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Section 2 GAMSAT Essays: Frequently Asked Questions

Every GAMSAT sitter  will have a different approach to preparing adequately for GAMSAT Section 2 . A common misconception that we come across is that a high GAMSAT score can only be achieved through unique and authentic ideas. While having a novel perspective on a particular subject is helpful, it is logistically difficult. More than 5000 students across the nation sit the GAMSAT . All of these students are given the same instructions, the same Section 2 quotes and the same fixed time limit to write two GAMSAT essays . Thus, it is extremely likely that there will be a degree of overlapping ideas and essay content, regardless of depth or how abstract your thoughts are.

Don’t strive to be unique, strive to have a well-thought-out, fluent essay that responds to both the theme and the comment.   

In March 2023, we found that students who reported failing to write a response to the S2 quote (‘s) suffered massively in their Section 2 GAMSAT scores compared to other students that were similarly positioned based on our internal rankings. Sometimes in striving for uniqueness, students ended up writing on topics that were far-fetched or incorrect. It is better to stand out with respect to the point of your ideas, examples, language and structure, but not the theme you write on, as your GAMSAT scores will suffer tremendously. 

What is the difference between GAMSAT Section 2 Task A and Task B?

ACER has clarified that both Task A and Task B in GAMSAT Section 2 are centered around prominent themes. Delving into Fraser’s GAMSAT insights, Task A predominantly focuses on socio-cultural matters, often exploring the realm of 'inter-personal' relationships. This encompasses areas such as legal systems, religious beliefs, economic structures, and prevailing societal narratives.

On the other hand, Task B leans towards the 'intra-personal' domain, highlighting individual experiences and emotions, cognitive processes, and personal journeys.

Can I just memorise an essay and rewrite it to different themes?

The short answer is no. An experienced marker who has graded countless essays will very quickly detect a pre-formed ‘template’. Similarly, memorised essays that do not address the question theme are very likely to be scored poorly. Don’t make these common mistakes in your Section 2 GAMSAT preparation .

How can the examiners so easily discern memorised essays?

Well, it will be clear that the focus is on adapting poorly thought out templates.

Rather than addressing the dominant themes and related themes based on the given prompts, pre-written essays deploy concrete insinuations that are very much out of harmony with the pertinent themes that are being assessed. That is, the focus will always be on the template, and thematic relevance will be an afterthought. It simply stands out. Memorising the essay is more likely to result in failure as they are inherently flawed approaches—if not fraudulent. Let your honesty, integrity and humility shine through by being organic, responsive, quick witted and insightful.

If my essay has more ideas, will I get a better score?

Most students will become trapped by the thought that the more ideas the essay incorporate, the higher your GAMSAT score will be. This is entirely unfounded. In fact, candidates will score higher in Section 2 by favouring quality over quantity . This means that writing a three-page essay examining five individual evidence points at a very baseline level with little-to-no extrapolation of deeper meanings will score less compared to an essay that uses one or two pieces of supporting evidence.

Moreover, the supporting evidence should vary between a theory and actual examples to substantiate your claims, flowing into a deeper exploration of meanings and implications behind the evidence. Keep in mind that you have roughly an hour to come up with two pieces of writing - the examiners don’t expect you to rattle off countless ideas. Rather, successful students focus on the few, not the many. Have a clear message that you want to convey in your writing. Don’t convolute your essays with obscure and weakly formed ideas. 

Does Task A have to be more argumentative, and Task B more reflective?

All too often, students hear that Task A should be approached in an argumentative manner and that Task B should be written as a reflective piece. This is pure hearsay. You should be authentic in your approach no matter which writing style you choose to use – whether you elect to write a narrative, monologue, poetry, commentary, exposition, feature article or an amalgamation of multiple writing styles. If it has fluency, structure and responds to the task, you’re good to go.

With what little ACER reveals, in consideration of this, candidates are assessed on:

• The quality of thought and content in your essay
• The shape and form of your essay
• The effectiveness and fluency of the English language

One of the biggest challenges you face in Section 2 GAMSAT writing is the writer's block. While you may not address the elephant in your GAMSAT prep, it can be a huge obstacle if not tackled in its early stages - read our elaborate piece on beating the writer's block !

I didn’t do well in high school English, can I still write a good GAMSAT essay?

How you performed in high school has little to no bearing on your performance in GAMSAT Section 2 . The truth is that most students pursuing a career in medicine do so because they have an aptitude in maths and science as opposed to the humanities. Furthermore, a high school English curriculum has little relevance to the style of writing required to succeed in Section 2 of the GAMSAT . In high school , you typically were asked to write an essay on a piece of literature that had likely been studied extensively in the past.

Consequently, it was much easier to anticipate the kind of essay prompts you were likely to get on the day of the exam. You had the benefit of pre-determining what kinds of quotes and writing template you were going to utilise in order to maximise your mark. In this respect, students who were able to memorise pre-written essays and write a large amount within a specific time period tended to perform well.

This is in stark contrast to the GAMSAT exam structure . You are much less reliant on a predetermined template which you can simply adapt to a given prompt. Rather, you are posed with the challenge of coming up with an organic reflection in response to a particular theme in real-time. Also, why structure is undoubtedly an important component of performing well in Section 2 - you have much more flexibility than you did in high school. This is why we advocate for each student to practice, perfect and implement their own unique writing style.

