ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => GAT (General Achievement Test) => Topic started by: Aaron on June 11, 2017, 08:08:11 pm

Title: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 11, 2017, 08:08:11 pm
General Achievement Test (GAT)
Questions, Discussion and Comments

For 2019 GAT discussion, click here!
Note: To ask a question here, you will first need to register an account.

With the increased discussion lately regarding the General Achievement Test, we thought it would be appropriate to create a thread to collate all the discussion for easy access (given there isn't a specific forum for it).

If you have a question or comment about the GAT, please post it here rather than posting it somewhere else.

Thanks!

Additional Links:
If there is something missing that you think is worth adding, let me know

Why is the GAT important and what effect does it have on my VCE?
The GAT for majority of students will play a very minor role in the calculation of their study scores, and thus, their ATAR. However, the GAT plays a more important role if you require a derived exam score (due to illness or inability to sit an exam).

You cannot predict the future. It is fine now to say you will not need it, but circumstances change and unexpected things do happen. Put yourself in the best possible position and at least attempt it genuinely.

For more information: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/gat/relates.aspx
What preparation can I do before the GAT?
The GAT is exactly what it stands for: General Achievement Test. It tests a broad range of skills, and therefore, there is no significant preparation that you can do. The next best thing is to look at the past GAT papers and at least understand what you will be required to do. Included in the previous spoiler is a list of exams from the past years. You will see that the writing task requirements do not change, so you can take comfort in knowing that you will have to do something similar (with different prompts and infographics, of course).

The GAT is not like an end-of-year VCAA exam. The overall significance is minimal. This does not mean don't try, it means that you should not be working yourself up over it. Understand what you will need to do, and go from there. Try your hardest.

Last updated 4/06/2018 by Aaron: Added 2017 past paper and MC solutions
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: riyaxxs on June 11, 2017, 08:26:25 pm
Hi! The GAT is coming up reallly soon and I'm a little anxious about the writing component...I know there are a lot of threads about it but I'm still quite confused about what you can write and what you shouldn't write. I'm in year 12 this year and I didn't do badly last year, but I would still like to do as well as I can because the GAT can only help you right?

Firstly, IS a creative piece allowed for writing task 1? And regardless of whether I write kinda creatively or just an essay, do I have to refer directly to the graphs and the information they present? Or just indirectly refer to the material?

And with the second piece what does it mean by evidence?! I think last year one of the topics was "we need to work hard to appreciate our leisure time" and I have no clue what that could possibly entail? Am I meant to give anecdotal evidence?

I know these questions have probably been asked before, but I can't seem to find any clear-cut responses? Thank-you to anyone who can answer this, I really appreciate it :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 12, 2017, 12:27:41 am
Hi riya, welcome to ATAR Notes. Have you had a chance to look at the actual GAT paper from last year in detail (available here if you have not: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/GAT/2017/2016gat-cpr-w.pdf)?

I'm not sure why Task 1's instructions aren't showing in the PDF for the 2016 GAT paper..... but they are visible + the same for the 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Based on the GAT's from previous years (here: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/gat/gat.aspx):
* Task 1 requires you to present the evidence/facts outlined in the infographic (not an argument)
* Task 2 requires you to use one of the prompts to develop a piece that presents your point of view.
* Then you have your multi-choice questions.

It may be worth looking at the GAT past papers for the last 3 years to get an idea of what it is asking. I can't really comment much more given I did my GAT a while ago now, going off trends.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: osporth on June 12, 2017, 01:31:11 am
Heyy! I have a couple questions regarding what the GAT actually is important for because I'm hearing a lot of mixed messages. My school gave us this big chat about it and said that it can influence your SAC results/actual study scores?? We were told that if you do super well on the GAT but your actual marks are not that great they will take into account the GAT for scaling or something? Also, we were told if you do very badly on the GAT your scores can get scaled down? I haven't heard about this anywhere else and I feel like it probably isn't entirely truthful but I'm a bit worried :-\

Thanks!


Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 12, 2017, 02:16:23 am
The impact of the GAT on your scores is quite minimal osporth, unless you require a derived score due to illness or inability to sit the exam for a subject.

Here is some info directly from the VCAA which should (somewhat) clarify these concerns: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/gat/relates.aspx

Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: The Waterboy on June 12, 2017, 02:47:23 pm
When they derive your study score, do they use your score from the GAT on all sections together? I'm not doing any humanities so I'm thinking on not doing the humanities section of the GAT.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: hahahaha on June 12, 2017, 03:54:39 pm
When they derive your study score, do they use your score from the GAT on all sections together? I'm not doing any humanities so I'm thinking on not doing the humanities section of the GAT.

The derived score takes into account all sections, how much is dependent on the subject that the score is being calculated for. Remember, the GAT is a test of skills, so the analytical component from the humanities questions, for example, is also considered in any other subject that requires a similar skill set (i.e essentially every subject). 
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: lilyrosee on June 12, 2017, 04:17:50 pm
The derived score takes into account all sections, how much is dependent on the subject that the score is being calculated for. Remember, the GAT is a test of skills, so the analytical component from the humanities questions, for example, is also considered in any other subject that requires a similar skill set (i.e essentially every subject). 


I was also wondering this as I do not do any maths or science subjects so how will my ability in English, Literature, Drama, Media & Australia History be indicative of my score in the maths section, a subject I have to taken for 2 years!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: www on June 12, 2017, 05:24:06 pm
I was also wondering this as I do not do any maths or science subjects so how will my ability in English, Literature, Drama, Media & Australia History be indicative of my score in the maths section, a subject I have to taken for 2 years!

Remember, the GAT is not directly like the maths or science subjects, they're testing skills like critical reading and problem solving. You're not going to walk into the GAT and be given a specialist maths question to answer. The questions for what's considered 'science' and 'maths' are often quite abstract anyway and plenty of people who consider themselves strong in maths find it odd too.

