GAMSAT – The 3Ps To Succeed In Written Communication

In a previous post I had mentioned the 3 Ps of success, and here I would like to elaborate on the same. The 3Ps are: Planning, Practice and Performance.

Planning: Now any task that is sought to achieved successfully requires adequate planning. This is all the more a must for an exam like GAMSAT which has no fixed syllabus, is based on logical reasoning, and requires the student to sit for five and a half hours to complete it! The Planning stage for appearing in GAMSAT should ideally begin one year ahead of the exam schedule. However, many students have much less time on their hands– anything between 3 to 6 months. For such students it is all the more essential that the medium and the process of study is well defined. You have to move ahead in a step-by-step systematic manner if you are to succeed. Thus schedule yourself weekly tasks. If you have 12 weeks to prepare for GAMSAT, you must chart out how you plan to proceed from week 1 to week 12.

Prepare: If you are not very strong in English and dread writing the GAMSAT essay, what you must do first is start reading a lot of material in English, irrespective of the subject. Thus start reading newspapers, journals, story books, novels, and everything and anything that you can lay your hands on. The more you read the more comfortable you will be with the language, and with a wide variety of subjects. The best way to learn the languge is to read it.

The next stage of preparation for GAMSAT written communication is to practice writing essays. Depending on your plan of study, as you must have chalked out, you are expected to write any where between two to five essays every week. These should closely follow the pattern of essays set in GAMSAT, and you must get them them evaluated by a good teacher, or your peers at least.  You should be able to mark a clear line of improvement from your first task to your last before you sit GAMSAT.

The final and most important stage is performance. All the planning and preparation is finally put to test in the examination hall as you write the GAMSAT essay. You must keep your nerve and give it your best shot. The essay should be spontaneous and well-written. It should not seem pedantic and rehearsed.

Remember that a good essay is all about the logical flow of ideas. Develop logical thinking and a clear manner of expression. With proper planning, preparation and practice you will be able to deliver a very good essay in your GAMSAT exam.