Sure, some students may prefer to stick to the introduction - 3 body paragraphs - conclusion approach, which is absolutely fine. However, you can also opt for use of creative writing or personal anecdotes if that is more appropriate for the message you want to convey. We have seen students perform remarkably well who come from English as a Second Language background, performed poorly in high school English and never saw themselves as ‘good’ writers. It was through persistent practice and the freedom to express themselves in a way that they felt comfortable that allowed them to achieve a fantastic score in Section 2 . 

How long should a GAMSAT essay be?  

With respect to length, there is no hard and fast rule as to the perfect length of a strong GAMSAT essay . What is most important is to clearly describe your point of view on the particular topic that you will be writing about. With that being said, we know that we have 65 minutes dedicated to Section 2 . We suggest that you use at least 5 minutes for planning purposes, which realistically leaves approximately 60 minutes of actual writing time. Historically, we have encouraged candidates to aim for about 500-600 words per task.

However, now that the GAMSAT is online , some students can comfortably write more in the allocated time period. During your Section 2 GAMSAT preparation , you should be assessing how you require to collect your thoughts and write two coherent essays. As you continue to progress, you will get an estimate of how many words this means for you as an individual. If you can write two high-quality essays that are less than 500 words for each, that is completely fine. Again, there is no magic word count that will ensure success. The deciding factor on the day of the GAMSAT exam will be the quality, rather than the quantity, of your writing. Continue to practice and find your own sweet spot. 

Do I have to address all of the quotes to get a high score in GAMSAT Section 2? 

The quotes tend to cluster around a particular theme, rather than separate prompts to be addressed individually. While you are certainly able to incorporate some, if not all, of the quotes into your writing - doing so is not sufficient to guarantee a high score in GAMSAT Section 2 . As you are reading the quotes, hone in on the pertinent idea or subject that they attempt to address such as war, friendship or conformity. You will often find that the quotes presented to you have varying positions on the overarching theme.

Your point of view may agree with some of the quotes and disagree with others, in which case it would not be wise to incorporate the phrases that are seemingly contrary to your opinion. High scoring essays in Section 2 are often well-formulated pieces that demonstrate a high tier of writing expression and abstract thinking. Quotes from the stem, as well as real-world examples with which you may be familiar, can be used to substantiate your viewpoint, but not as the foundation of your writing. Use our quote generator tool , practice including quotes if and when they are appropriate rather than mindlessly including them in your essays.

Where to from here?

GAMSAT Section 2

How to Beat Writer’s Block in Section 2 GAMSAT

GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Generator 

GAMSAT Section 2 - Example Essays   

Perfecting your Section 2 Introduction

GAMSAT AGE: Am I too Old for GAMSAT?

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by Michael Sunderland  

How to ACE GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Interpretation – Task A

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December 20, 2020 in  Free Chapters

How to ACE GAMSAT Section 2 Quote Interpretation

GAMSAT Section 2 writing is not normal essay writing. I’ve said this before, I’ll no doubt say it again. The origin of a 90+ Section 2 response is what is made from the task, or in other words how you approach quote interpretation. It’s very hard to write a poor response with quality, sophisticated ideas; and very hard to write a good response to simple, pedestrian, or reductive ideas.

I like to think of quote interpretation as the ceiling value of your writing. It sets the upper limit of what you can achieve. How you then deliver the thoughts you’ve had is the degree to which you capitalise on the potential you have created through your quote interpretation. In my experience, 95% of students turn that ceiling into a glass ceiling, and shoot themselves in the foot before they begin by approaching perhaps the most crucial element of the task in the most rushed, and pedestrian manner. This does not bode well for a high scoring response.

ACER’s words

Let’s begin first with ACER’s own words from the GAMSAT information booklet so we can be sure that I’m not pontificating about something I just made up. The underlining is my own, the rest is a direct quote.

“Written Communication is assessed on two criteria: the quality of the thinking about a topic and the control of language demonstrated in its development. Assessment focuses on the way in which ideas are integrated into a thoughtful response to the task. Control of language (grammatical structure and expression) is an integral component of a good piece of writing. However, it is only assessed insofar as it contributes to the overall effectiveness of the response to the task and not in isolation. “

There is an emphasis here on quality of thinking, and integration of ideas thoughtfully. That is, in part, to place the prompts in their broader cultural, psycho-social, politico-economic, or philosophical contexts; but also linearly and deliberately developing an argument or position (see my post The Ontology of Structure – Logic for more on this). Structure, language, and other things that traditionally are thought of as the foundations of a good essay are almost explicitly said here not to be assessed in isolation, and that they contribute only insofar as they contribute to the aforementioned criteria (quality of thinking). This is why traditional methods of approaching writing are only sufficient to get you to a 75. There seems to be a huge paucity of information and discussion about how to improve your quality of thinking, or how to telegraph an improved quality of thinking in a GAMSAT section 2 context.

ACER also explicitly says in their information book

“pre-prepared responses and responses that do not relate to the topic will receive a low score.”

Which, if this is what is being assessed, begs two questions..

1. How can I improve the quality of my thinking about the prompts 2. How can I be sure to be relevant to the topic

I come bearing gifts.

How not to approach quote interpretation

Let me first deal with what not to do. Almost everybody I come across conflates the prompts into a one word “theme.” They tell me, “oh the theme is conformity” (or “punishment”, or “government”, or “death”, or “space”, or “boredom” etc). This leads to simple and low level thinking responses which lack direct relevance; and therefore often score poorly. Here’s two reasons why.