Every question, no matter humanities, maths, or science, provides all you need to know to be able to fairly have a good attempt at the question. Don't sweat it! Do your best, but don't stress out about it.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 13, 2017, 05:05:58 pm
Good luck to all sitting the GAT tomorrow. If you are worried or want to know the types of tasks you'll be expected to complete, see the past links in the first post. You can still ask q's here if you are concerned, but I am positive you all will do fine :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 05:18:38 pm
... but I am positive you all will do fine :)

Thanks Aaron...
Wish I shared that confidence!!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 13, 2017, 05:23:01 pm
does anyone know if, for the second writing task (persuasive) with multiple prompts, we're encouraged to stick to just one of the statements or utilise a few? it says one or more, which could mean basically anything haha. i'm just curious as to whether it'd be considered better to incorporate a couple? thanks! (:
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: TheAspiringDoc on June 13, 2017, 05:28:30 pm
does anyone know if, for the second writing task (persuasive) with multiple prompts, we're encouraged to stick to just one of the statements or utilise a few? it says one or more, which could mean basically anything haha. i'm just curious as to whether it'd be considered better to incorporate a couple? thanks! (:
You can do multiple by identifying a common theme to the prompts and then addressing the theme as well as each prompt within your response
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brenden on June 13, 2017, 05:31:48 pm
The most important thing to remember about the GAT is that it isn't worth a single second of stress, but you may as well do as best a job possible while you're actually sitting the test :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 05:37:38 pm
I'm not really a great writer...
Would it be better to spend more time on the questions and try to get a better mark there??
What is the best way to divide up the time??
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brenden on June 13, 2017, 05:38:44 pm
I'm not really a great writer...
Would it be better to spend more time on the questions and try to get a better mark there??
What is the best way to divide up the time??
I think if you go through the questions at a 'normal' pace, you'll probably finish relatively early. Don't waste 5 minutes on one question and you'll find yourself with plenty of time to write your essays!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 13, 2017, 05:39:42 pm
thanks guys! (:

I'm not really a great writer...
Would it be better to spend more time on the questions and try to get a better mark there??
What is the best way to divide up the time??

pretty sure they advise half an hour per writing task and two hours for the questions. kind of works out because you can do a writing piece, rest your hand for an hour and then do another piece which kind of broke up the monotony of the test for me last year (: but whatever works for you is best tbh.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: TheAspiringDoc on June 13, 2017, 05:43:50 pm
I just realised - strong maths students who can get through the maths MCQ questions fast may get more time for their humanities and English parts, and thus score better in these areas than humanities/English students!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 05:44:29 pm
I think if you go through the questions at a 'normal' pace, you'll probably finish relatively early. Don't waste 5 minutes on one question and you'll find yourself with plenty of time to write your essays!

That sounds like a fairly good idea....
pretty sure they advise half an hour per writing task and two hours for the questions. kind of works out because you can do a writing piece, rest your hand for an hour and then do another piece which kind of broke up the monotony of the test for me last year (: but whatever works for you is best tbh.
That might just work...
I had a seriously sore hand near the end of my english essay today... an hours break would be perfect... :D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: pha0015 on June 13, 2017, 05:49:26 pm
How much should you write for each essay to get a good mark?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 05:52:46 pm
How much should you write for each essay to get a good mark?
Our english teacher said ~ 600 words...
I guess just how much you can write in 30 minutes...

Some notes attached if they help... :D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 13, 2017, 06:03:58 pm
How much should you write for each essay to get a good mark?

if you consider that the (mainstream) english best essay responses tend to be about/over 1000 words and there's an hour for those, i'd aim for 500 in half an hour (or possibly more because they really only require quick fact regurgitation and a couple arguments, nothing like the complex themes needed for essays). sounds like a lot, but it's not tbh. i managed a couple pages easily last year and i'm a painfully slow writer haha (:
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: K888 on June 13, 2017, 06:54:43 pm
How much should you write for each essay to get a good mark?
Probably aim for a few hundred, but really you can get an ace mark writing a small or large amount, as long as you get your point across/address the topic. I scored very well in my written section both years and think I wrote maybe 1.5-2 pages per piece. I just didn't have anything more to say, and got to the point quickly with my pieces so never saw the point in writing more :)
Don't spend too long - probably ~30-35 mins per piece (or longer, depending how much time you want for MC), which will give you plenty of time to do MC - I finished about 15-20 mins early both years.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: keeley_bottoms on June 13, 2017, 07:09:08 pm
So was basically wondering since I'm an English Language student how we should structure the essay for topic one, what even is an expository?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: MLGityaJ^A on June 13, 2017, 07:15:14 pm
Should i study for the gat or concentrate on my unit 1 and 2 exams that begin this friday?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ziaxadon on June 13, 2017, 07:23:08 pm
Hi guys, I am only in year 10 and completing one vce subject: further maths. For the GAT, because I am only doing a maths related subject can I just focus on the maths component of the GAT or will I still need to perform reasonably well in the other areas namely science, english and humanities?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ziaxadon on June 13, 2017, 07:34:22 pm
Hey guys, for the english component of the GAT I know one is an informative piece whilst the other is a persuasive piece. For the informative piece do you basically need to paraphrase the information provided for you or do you have to get creative with the information?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: K888 on June 13, 2017, 07:44:07 pm
Hi guys, I am only in year 10 and completing one vce subject: further maths. For the GAT, because I am only doing a maths related subject can I just focus on the maths component of the GAT or will I still need to perform reasonably well in the other areas namely science, english and humanities?
Maybe you can do your maths questions first, but make sure you do the other parts and give it all a shot - if nothing else, it's a great practice run for future years. Plus, you're in there for 3 hours, so why not try your best for all of it? It'll make time go quicker. Don't stress yourself out though, it's basically like an IQ test, and it doesn't test you on coursework or anything.

Should i study for the gat or concentrate on my unit 1 and 2 exams that begin this friday?
Concentrate on your 1&2 exams, always. Basically the only prep you can do for the GAT is look at past ones to see the structure of the assessment. I think the GAT can unnerve people because it's not something you can study for. Think of it as something like a reasoning/IQ test. The only time you need to concentrate/think about the GAT is when you're actually doing it :)

So was basically wondering since I'm an English Language student how we should structure the essay for topic one, what even is an expository?
An expository piece is basically something that describes/explains something. It's also often called explanatory. You're merely presenting the information provided on the page, and not your opinion (that's reserved for section two).
Both of the times I did the GAT, I just sort of grouped similar stuff together and did new paragraphs when I was moving on to a different idea sort of thing. I think I did a bit of a vague intro, from memory.
To be honest, there's not really a structure you need to follow. Just write in a way that feels comfortable to you and let the piece flow, provided you're addressing the requirements of the piece. For what it's worth, both years I'm pretty sure I did several small paragraphs just because they felt right, but I know that some people did larger paragraphs. As long as you do what they want you to do, you have the capacity to score well no matter which way you approach it :)

Hey guys, for the english component of the GAT I know one is an informative piece whilst the other is a persuasive piece. For the informative piece do you basically need to paraphrase the information provided for you or do you have to get creative with the information?
Probably a frustrating answer, but you can sort of do what you want :) There's no wrong way to do it, really (unless you're doing a persuasive piece where you shouldn't be). I'd probably recommend getting a bit creative, just to maybe set yourself apart from other people, but as long as you get the job done, it doesn't really matter.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ardria on June 13, 2017, 08:14:35 pm
Are these an ideal way to structure each essay to score very well?

