Section I: Humanities and Social Sciences

GAMSAT TIPS FOR SECTION I

Outline:
Multiple-choice with 4 options
Candidates are provided with stimulus material poem,
magazine, novel, newspaper, song, textbook or journal.
Regular reading and practice are the best preparation for this
section. An e-book reader is a worthy investment. E-books can
easily be downloaded through the Amazon store and unfamiliar
words can easily be learnt via the inbuilt dictionary.
Suggested readings:
The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald (If you are not a regular
reader you should start with this. An easy read, but still covers
some really important concepts).
Defying Hitler: Sebastian Haffner (a tale of being a regular
person in pre-NAZI Germany. Provides great examples to many
quotes in SII that can be related to war).
English Passengers: Matthew Kneale (circulates around
problems that an Aboriginal family are faced with when the British
settle in Australia. Also provides great examples for SII).
Oliver Twist: Charles Dickens (Great for honing your language
manipulation skills. This book has a lot of difficult words and will
prepare you to quickly understand classical texts in the actual
GAMSAT. Make sure to look up all words that you are unfamiliar
with and write them down).
The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Essays: Ian
Hamilton (collection of the best essays written in the English
language during the past one hundred years. It is great at
exploring a vast range of ideas that can be used for SII).
A Short History Of Nearly Everything: Bill Bryson (Its like
Intro to Physics, Chemistry, Geology and Astronomy all in one
wonderfully droll book).

The Story of My Life: Helen Keller (An amazing story of a deaf

and blind woman who achieved so much and experienced so
much of life despite her handicaps).
Vocabulary:
A sound vocabulary will be highly beneficial for SI. It will aid in the
understanding of texts and can be helpful in crossing off the
incorrect multiple-choice answers when in doubt.
An excellent FREE resource to improve vocabulary can be found
atvocabulary.com. Get into the routine of completing one minitest everyday (10 words), which will take less than 5 minutes.
Choose the MCAT word list to practice, as this includes words that
are commonly found in the GAMSAT SI.
Practice:
Practice is key.
A free site that provides Section-I-like questions
is readtheory.org. It will provide detailed feedback for each
series of questions.
Work through the two half-length ACER booklets and save the two
full length ones for just before the GAMSAT to sit under timed
conditions.
I repeat. TIME YOURSELF! You will adapt to working at this pace
and with consistency these stimulus questions will become like
second nature.

Section II: Written Communication

GAMSAT TIPS FOR SECTION II
Outline:
Candidates are to complete two essays both task A and task B
Five quotes are provided for each task that surrounds a common
theme.
Task A deals with socio-cultural issues and Task B deals with
social and personal issues.

A title is recommended for each essay. Be creative! The markers

are looking for the best ideas. Ideas are more important than
spelling, grammar and punctuation.
The best ideas get the best marks, so planning your essay in the
first 5 minutes is the key to success.
Suggested readings:
The Meaning of Things by AC Grayling: A great book for
generating ideas. It consists of short essays that cover common
themes in the GAMSAT. I would suggest reading through 1-2
different topics per day and making sure you really understand
what it is talking about. You could even write a couple of
sentences about each topic.
AC Graylings Essay collection: Find
this atwww.skeptic.ca/grayling_essays.htm
50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know by Ben
Dupre: A great guide to the most important ideas in history. It
covers some of the most influential ideas ever conceived in
politics, philosophy, religion, economics, science and the arts.
Reading the newspaper is also important in keeping up to date
with socio-cultural issues. I recommend reading the comment
section of the Sydney Morning Herald or the Economist. I
recommend reading 3 articles per day (less than 15 minutes). For
UK candidates read articles at www.telegraph.co.uk and the
Irishtimes for Irish candidates.
I highly recommend researching in depth about current events in
the world Ukraine/Russia, Islamic State, Palestine/Israel, Boko
Haram, and corruption in Bolivia. Dont forget WW1/WW2. These
events can provide examples for a range of different quotes. A
simple youtube/google search can be a good starting point.
TED Talks also provide many great ideas ted.com

Section III: Reasoning in Biological and

Physical Sciences

GAMSAT TIPS FOR SECTION III

Outline:
This section includes biology, general and organic chemistry all at
university level, and physical at year 12 level. Overall the exam
consists of 40% biology, 40% chemistry and 20% physics.
Candidates are required to use their knowledge and the
understanding of concepts in order to answer questions. This
section involves the analysis of tables, graphs, charts and
scientific information.
Practicing section III under timed conditions is crucial. The ACER
booklets provide GAMSAT-like questions.
Once again practice is the key.
Topic List for GAMSAT:
When studying the units in the following list aim to grasp and
understand the main concepts rather than just relying on
memorisation.
BIOLOGY
Bioenergetics, Blood Composition, DNA, Gametogenesis (Meiosis),
Genetics, Lymphatic and Immune Systems, Plasma Membrane,
Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes, Protein Synthesis, The Cells Interior,
The Cell Cycle, The Circulatory System, The Digestive System,
The Endocrine System,The Eukaryotic Cell, The Excretory System,
The Nervous System, The Neuron, Viruses
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Acetals/Ketals, Alkenes, Amides, Amino Acids, Aromatic Rings,
Carboxylic Acids, Elimination, Elimination and Substitution, Free
Radicals, IUPAC Nomenclature, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
Principles of Reaction Mechanisms, Protein Structure, Redox
Reactions, Spectroscopy, Stereochemistry, Substitution, The
Carbonyl Group, The Tetrahedryl Intermediate

GENERAL CHEMISTRY
Acids and Bases, Avogadros Law, Boiling, Boiling, Calorimetry,
Chemical Bonds, Electrochemical Cell, Electrolysis, Energy
Diagrams, Equation of State, Freezing Point Changes, Gases,
Grahams Law, Hesss Law, Hybridization, Hybrid Orbitals,
Hydrogen Bonds, Ionic and Covalent Bonds, Le Chateliers
Principle, Lewis Dot Structures, Liquids, Melting Points, Molecular
Polarity, Multiple Bonds, Oxidation Numbers, Phase Diagrams,
Raoults Law, Rate Law, Resonance, Solubility Product, Solutions,
The Atom, The Periodic Table, Thermochemistry,
Thermodynamics, Titrations
PHYSICS
Applying Newtons Laws, Archimedes Principle, Characteristics of
Waves, Circular Motion, Diffraction, Doppler Effect, Electric
Circuits, Electricity, Gravity, Electromagnetic Spectrum,
Electromagnetism, Energy and Entropy, Fluids, Fluids in Motion,
Force and Motion, Friction. Kirchoffs Laws, Law of Torques,
Momentum, Nuclear Reactions, Optics, Projectile Motion,
Radioactive Decay and Half-Life, Reflection, Refraction, Snells
Law, Sound,The Atom, The Critical Angle, Thin Lens, Trigonometry,
Weight and Units, Work, Work-Energy Theorem