Essays...arghh

Watnb13 · Rookie Joined: 25 Jan 2010 Posts: 6

G'day guys, hope you are all feeling good about the gammy.....

I got a question about section 2. In all the ACER praccie tests it says that "Test A" is a expository/argumentative essay while "Test B" is a personal/discursive essay. Does anyone know if this is the case in that actual GAMSAT? or are you able to pretty much choose for yourself what you want to do? Do you have to do both?

Thanks a bunch.

Lovebite · Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 7:44 pm Post subject:

yes that is the case in the actual GAMSAT, and no, you don't have any choice. You have to do one of each.

Practice practice practice.... those 2x30 mins of writing are worth as much as the 2 hours of comprehension, and 1/2 as much as the 3 hours of pure science.

Marks for jam.

sandyfool · Regular Joined: 21 Oct 2009 Posts: 21

You don't really HAVE to do anything. You write, there are no guidelines how to write it. It doesn't have to be an essay (though it usually is the safest route), I have heard that people wrote a conversation between two people and scored very high.

Though the quotes themselves set Part A up to be expository/argumentative and Part B to be personal/discursive.

Lovebite · Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:32 pm Post subject:

ok. yes, you don't HAVE to do anything, but they're expecting a certain kind of essay, and its a big risk to do it any other way.

I also know of someone who wrote their second essay as a discussion between two people, but she is both brilliant, and unconventional.... and yes, it worked for her, but I'd never recommend it to someone studying for GAMSAT. for every one story like hers, there are many which will show poor results from abandoning convention.... I guarantee you that.

You do whatever you feel most comfortable with, but remember that at the end of the day, GAMSAT markers are looking for specific styles of thinking and thought development. If you choose to showcase that as a discussion, or as a structured essay, well thats your choice.

The overwhelming advice from Des Oneill, Med Prep and others I've heard of anecdotally, suggest that structure and practicing the two different types of essays, and then reproducing that style on the day reap the best results.

In the end though, its your exam. You do whatever you feel will best showcase your skills, knowledge and experience.

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

Hi Watnb13

The guidelines given in the ACER practise tests for the essay section are exactly the same for the real GAMSAT...ACER conducts the GAMSAT Exclamation

You will be given two sets of quotes, Test A and Test B, both of which you have to attempt. This means you have to write two essays in 1 hr. You are allowed to choose any single quote and build an essay around it. You can even pick all the quotes and incorporate them in your essay. Usually two quotes is enough to present a balanced viewpoint.

Hope this answers your question Smile

Cheers
Prepgenie

GAMSAT-prep · Grizzled Joined: 08 Mar 2010 Posts: 120 Location: Sydney

I guess people above have pretty much answered all your questions. Try to practice both tests.

It is true. There is no guidelines for this section in ACER, however they have a similar section in MCAT. The AAMC fully explained it though. It will give you a general idea about how to deal with this section. Laughing

rhiansung14 · Rookie Joined: 07 Aug 2010 Posts: 2

It is really difficult to choose the right topic when writing an essay. Usually they would allow you to choose your own topic or sometimes they would also designate specific topic. Choose wisely, as much as possible choose topics that you are really interested to discuss.