Essay 1: Group the information into subheadings (basically regurgitating the information but in an organised way) -- should we write this essay in a creative way? E.g., a tour guide telling tourists the information
Essay 2: A persuasive speech

I'm especially still quite confused about just what we're expected to do for the first essay  :o
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Anguspana on June 13, 2017, 08:15:00 pm
I was wondering whether there is a certain structure in which the two writing pieces must be written, like an intro, body paragraphs, etc.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Mariamnourine on June 13, 2017, 08:16:31 pm
Thanks everyone for the continuous support!!! really appreciated!!  ;)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 08:27:40 pm
Are these an ideal way to structure each essay to score very well?

Essay 1: Group the information into subheadings (basically regurgitating the information but in an organised way) -- should we write this essay in a creative way? E.g., a tour guide telling tourists the information
Essay 2: A persuasive speech

I'm especially still quite confused about just what we're expected to do for the first essay  :o

You'd probably get a higher score if you got creative...
one of the marking points is that it has to sound and look logical, or, how intelligently you put it across...
so yeah..
creative will get you a good score if you get it right.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: TheAspiringDoc on June 13, 2017, 08:45:48 pm
TIP for persuasive: mention and then rebut potential counterarguments
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ardria on June 13, 2017, 08:55:24 pm
TIP for persuasive: mention and then rebut potential counterarguments

Should this be done in their own paragraphs, or attached to paragraphs of your points?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 09:07:21 pm
Should this be done in their own paragraphs, or attached to paragraphs of your points?
Your arguments and rebuttals should be separate paragraphs for clarity I think...
Could be wrong tho...  :-\
I does make easier reading ;).
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: atar.notes.user on June 13, 2017, 09:35:24 pm
Hey guys, I just want to confirm, if I take a more creative approach towards writing task 1, do I need to explain before the task what I am doing (for eg: taking a persona or what form of writing). Thanks!! :))

Our english teacher said ~ 600 words...
I guess just how much you can write in 30 minutes...
oh wow, our teacher said 250ish words for each task is enough... :/
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 09:44:51 pm
Well Atar.Notes.User, I think what the assessors are looking for is that you get the general gist and theme of the prompts.
I think K888 got it right on page 2... ;)  :D

Probably aim for a few hundred, but really you can get an ace mark writing a small or large amount, as long as you get your point across/address the topic. I scored very well in my written section both years and think I wrote maybe 1.5-2 pages per piece. I just didn't have anything more to say, and got to the point quickly with my pieces so never saw the point in writing more :)
Don't spend too long - probably ~30-35 mins per piece (or longer, depending how much time you want for MC), which will give you plenty of time to do MC - I finished about 15-20 mins early both years.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Raph! Raph!! on June 13, 2017, 09:50:41 pm
Just a few simple (or maybe a stupid :( )questions, just to clarify things, eventhough that the GAT's tomorrow...
1.) Do we usually study for it? or practice?
2.) What if I failed to answer (maybe) half of the questions that're specifically about the questions/topics relating to my subjects? Will those marks affect my Study Score on a certain subject? or will it affect on my ATAR?
3.) What if you get a higher marks for humanities, eventhough you're not doing one, and you actually got much lower marks to those subjects that you're actually like in a science and maths subjects?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2017, 10:50:32 pm
Hey Ralph...
Sorry, didn't catch this one when it was posted. Hoping you check back before the morrow. :)
1.) Do we usually study for it? or practice?
2.) What if I failed to answer (maybe) half of the questions that're specifically about the questions/topics relating to my subjects? Will those marks affect my Study Score on a certain subject? or will it affect on my ATAR?
3.) What if you get a higher marks for humanities, eventhough you're not doing one, and you actually got much lower marks to those subjects that you're actually like in a science and maths subjects?
1.) Our school isn't exactly standard, but we had our free periods taken over by GAT prep, once every week.
It isn't actually necessary to practise, as there should be enough info in the question for you to have a darn good go at answering it...
The main thing to worry about,imo, is the writing tasks, as I think that would be the hardest for me, but every1 is different.


2.) If this concerns you, maybe spend more time on the MC. To be fair though, there is 3 hours to do it in... If you do get stuck on a question, skip it and come back. Each individual question isn't worth wasting a lot of time on. I'm not sure that there is any great affect on any of your subjects... there are others on these forums that have answered similar, and they would be better qualified than me, as tomorrow is my first SAC. It is a General achievement test, so it shouldn't massively impact one subject, unless you happen to miss that subjects End of year test.

3.) I'm not really sure what happens, if anything, if you're good in a subject you're not taking. The GAT is only used to moderate the classwork when something goes wrong and you physically can't take the exam, or somehow else bum out on it. Then they take your classwork on teh left, your GAT on the right, do a HogWartz spell, throw them both into the air, and whichever doesn't come down, they go by that...

Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: K888 on June 13, 2017, 10:59:30 pm
Just a few simple (or maybe a stupid :( )questions, just to clarify things, eventhough that the GAT's tomorrow...
1.) Do we usually study for it? or practice?
2.) What if I failed to answer (maybe) half of the questions that're specifically about the questions/topics relating to my subjects? Will those marks affect my Study Score on a certain subject? or will it affect on my ATAR?
3.) What if you get a higher marks for humanities, eventhough you're not doing one, and you actually got much lower marks to those subjects that you're actually like in a science and maths subjects?
1. No. Just no. No need to study. The only thing that might be of use is going onto the VCAA website and looking at past GATs to see what the structure of the assessment is like. But it's impossible to study for - it's not like it's a SAC or anything!
2. You won't fail to answer them. You have plenty of time to finish the GAT :) And it isn't relevant unless you apply for a derived exam score, aka a DES (i.e. if you miss an exam or are sick during one, etc.). Apart from that, it basically plays no role in how your study scores are formed
3. Good question. You'll generally find though, that you will score higher in the subjects that you're more proficient at (and these tend to be subjects you're doing, too) - i.e. if you're doing lots of maths subjects, you'll more than likely perform better in the maths section. Remember, the GAT is basically testing your natural proficiency for this sort of stuff. And I'm not 100% certain, but pretty sure that if you do apply for a DES they will look at your whole GAT score, not just one section.

