Reading material

lukewphysio · Rookie Joined: 11 Jul 2009 Posts: 8

Hey guys,
Just wondering if people could give me a list of books worth reading to enhance my literature skills before the exam.
I have already started with 1984, and im ready to read more. Thanks for any advice.

Luke

Lovebite · Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:33 pm Post subject:

Hi Luke,

If I were you, I'd read articles, not books, and here's the reason....

GAMSAT comprehension is based around short passages (ok.. some a quite long), with a handful of questions, so for my money, I'd be focussing on reading a range of materials ranging from poetry to finance columns, and then making dot points about the themes or facts.

Ideally, you should be training yourself to read quickly, without losing the ability to interpret the data.

Reading marquee novels like 1984 is good for anyone looking to extend themselves, but for GAMSAT, I think more targeted preparation is more likely to give you the success you need.

Think about what this section of GAMSAT is trying to assess?

I think its looking to make sure you'll be able to read journal articles, medical texts and other resource materials as well as letters and personal correspondence quickly, with strong interpretative skills.

When I studied for GAMSAT, I gave myself articles or around 1000 words, and then gave myself 2 minutes to read it, then 60 seconds to regurgitate the maximum amount of information possible, including, but not limited to facts, who the article was targeted at, and logic flaws, possible counter arguments e.t.c. It really helped me, and by the time GAMSAT came up, I wasn't at all worried about section 1 Wink

lukewphysio · Rookie Joined: 11 Jul 2009 Posts: 8

Hey mate,
Thanks for that advice. Luckily doing my physio degree i spent lots of time reading medical journals etc. Currently im working on the MCAT stuff, and doing exactly that. Reading passages and then answering exam style questons about the content, what the author is trying to say, tone and context etc and that seems to be going well. Im also going to sit the MCQ and humanities section of Des oneills courses which should also help. I have been studying since june last year (Science especially) and really paced myself.. so hopefully it will be worth it!

Lovebite · Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:57 pm Post subject:

Sounds like you're committed and doing all the right things.... Nothing bad can come from that Wink

129west81st · Regular Joined: 15 Oct 2009 Posts: 27

Hey guys, Just a comment - I actually find the humanities section really difficult... my undergrad degree is in an Arts field, yet I am scoring about the same in sections 1 and 3! the questions are really tricky and it's hard to prepare for given that there are no specific topics you can study (as opposed to science) and the stimuli come from the whole world of literature, which is limitless

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113