Section 2 · Written Communication
How to Write a GAMSAT Essay
Two tasks, one clock, no spellcheck, and two sheets of paper you are allowed to use and most candidates forget about. This is the process, from opening the prompt to the last sentence you will have time to fix.
- 65minutes, pooled
- 2tasks to cover
- 2planning sheets allowed
- 0minutes of reading time
The short version
You get 65 minutes for both tasks as a single pool. ACER guides you toward 30 minutes each, but nothing stops you overspending on the first — and nothing rescues you if you do. There is no separate reading time in the current format. You may plan on paper. You may not spellcheck, autocorrect or paste.
The clock, and the figure to stop planning around
ACER describes Section 2 as two 30-minute writing tasks. Its description of the timed test application is more precise, and more consequential:
ACER, on how the clock runs
“you will have 65 minutes to complete both tasks starting from the time you open and commence the test. This means if you have not completed both tasks in 65minutes, what you have typed/completed will be submitted for scoring.”
That is one pool, not two gates. The practical difference is large: if the first theme grips you and you write for 42 minutes, the second task gets 23 — and whatever state it is in when the clock stops is what three markers read.
There is no five minutes of reading time
ACER no longer publishes a reading-time breakdown. Earlier booklets (2020–2022) itemised it; the 2026 edition does not.
The “5 minutes reading + 60 minutes writing” breakdown is still published across the preparation market. It describes a format that no longer exists. One major provider says so directly: students “are now permitted to writein the 5 minutes that were previously allocated solely for planning.” Plan for a single block you allocate yourself.
A working split for the 65 minutes
Nothing here is ACER’s. It is an allocation that fits the pooled clock and leaves the second task intact, which is the failure mode worth designing against.
| Minutes | Phase | What you are doing |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | Read and choose — Task A | Read all four statements. Name the tension in a phrase. Decide your contention. |
| 4–7 | Plan on paper — Task A | Three or four beats on the sheet, in order. Not sentences. This is what the sheets are for. |
| 7–30 | Write — Task A | Straight through. Do not reread from the top. |
| 30–32 | Hard switch | Whatever state Task A is in, move. This is the discipline the pooled clock demands. |
| 32–38 | Read, choose and plan — Task B | Same process, slightly compressed. |
| 38–60 | Write — Task B | Straight through. |
| 60–65 | Close both | Finish the sentence you are in, make sure each piece ends rather than stops, fix anything that obscures meaning. |
The hard switch at 30 minutes is the part people skip and the part that matters. Two finished pieces of uneven quality outscore one polished piece and one abandoned one, because each response is marked on its own.
What you are allowed to have on the desk
Section 2 is remote-proctored for everyone, sat from your own room about three weeks before Sections 1 and 3. GAMSAT runs across two sittings approximately three weeks apart. Written Communication is remote-proctored; Sections 1 and 3 are sat at a test centre.The permissions below are ACER’s, and the first one is routinely wasted.
| Item | Permitted? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Planning paper | Yes | 2 A4 sheets, or an erasable whiteboard or laminated A4 sheet. Destroyed or wiped in front of the proctor at the end — failing to is misconduct. |
| Bilingual paper dictionary | Yes | Only if English is not your first language. Paper only, bilingual only — no English-to-English definitions, no electronic dictionaries. |
| Spellcheck | No | The writing surface has none. |
| Autocorrect | No | None. |
| Copy and paste | No | Disabled. Restructuring a paragraph means retyping it, which is a real argument for planning first. |
| Phone or smart watch | No | Prohibited. The application shows a countdown timer. |
| Bathroom break | Yes | Permitted — but the timer does not stop. |
Use the paper
With no copy-paste, the cost of discovering your third point should have been your first is retyping the whole passage. Two minutes of beats on a sheet buys that back. Practise with the paper in front of you, or you will not reach for it on the day.
The process, step by step
- Read all four statements before you think about a position. They share a theme, and the theme is only visible across the set. Deciding after reading two is how candidates end up arguing with one statement instead of writing about the topic.
- Say what the tension is, in one phrase, on paper. Not the subject — the disagreement. This single line is what stops the piece drifting.
- Take a position you can complicate. Candidates reporting the highest scores describe finding grey areas where neither agreement nor disagreement is honest. A position you can only assert has nowhere to go after paragraph one.
- Pick one statement, maybe two, and engage them properly. The balance of high-scorer experience is firmly against touching all four. See essay structure.
- Plan three or four beats, in order. Each beat is a move in the argument, not a topic. Then stop planning.
- Write straight through without rereading from the top. Rereading is the most expensive habit available to you on a pooled clock.
- Switch tasks on time, not on completion.
- Spend the last minutes on endings, not on spelling. ACER states spelling and punctuation errors will not impact your scores. An essay that stops mid-thought is a different problem.
Three things that will cost you
| Mistake | Why it costs | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bringing a memorised essay or paragraph | Scores poorly on its own terms, and can be flagged as plagiarism even if you never saw the original text | ACER |
| Listing four examples instead of developing two | Examiners are asked to what extent and how well you explored the ideas — extent, not count | ACER |
| Reaching for vocabulary you do not control | Misused high-level vocabulary reportedly “sets a tone of incompetence” | Candidate-reported |
Common questions
How long do I get for each GAMSAT essay?
ACER describes two 30-minute tasks, but the clock is a single 65-minute pool covering both. Nothing forces you to switch at the halfway point, and nothing gives the time back if you do not.
Is there reading time in GAMSAT Section 2?
ACER no longer publishes a reading-time breakdown. Earlier booklets (2020–2022) itemised it; the 2026 edition does not. Any source publishing a five-minute reading phase is describing the pre-2023 format.
Can I plan on paper?
Yes. You may have 2 A4 sheets, or an erasable whiteboard or laminated sheet. It must be destroyed or wiped in front of the proctor at the end. Given there is no copy-paste in the writing application, planning on paper is worth the minutes it costs.
Do I have to respond to all four statements?
ACER requires only that your response relates to the topic — the theme the four statements share. Candidate consensus, including the r/GAMSAT wiki, is that most high scorers engage one or two closely rather than covering all four.
What happens if I run out of time?
ACER states plainly that whatever you have typed at 65 minutes is submitted for scoring. There is no grace period and no separate submission step for the second task.
Can I use AI to practise writing essays?
For feedback on your own writing, that is your call. For generating text you then reuse, no: ACER checks responses for AI use and against previously submitted GAMSAT responses, and treats pre-prepared material as a misconduct risk as well as a scoring one.