You'll be fine! The GAT isn't a test to get into NASA or anything. It's designed to be done by VCE students, so just remember that when it comes to doing it :)

Hey guys, I just want to confirm, if I take a more creative approach towards writing task 1, do I need to explain before the task what I am doing (for eg: taking a persona or what form of writing). Thanks!! :))
oh wow, our teacher said 250ish words for each task is enough... :/
Nah, no need to say what you're gonna do. It should be pretty clear in the way you write your piece anyway. But definitely no need to do a statement of intention or anything, just get straight into writing :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 14, 2017, 10:16:24 am
Woo, well done all for getting through the GAT! ;D

How was it? Did you finish all sections? Could you sneak in the GATchphrase? ;)

Debrief here!

(To post, you'll first need to register an account.)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: K888 on June 14, 2017, 10:22:28 am
Woo, well done all for getting through the GAT! ;D

How was it? Did you finish all sections? Could you sneak in the GATchphrase? ;)

Debrief here!

(To post, you'll first need to register an account.)
Getting in early with the congratulatory post, I see :P

I second that though, congrats on getting through it folks. I hope that VCAA tried to be even more relevant to the youth of today by including something even more modern than Kanye West.
(http://i.imgur.com/VAeA885.jpg)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brenden on June 14, 2017, 12:54:14 pm
Holy crap, I just remembered this... I haven't thought of it in years, but when I saw people talking about using a particular word in their GAT it reminded me of the Great Pen Drop of 2012.

Basically, my school had quite a moderately large cohort taking the GAT so we sat it in the school gym. The night before, I was on ATAR Notes talking shit, y'know, as you do (what's changed 5 years later?), and I think someone either suggested the idea of a pen drop, or it popped into my head. So I frantically start messaging everyone I have on Facebook "Hey help me organise a pen drop" basically, to mixed reactions. Some "what the fuck, Brenden", some "haha okayyyyy don't hurt me tho". Anyway, hard to generate a sizeable coalition on Facebook. So the next morning, before the gym opens up and the teachers usher us in, virtually everyone sitting the GAT that day is just milling about outside.

So I'm running up to random strangers and really emphatically saying "Hi, there is a pen drop today. At 12pm ON THE DOT, drop your pen off the side of the desk. And tell your friends. SERIOUSLY. WATCH THE CLOCK. When you see it's 11.50am, keep it in mind. MAKE SURE YOU DROP YOUR PEN".

I think people thought I was pretty weird, but I told them with such conviction they just assumed that it was a guaranteed, locked in thing, but realistically, it was 4 minutes of frenzied organisation.

Sure enough, at 12pm on the dot, this one "gangster" kid who didn't really study that much but who was good for a laugh, literally turns in his seat, looks at me, turns back to his desk, picks up like 3 pens and fucking throws them at the ground. I shit you not. His pens made a completely isolated sound and then BANG, in unison, a good 50% of the room just swept their pens off the right hand side of their desk.

It sounded like a goddamn Officeworks truck falling over, and that moment of glory felt like an infinity. The look on the face of the poor old invigilators.

If only I had a photo.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 14, 2017, 01:16:41 pm
You truly are a menace, Brenden. :-\
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Karapl13 on June 14, 2017, 04:01:46 pm
Hello

I'm in year 11 and am doing a 3/4 subject (legal studies). I did the gat exam today and am very worried about my results as I don't think I did too well on it.  How much does this gat exam actually effect my atar?

Thanks
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 14, 2017, 04:11:43 pm
Hello

I'm in year 11 and am doing a 3/4 subject (legal studies). I did the gat exam today and am very worried about my results as I don't think I did too well on it.  How much does this gat exam actually effect my atar?

Thanks


Hey Karapl13!

Well done for getting through the GAT. :) It's definitely a different sort of exam, isn't it? Very difficult.

I wouldn't worry yourself too much, if I were you. The reality is that the GAT is very likely to have no impact whatsoever on your ATAR. The only things that contribute directly to your study score for Legal this year (and, therefore, toward your ATAR more broadly) are your SACs and the exam - not the GAT. :)

The GAT becomes useful in certain circumstances. For example, if you happen to be really sick on the day of the Legal exam and can't sit it, you might apply for what's called a "derived study score". Basically, VCAA looks at a bunch of factors - one of which is your GAT performance - to determine what study score you likely would have achieved.

The likelihood of this is very small. I guess what I'm trying to say is: don't worry - it's unlikely to have any influence. :)

P.S. I'm just going to merge this thread with the existing GAT thread. :) Great question, though - I think a lot of people would have similar queries!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: xboxer on June 14, 2017, 04:37:49 pm
I just did the GAT today and I was wondering what the word limit was for task 1 and 2?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 14, 2017, 04:41:19 pm
I just did the GAT today and I was wondering what the word limit was for task 1 and 2?

None. As long as you used the suggested time given for each writing task as a guide. Most important thing was submitting a completed piece, that is presented in a logical and structured way.

Edit: Does anyone remember the writing tasks? If so, please share! If you have any thoughts about the GAT this year, feel free to post as well :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: xboxer on June 14, 2017, 04:45:36 pm
Thanks!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 04:50:36 pm

Edit: Does anyone remember what the writing tasks involved? If so, please share! If you have any thoughts about the GAT this year, feel free to post as well :)

like, the ones we did today? (: first one was an infographic about coffee – biggest exporting/importing countries, what caffeine is, how the market for coffee had grown over the years. second one was to do with communication – is communication mostly meaningless nowadays?, are humans more developed than animals because we can communicate more in depth ideas?, we're fortunate to have so many ways to communicate (ie. technology -> hello, gatchphrase), and meaningful communication allows us to achieve a better quality of life. they weren't phrased as questions, but that's how i'm remembering the first two, oops. the gist is the same though! i just talked about communication heaps, was pretty easy tbh (:

(if that wasn't what you were asking, um, sorry for the infodump haha.)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 14, 2017, 04:51:14 pm
like, the ones we did today? (: first one was an infographic about coffee – biggest exporting/importing countries, what caffeine is, how the market for coffee had grown over the years. second one was to do with communication – is communication mostly meaningless nowadays?, are humans more developed than animals because we can communicate more in depth ideas?, we're fortunate to have so many ways to communicate (ie. technology -> hello, gatchphrase), and meaningful communication allows us to achieve a better quality of life. they weren't phrased as questions, but that's how i'm remembering the first two, oops. the gist is the same though! i just talked about communication heaps, was pretty easy tbh (:

(if that wasn't what you were asking, um, sorry for the infodump haha.)