It’s reductive

In the first instance you have reduced five incredibly complex, nuanced, sophisticated world views – which have arisen in many cases from 60+ years of expert experience and study, and if not, still from within a valid ontology and set of human experiences, thoughts, and ideas – into a simple world. You have reduced what could have a book, or hundreds of books in many cases, written about it to a word. It’s like thinking that the words “harry potter” is the same thing as everything that happens in those seven books (is it seven, idk?), plus the movies, plus the childhood experiences reading and interacting with those materials, plus the popular culture around it etc. There is a whole world behind it which is not conveyed in proper depth by its placeholder title.

And then, you’ve grabbed four other equally complex and nuanced and sophisticated world views, and conflated them – suggesting that they all more or less say the same thing when, in truth, this word does not adequately describe even one of the prompts, let alone all of them. And this is done simply based on the criteria that this word happened to have cropped up a number of times in the prompts. This is already to have made ten odd errors. Because it is to say that 1 is the same as 2, 3, 4, 5; and 2 is the same as 3, 4, 5 and so on.

Perhaps you’re thinking “no that’s not me,” and that you’re being really sophisticated because you contrast the ‘positive’ side of the theme, with the ‘negative’ side – which is still to have reduced a quote to one word: either ‘positive’ or ‘negative.’ Many of you will then flatly say that one of the prompts is false, or even relate to that view in a belittling manner suggesting it “is completely wrong” or “a ridiculous misinterpretation of the democratic foundations of modern life” (very fancy), and think you’re doing the right thing by arguing forcefully in an argumentative essay. I don’t blame or judge you, I’ve done the same thing. But what you’re really saying to the marker when you do that is that you, in a psychometric test on an unprepared topic, in thirty minutes, know better than someone who has dedicated their whole life to having that viewpoint. A major misstep.

Lastly you are then forced to generate a whole essay from a single word; rather than to focus highly nuanced and sophisticated ideas into a powerful single point (contention). It’s hard to write a bad essay from sophisticated ideas. And very hard to make a good essay from reductive or pedestrian ideas.

The reductive approach


single word theme < essay

A high scoring approach

Five highly complex ideas > focused in the introduction to a sharpened point (contention) > thrust forward and upward into the armor in Body Paragraph 1 > twisted in Body Paragraph 2 > graceful psychometric validation of the other sides and the contexts in which those truths arrive as you stand over the defeated opponent

It also lacks relevance

A reductive approach to quote interpretation often leads to writing that fails to “directly respond to one or more of the prompts” which is one of the only things ACER tell you explicitly that you are supposed to be doing.

This final error occurs not in the quote interpretation, but in the very next moment after it. Let us suppose you have thought to yourself “the theme is conformity.” You then think “hmm, what do I have to say about conformity.” You then come up with some idea and go off and write about it. Your writing will then be in the domain of conformity, but this will often lack relevance to conformity to begin with (as you’re under time pressure and writing whatever comes out); and furthermore, as we have established, ‘conformity’ wasn’t, in many cases, directly relevant to the prompts to begin with.

Ok, so what is the best way to approach quote interpretation?

What you make from the task, which essentially is what is being examined, arises from how you confront the ideas in front of you and situate them in their broader contexts.

I always recommend to re-write the five quotes in your own words. This takes some time, and needs to be practice, it’s also mentally draining. But the rest of the essay stems from this moment. In time you will be able to spot quotes that you think won’t lead to good outcomes, or may include traps you want to avoid, so you can save time by only re-writing/interpreting the quotes you eventually want to involve in your response. I wouldn’t recommend doing it in your head, it’s too hard to remember the other ones by the time you finish. But almost always when you see the five interpreted versions you can see links that weren’t evident before. I physically write 1 to 5 under every set of prompts. Towards the back end of my preparation I found time saving approaches, but to begin with it’s a good exercise.

Also, by “write them in your own words” I don’t mean repeat the exact thing the prompt says in different words. I mean to interpret what they are saying. Imagine a teacher said the prompt to one of your friends and then your friend turned to you after and said “that made no sense, what do they mean” and then you responded to explain it to your friend so they understood. That interpretation is what you need to be writing down. When you receive the real implications of what the quote is inviting you to consider, you will relate to the prompts very differently, and answer in a more embellished and insightful way. I will have a case study later in the chapter, so hold that thought for just a moment. First:

Do I respond to the one or all of the quotes; or do I interpret a theme and respond to that?

We’ve already discussed that reducing it to one word is not the thing to do. You are welcome to respond to complex, deeply, highly considered and thoughtfully interpreted theme if you think you are up to it. When I started I would interpret each quote, and then think to myself “if these five ideas were in a news article, what would the heading of that article be?” .. and it would often be something like “the relevance, function, and limitations of punishment in contemporary Western societies” or something to that effect. Now this was (is) high order thinking, however, it comes with some challenges.

This approach does lead to sophisticated responses, however the marker 9 times out of 10 won’t follow what you’re saying or the implied connection to the theme very easily. Because you are responding to something that took a great deal of thought, the marker can be left wondering which prompt you’re responding to. They won’t have engaged with it in the level of detail you have (or have interpreted the quotes in quite the same way), so it can lose points for relevance (even though it’s highly relevant). This circles back to earlier times when I’ve mentioned that it is crucial to be both generous to the marker, and aware of how you position yourself in their eyes (which I discussed in further detail here ).

