What is GAMSAT?

-GAMSAT is available to any student who has completed a Bachelor degree, or who will be in the
penultimate (second-last) or final year of study for a Bachelor degree, at the time of sitting the test.

-The test is divided into three sections designed to assess performance in the areas of:
I Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences
II Written Communication
III Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences

 

Section I: Reasoning in the Humanities and Social Sciences
The Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences section tests skills in the interpretation and understanding of ideas in social and cultural contexts. Different kinds of text are used as stimuli, including passages of personal, imaginative, expository and argumentative writing. Although most of the stimuli materials in this section are in the form of written passages, some units may present ideas and information in visual and tabular form. Materials deal with a range of academic and public issues, with an emphasis on socio-cultural, personal and interpersonal topics.
Questions in the Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences section demand varying degrees of
complex verbal processing and conceptual thinking, logical and plausible reasoning, and objective and
subjective thinking.

Questions that emphasise understanding involve the recognition of explicit and implicit meanings through close reading of words and phrases and global interpretations of text.
Questions that emphasise plausible reasoning involve interrelating, elaborating and extending concepts and ideas, and drawing conclusions.
Questions that emphasise critical thinking require candidates to make discriminations and judgments in
the realm of plausible reasoning.
Questions in this section are in multiple choice format with four alternative answers from which candidates choose the most appropriate.

 

Section II: Written Communication
The Written Communication section is a test of the ability to produce and develop ideas in writing. It
involves two thirty-minute writing tasks. Each task offers a number of ideas relating to a common theme.
The theme will be general rather than specific in nature. The first task deals with socio-cultural issues while the second deals with more personal and social issues. In selecting topics for the writing tasks every effort is made to minimise factors which might disadvantage candidates from non-English-speaking backgrounds. Written Communication is assessed on two criteria. These criteria address the quality of the thinking about a topic and the control of language demonstrated in its development. Assessment focuses on the way in which ideas are integrated into a thoughtful response to the task. Control of language (grammatical structure and expression) is an integral component of a good piece
of writing. However, it is only assessed insofar as it contributes to the overall effectiveness of the response to the task and not in isolation. Candidates are not assessed on the ‘correctness’ of the ideas or attitudes they display.

 

CRITERIA FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Raters consider the following issues:
Thought and Content
(the quality of what is said)
• what is made of and developed from the task
• the kinds of thoughts and feelings offered in response to the task
Organisation and Expression
( the quality of the structure developed and the language used)
• the shape and form of the piece
• the effectiveness and fluency of the language
Each piece of writing will be assessed by three independent raters.

 

Section III: Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences
Section III is made up of questions in three discipline areas in the following proportions:
Chemistry 40%
Biology 40%
Physics 20%
Questions from the three discipline areas are integrated throughout the section and are in multiple choice format, with four alternative answers from which candidates choose the most appropriate.
Stimulus material is presented in a variety of formats including text, mathematical, graphs, tables and
diagrams.

 

In addition to testing reasoning and problem solving within a scientific context, this section examines the
recall and understanding of basic science concepts. The skills assessed include the ability to identify knowledge in new contexts, analyse and interpret data, discover relationships, translate knowledge from one form to another, formulate and apply hypotheses and make generalisations, deduce consequences from models, follow and evaluate a line of reasoning, evaluate evidence, categorise and select information relevant to problems, generate and apply strategies to solve problems, make comparisons, extrapolate, interpolate, estimate and recognise limits in accuracy.

 

The level of subject knowledge required for the Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences section
of the test generally corresponds to the first year of university studies in biology and chemistry, and
Year 12 in physics. The test focuses primarily on problem solving and on the use of knowledge that will
be presumed at the beginning of the medical program: that is, a basic understanding of biology, chemistry (organic and physical) and physics. A student who hasmastered these general concepts should have adequate knowledge to answer questions in this section.

 

-Permitted Testing Aids
Candidates whose native language is not English may bring a printed bilingual dictionary into the test
for use in Section I and Section II only. The pages should be unmarked and all notes removed. Electronic dictionaries are not permitted. Dictionaries containing definitions of English words into the nominated language are acceptable but there must not be a translated definition back into English. Any candidate taking up this option must submit the dictionary to the supervisor for inspection before the test begins.

 

 

-Timing and Order of the Tests
A full day is needed to sit GAMSAT. This is made up of five and a half (5 1–2 ) hours of testing time and one hour of recess time.
The following table shows the structure of GAMSAT by section and time.
                                                              Number of questions Time in minutes
Section I
Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences            75                     100
Section II
Written Communication                                          2                        60
Section III
Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences          110                    170

 

There will be a lunch break of one hour between Section II and Section III. There is no break between Sections I and II. Ten minutes reading time will be given for Sections I and III and five minutes for Section II.

 

 

reference : http://gamsat.acer.edu.au/files/GAMSAT_Info_book_14.pdf