How I scored in the top 1% on the GAMSAT Essays
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2020
- How I scored in the top 1% on the GAMSAT Essay Section (Section 2) - Tips on getting into medical school.
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This is incredible. You are a very talented guy! Thank you for your generosity in sharing these tips.
Amazing video. Wish you keep going to posting more content. This chanel is so underrated.
Structure:
- Intro, two paragraphs, conc.
-9 pieces of info
Intro
- background or context to stimulus
- define quite
- your position
- 2 arguments supporting ur position
Paragraphs
- state ur argument
- extrapolate add context
- example in real life or theory
- counter point that would refute ur argument.
- example of refute
- reason refute is wrong. Link to thesis
Con
- summarise arguments
- link to thesis
Exactly, thanks for the comment summary!
@@drchristophermaguire dear Chris, excellent video. Do you sell section 2 guides or have you written one with example essays? If you have I am really interested to buy.
thank u so much. this was explained very well and that made it even more beneficial. thank u again
So glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!
This was very helpful, thank you!
Some great tips here, best of luck with your career!
Thanks so much!
Omg this is an amazing video
Thank you sir. This is good stuff.
No trouble!
You should make a guide for all sections. You seem to be an expert in this!
I'll see what I can do.
Hello Dr.Chris! thanks a lot for sharing your essay structure. Would you please consider doing a video on a full essay with your brilliant structure?
"Enjoy the work" - I like that ethos a lot! :)
I can't thank you enough for this 😭
Happy to help!
Thank you this is really useful!
So glad it helped!
amazing stuff
Thanks for watching. Glad it helps.
Thanks a lot for sharing, it helps heaps. In your future videos, can you please please please talk about how did you orientate yourself within limited time as well as in the extremely tense environment. Thank you 😊
Great idea.
Thank u so much that was really helpful 😊
So glad it helped!
This is the absolute goods
Really glad it helped!
Thank you
Great video thanks. The new GAMSAT for 2021 Sept would be online hence in addition to polishing the essay writing skills one need to learn how to type fast on a computer keyboard right?
I agree, that will be critical if that's the way they're going.
Great video, thanks. Out of curiosity, how many quotes (ideally) would you prefer to use?
One per essay. Thank you for your support!
Thanks for the tips. Can the structure you mentioned be used for both tasks A&B ? Is that what you did ? Cheers
It can, and that is what I did. it isn't the only way of course, but I found it helpful.
Ah okay, so use argumentative structure for both tasks A and B?
Hi Chris, can I ask the two arguments in introduction, are the same ones in thet paragraphs? And why do we need to repeat it twice in the essay? Is it better to talk about it only in the main body? Thanks xx
They are the same, it is a way of signposting the range of the discussion you'll be having. It may seem ineffecient, but it reads much better than the alternative.
Excellent information Christopher, thank you! Can you provide some insight into your Section 3 preparation? ie. study routine, topics and depth of coverage, your experience without a science background?
I'll do a video on this. I apologise that i'm a bit slow in releasing. My day job is pretty time consuming. Great suggestion though, and thanks for the support.
Hello Dr Chris. Thank you so much for the brilliant structure for section 2. Regarding respond to the stimuli provided, definitely we need to choose to respond to one or more but my question is could I adopt one of the stimuli verbatim as my theme I would be responding to OR can I paraphrase each of the stimuli to come up with an accommodating theme as all stimuli seem to be talking about the same "topic".
Look forward to hearing from you.
I would choose one.
Hi there Christopher, I'm in my year 12 and have been really interested in doing an undergraduate degree to then pursue graduate medicine and eventually clinical psychology, whilst I don't perform the best academically I really want to do well on my end of year exams, do you have any tips to prepare/motivation as they are still a couple months away?
Mate, send me a message on Instagram and I’ll give you a detailed answer. Instagram handle is chris_r_maguire
Hi Chris, just trying to clear up something that you mention. Would you say that the counter-arguments should be a critic of YOUR own points that you make previously (point 1), or are they general counter arguments against what the stimulus is proposing as a whole?
I think it is to the one you make. I had the same question
They are counters to your arguments, and therefore also to your thesis, but they should be a addressed on an argument by argument basis. The idea is to show that your not creating a straw man argument. That is to say, that your arguments are realistic and open to being challenged. However, that on balance, your position is correct. Hope that clarifies.
Thank you so much for this video, I just have an inquiry about the essays. Do I write my essay based on the general theme of the quotes given or do I focus on just one quote? Sorry if you have already answered this.
The quotes are thematically related, but you are only expected to choose one as your stimulus.
Are the essay questions always set out for an argumentative style?
No. The quotes are generic, and the spectrum of written response that can be given is quite broad. I just believe this is the best structure to score well.
I learnt GAMSAT is no longer paper-based and that’s a permanent change. I guess we have to get used to typing faster.
This is a good change in my opinion.
I'm just curious how you prepared for the physics component? What is an online class?
I did a lot of textbook work, and went to a GAMSAT course that provided a decent study outline for the science sections as well as practice papers and feedback. I don't generally recommend paid courses, but given I had a non-science background it was helpful for me.
Hi, do you have any example essays using this structure?
I don't at the moment no. All of my practice materiel was written by hand. I might try drafting a few to give as exmaples. Great suggestion.
