GAMSAT Essay: Improving Your Written Communication Skills for GAMSAT

It is sometimes really hard to make yourself clear and get your point across to people even in everyday conversations. It becomes more difficult when you’re under-pressure and have to articulate something profound on the spot. So, how do you go about improving your written communication skills for the GAMSAT?

First and foremost, it’s all about structure. A well structured piece will instantly strike the reader as more impressive than a poorly structured one. Surely you have heard the proverb that first impressions are often last impressions. Well, this is equally applicable in the case of those responsible for marking exam papers. A well structured response is one that is divided into short (5-8 sentences for a Body paragraph, 3-4 sentences for an Introduction or Conclusion) paragraphs. These paragraphs need to be clearly separated by a blank line and each must begin with a simply worded thesis sentence. Always remember: New point = New Paragraph.

A well written response lives and dies on the strength of its introduction. It is well-worth the time to carefully plan your introduction, because if you do so the rest of your written response will flow logically on from there. And with a clear structure established at the outset, it should make your response a lot easier to write. A good introduction is one that clearly engages with the question or statement that you are asked to respond to. It is important to use the key nouns in the question/statement in the formulation of your thesis; your thesis is what you believe or hope to prove in your response. Once you have a clearly established thesis, you must then support your views with three to four examples and reasons why you believe this. These three to four reasons each need to be discussed in turn in a separate body paragraph.

Paragraphs that make the body of the essay should be similar, almost identical, in structure so as to ensure consistency and cohesion in the structure of the essay. Each paragraph must start with a clear statement. The simple formula for a highly effective thesis sentence is:

Topic + Key words from the question/statement

It is preferable to use similar phrasing in the articulation of your key sentences to that used in the listing of your topics/points in the introduction. Once you have clearly established what the paragraph is to be about, it is time to elaborate and explain. No matter what the issue you are discussing is, it is essential that you localise the discussion. For instance, it is impossible to prove that war does not have any harmful effects. Why? Because the lack of specific limitations of time, place and context makes your belief far too big to ever prove it right. It is impossible to prove that all wars, in all places, since the beginning of time were good. However, it is possible to prove that one or two specific wars did more good than bad. The final advice on how to frame paragraphs is to be as specific as possible when you are giving examples. Sweeping generalisations or vague references to sources will prove to be ineffectual because it demonstrates a lack of familiarity with the topic.

That brings us to the question of how to write a good concluding paragraph. Well, if you have written the rest of the essay properly – writing the conclusion becomes much easier! You just need to re-state the thesis with greater confidence, sum up your points and then offer a final insight. Writing the final insight can be tricky. Try to end your essay by linking your thoughts to a famous quote, commonly held belief or piece of conventional wisdom. It is sure going to be more effective that way.