GAMSAT Preparation: Tips for Improving Your General Knowledge

You always thought that general knowledge is something everyone has, right? It’s kind of like common sense? Well, no. Just as common sense is not all that common, general knowledge too, is something that cannot be found too easily among the general public at large. But you need not worry if you feel as though your own general knowledge is not up to standard for the GAMSAT. There as some sure-fire ways to quickly bring your knowledge up to the level required for the GAMSAT.

Your first port of call should be the newspapers. Luckily, we now live in an era where newspapers are freely and easily available online. Now, while selecting which newspapers to read don’t be too snobby. More respectable newspapers are, often, not as in touch with popular culture or the subject’s du-jour as more popular and widely read newspapers. This does not mean you should dive into the first tabloid you get, as you are unlikely to find much worth. Instead select a popular national newspaper.

While reading a newspaper, the most useful parts for you to read in preparation for your GAMSAT test will be the major headline stories and the opinion pieces/editorials. It is important for you to be familiar with the major stories. It is advisable that you read these sections of the newspaper daily for at least three months before you sit your GAMSAT.

Watching popular news and current affairs programs will also be helpful. Many of the stories and opinions will mirror what you have read in the newspaper, but the information will be presented in a more concise and dynamic way. Your skills of communication will certainly benefit from acquainting yourself closely with these.

Talk to people! And preferably not people that you know well or are friends with, as they are likely to already share your thoughts and opinions on most topics. If you want to broaden your general knowledge it is much better to talk to people that you don’t know. Thankfully, we live in the Internet-age, in which this can be done safely. So strike up a discussion by leaving comments on someone’s blog, join a news group or similar online community or use your MSN Messenger to search for people keen to discuss topics that are currently in the news.

When speaking about general knowledge topics it is always good to have something specific to say. The United Nations website (www.un.org) is an excellent resource for highly specific information on a wide range of topics and issues currently pertinent to our world.

Finally, you do not want to be perceived by a GAMSAT marker to have the same generic opinions on popular topics as everybody else. We all agree that Global Warming is a serious crisis and that governments ought to do more to combat the problem, but such a belief is so common that it is neither impressive nor inspiring to a GAMSAT marker. Have something original and specific to say. Lastly, be sure to run some of your thoughts among the people you talk to, to see how they react.  Then you already have a number of clearly formulated and interesting ideas on a variety of topics before you walk in for the GAMSAT.