So, I personally don’t recommend writing to a whole theme (either one word, or correctly interpreted) because it can fail to translate in a very generous, direct, and clear way. Or if you do write to the correctly interpreted theme, be prepared to be VERY explicit about what you’re saying, why you’re saying it, and how it relates to the theme (and how the theme you have interpreted relates to the prompts, and which one).

Regarding responding to all of the quotes. I’d encourage you guys to think of the five prompts as being facets of the same diamond. There is something that coheres them. Reality and truth is not absolute. All perspectives happen to tend toward, or converge from many directions on, an approximation of the truth. Knowing this is essential. The prompts are deliberately chosen for this reason. They look at issue from many directions. Early in my preparation, addressing each of these perspectives was essentially the essay written for me. I just made each point a paragraph (or lumped a couple together in one; and the others in another) etc. Again, fine, although I frustratingly had markers ask me “which prompt was this in response to?” which eventually annoyed me enough that I came to the final iteration of my prompt-addressing strategy.

I pick one prompt (or two if they happen to exist within the same ontological or epistemological frameworks) and I address it/them directly , and clearly . I don’t use the quotes from the prompts in my writing directly (you should have plenty of other examples and evidence to bring up such that you wouldn’t want to waste space on one from the prompts – when others zig; you zag!), but I do use key words or partial phrases from the prompt in my essay, especially in the introduction to make it clear what I am talking about. This greatly helped the concision and clarity of my writing.

A final note: it is essential to display a comprehension and respect for the complexity of the theme and how other, diverging, viewpoints contribute to it equally and validly (even if you disagree with them). You need to show that you have situated the prompts in their broader psycho-social or politico economic or philosophic contexts to show an appreciation for these contexts.

A case study

I’ve included below a case study of an analysis I did of a response to a set of Task A prompts. In this particular case the essay had written above it “against capitalism.”

The prompts were:

1. “Socialism states that you owe me something simply because I exist. Capitalism, by contrast, results in a sort of reality-forced altruism: I may not want to help you, I may dislike you, but if I don’t give you a product or service you want, I will starve. Voluntary exchange is more moral than forced redistribution. ” – Ben Shapiro 2. “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.” – Alexis de Tocqueville 3. “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” – Winston Churchill 4. “Democracy is indispensable to socialism.” – Vladimir Lenin 5. “We’re going to fight racism not with racism, but we’re going to fight with solidarity. We say we’re not going to fight capitalism with black capitalism, but we;re going to fight it with socialism.” – Fred Hampton

You’ve left here “against capitalism.”

This suggests to me that there’s work to be done on how you confront the prompts before you begin writing. Most people look for the common word in these quotes (in this case socialism, or capitalism) and they say “ah, the theme is capitalism” and then they pick a side and off they go. The problem is that you will then only be writing in the domain of the prompts not in specific response to the prompts. You will lose marks for relevance and precision. The theme is not capitalism here.

The first quote says “capitalism is pragmatic, and more moral than socialism.” The second “democracy (an adjunct of capitalism) and socialism share only a desire for equality, but differ in approach.”

Note: we see already a link to first quote, a mini theme is developing here which is ‘the similarities between socialism and capitalist democracies in their attempt to provide equality or equitability.’ If you wrote an essay contrasting democracy and socialism in how they achieve equality, and to what extent they are successful/moral in this you would be not only scoring far more highly for relevance, but also for “what was made from the task.” Furthermore, this frames your essay to be of much higher sophistication and quality. If you have made a reductive or simple interpretation of the quotes you are forced to expand and write an essay from a small point. This can feel wavering, or unfocussed, or repetitive, and will always be elementary. If you, on the other hand, spend some time really looking at what each quote is saying (I re-write each quote in my own words and then examine them… i stopped doing this toward the end to save time, but the discipline of doing so for my first 30 essays was invaluable) you will have a complex and nuanced understanding of what is being said and the issue at large. The essay, then, becomes not an expansion from a small point (along with inevitable psychometric faults), but a narrowing and focus of a very large and complex issue (necessarily winning psychometrics points for you) into themes and components of that issue that you wish to discuss and give a focussed opinion on.

In this case, I think of the ontology of Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao Zedong – who’s behaviour was illustrative of a utilitarian calculus wherein violence was justified in the name of achieving a socialist utopia. Suffering, the transgression of individual liberty, famine, even mass murder were all justified within the grand narrative of the promise of communist utopias in China, the Society Union, and Cambodia. Mao killed more than 5 times as many people than did Hitler. Humans were reduced to a number, or a flesh bag of chemicals and a physiological set of reactions as the body struggled to fight against emaciation due to poverty in gulags in the soviet union – each person’s unique individuality reduced to a cascading, brutal homogeneity. Where is the morality in this? Is this why Ben Shapiro (quote 1) says capitalism is more moral?

The third quote: a critique of socialism, so we have further re-enforcement for our suspected theme. These people do not think socialism is the most moral way of achieving equality, no matter its intentions.
The fourth: tbh I don’t get this. next. (although Lenin was a Bolshevik and was responsible for the Russian revolution and establishment of socialism in Russia pre-soviet union, so perhaps you could simply use that for support of the similarities between the two political ideologies) The fifth: I would skip this entirely. I doubt ACER would give you this prompt. It requires context, and it’s just a weird prompt. Using this would be a red herring in my view.

