6 GAMSAT Essay Structures PROS & CONS | Section 2

In this video, I break down the general structure of the 6 categories of essay formats that can be used in GAMSAT Section 2. I also give my pros and cons list for each to help you work out where your strengths lie and which style best suits your writing style.
Timestamps
What is a GAMSAT essay? 1:03
Persuasive Essays 3:30
Analytical Essays 7:13
Philosophical Essays 11:09
Discursive Essays 15:51
Reflective Essays 19:09
Creative Writing 23:52
I've also now put together a resources page:www.notion.so/simplifiedstudy...
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Hey, I'm Jesse, I'm a professional private tutor and founder of Simplified Study Tutoring. Since 2011, I've been helping students take a simpler approach to their studies and educating people in anything from science and maths to English and economics. In March 2021 I sat the GAMSAT and achieved an 84 including a 100 in Section 3. Hopefully, that's credentials enough to give this video a good watchin'.
Follow me:
📸 Instagram: / osbourne_jesse

[@davemi123]

Love the work Jesse!!!

[@kentjoyner9454]

Great video! do you have any example essays/writing pieces or any recommendations on where I could read an example of each type that you have explained here?

[@jesseosbourne]

Hey Kent, thanks for watching!
You might want to check out my resources page where I post my practice essays from my 'write with me' series and some other subscribers post up theirs as well. Most are in the argumentative, philosophical, and expository formats.
simplifiedstudytutoring.notion.site/GAMSAT-Resources-f3349dbfb4ef460b9dc2bf5f01e25390
Otherwise, I'd recommend browsing this link: tetw.org/Greats
There are some good reflective pieces among others. They're a bit longer than would be expected for a GAMSAT essay but might give some inspiration

[@user-pp6on5yk6f]

in reflection styled would you also look at the situation and what you would do differently ?

[@jesseosbourne]

There's really no hard and fast structure to follow so you could do this, you could do something totally different. Do what allows you to communicate best

[@megaparajuli4693]

Hey Jesse! What essay style did you use for Task B?

[@jesseosbourne]

I never really had a strict style or structure to my writing, especially with task B. In March 21 I stuck with a more traditional analytical persuasive kind of style but in March 22 I wrote a hybrid of argumentative with elements of personal reflection. For me, I tried to just write what I felt fit for the idea I was putting forward rather than trying to not to a certain style or structure. Everyone's different

[@johnny_phouc_21]

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but would you recommend to write in first or third person?

[@jesseosbourne]

Both can work but it probably depends on your writing style and the context of your essay. If you are writing a broad sociological point that you are trying to generalise or preach to a large audience then I'd say third is a little safer as it implies your point is based on an objective observation and analysis of the world around us.
Consider the two very basic statements as a comparison;
The view that Capitalism exploits the masses and benefits the wealthy few, draws on evidence throughout history (third person)
I believe that Capitalism exploits the masses and benefits the wealthy few because of what I've observed in history. (First person)
First person would be useful in reflective pieces or personal anecdotes whereas third might come off a little cold and unemotional.
I was not able to appreciate the importance of love of family until it became fragmented.
The concepts of love of family can not be truly appreciated until it becomes fragmented.
It's not a hard and fast rule and I'm sure that people have probably found success with the alternative viewpoints in each but generally speaking, these comparisons might be helpful to consider.

[@johnny_phouc_21]

@@jesseosbourne Thank you for the detailed response!

[@caraellis2827]

Will you get penalised for using the same style for both task a and task b.

[@jesseosbourne]

I don't think so. There's nothing in the ACER info book that says a specific style is required for either task or that the essay formats have to vary from task A to task B. I usually lean towards analytical styles in my essays for both and wrote an analytical for both in March 21 and it seemed to go down fine :)

[@siobhanmoody1285]

Hey-o - this is a public forum but desperate times call for desperate measures. Registered to sit but then haven’t prepped- I mean at all. It’s in just under two hours for section 2. Was going to pull out but didn’t. So here we are now. Yay. IF I absolutely bomb - (which is the most likely outcome) and sit again in September with prep do they look at this attempt too?

[@Sarahjay1234]

they'll only look at the scores that you submit, most applications will let you add multiple gamsat scores if you want/to increase your chances if you do slightly better in one section thatn another in different sittings. But you can just not add the gamsat scores for march and only submit your september scores.