Thanks for the awesome video! Question: Can we respond directly to one quote? And can we incorporate a quote in the stimulus into our essay?
Yes on both counts, per essay. I can't remember if I included the quote in mine, but I definitely wrote it out at the top of my essay to show what my selection was.
Hi Christopher! I'm doing the gamsat in September 2020 for entry to medicine in the UK. I was wondering if you would be able to share any of your practice gamsat essays? It would be great to read one so I know if what I'm writing is of a good enough standard!
I hand wrote all of mine, and that was about 10 years ago now! I’m so sorry but I don’t have any copies remaining. The structure I outline is exactly what I used. I might try and write an example and link it to the video when I get a chance.
Hi Rosie, I’m also sitting the GAMSAT in the UK (October). Will you be interested in studying together?
@@teachyourself-stem8971 hey, I'm also sitting the GAMSAT in October in the UK and would be interested in studying with you guys :)
@@jadelily1510 can you email me pls: sonuobenni@hotmail.co.uk
@@teachyourself-stem8971 I have sent you an email :)
Hi Christopher, do you offer online tutoring sessions?
I don’t sorry. I work full time as a doctor.
@@drchristophermaguire No worries. Thanks for responding.
Hi Chris!
I was watching your video on TH-cam, “how I scored in the top 1% on the game at essays”.
I really liked your style of doing the essay and it fits with how I normally do mine too. But I was wondering, does that structure work for Task B as well? I understand that there should be some sort of personal reflection included for Task B but I don’t really know how to include that in an argumentative style essay.
Looking forward to hearing from you! I messaged you on Instagram as well to ask you this question
Replied on instagram! Hope it went well!
Hi Chris! Thanks so much for your videos, they are incredible. Regarding section II essays, are we allowed to incorporate personal statements in the argumentative essays? I.e. can I use "I believe" "I tend to" "I" ... I feel as though my argumentative piece is essentially me speaking to the marker through words, thus I would need to voice my opinions using such terms. Is this okay?
I tended to lean away from personal statements, and use terminology that was more general. For example: 'It has been suggested that..'. You can also use more declarative satements to avoid talking in the passive tense too much. That way you avoid saying 'I' all the time but nonetheless get your point across.
Hello Chris! I’m getting into undergrad soon and I aim to sit the gamsat before I graduate. May I ask when do I have to start preparing? Do I have to start preparing by the first year of university? English isn’t my native language and Im concerned whether that will be an obstacle for me. I’ve also never studied physics, let alone excelled in physics, so I’m somewhat worried about that section.
I would recommend giving yourself as much time as possible. BUt that doesn't mean you have to destroy yourself for a year. Scale up your preparation over time. Start with small consistent blocks of dedicated time and effort (30min to an hour) every few days, then slowly work yourself up to more intense work. It needs to be sustainable for you to maximise your output.
Hi Christopher, in the plan section for "outline the stimulus" do you re-quote the quotes? How would you clearly refer to 1 or 2 of the quotes out of the 5-ish provided?
I ask because it seems like it would be easy to "frankenstein-out" and essay if you attack writing the essay based on broad general topics, like beauty or technology, etc. In order to avoid "frankensteining" it out, one would be required to more precisely engage with the stimulus quotes, and I'm just wondering how you make it clear that you are doing so?
There is a bit of artistry in this. I didn’t re-quote directly, but outlined the theme that the quotes were referring too, but in a way that made it clear that I wasn’t being generic. It’s a bit hard to describe without giving examples. But if the quote related to affirmative action, for instance, then I would set the context of that broad discussion about institutionalised discrimination, before going on to put forward my position on it.
Can you apply the same structure to task B - which is more reflective ?
You can. You just need to adapt the writing style.
What do you mean by adapting the writing style?
I thought in the introduction you are meant to outline what it is you are going to be talking about in an essay? So would you not talk about the opposing view also in the intro?
No. The introduction is a simple overview. You are describing the field of battle. So you outline the arguments in the introduction, you don't 'have' the argument in the introduction.
Hey Chris, quick question; were you doing 1x argument for and against per paragraph?
2 x arguments for per paragraph, and 2 counter arguments per paragraph.
Do you offer tutoring services?
Not at this stage.
I an going to be doing my undergraduate degree next year, in year 12 currently. Do you have any tips as to how one might balance gamsat and degree work?
This is a challenge. I think it is worth being very organised around what the requirements of your degree are, and how much time you have outside of that. There are dual interests here: on the one hand, you need to score well enough in your degree to maintain the minimum GPA, but on the other, you need to do well in the GAMSAT to be eligible for entry. I did my undergraduate first, and then sat GAMSAT while I was doing a post-graduate degree, so I got around it by already having the minimum GPA requirement sorted.
Do you mind to tell me your age ?
31
It is unfortunate that an exam designed for medical school focuses so heavily on people's ability to write a non-science essay!
It’s actually important
I got 98th percentile one time and 65% the next, its HORSESHIT just meant to thin the numbers and make money.
Yeah, it's a brutal exam, I sat twice. Not a fun time.
@@drchristophermaguire
I m just planning to sit that Exam but I m kind of stuck in part 2. Can you help me with it as to how to prepare it? You have clearly explained it but I need to see all the details in real essays.