Yep, the ones you did today :) Thanks for the share patriciarose.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 04:51:32 pm
I spent a lot of time doing the maths questions so i had to skip like 8 humanities questions...am i ok?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: xboxer on June 14, 2017, 04:53:44 pm
I heard that humanities was the main part rather than the maths
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 14, 2017, 04:54:28 pm
like, the ones we did today? (: first one was an infographic about coffee – biggest exporting/importing countries, what caffeine is, how the market for coffee had grown over the years. second one was to do with communication – is communication mostly meaningless nowadays?, are humans more developed than animals because we can communicate more in depth ideas?, we're fortunate to have so many ways to communicate (ie. technology -> hello, gatchphrase), and meaningful communication allows us to achieve a better quality of life. they weren't phrased as questions, but that's how i'm remembering the first two, oops. the gist is the same though! i just talked about communication heaps, was pretty easy tbh (:

(if that wasn't what you were asking, um, sorry for the infodump haha.)

I swear they've had something about coffee before - possibly in 2011/12? ???

How did you incorporate Club Penguin? Haha.

I spent a lot of time doing the maths questions so i had to skip like 8 humanities questions...am i ok?

How many humanities questions were there overall?

But yeah, you'll be fine. :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Triple choc fudge on June 14, 2017, 05:07:01 pm
If u didn't end up doing an exam at the end of the year would they use ur whole GAT or just the questions relating to that subject?? 
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: clarke54321 on June 14, 2017, 05:17:01 pm

How many humanities questions were there overall?


I just did a rough count. Counted 26 humanities questions. For me, the paper felt very maths and science heavy. But that could just be because I'm only doing one math subject this year........

But I really enjoyed both writing tasks. They were very accessible and easy to manipulate into a short, written piece! It's surprising how quickly 3 hours goes when you're so absorbed in questions and writing. I'm sure English will go as fast, if not even faster! :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: zhen on June 14, 2017, 05:20:34 pm
Is it weird to feel like I did better in the essays in the GAT last year than this year. But I felt like I did much better in the multichoice.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 05:20:52 pm
I swear they've had something about coffee before - possibly in 2011/12? ???

How did you incorporate Club Penguin? Haha.


maybe! i guess they assume nobody can be bothered checking that far back haha. i just went back as far as 2007 and it's not in any of those, but i'm sure they could've partially reused a super old one (: it's not like it really matters if you've seen the information before, because they're marking your synthesis skills, not recall (:

ahaha um i talked about the importance of technology in enhancing modern communication, because it can benefit all facets of society, and extends impartially to all age groups, including children, who are able to interact in a safe environment on online communities such as the recently deceased club penguin, may it rest in peace. except in slightly more english-y language haha. 

How many humanities questions were there overall?


NOT ENOUGH. :/ actually, tbh there were probably more than it felt like, but it definitely felt skewed towards maths and science. (also, did anyone else die over the art questions on the last page? i wouldn't have even known domesticity was an issue if they hadn't put it in the answers lmao.)

If u didn't end up doing an exam at the end of the year would they use ur whole GAT or just the questions relating to that subject?? 

i don't think they've ever expressly answered this, because it's vcaa and they don't answer much ever, but you'd have to assume it'd only be the related section/s, otherwise there'd be no need for them to break multiple choice results down into humanities and science, they'd just give you one whole score. but i don't know how specific they get with that so it's a good idea to do well on everything just in case! also, sometimes it's hard to tell what category a subject fits under. but yeah, i think they just look at the specific section relating to the subject.

I just did a rough count. Counted 26 humanities questions. For me, the paper felt very maths and science heavy. But that could just be because I'm only doing one math subject this year........

But I really enjoyed both writing tasks. They were very accessible and easy to manipulate into a short, written piece! It's surprising how quickly 3 hours goes when you're so absorbed in questions and writing. I'm sure English will go as fast, if not even faster! :)

no, i got this too. it felt like there were about 20 marks in the middle that were pure maths/science questions, which isn't super reassuring :/ but the english prompts were super good so i guess that balances it out! (:
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 14, 2017, 05:23:44 pm
Is it weird to feel like I did better in the essays in the GAT last year than this year. But I felt like I did much better in the multichoice.

Nah, not really - I think I did way better in Year 11 than Year 12 for some reason. ???
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 05:32:01 pm
Is it weird to feel like I did better in the essays in the GAT last year than this year. But I felt like I did much better in the multichoice.

maybe it depends on the question breakdown? for me the multiple choice felt worse this time around, but i think there were more maths/science questions than last year and those aren't my forte, so maybe if you're better at those, you'll feel more confident? idk tbh. i think it makes sense for your essays to improve because you have an extra whole year of work! but i'm sure it went fine either way (:
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: bs00998 on June 14, 2017, 05:41:04 pm
I just did a rough count. Counted 26 humanities questions. For me, the paper felt very maths and science heavy. But that could just be because I'm only doing one math subject this year........

I found the opposite! felt like there shouldve been more math/science (but thats also probably me doing 4 maths/sciences)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: captkirk on June 14, 2017, 05:52:53 pm
I think I did way better in Year 11 than Year 12 for some reason. ???

I did completely opposite to you.
Last years GAT, I didn't do the best but this years one was super easy!!.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Bri MT on June 14, 2017, 06:01:30 pm
I felt that the multiple choice was harder, but the written responses were easier. I also found the humanties/art/english ones easiest despite being a math/science student.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 06:12:10 pm
Lets say I do well in the writing and maths tasks -(maybe 40-45 score) but i skipped 8 humanities questions... and got like 30 for that section... will this drag down my other scores if i end up needing derived for english/math/science subjects?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: captkirk on June 14, 2017, 06:13:22 pm
Incase any past or future student is curious or interested in what was in the GAT today (only including the writing tasks) (I know patriciarose did a perfect explanation but for the visual learners out there ⬇️⬇️)

Writing task 1
http://imgur.com/a/dhe0M

Writing task 2
http://imgur.com/a/YLzrr

Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: K888 on June 14, 2017, 06:20:18 pm
Incase any past or future student is curious or interested in what was in the GAT today (only including the writing tasks) (I know patriciarose did a perfect explanation but for the visual learners out there ⬇️⬇️)

Writing task 1
http://imgur.com/a/dhe0M

Writing task 2
http://imgur.com/a/YLzrr
Section 2 was perfect for working in club penguin! You couldn't have asked for better prompts :P

Section 1 seems fine too, but nothing will beat the 2015 one that featured data on how we'll all be eating insects in 2050
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: TheAspiringDoc on June 14, 2017, 06:27:27 pm
The second prompt on the second writing task was so related to unit 1 eng Lang lol. Language distinguishing humans from animals. I've written three assessment tasks at my school on that exact prompt!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 06:32:02 pm
The second prompt on the second writing task was so related to unit 1 eng Lang lol. Language distinguishing humans from animals. I've written three assessment tasks at my school on that exact prompt!

