Why ‘Reading Widely’ Is A Waste Of Time For Section 1
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A lot of people say, ‘Oh, you can’t study for Section 1. You kind of just have to know it’.
Well, that’s not true. They say, ‘I’ll read widely and then fingers crossed something will work’ – and that is one of my pet peeves!
The whole reading widely thing, it’s a waste of time. Don’t do it. Anybody who tells you to read widely is really telling you that they don’t know what you should be doing and you should just read a whole bunch of things and hopefully something works out.
It’s not effective. It’s not specific. It’s a waste of time and you need to be more targeted, more specific (I’m going to keep using that word) and more strategic in the way that you prepare for Section 1 because it’s a BIG section. It’s an important section. There are so many topics that can come up.
You’ve got poetry, you have drama, fiction, nonfiction, the old stuff, the new stuff, the short ones, the long ones! And if you’ve heard anything from anyone who’s done the GAMSAT before, they’ll tell you that Section 1 has passages that are huge and you have to pump through so much in such a short period of time, that they often run out of time.
They end up going over things again and again and they get it wrong and they come to me and they say, ‘Dr.Tom, how do I improve Section 1? I don’t actually know how to do. People tell me read widely but that’s not working. Should I have a vocab list?’, again, it’s not a very effective way of doing things.
The other kind of problem that a lot of people have with Section 1 is because it is so broad, so many different topics, what do you actually do? How do you actually study for it? Many struggle with this particular thing.
So, you have to be specific and targeted and it really depends on you – What it is that you read, what you study for Section 1 depends on you and your background and your situation and what your experiences are.
Now, take me for example, English isn’t my first language. I have an English Second Language (ESL) background, and now my English is as good as a native speaker and I was able to be successful in Section 1, get through, get in and become a doctor.
So, if I can do it, then you can too, but, the big question is HOW.
Now, like I said, firstly, it depends on your situation, your background, what you’re struggling with and so there are a number of things to consider. So, after reading this and thinking ‘oh my god, this is so me’ then there are two options you can take:
- Read my ebook ‘How to Pass the GAMSAT’ because there you’ll see how to prepare for the GAMSAT and tips about all the sections not just S1
- Get in touch with the team to see how we can help with your situation
