The other essential ingredient in practicing for this section of the GAMSAT ® exam is to have your essays read and critiqued by people other than yourself. Although sometimes daunting, getting feedback on your writing is one of the most effective ways to improve. The more people you share your work with, the more likely you are to receive valuable and memorable feedback for developing your ideas and limiting your mistakes. It is worth consulting the GradReady GAMSAT ® essay marking service, where you can get 10 essays marked by our expert tutors with personal feedback within 72 hours.

How do GAMSAT Essay Quotes work?

In each of the two tasks in GAMSAT ® Section 2, you will be presented with five quotes that relate to one or more themes. Your task is to identify one of these themes and write a piece in response. Thus, it is important to remember that the quotes are there as a prompt or a guide, rather than a traditional essay question. It is not necessary to respond directly to any or all of the quotes, but rather to respond to the themes and ideas contained in the quotes.

Understanding the Theme

• Read the first two quotes
• Compare both quotes - Are there any related words or ideas?
• Note down any common words/themes
• Read the third quote - Are there any common ideas you can add to your list?
• Repeat with the rest of the quotes

After this process you should have a “word cloud” that points to the key overarching theme - However, it’s important to note that the stimuli are often designed such that there are a number of sub-themes that may be relevant. The point here is not to limit the scope of your writing but to expand it and bring in other relevant ideas - In fact it’s fine to draw on either the overarching theme or a sub-theme, so long as you demonstrate that you have actively engaged with the stimuli.

Let’s look at a worked example below:

• I don’t know half of you half as well as I shouldn’t like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations. (Oscar Wilde)
• Water cannot be cut and blood is thicker than water. (Malaysian Proverb)
• It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being. (John Joseph Powell)
• Isn’t everyone a part of everyone else? (Budd Schulberg)

What are some themes you can identify? Let’s break it down quote by quote:

As you can see there are multiple themes that you could draw from the above stimuli - It’s important to note that you don’t need to write about a theme that is presented in all of the quotes provided, you can choose a theme that may only appear once or twice in the stimuli.

Now it’s time to implement all the above steps in practice! We’ve prepared a GAMSAT ® essay writing PDF checklist you can download below. It contains a step-by-step checklist to help you identify the themes and write a high-scoring GAMSAT ® essay.

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GAMSAT Essay Writing Tips

You need to get feedback on your essays. It is vital that you get your friends, family, tutors and anyone else to read these essays, and be modest and inviting of critique. It is of utmost importance to be criticised and then learn from your mistakes. GradReady has a GAMSAT ® essay marking service, where you can get 10 essays marked by our expert tutors with personal feedback within 72 hours.

You need to possess a great deal of self-critique. After every essay you write, you must read it out loud to yourself, and listen if it makes sense. You can find some free example Marked GAMSAT ® Essays here.

Don’t feel the need to write under time pressure from the word go. It’s more important that you develop and improve your essay writing skills before gradually applying realistic time pressure.

You need to vary the type of essays that you write! You should make sure you try argumentative, personal reflective essays, fictional creative essays, poetry, and any other medium that can work in the GAMSAT ® exam. Even though it’s recommended you write an argumentative essay, you are able to write in almost any style in the ‘reflective’ essay segment – this is meant to be a creative endeavour and demonstrate that you can identify, and express emotions of the characters involved.

Make sure to also sign up to our GAMSAT ® Free Trial to watch a recording of our GAMSAT ® Essay Writing Workshop! Check out the 10 minute excerpt below:

Start Your GAMSAT ® Preparation Today!

Get a study buddy, upcoming events.

For more free advice and materials make sure to check out the list below:

How to study for the GAMSAT ® Exam

A breakdown of how to approach study effectively and how to set up a GAMSAT® study schedule.

How to prepare for GAMSAT ® Section 2

An overview of what to expect in Section 2 of the GAMSAT® Exam, how to prepare and how to perfect your essay technique.

Free GAMSAT ® Example Essays

Download our Essay Writing Guide and read through our free Example Essays featuring low, medium and high quality responses with feedback from tutors.

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GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator

Welcome to our comprehensive and user-friendly GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator. This tool is designed to help you practice and perfect your essay writing skills in preparation for the GAMSAT Section 2 .

Learn How to Create an Essay from a Quote

To help you get the most out of our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator, we've created a video tutorial that shows you how to create an essay from a quote. This video will guide you through the process of understanding the quote, brainstorming ideas, creating an essay outline, and writing the essay.

GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator

How to make the most out of gamsat section 2 quote generator.

Start by selecting the task you want to work on with our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator. You can choose Task A, Task B, or both. This flexibility allows you to focus on the areas you feel need the most practice. Remember, GAMSAT Section 2 requires you to break down themed quotes into smaller chunks of plausible explanations, delivering a high-quality essay that showcases your vocabulary and communication skills. Learn more about GAMSAT Section 2 .

Choose Your Task

Start by selecting the task you want to work on with our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator. You can choose Task A, Task B, or both. This flexibility allows you to focus on the areas you feel need the most practice.

1. Random Section 2 Quotes ‍

If you prefer a spontaneous approach, the random method will generate a quote for you to work on without any specific theme. This is a great way to challenge your adaptability and creativity with our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator. Read how to Study for Section 2

2. Theme based Section 2 Quotes

If you want to focus on a specific topic, you can choose from over 100 themes with our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator. This method allows you to delve deep into a particular subject, honing your knowledge and writing skills in that area. Remember, writing for Section 2 requires an extensive knowledge base across many subjects. It's recommended to start broad in your approach, research around the subject, and perfect your writing style. Find out how to study for Section 2.

3. Past GAMSAT Section 2 Quotes

Want to know what to expect in the actual exam? Choose this method to practice with quotes from past GAMSAT exams with our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator. This will give you a feel for the kind of quotes you might encounter on the test day. Reviewing previous GAMSAT essay topics and understanding the main marking criteria can help improve your essay writing skills. Check out these GAMSAT Section 2 essay examples .

Use the Timer with Our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator

Our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator also includes a timer feature. This allows you to simulate the exam scenario and practice writing your essays within a set time limit. It's a great way to improve your time management skills and ensure you can express your thoughts clearly and concisely under exam conditions. Remember, overcoming writer’s block is a common issue faced by many students preparing for GAMSAT Section 2. To overcome writer’s block, it's recommended to be active in your writing style, find your personal touch, and practice writing in your free time. Read more on how to beat writer's block in Section 2 GAMSAT.

Overcoming writer’s block is a common issue faced by many students preparing for GAMSAT Section 2. To overcome writer’s block, it's recommended to be active in your writing style, find your personal touch, and practice writing in your free time. Read more on how to beat writer's block in Section 2 GAMSAT.

Start practicing today with our GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator and take a step closer to acing your GAMSAT exam!

What Should You Do Next?

Now that you are practicing your GAMSAT essay writing, make sure that you have read our complete guide to  Section 2 . If you are still unsure how you should be focusing your efforts when writing your GAMSAT Section 2 essay responses, visit our  GAMSAT Section 2 Syllabus Guide . Our comprehensive and completely Free GAMSAT Quote generator t o practice for Section 2. Use this tool to practice GAMSAT Essays and apply the appropriate writing techniques. 

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