AHHHAHAHAH MY whole writing task two was just EngLang material. Literally exactly an EngLang essay but shorter and more disorganised since I needed to work in the stimulus. Surely I get 45+ for that
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 06:46:59 pm
Lets say I do well in the writing and maths tasks -(maybe 40-45 score) but i skipped 8 humanities questions... and got like 30 for that section... will this drag down my other scores if i end up needing derived for english/math/science subjects?

when you say skipped, please tell me you at least filled in a random bubble? (if not, please do that if this happens again in an exam with multiple choice questions! you don't get marked down for wrong answers and you have a 25% of getting a guess right!) i did that for several of the maths ones too. shouldn't impact on a subject that is totally unrelated to the question. if you do a humanities subject, though, and you think you did badly on the humanities sections, maybe don't skip the exam for the derived score omg. i don't think anyone knows exactly how they use the gat for calculations, but it shouldn't contribute to a science subject's score because they're totally unrelated and that wouldn't demonstrate your natural aptitude for that subject, which is really the whole point of the gat. (: so i'm sure you'll be fine haha.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 06:49:50 pm
when you say skipped, please tell me you at least filled in a random bubble? (if not, please do that if this happens again in an exam with multiple choice questions! you don't get marked down for wrong answers and you have a 25% of getting a guess right!) i did that for several of the maths ones too. shouldn't impact on a subject that is totally unrelated to the question. if you do a humanities subject, though, and you think you did badly on the humanities sections, maybe don't skip the exam for the derived score omg. i don't think anyone knows exactly how they use the gat for calculations, but it shouldn't contribute to a science subject's score because they're totally unrelated and that wouldn't demonstrate your natural aptitude for that subject, which is really the whole point of the gat. (: so i'm sure you'll be fine haha.

Well I circled C for all the "skipped" questions and when I looked at the art at the end, the last 3 questions were very obviously not C...
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 06:53:22 pm
Well I circled C for all the "skipped" questions and when I looked at the art at the end, the last 3 questions were very obviously not C...

i went for C for 69 but i'm awful at art so it's probably wrong, haha. and 70 was super odd so honestly i could see it being any of B, C or D. there were a couple of earlier C's as well, in unit twelve i think? idk. you might get luckier than you think! (:
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 07:22:59 pm
i went for C for 69 but i'm awful at art so it's probably wrong, haha. and 70 was super odd so honestly i could see it being any of B, C or D. there were a couple of earlier C's as well, in unit twelve i think? idk. you might get luckier than you think! (:

Yeah had a look again and it was not as clear cut as it seems. Hopefully!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: clarke54321 on June 14, 2017, 07:44:45 pm
I agree that the art section was quite ambiguous. Most of the time, that stuff is very dependent on one's own interpretation.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 07:53:52 pm
I agree that the art section was quite ambiguous. Most of the time, that stuff is very dependent on one's own interpretation.

I guess it's 'what's most likely' or subtle cues that eliminate the rest of the options that they're trying to test. But the cues themselves are very subject to interpretation...
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: osporth on June 14, 2017, 07:57:45 pm
I found the art questions so confusing :/ I'm usually alright at interpreting art but I guess having not done it formally for 2 years caught up to me because I spent so long just like staring at the paintings not even knowing what was going on let alone the emotions and stuff. Maths and science bits were fine though, does Psychology count as a humanities or science subject for VCE?? It's my only 3/4 this year so its all that really matters and I'm worried I messed up the humanities which could be bad

I found the writing tasks really good though! I ended up writing 4.5 pages for the first one because I got suuuper into it and (imo) I thought it was pretty good. Task 2 I'm less sure of because I feel like I didn't really draw on my strengths enough but reading through it I felt like all my arguments made sense and had enough evidence. I could have focused more on the second prompt as I do Eng Lang and it's unit 1 content but I didn't feel very inspired to so it didnt cover a whole lot of it. I did manage to fit in club penguin though ;P
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 08:10:39 pm
I found the art questions so confusing :/ I'm usually alright at interpreting art but I guess having not done it formally for 2 years caught up to me because I spent so long just like staring at the paintings not even knowing what was going on let alone the emotions and stuff. Maths and science bits were fine though, does Psychology count as a humanities or science subject for VCE?? It's my only 3/4 this year so its all that really matters and I'm worried I messed up the humanities which could be bad


i think it's a science? seems to incorporate elements of both to some extent but i'd still call it a science tbh. i'm pretty sure vcaa also classify it as such. but either way, if you sit and smash your psych exam your gat score won't matter! it'll be all good (:
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 14, 2017, 08:24:54 pm
68 was def a. B seemed alright apart from the fact that nothing in the pictures actually supported it.

69 was c i think due the the arm posture not being very 'passive' but rather formidable

70 i think its c because d doesnt apply since one of the people in picture 1 is definitely working hard and is not disconnected. a and b dont really apply at all imo
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 14, 2017, 11:00:19 pm
Random question...
What did every1 think 4 question 1??

I thought Sarcasm, but it may have been exaggeration... not sure... ??? ?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 14, 2017, 11:09:32 pm
68 was def a. B seemed alright apart from the fact that nothing in the pictures actually supported it.

69 was c i think due the the arm posture not being very 'passive' but rather formidable

70 i think its c because d doesnt apply since one of the people in picture 1 is definitely working hard and is not disconnected. a and b dont really apply at all imo

68 i went with a, but when i came out i realised it said womEn, so multiple, so could've been the hardworking option :/

69 was 100% c i'll be super mad if it turns out to be anything else omg.

70 definitely wasn't d or a – i went with b because usually the same theme does not occur into options unless it is in some way the answer. also i had a minute left omg. but i could definitely see it being c!