So, in short, if you dont correctly interpret the quote, and situate it in its broader historical, sociological, psychological, politico-economics contexts, you will struggle to make something profound of the task, and lose points on relevance. Everything that follows is necessarily going to flow from that initial reduction. Your essay is necessarily limited and framed by what you made (or failed to make) of the quotes. Most people go : 5 quotes > one word theme
you want to go
5 quotes < essay. Like the quotes are the thinnest part and you make them expansive by developing on them in insightful ways, rather than reducing them to one word and picking a side.

An 80+ essay requires partially agreeing or disagreeing with the obvious interpretation of the comments, rather than flatly. Qualify its limits or contexts in which it arises. Situate the comment in their wider cultural contexts . Body paragraphs are a logical analysis of these ideas. Don’t let this make you fence sit, though. Choose your viewpoint clearly and argue strongly for it, but try situating it off centre of one of the implications of the quotes.

See more writing on 90plusgamsat.com/blog/

or have a look at my existing resources for sale in the store 90plusgamsat.com/shop

Our 90+ Facebook group, where I work for free for ever is at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/419297965763290

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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Gamsat Review Blog

Everything you need to know about GAMSAT by Dr Peter Griffiths

Resources For Gamsat Section 2

Resources for GAMSAT section 2

When I was studying for Gamsat I spent hours looking for resources for section 2. If you're looking for your own resources for Gamsat section 2 I've written this short article to help you out so you can save yourself from spending hours like I did.

So a good strategy for section 2 is to get a good overview of current ideas and theories in a range of broad topics.

This way you'll be able to work them into your arguments in your essays and appear well informed and able to relate your arguments to the real world.

So if you can have a reasonably good idea of the most important historical ideas, plus the latest developments in a range of commonly discussed disciplines such as philosophy, politics, economics, art etc. that is a good strategy to adopt for section two.

Here's three useful resources which will help you achieve just that.

The first resource on our list is a website which has literally thousands of videos covering many topics.

This is TED which is a non profit organization which is devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short talks presented by experts in their fields from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world.

The average length of these videos is about 20 minutes so you can watch them in easily digestible little chunks.

The Meaning of Things

This resource is a book written by well known British philosopher A.C. Grayling.

It consists of a series of brief articles which aim to help the reader think about life, common human dilemmas and universal difficulties. Encouraging introspection into life and experience to help us achieve a life worth living.

Some of the topics covered include include courage, love, betrayal, ambition, cruelty, wisdom, passion, beauty and death.

This book will help you generate concepts to support your arguments in your Gamsat section two essays.

50 Big Ideas

Another great book - 50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know by Ben Dupré is a concise, accessible and popular guide to the central tenets of Western thought. Every important principle of philosophy, religion, politics, economics, the arts and the sciences is profiled in a series of short illustrated essays, complemented by an informative array of timelines and box features. Platonism, The Soul, Communism, Aristotelianism, Faith, Fascism, The Golden rule, Atheism, Racism, Altruism, Secularism, Feminism, Pluralism, Fundamentalism, Islamism, Liberty, Creationism, Capitalism, Toleration, War, Globalization, Scepticism, Duty, Classicism, Reason, Utopia, Romanticism, Punishment, Liberalism, Modernism, Materialism, Democracy, Surrealism, Relativism, Conservatism, Censorship, Utilitarianism, Imperialism, Big Bang, Existentialism, Nationalism, Chaos, Evil, Social contract, Evolution, Fate, Republicanism, Relativity, Quantum mechanics, Gaia.

These three resources are great way to get going with your Gamsat section 2 practice.

Quote Generator

The final resource on my list is a quote generator which will help you to generate an unlimited number of quotes on hundreds of topics in a format virtually identical to the real test.

When doing your practice essays I always recommend typing them under timed conditions as in the real thing so you can practice your timing skills and also improve your typing speed and accuracy.

The second thing I recommend is to always write two in a row one directly after the other to replicate test conditions so you can develop the mental agility to quickly switch from one topic to another.

Further Resources

For more detailed help with your GAMSAT essay writing please refer to Griffiths GAMSAT Review which contains an essay writing model which practically allows you to have your essays pre-written before you even walk into the test.

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Free GAMSAT Practice Test

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The key to acing the GAMSAT ® exam is practice. Doing practice questions puts your GAMSAT ® preparation to the test, helping you identify key areas that you need to improve on. A GAMSAT ® Practice Test challenges you further by simulating the actual GAMSAT ® exam.

Our Free GAMSAT ® Practice Test gives you access to Section 1 and Section 3 MCQs of varying topics and difficulty levels, similar to the actual GAMSAT ® exam. You will complete the practice test on our online exam platform which is designed to closely mimic the official ACER GAMSAT ® exam, giving you the option to put yourself under realistic time pressure and helping you familiarise yourself with the online delivery of the exam before test date.

Sign up for our Free Trial to get access to our GAMSAT ® Practice Test as well as heaps of other free resources!

Start Your GAMSAT ® Preparation Today!

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Watch the video below to see our online exam system in action! Learn more about what sets our GAMSAT ® Practice Test apart and how it mimics the official GAMSAT ® exam in detail to better help you prepare.

Find more information about our Free GAMSAT ® Practice Exam and how it will help you consolidate your prep below.

