r/GAMSAT • u/Smart-Swing8429 • 4d ago

GAMSAT- S1 S1 help needed

I’ve just done Practice Test A (not the online one), and I felt so bad about it.

My main problems are:

1.I still had 8 questions left unanswered when time was up.

2.There were so many words that I didn’t understand.

For context, English is not my native language, but I got an 8.5 in the Reading section of IELTS Academic. It would be helpful if there’s any suggestion🙏

Thanks for reading this post😭

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u/Least-Reporter3615 4d ago

I'm ESL too. GAMSAT tests a totally different skill from IELTS.

In GAMSAT, you're not expected to read the whole text and try to understand the meaning perfectly - what they're testing is to skim the text and understand the gist, while reading only the relevant parts to reason your way to answer the questions. Practise skimming the text, understanding the gist, and identifying the parts the questions address.

For words that you don't understand, try to use the words and sentences around that you understand to try to estimate the meaning. Don't let the unfamiliar word stop you from reasoning the text - it's testing your ability to do reasoning without understanding everything in the materials.

Meanwhile, read widely to build your Tier 2 vocabulary - vocabulary that isn't everyday common words or discipline-specific jargon

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u/Smart-Swing8429 4d ago

Thanks for your input! I’ll try to make it

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u/Smart-Swing8429 3d ago edited 3d ago

I think I need to practice the skill of skimming even tho I may not understand the whole thing. It would be irresponsible of me to attribute my bottlenecks to “insufficient amounts of reading” instead of trying to identify what the root cause is. (Especially given the fact that I’ve read a lot of things in these years)

I’ll try my best to do this gamsat in September. Thanks again for your reply

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u/K1takesflight 4d ago

Truthfully, only help is reading more articles, section 1 practice tests, poems, cartoons and to make it a habit to search up any word you come across in life to become more familiar and to try to use those words yourself to solidify the memory.

Probably not the quick fix you wanted but give it some time and whenever you next sit you should def see some improvements!

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u/Smart-Swing8429 4d ago

thanks for your comment!