Tools · Section 2
GAMSAT Section 2 practice test
Two writing tasks under one 65-minute clock, in a writing surface built to have exactly what the real test application has — and nothing it does not. No spellcheck, no autocorrect, no paste.
- 65minutes for both tasks
- 2writing tasks
- 4statements per task
- 115themes to draw from
What this does and does not do
It gives you the conditions: a pooled 65-minute timer, original prompts, and a plain writing surface with the tools removed. Afterwards it hands your response back with a structured self-review against ACER’s two published criteria.
It does not score you. No mark, no band, no percentile. Section 2 is judged on the quality of thinking by human markers, and nothing that could run in your browser can assess that honestly.
Two writing tasks, 65 minutes
One clock covers both tasks, and you can move between them freely — that is how ACER describes its own timed tool. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is saved, and nothing is scored.
Both prompts appear when the clock starts. Nothing is readable in advance, because nothing is readable in advance on the day. Have paper and a pen next to you before you begin.
- • No spellcheck and no autocorrect, because the test application has neither.
- • Paste is blocked. To reword a sentence you select, delete and retype, which is slower than you expect.
- • The clock does not stop, including for a bathroom break.
- • Plan on paper. Two A4 sheets or an erasable whiteboard are permitted in the real sitting; no on-screen scratchpad is.
Why the writing surface is this bare
Practising in a word processor teaches habits the exam will not support.
ACER’s own timed practice tool states that “You cannot use the copy and paste function within this version”, and four independent sources agree the exam interface offers no spellcheck and no autocorrect. Most competitors tell candidates to write in whatever they have to hand, which silently corrects their typing, hides their real speed and trains a reflex the application will refuse.
| Feature | In the GAMSAT test application | Here |
|---|---|---|
| Spellcheck | Not available | Disabled |
| Autocorrect and autocapitalise | Not available | Disabled |
| Copy and paste | Not available | Paste is blocked |
| Countdown timer | Built into the application | Built in, pooled across both tasks |
| Planning surface | Physical only — paper or an erasable whiteboard, checked by the proctor | None on screen, on purpose |
| Word counter | Not documented either way | Optional — hide it if you want strict fidelity |
No copy-paste is the one that hurts. To move a paragraph or reword a sentence you select, delete and retype. Your effective typing speed under exam conditions is materially lower than it is in software that lets you shuffle text around, and the place to discover that is here rather than in the sitting.
The word counter is the one honest uncertainty on this page. No source confirms or denies that the real application shows one, so it is optional here rather than asserted. Hide it if you want the strictest replication.
One clock, not two
ACER describes Section 2 as two 30-minute writing tasks inside 65 minutes, and its timed practice tool runs that total as a single continuous block: “you will have 65 minutes to complete both tasks starting from the time you open and commence the test”. When the time expires, whatever you have typed is submitted for scoring. This tool behaves the same way, which is why you can move between the two tasks freely.
Treat 30minutes per task as ACER’s guide to what markers expect from a response, not as a gate that closes on you.
There is no separate reading period
ACER no longer publishes a reading-time breakdown. Earlier booklets (2020–2022) itemised it; the 2026 edition does not.
You will find “5 minutes reading, then 30 minutes per essay” published widely. One provider states directly that candidates are now permitted to write during the five minutes that were previously reserved for planning. We publish no reading-time figure because ACER publishes none — plan against the total.
How the self-review works
ACER publishes exactly two criteria. This is built from them and from nothing else.
| Criterion | What ACER says it covers |
|---|---|
| Thought and content | The quality of what is said — what you make of and develop from the task, and the kinds of thoughts you offer in response to it. |
| Organisation and expression | The quality of the structure you develop and the language you use — the shape and form of the piece, and the effectiveness and fluency of the language. |
ACER also publishes the five questions its examiners consider: what kinds of ideas you developed in response to the prompt; to what extent and how well you explored the ideas and issues in it; whether you developed a structured and organised piece; whether you wrote clearly and fluently; and whether your language was precise and appropriate for the topic. The checklist after you finish is those questions turned into things you can actually check on your own page.
Note the second one. “To what extent and how well have you explored” rewards depth, which contradicts the common instinct to list several examples shallowly and to touch every statement in the prompt.
