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Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli

It is not an under-estimation to state that the majority of students perform poorly in Section 2, which tends to affect their entire application. We've put together these slides to provide you with tips on how to approach the stimuli you will receive in GAMSAT Section 2 to help you ace the exam. For more information, read our detailed article here: https://gradready.com.au/posts/gamsat-preparation-courses/breaking-down-gamsat-essay-stimuli

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Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli

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  1. Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli

  2. Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli • Section 2 is a unique part of the GAMSAT, not just because it is the only section that is not in the standard MCQ format, but it really can make-or-break your medical school candidature. • Although it may have a different weighing in terms of marks applied to it, it is not an under-estimation to state that the majority of students perform poorly in Section 2, which tends to affect their entire application. • The orthodox way of teaching the GAMSAT is that you have to write an argumentative essay for the first stimuli (stimuli is a set of quotes), and then write a personal reflective essay for the second stimuli. This is incorrect. There is no guidance from ACER on this point, and it is entirely up to us what style we write!

  3. Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli • In my own teaching, I still recommend that the argumentative essay style is useful, and especially when we encounter themes that broadly address politics and questions of society, but I heavily, heavily encourage my students to engage in some kind of creative writing alongside it—whether a fictional short story, a journal entry, a poem, a play, etc. • Creative writing is the best way in which you can demonstrate your understanding and comprehension of human emotion, which, I believe, is the fundamental point of the written tasks in the GAMSAT. • Further, I recommend this because I believe the whole purpose of GAMSAT Section 2 is to demonstrate: • That you can formulate an argument and come to a reasonable conclusion and be confident of your choice (very important skill as a doctor) • Empathy through describing emotions between characters and social relations in a story (a vital skill as a doctor!).

  4. Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli • What follows is an example approach of mine when looking at stimuli provided in Section 2, where I will look at the quotes, break down the essay question, tease out the themes that are presented, and then structure my essay response. • Initially, you need to identify the theme. I always make a mind-map of themes that could appear from the quotes – I will go through each quote and identify the various themes from each. To identify the quotes, I usually try to think about the keywords here that will help me as well as the underlying messages the author is trying to communicate.

  5. Breaking Down GAMSAT Essay Stimuli • Now that I have identified the theme(s), I can tell that this essay would lend itself better to creative writing (as it addresses aspects of human emotion/experience). And so, the next part of my plan is to think of a broad ‘plot’ in which my short essay will fit in. • The next step is to then think about a ‘sub-plot’ within this broader plot that you will actually write on, which focuses on a single event in this broader plot. • The next important step is to consider the location of this sub-plot, the subject (i.e. main character), as well as the ‘object’ (i.e. what is the subject’s main interest/motivation?). Then, you will have all the elements to write an engaging, creative story!

  6. Further Materials • How to Prepare for the GAMSAT • Free GAMSAT Preparation Materials • GAMSAT Biology: How to prepare • GAMSAT Chemistry: How to Prepare • GAMSAT Physics: How to Prepare • Sign up for our GAMSAT Free Trial today to experience our proprietary cutting-edge online learning technology that makes us the most advanced GAMSAT Course available: https://gradready.com.au/gamsat-preparation-courses/free-gamsat-trial

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