Past GAMSAT Essay Topics
Here is a list of some past Gamsat essay topics which have come up before in the test.
These previous Gamsat essay topics have been reported by actual candidates after past sittings of the test over several years so we know they are accurate.
If you'd like to download these as a PDF just click here > Gamsat Essay Topics
After the general previous Gamsat topics below I've also included some Gamsat style quotes you can use to practice writing your own essays. These are also included in the PDF above.
If you'd like to get a full length Section 3 Practice Test with worked answers and which also contains two more essay prompts for Section 2 then fill in the form to the left on this blog or click the link below.
https://www.gamsatreview.com/gamsat-practice-test
Past GAMSAT Essay Topics Task A
Equality/whether everyone has equal opportunities
Respect towards people of power/discipline/questioning people in power
Trust and respect in society
Over population
Taxation/welfare systems
Tolerance and prejudice
Affirmative action
Censorship
Intelligence vs. knowledge
Relationship of past, present, future
Nature vs. nurture
Originality
Benefits of technology
Climate change
Past GAMSAT Essay Topics Task B
Whether the rich/poor are happier
Marriage and the idealism around it
Recreation and rest/we used to not have enough, now too much
How our habits define who we are
Celebrity and influence
Happiness/what defines a good life
Confidence
Respect for age vs. pursuit of youth
Knowledge vs. Wisdom
Does pain make you appreciate joy?
Do looks matter?
Pets
Now you've read the list of some past Gamsat essay topics let me say something about them.
I've published them here to satisfy student demand, everyone asks about them. Maybe you arrived here yourself as a result of an internet search for this topic.
But they really won't help you that much...
At most these examples will give you some psychological comfort when you see that most of them aren't that difficult. They're the sort of typical bland, boring essay subjects that you would guess would come up if someone asked you to take a guess and make a list.
There's nothing surprising or mysterious here.
Now maybe you are one of those people who thinks that if you practice writing essays on a LOT of different prior topics, then maybe one of those same themes will come up in your actual test and so it will be that much easier for you.
But that is a fallacious idea.
First of all even if ACER does re-use topics (it has never been confirmed) the chances of one of them coming up in your particular sitting is miniscule. Add to that the fact that in recent years we are seeing that not everyone gets the same topics or sets of quotes for section 2 anyway. So even if they did happen to re-use a set of themes the chances of you getting them are even smaller.
It will be a much better use of your time to practice an ESSAY WRITING SYSTEM which can cope with turning ANY set of quotes into a high scoring essay.
That way you won't have to rely on luck or be at the mercy of any particular topic. A good essay writing method should enable you to deal with any subject or theme that the Gamsat throws at you.
The essay writing system inside the Gamsat Review Home Study Course for example is designed to do exactly that.
Tips To Improve Your GAMSAT Essays
1. Argue for both sides of an issue rather than just giving an opinion piece from one point of view. This will demonstrate thought and consideration and help you pick up the marks for quality of thinking.
2. Learn a variety of stock phrases for openers, closers, introducing your arguments and your conclusions. This will help you avoid repetition and also help give your essay structure.
3. Try to express ideas and reasoning rather than reproducing large chunks of memorized facts. The examiners want to assess your intellectual reasoning, not read a history book or a technical manual.
4. Develop your knowledge of history, philosophy, psychology and political thought. There is no short cut to this but you can get a head start by reading works designed to give a quick introduction to the main concepts and ideas. I recommend the book 50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know by Ben Dupré which is an easy to read and quick guide to the main concepts of Western thought covering philosophy, religion, politics, economics, the arts and the sciences.
5. Practice writing your Gamsat essays under exam conditions. Sticking to the 30 minute time limit will focus your mind and develop the speed necessary for the real thing. It will also help develop your handwriting skills. Don't underestimate the difficulty of maintaining nice legible writing for the examiner to read after writing as quickly as possible for an hour straight. Especially if like most people you usually work on a computer.
6. Get your essays looked at by a qualified person after you've written them and ask for feedback. A qualified person probably isn't another Gamsat candidate in the same position as you that you met on a student forum or in a Gamsat Facebook group. Try and get one of your teachers or university lecturers to take a look or someone who has done Gamsat before and scored highly in section 2. Or, even better, you could get them marked by a professional Gamsat Essay Marking service.
7. Finally practice, practice, practice. Essay writing is a skill which must be developed. To help you, below are two essay tasks very similar to what you will find in the real test. Find a quiet place for 30 minutes and try and write two essays putting into practice all the advice given above.
Example Gamsat Essay Topics
Writing Task A
Consider the following comments and develop a piece of writing in response to one or more of them. Your writing will be judged on the quality of what you have to say in response to the theme, how well you organize and present your point of view, and how effectively you express yourself. You will not be judged on your views or attitudes.
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The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative.
John Dewey
A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.
Horace Mann
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
Oscar Wilde
He who opens a school door, closes a prison.
Victor Hugo
It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.
Robert Green Ingersoll
Writing Task B
Consider the following comments and develop a piece of writing in response to one or more of them. Your writing will be judged on the quality of what you have to say in response to the theme, how well you organize and present your point of view, and how effectively you express yourself. You will not be judged on your views or attitudes.
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Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
Mark Twain
Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire.
William Penn
Expensive clothes are a waste of money.
Meryl Streep
I don’t design clothes; I design dreams.
Ralph Lauren
It is interesting to question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.
Henry David Thoreau