Worth knowing while you review: each response is scored independently 3 times. A single unusual marker cannot sink you, and a gimmick that charms one reader has to charm three.
No weighting, and no predicted score
We publish no weighting between the two criteria, because none exists. The 60/40 split in circulation comes from a preparation provider’s marking sheet whose own author states that ACER has never revealed its exact marking criteria. Another provider asserts they are equal. Neither has a source.
What ACER does publish is a dependency: control of language is an integral component of good writing but “it is not assessed in isolation”— it is assessed only insofar as it contributes to the overall effectiveness of the response. Thought is the object of assessment; language is the vehicle carrying it.
We also never predict a mark.ACER’s own paid practice tool returns an automated score with no explanation, and candidates consistently report it under-predicting their real result by ten points or more. A number you cannot act on is worse than no number, and a number we invented would be worse still.
Spelling does not cost you marks. Grammar can.
ACER states it under a heading of its own: “Spelling and punctuation errors will not impact your scores.” This is one of the most widely disbelieved facts about the exam, and it is the reason the application ships no spellcheck — none is needed, because nothing is being counted.
Grammar is a different matter, and the distinction is precise.Grammar sits inside control of language, which is assessed — but only through its effect on whether your idea lands. A sentence whose grammar obscures the point costs you, because the point did not arrive. Nothing is tallied as an error count.
The practical consequence: do not spend the last minutes of a task proofreading spelling. Spend them making sure the argument is clear.
Every prompt here is original
The prompts this tool serves are drawn from our own library of 115 themes. Every statement was written for this site, is unattributed, and is neither a real ACER quote set nor a copy of another provider’s.
That is not only a legal position. ACER plagiarism-checks every Written Communication response, including with AI, against previously submitted responses and against text supplied by preparation providers, and warns that a candidate can be flagged “even if you have not seen the original source”. Rehearsing repeatedly against a recycled real prompt is a risk to your own score. Original material carries none of it.
Generate a specific theme, or drill a single one, on the Section 2 quote generator. Any prompt there can be carried straight into this timed surface.
Common questions
How long is GAMSAT Section 2?
65 minutes in total for 2 writing tasks. ACER describes them as 30-minute tasks, but its own timed tool runs the 65 minutes as one continuous block, so the split is guidance rather than a hard gate. The 2026 booklet documents no separate reading period.
Is there spellcheck in GAMSAT Section 2?
No. There is no spellcheck, no autocorrect and no copy-paste in the test application, and this practice surface disables all three. It is coherent with ACER’s own statement that spelling and punctuation errors do not affect your score: no checker is provided because nothing is being counted.
Do you mark my essay?
No, and no free tool that claims to should be trusted with it. We hand your response back alongside ACER’s two published criteria and its five examiner questions, turned into checks you apply yourself. We do not generate a mark, a band or a percentile, and we publish no weighting between the criteria because ACER publishes none.
How long should my Section 2 essay be?
ACER publishes no word count, no minimum and no maximum, and advises candidates not to be concerned about length because quality matters much more. Preparation providers publish targets from 350 to 600 words and disagree with each other. Length and score correlate only weakly and through a common cause — someone who can develop an idea under time pressure naturally writes more. There is a practical floor below which developed thought cannot be shown, and no ceiling benefit. Padding attacks the exact thing being measured.
Can I write a narrative or a reflective piece for Task B?
Yes. ACER describes the themes of the two tasks and never prescribes a response format. Candidates have scored 80 and above with reflective pieces and letters. The honest qualification is about variance rather than permission: one essay-marking service reports creative pieces attracting a wider spread of marks recently, and the densest cluster of high scores sits with discursive prose. Play to your strength, decide on the day, and do not experiment close to the exam.
Where do the prompts come from?
Our own library of 115 themes, of which 16 carry the labels ACER’s own practice material uses and 15 are attested from the September 2025 and March 2026 sittings. Theme labels are facts about the exam. The statements are written by us and appear nowhere else. See the quote generator.
Is my writing saved or sent anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser, nothing is transmitted, and nothing is stored. Closing the tab loses the response — copy anything you want to keep before you leave the page.
GAMSAT®is a registered trademark of the Australian Council for Educational Research. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ACER, and performance here does not predict a GAMSAT result — see scope and limitations.