Random question...
What did every1 think 4 question 1??
I thought Sarcasm, but it may have been exaggeration... not sure... ??? ?

seconded sarcasm. it was definitely satirical in some way – idk if exaggeration fit? but it could probably be either ugh. 'most correct answer' and all that jazz.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 14, 2017, 11:18:41 pm
Thansk
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Mattjbr2 on June 14, 2017, 11:42:52 pm
Anyone have the GAT suggested solutions?
I found it relatively easy, but had to rush the last 5 or so questions. I wrote 1 full page for each writing section (30 mins each exactly) but needed around 2 hours and maybe 10 minutes extra (didnt have) for the multiple choice. I feel i did good and am happy with how i went.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brenden on June 15, 2017, 12:52:16 pm
Anyone have the GAT suggested solutions?
I found it relatively easy, but had to rush the last 5 or so questions. I wrote 1 full page for each writing section (30 mins each exactly) but needed around 2 hours and maybe 10 minutes extra (didnt have) for the multiple choice. I feel i did good and am happy with how i went.
Slightly off-topic (completely off-topic) but surely that's not your in your dp??????
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 15, 2017, 12:58:24 pm
Anyone have the GAT suggested solutions?
I found it relatively easy, but had to rush the last 5 or so questions. I wrote 1 full page for each writing section (30 mins each exactly) but needed around 2 hours and maybe 10 minutes extra (didnt have) for the multiple choice. I feel i did good and am happy with how i went.

do we GET gat suggested solutions? i guess we could work through it on here, we've all got the questions? but otherwise i don't think they actually give them to us til heaps later :/
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brenden on June 15, 2017, 01:02:42 pm
do we GET gat suggested solutions? i guess we could work through it on here, we've all got the questions? but otherwise i don't think they actually give them to us til heaps later :/
I'm not sure if GAT solutions are ever released. I've never seen them crop up on ATAR Notes (which surely they would), and I've never seen people work through them on this forum in the 5 years I've been here... Although - nothing stopping you!

(But there are probably much more study-score-benefiting activities you could be doing instead haha)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: exit on June 15, 2017, 02:13:43 pm
I dont think it was sarcasm because the baby was actually born. Sarcasm is when you say something that is most definitely not true (irony) to imply the opposite.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: patriciarose on June 15, 2017, 03:54:13 pm
I'm not sure if GAT solutions are ever released. I've never seen them crop up on ATAR Notes (which surely they would), and I've never seen people work through them on this forum in the 5 years I've been here... Although - nothing stopping you!

(But there are probably much more study-score-benefiting activities you could be doing instead haha)

yeah honestly i feel like getting a voluntary root canal (or three) would be more preferable than working through the gat multiple choice again, but if that's what people want to do i'll hang around for some of the humanities ones haha. 

i didn't think that either but apparently they exist? http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/gat/gatanswers16.aspx

(tfw when you procrastinate so hard you actually end up working lmao)

I dont think it was sarcasm because the baby was actually born. Sarcasm is when you say something that is most definitely not true (irony) to imply the opposite.

see, i agree with this but also, what else did you pick then? the options were all pretty awful tbh.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: lilyrosee on June 15, 2017, 04:42:21 pm
I dont think it was sarcasm because the baby was actually born. Sarcasm is when you say something that is most definitely not true (irony) to imply the opposite.

I agree.
I think 'exaggeration' was the best answer. People post about their lives online but obviously it was an exaggeration because a baby does not post online...
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 15, 2017, 05:53:23 pm
GAT Multiple Choice answers are released each year on the GAT exams page, which can be found here: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/exams/gat/gat.aspx (I included direct links to the past GAT MC solutions in the first post, here). Writing task solutions are not there for obvious reasons.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: shxre on June 15, 2017, 06:42:24 pm
what did everyone answer for questions 55 and 56? I think i just confused myself so i ended up guessing those two, but overall i found this years GAT so much better than last years one !
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: peterpiper on June 15, 2017, 06:53:48 pm
what did everyone answer for questions 55 and 56? I think i just confused myself so i ended up guessing those two, but overall i found this years GAT so much better than last years one !

Hint: in a standard time-lapse, R = 30 f/s
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 15, 2017, 10:12:01 pm
Hint: in a standard time-lapse, R = 30 f/s
Yup!!
That is a BIG hint...

Another question for the masses...
What did you do for nine??
I ran out of time and guessed all tha ones I had skipped...
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Mattjbr2 on June 17, 2017, 10:10:21 am
Slightly off-topic (completely off-topic) but surely that's not your in your dp??????

It is, and no it's not impressive in the least as it's only 500lb for one rep at a bodyweight of 93kg, while guys 30kg less than me are pulling 200lb more.
I didnt mean official GAT solutions. I meant we can post our own solutions and eventually figure out the correct answer for every MC question. Ugh fine I'll make the thread today and start us off.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 01, 2018, 09:51:28 am
Bumping this great thread!

The GAT is coming up pretty soon (Wednesday 13 June, to be precise). Use this thread to ask any questions you have about the GAT, discuss how to prepare, and vent about it after the fact. ;D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 04, 2018, 08:20:06 am
I've forgotten... Are we allowed a dictionary in the GAT?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 04, 2018, 09:12:45 am
I've forgotten... Are we allowed a dictionary in the GAT?

"You may take an English and/or bilingual printed dictionary into the GAT, but not a thesaurus or a combined thesaurus-dictionary. Electronic dictionaries and calculators are not permitted."

Source.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Bri MT on June 04, 2018, 04:44:13 pm
I've forgotten... Are we allowed a dictionary in the GAT?

There are vocab-related questions so I would recommend this. 

(I personally didn't use one but other people have found it useful)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 04, 2018, 04:48:01 pm
"You may take an English and/or bilingual printed dictionary into the GAT, but not a thesaurus or a combined thesaurus-dictionary. Electronic dictionaries and calculators are not permitted."

Source.
Thanks J41...
That was silly of me. I had that brochure in my computer bag...  :-[

There are vocab-related questions so I would recommend this. 
Good point!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 04, 2018, 04:49:05 pm
Thanks J41...
That was silly of me. I had that brochure in my computer bag...  :-[
Good point!

Nah no stress. This is the type of thing I definitely would have glossed over when I was in Year 12 haha.

How are you feeling for the GAT, S200?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Aaron on June 04, 2018, 04:50:56 pm
Updated main thread with 2017 past paper and solutions. Forgot this thread even existed... glad to see it's still here baha :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 04, 2018, 04:52:25 pm
How are you feeling for the GAT, S200?
Well...
Pretty comfortable really. I did it last year, and I thought it was a pretty accurate representation of my skills, so think this year won't be too stressful...

