:: BMAT Helpline ::

1.

Knowledge
You need to have some knowledge about the topic of your essay, otherwise you cannot write much about that topic. Although the essay topic is unknown to you before the exam, you can still prepare yourself for writing a good essay.
What you need to do is to build up a reading habit (→
This skill can’t be build up within a few days, but if you start reading essays/articles from today (15th Oct’05) it can be worthwhile for your real exam.

2.

Observation
You need to be able to observe things happening around you and make your own judgments in nice and logical ways. For instance, you should be able to write ‘for’ and ‘against’ a topic, ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ on a statement, etc.

3.

Reading
Read newspapers, magazines, online articles, etc to gain up-to-date information about everything happening around you – this is very helpful because you’ll be able to include many points in your essays and also it’ll be possible to mention some recent examples.

4.

Experience
[font="New" Roman="Roman" Times="Times"]Experience in writing essays is the most important skill one must have in order to write a very good essay in the test. If you don’t have enough practice in writing essays then you might experience difficulties in the exam.
For BMAT, I would advise you to practise writing atleast four essays everyday – duration of each essay is 30 mins and so it’ll only take two hours a day. Writing the essay from the BMAT Specimen paper can give you an idea of writing an ideal essay for BMAT.

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Introduction
[size="3"]Topic info – rearranging the topic info part of the question in your own word

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Main body
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→ writing against the topic

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Conclusion
→
→
essay)

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Agree/Disagree on a statement → take one position only

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Analyze both ‘for & against’ → take one position after your own judgement.

1.

The night before BMAT

Don't rely on a lot of last minute revision, though there're not much to revise for this typical exam. It's OK to revise a couple of things the night before the exam, but don't get into a panic about things you don't know. Convince yourself about how much you do know.
For Sec 2, you may read Lett's GCSE Revision Guide of Physics/Chemistry/Biology.
Get all the things you need ready tonight - pens, pencils, ruler, etc. And try to get an early night.
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2.

In the exam

Arrive at the place of the exam in good time. When you start, find a question you can do well and do it straight away, even if it is not the first question on the paper - this will build your confidence.
CAUTION: Keep a careful eye on the time and keep on schedule to answer every question you need to - if you find a question you struggle to do, leave it and return to it later. If you finally can't answer a few Q's, then choose any one from the options of each Q by guessing (coz it's better to attempt Q's than leaving them blank).
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3.

Be positive

It is very easy when you are revising to get despondent and to think about all the things you cannot do or find difficult. It happens to us all. With determination and the right approach, you can succeed!