About the Essay Bank

For many years students have asked me for examples of high-scoring essays so that they can understand how to develop their own writing.

This project goes one better - it is an anonymous collection of practice essays contributed by GAMSAT sitters, categorised according to the result that their authors received in the exam itself. It groups sample essays across GAMSAT score brackets from below 50 to above 80.

In this collection you can see not just which pieces do well, but what some of the commonalities are in lower-scoring pieces.

There is a lot to learn about our own writing by reading the writing of others, whether stronger or weaker. You can develop your own writing through reflecting on which elements of lower scoring pieces are reflected in your own work; as well as thinking about what makes the writing at the upper end of the spectrum more compelling.

These essays do not reflect the essay topics or themes from the test, or reuse any content from the test itself. They are selected by individuals from practice pieces. Criteria for selection was to choose the pieces that most reflected the style and format of the pieces written on the day of the exam.

This resource is intended to increase access to free study materials and tools in the hope of addressing some of the financial barriers inherent in GAMSAT preparation.

You must use the pieces in the spirit they have been offered: do not sell, reproduce or copy them for your own financial gain.

THANK YOU to all the students who contributed to this bank.