• What is the GAMSAT ® Practice Test?
• What is Included in the Free GAMSAT ® Practice Test?
• GAMSAT ® Practice Test Overview
• How Does the GAMSAT ® Practice Test Help Me Prepare for the GAMSAT ® ?
• Which GAMSAT ® Practice Test is Best?
• GAMSAT ® Free Practice Test Tips
• What Does My GAMSAT ® Practice Test Score Mean?
• Further Free GAMSAT ® Preparation Materials

What is the GAMSAT Practice Test?

Our GAMSAT ® Practice Test consists of multiple-choice questions which mimic questions that appear in the GAMSAT ® .The questions in the GAMSAT ® Practice Test challenge your critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills and how you apply what you have gathered from your education to date. These questions are divided into GAMSAT ® Section 1 (Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences) and Section 3 (Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences).

What sets our GAMSAT ® Online Practice Test apart is that we’ve carefully designed the user interface to closely simulate the look and feel of the actual exam. Familiarising yourself with how the exam platform works ahead of time will help alleviate some of the stress and pressure on the actual test day, thus allowing you to focus on the exam and helping to improve your GAMSAT ® score. See our comprehensive guide on What is the GAMSAT ® Exam for more information about what the official GAMSAT ® by ACER entails.

If you enrol for our GAMSAT ® Preparation Course, you will get access to 8 online exams with worked solutions, available in multiple different modes to give you various options to complete the exam at your own pace or under real time pressure.

Otherwise, simply sign up to our GAMSAT ® Free Trial to get access to a GAMSAT ® Practice exam for free! The free practice test contains 11 Section 1 MCQs and 33 Section 3 MCQs.

Why Should I Take a GAMSAT Practice Exam?

The GAMSAT ® Practice Exam is the perfect way to diagnose your strengths or weaknesses in the skills mentioned above (fitting for an exam that’ll get you into an Australian medical school! ).

The most efficient method of studying is to spend the majority of your time and effort on areas which need improvement. But first, you need to know what these areas are. After taking our GAMSAT ® Practice Exam, you will be able to review a breakdown of your performance and determine various points of strength and weakness. The system also automatically compares your score to 10,000+ other GradReady students, helping you get a better idea of where you stand.

For more information about what GAMSAT ® score you need to aim for, read our comprehensive guide on medical schools admission requirements.

What is the Difference Between a GAMSAT Practice Test and a GAMSAT Mock Exam?

GAMSAT ® Mock Exams are included in our GAMSAT ® Attendance Courses. It’s the closest thing to the actual GAMSAT ® exam. You will be put under time pressure in a well-simulated test environment. You will get video solutions for each question as well as personalised Section 2 Essay feedback within the week, followed by an online recap day with our tuition team.

The GAMSAT ® Practice Test is a shorter compilation of practice questions focused on testing you on a variety of important sub-topics within Section 1 and Section 3. The GAMSAT ® Free Practice Test which you can get access to by signing up to our Free Trial contains 11 Section 1 MCQs and 33 Section 3 MCQs.

You will get access to 8 GAMSAT ® Practice Exams if you enrol for any of our GAMSAT ® Preparation Courses. Each of these online exams has 62 Section 1 MCQs and 75 Section 3 MCQs, just like the actual GAMSAT ® Exam.

Whether you choose to sign up to our GAMSAT ® Free Trial or enrol for our GAMSAT ® Preparation Course, you will get access to our one-of-a-kind online exam platform which mimics the official ACER GAMSAT ® Exam. You will be able to complete the exams on the GradReady LMS via one of two modes: the Mock Exam Mode and the Custom Mode. This is explained further in the section below.

What is Included in the Free GAMSAT Practice Test?

• User interface that mimics the official GAMSAT ® exam
• Multiple GAMSAT ® practice test modes
• Worked solutions and supplementary GAMSAT ® preparation resources
• GAMSAT ® score percentile comparison

User interface that mimics the official GAMSAT exam

When you first begin the exam, you will be taken to an introduction page that gives you instructions and information which closely mimic what is provided for the official GAMSAT ® exam. The user interface of Section 1 until Section 3 also closely mimics that of the official ACER GAMSAT ® exam, allowing you to familiarise yourself with the online delivery of the exam before test date and better prepare for the GAMSAT. ®

Watch the video here to see our online exam system in action! Learn more about what sets our GAMSAT ® Practice Test apart and how it mimics the official GAMSAT ® exam in detail to better help you prepare.

Multiple GAMSAT practice test modes

You can choose between the Mock Exam Mode and the Custom Exam Mode. The Mock Exam Mode will simulate the full GAMSAT ® experience in which you have to complete the exam within one sitting with the associated time pressures and the appropriate spacing between sections.

The Custom Exam Mode gives you various options to complete the exam at your own pace.

You can select the No Timer option which allows you to complete the exam in different settings. For example, you can complete Section 1 in one day and finish the remainder of the exam another day.

Selecting the Apply Time Limit to the Entire Exam option allows you to customise the length for each section of the exam. For example, you can choose to give yourself extra time to complete the exam compared to the official GAMSAT ® section timings.

Thirdly, you can choose to Apply Time Limit to Individual Questions. This is useful if you're trying to develop a good pace per question.

Some other useful features of the Custom Mode include the ability to select a specific section of the exam to complete as well as the option to skip reading time. These features are not available in Mock Exam Mode.

