GAMSAT Essays: Creating Just The Right Kind Of Essays
We have all been writing essays all through our school. So why does the prospect of writing the GAMSAT pose such a problem? As most GAMSAT aspirants would know, GAMSAT essays require the candidate to take a stance. It is no longer the general essay writing that you did in school, but a well thought out, and well executed piece of writing.
The GAMSAT Written Communication section deals with two separate GAMSAT essays. While Task A, which deals with social and cultural issues, demands an argumentative response, Task B deals with interpersonal and intrapersonal matters and needs a personal response. The main purpose of the GAMSAT essays is to analyse the writing skills of the aspirants while keeping in tune with the thoughts that flow from his/her mind. It all deals with how you pen down your thoughts into impressive words and leave a mark on the readers mind.
Now here it would be great to provide you few tips which would surely help you in writing good GAMSAT essays. Basically, the trick for writing a good essay lies in conceptualising its structure. A constant flow of thoughts is essential. If your essay possesses a logical succession of thoughts the reader will appreciate the fact that you have planned your writing sensibly. A structural base will make the reader feel that you have an organised approach. Ones this happens, the reader or the examiner will instantly pay heed to your arguments. So to be on a safer side spend around 5 minutes in arranging the ideas that you would like to deal with in your essay. Since you will have a limited time to write do not make your project over ambitious because if you try to include all of your ideas then you might end up with an incomplete essay. Now when talking of the structure of the GAMSAT essay to start with use a title that is effective and takes the reader straight into the first sentence. Try not using the first sentence as your base argument. Instead put a statement or a general view on the issue so that it holds the readers attention. When going into the introduction of your GAMSAT essays where you will mention your arguments for the first time, try not to clutter your thoughts.
In the body of the essay, start each paragraph with an argumentative point so that the reader gets an idea of what you would be talking next. Put you arguments and counter arguments one by one in separate paragraphs so that it looks organised. You should always support your arguments with evidences. Try and make use of quotations and analogues to give your GAMSAT essay a strong stand, but do remember to avoid illogical references as they might hamper your impression, which in turn will affect your scores.
Another thing that you must keep in mind is the significance of the conclusion of your essay. So try reaching some kind of a resolution where you will reinstate your position. Emphasise that you have learnt something or else pass a natural message to the reader. In dealing with the reflective essays try analysing the point from your own personal experiences. The advantage of writing GAMSAT essay is that you can prove the uniqueness of your talent with a judicious and clever use of words and ideas.
Now to get along well you need to practise the GAMSAT essays under stipulated time conditions. The more you practise the more easily ideas flow from your mind. Make it a point not to spend more than half an hour on one essay. In terms of preparation you can read periodicals and newspapers (Time, The Sydney Herald and The Bulletin) to enhance your knowledge of current issues. Also make an effort to work on your spellings and vocabulary. To conclude all that a GAMSAT essay requires is the generation of quality thoughts and framing them with the best use of language.