Make sure to sign up to our Free Trial to get access to our GAMSAT ® Practice Test as well as heaps of other free resources!

Worked solutions and supplementary GAMSAT preparation resources

For Section 1 and Section 3, you will have access to the correct answers with the accompanying worked solutions. If you are enrolled in one of our GAMSAT ® Preparation Courses, you will also have access to relevant supplementary content and features on our website such as videos and textbook sections for each MCQ. You will not have access to these with a Free Trial account, but we also offer lots of Free GAMSAT ® Preparation Materials, such as our GAMSAT ® study syllabus and a GAMSAT ® essay guide, so be sure to check them out.

GAMSAT score percentile comparison

You will be able to review your percentiles in comparison to all other students who have completed the practice exam. You will also be able to review a breakdown of your performance and determine various points of strength and weakness. Compare your GAMSAT ® score to 10,000+ other GradReady students and get a better idea of where you stand!

For more information about what your GAMSAT ® score means, check out our comprehensive guide on GAMSAT ® results.

GAMSAT Practice Test Overview

• GAMSAT ® Practice Test 1
• GAMSAT ® Practice Test 2
• GAMSAT ® Practice Test 3

GAMSAT Practice Test 1

The Free GAMSAT ® Practice Test contains 11 Section 1 MCQs.

These questions require complex logical reasoning, and verbal processing to arrive at the answers. You’ll see a wide range of stimuli including cartoons, poems and longer texts, each of which is associated with 2 or more 4-option multiple-choice questions.

Visit our guide on how to prepare for GAMSAT ® Section 1 to improve your score.

GAMSAT Practice Test 2

Section 2 is not included in our Free GAMSAT ® Practice Test. Section 2 is included in the 8 online exams which are available to students who enrol in our GAMSAT ® Preparation Courses. You will receive two sets of essay prompts and will be able to write your responses. These essays will not be marked. These essays exist for the purpose of allowing you to practise under real exam conditions and time pressure.

If you’d like your essay to be reviewed and marked, we have a GAMSAT ® essay marking service where our expert tutors will provide personal feedback for your essays within 72 working hours.

GAMSAT Practice Test 3

The Free GAMSAT ® Practice Test contains 33 Section 3 MCQs.

These questions focus mainly on your ability to analyse, interpret and generalise based on scientific data, equations and concepts. You will be provided with a wide range of stimuli including graphs, formulas, diagrams and text, again associated with MCQs.

Visit our guide on how to prepare for GAMSAT ® Section 3 to improve your score.

How Does the GAMSAT Practice Test Help Me Prepare for the GAMSAT?

Let’s say you’ve finally decided to sign up for the ACER GAMSAT ® test. With such a wide range of topics tested in Section 1 and Section 3, how do you know where to start?

GAMSAT ® Practice Test gives you this direction.Through trial and error, you gain a metacognitive understanding of your own ability and progress. This highlights which areas you need to work on and provides efficiency in approach to future GAMSAT ® preparation efforts.

For instance, after the practice test, you may find you struggle to uncover the meaning of a finicky poem. Or, you might realise that your Physics is just not what it used to be!

The Free GAMSAT ® Online Practice Test is integrated into our intelligent MCQ system that tracks student performance across 43 subtopics so they can easily identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Once you find these areas, you have a clear path forward to start preparing for the GAMSAT ® in the most efficient, personalised way possible.

Another way the practice test will help is by giving you a way to understand your relationship with time constraints. Many students struggle with the time pressure on the day in the ACER GAMSAT ® exam, but there are ways to get around this through practice!

Obviously, performing to timed conditions requires balance between being thorough and being quick. But first, you must see how long it usually takes you to do a set of Qs and how the time pressure affects the accuracy of your answers, so that you know which way you have to turn that balance!

With that in mind, we have designed our GAMSAT ® Practice Test to be available in various different modes which allow you to complete the exam at your own pace or under real time pressure if you prefer. We’ve also gone to great lengths to design a user interface that closely mimics the actual GAMSAT ® exam. Once you’ve learned your way around our GAMSAT ® Practice Test online platform, navigating ACER’s GAMSAT ® interface on exam day will not be an issue.

Which GAMSAT Practice Test is Best?

This is a difficult question to answer, because it depends on many things, such as your comfort level with science concepts as well as what your strengths and weaknesses are. ACER has practice questions that you can work through, and students often start there. However, with practice tests, the more you do, the better prepared you will be, so ACER’s GAMSAT ® practice questions are often not enough. GradReady’s GAMSAT ® practice test is one of the best options available out there because it is conducted on a user interface that closely mimics the actual GAMSAT ® , allowing you to familarise yourself with the exam before test day. You can also take the test under real time pressure or at your own pace.

GAMSAT Free Practice Test Tips

Remember how long you have on average for each MCQ! After all, each MCQ is worth the same on the day of the GAMSAT, ® but not all Qs are built the same. Knowing when to skip and come back later is a crucial skill to test out.

Skim Qs before reading the stimulus if you feel this will help. This enables you to see to what detail you need to read the passage or data at hand, and can make for more efficient appraisal of the stimuli.

Eliminate answer options! You can always rule out some options. Our podcast episode on Using Educated Guessing in the GAMSAT ® Exam discusses this in great detail, so be sure to check it out!

Stay calm! You’ve got this. You have built up tons of knowledge over the years. At the moment of any test your job is to apply it, and worry about what you can improve after the test.

Lastly, do what’s right for you. If you have strategies that work for MCQs, then implement them.

All in all, it’s important to know what type of skills the GAMSAT ® actually wants to test. Visit our guide on What is the GAMSAT ® to learn all you need to know about this challenging exam.

What Does My GAMSAT Practice Test Score Mean?

Your score is basically a scaled version of your raw marks (how many you got correct out of 44 Qs). This mimics how ACER calculates your scores for each section of the official GAMSAT ® exam.

See our article on GAMSAT ® scores for the nitty gritty of what your scores in each section, overall and percentiles mean.

Is the GAMSAT the hardest exam?

The GAMSAT ® is a difficult, gruelling exam. It tests a wide variety of skills and is high stakes in nature given what it provides students down the line, which is a pathway to becoming a doctor. However, it is manageable!

Importantly, study and practice does improve scores on the GAMSAT. ® According to ACER, the GAMSAT ® exam tests critical thinking skills and your ability to analyse materials - all of which you learn and acquire either through education via schools or universities, self-study or studying through us! However, to know whether you are improving, practice tests are your best bet, and our GAMSAT ® Free Practice Test ensures you have a base level to quantify your progress.

What is the pass rate for GAMSAT?

There is no pass mark or rate for the GAMSAT ® exam. Medical schools in Australia usually want you to get over 50 on each of the 3 sections of the exam. And they then may rank you against other students using your overall score or your score on individual sections.

So get your GAMSAT ® prep started by signing up for our Free Trial to get access to our GAMSAT ® Practice Test as well as heaps of other free resources!

Further Free GAMSAT Preparation Materials

Free gamsat ® practice questions.

Get access to free GAMSAT ® practice MCQs with worked solutions and other preparation materials to consolidate your prep.

Free GAMSAT ® Preparation Materials

We’ve put together the most comprehensive set of Free GAMSAT ® Preparation Materials available on the market, to help give you a head start on your GAMSAT ® prep. Get access to our GAMSAT ® Study Syllabus, GAMSAT ® Essay Guide, and many more!

How to study for the GAMSAT ® Exam

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

GAMSAT ® Non-Science Background: How to Prepare

Learn the best practices and strategies for preparing for the GAMSAT ® exam from a non-science background and what level of science you need to get the results you want.

How to prepare for GAMSAT ® Biology

Get even further details and specific tips for the Biology component of Section 3 of the GAMSAT ® Exam.

How to prepare for GAMSAT ® Chemistry

Further advice and information specific to GAMSAT ® Section 3 Chemistry - Get a detailed breakdown of various topics.

How to prepare for GAMSAT ® Physics

Not sure about the value of preparing for GAMSAT ® Physics? Think again - The Physics component of Section 3 can be a key separator of student performance, get further details on how to prepare.

GradReady GAMSAT Preparation Courses

To learn more about our GAMSAT ® Preparation courses and compare their different components, view an in depth comparison here: GradReady Course Comparison

If you’re not sure which course is best for you, try our Course Recommender.

If you’re after a single feature, such as our Textbook, or access to our 5000+ Intelligent MCQ Bank, or if you want to customise your preparation, you can do so here: GradReady GAMSAT ® Custom Course.

At GradReady, we pride ourselves on providing students with the Best Results at the Best Value:

• Our team is consistently reinvesting in our internal operational technology to ensure that we're constantly improving our efficiency and productivity. The end result for our students is that we stand head and shoulders above our competition in the comprehensiveness of the tools we offer and the effectiveness of our teachings – all at the best value .
• We believe in a data-driven approach: using student performance data to fine tune our practice questions, study content and teaching styles has allowed us to achieve unparalleled results for our students.
• We are the only provider with Statistically Significant Proven Results – our students achieved an average improvement of 20+ Percentile Points 11+ years in a row.
• We achieve these results through our interactive teaching style and adaptive online learning technologies. Our classes are capped at 21 students, and taught by a specialist tutor for each subject, tutors who are themselves Medical Students who have sat the GAMSAT ® .
• Our online systems make learning into a science and we are the only provider with a proprietary online system that uses algorithmic-assisted, targeted learning. Unlike other providers who purchase a 3rd Party System, the targeted system that we've developed tracks your performance, quickly identifying your weaknesses and pointing you to the most relevant materials and even tutor assistance.

To learn more about our courses and compare us to the competition, visit: GradReady GAMSAT ® Preparation Courses

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Essay writing

I have always been good at remembering how things work, complex processes, biology, physiology, chemistry and maths. I don't know how to write essays. Worse, I find it hard to see where I'm going wrong. I understand things like structure and aguements and all that junk, but what I really want to know is how to I actually get better at writing! What skills or methods of practice are best? Please recommend me some good books or textbooks on actually writing, not necessarily structure, but more on language and other stuff (I think?)

How can I make my sentences flow better? How can I articulate myself more? How can I improve my ability to expand on a point? I often state a fact or the obvious, then move on too quickly with too little written! I think I'm an average critical thinker but then I struggle to put those points and relate them and expand them on a page and make it all nice and flowy.

I want methods on ways I can actually be a better writer, not how to write if that makes sense.

Sorry if this is coming across as unreasonable Im just going around in circles it feels like. Maybe Im completely wrong, I dont know. Any help is apprieciated :)

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