Updated main thread with 2017 past paper and solutions. Forgot this thread even existed... glad to see it's still here baha :)
Where's the main thread? Can you link to it please? :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 05, 2018, 11:53:27 am
Where's the main thread? Can you link to it please? :)

I think Aaron is referring to the first post of this thread. :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: m2121 on June 10, 2018, 11:55:18 pm
I have questions about the GAT. Does anyone have any samples of GAT writing tasks 1 and 2 that they are able to send?? That would be great! Also, any suggestions and tips on how to structure task 1? What would each body paragraph be about? How about the intro and conclusion? Sometimes I feel like when you don’t know how to structure it you end up falling into the trap of rewriting the info. I have read a few discussion pages about this. Since you’re not supposed to present an argument or point of view for task 1, how would you do it?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: lazaward on June 11, 2018, 10:41:45 am
For the first writing task is just rewriting the information you’re given in an organised way? I don’t really get the point of it.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 11, 2018, 10:49:00 am
You can try taking a creative view. So if it was bees, write from the Queen bee's POV?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Lear on June 11, 2018, 10:55:39 am
You can try taking a creative view. So if it was bees, write from the Queen bee's POV?

I've heard from a GAT examiner herself that examiners typically do not like creative pieces but they at times do give decent marks if it still achieves the criteria. Not sure though...
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 11, 2018, 10:57:24 am
For the first writing task is just rewriting the information you’re given in an organised way? I don’t really get the point of it.
It's basically just checking that you can understand the information it gives you and then organise it in your head and explain it. The information won't be sorted - there'll be lots of different bits of information. Basically you just have to read all of it, sort it into appropriate paragraphs and then explain everything you just read.

Sort of like the reading comprehension we used to have to do for NAPLAN.

If you think you're going to have trouble organising the information then bring highlighters and sort it like that (or make a rough plan).

I've heard from a GAT examiner herself that examiners typically do not like creative pieces but they at times do give decent marks if it still achieves the criteria. Not sure though...
I've never heard of anyone writing a creative for it - it just seems like a waste of time imo.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: galaxy21 on June 11, 2018, 06:24:05 pm
Hi. Just a couple of questions regarding the writing tasks that I can't quite figure out.

Writing Task 1: so with this, I've heard that it can be good to tackle this creatively (e.g. from a tour guides perspective). If I was to do this, is it best to reference things like graphs as Figure 1, figure 2, etc. or as "I pointed to the graph on the wall, which showed..." or something else? Also, with graphs and data, do we need to analyse this, or just mention it?

Writing Task 2: lots have people have mentioned that you can do something like a speech for writing task two. Can you also take a more creative response as well? For example, The 2015 GAT had statements like "Traditional ceremonies bring us together to celebrate our social and cultural history." and "Important milestones in our lives need to be marked by celebrations or formal ceremonies in order to give our lives meaning.". Could you write a speech from the perspective of a event organiser or something talking to prospective clients or something to encourage them to plan an event or to employees to encourage them to work to their highest potential (sorry, not great at coming up with creative ideas, but just a couple of vague examples I quickly came up with). And as for evidence, does it have to be facts like "40% of people agree that ..." or can it be anecdotal evidence? I am assuming you can't just make up facts.

Sorry, just a couple of things that have been bugging me that I would rather go in knowing rather than stressing over them (even though I know that there is no reason at all to stress).  ::)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 11, 2018, 06:50:44 pm
And as for evidence, does it have to be facts like "40% of people agree that ..." or can it be anecdotal evidence? I am assuming you can't just make up facts.
I think anecdotal is Okay.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Mitze5 on June 12, 2018, 07:32:58 am
Do specific marks on the GAT correlate to specific subjects, for example may it be possible that the derived score for english is mostly composed of the writing components while the math score is derived from the maths related questions. This year I'm accelerating Methods and Physics and am wondering on the impact and necessity of doing well in the English parts. Does anyone know how they mark each specific subjects to the test? Would it be wiser for me to just focus on Multi-choice? Any help is appreciated.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 12, 2018, 09:12:45 am
Although yes, the subjects do correlate to the specific questions, it's best to give the GAT your best shot, as it helps the assessors to get a better idea of how you perform as a student. So although your derived score would be based mainly off the MC, if you don't try for the english part, they don't know how good you actually are.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Raw30 on June 12, 2018, 04:59:33 pm
Quick Question,
I’m in year 11, and am not doing a 3/4. I don’t have to do the GAT, right? A few mates still reckon I have to
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 12, 2018, 05:01:23 pm
Quick Question,
I’m in year 11, and am not doing a 3/4. I don’t have to do the GAT, right? A few mates still reckon I have to

Hey, welcome to the forums! :)

My understanding is you only sit it if you're completing at least one 3/4 subject. According to VCAA:

Quote from: VCAA
All students enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3 and 4 sequences must sit the GAT.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 12, 2018, 05:07:05 pm
Quick Question,
I’m in year 11, and am not doing a 3/4. I don’t have to do the GAT, right? A few mates still reckon I have to
Nope. As J41 said. VCAA only expects people doing 3/4 subjects to do the GAT.

I feel really weird about it now...
Literally no-one I have spoken to has done anything to prepare, and now it's like, hours away. Hopefully I wont be needing it for a derived score or anything, but it's still kinda... disquieting?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: TheAspiringDoc on June 12, 2018, 06:20:03 pm
Good luck tomorrow everybody who’s sitting the GAT! Is anyone going to use the GATchphrase?  ::)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: napkin101 on June 12, 2018, 06:26:57 pm
What's the basic structure of the first writing task? It just gives you a bunch of info but how do you organise it into a piece of writing? Thanks!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 12, 2018, 06:28:57 pm
What's the basic structure of the first writing task? It just gives you a bunch of info but how do you organise it into a piece of writing? Thanks!
Any way you want, you just have to sort the information into paragraphs that are clear and make sense.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: galaxy21 on June 12, 2018, 06:32:39 pm
Just a quick thought...are you allowed to highlight information in the question book or write in it or anything?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: napkin101 on June 12, 2018, 06:32:58 pm
Any way you want, you just have to sort the information into paragraphs that are clear and make sense.
Ok cool. How many paragraphs are recommended? Thanks
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 12, 2018, 06:44:39 pm
Just a quick thought...are you allowed to highlight information in the question book or write in it or anything?
You can do whatever you want to the question book - you'll get to keep it at the end.

Ok cool. How many paragraphs are recommended? Thanks
Aim for 3-4 but it really depends on what information we get. If its easier for you to organise it into 5 paragraphs then do 5 shorter paragraphs, if it's easier to organise into 3 then do 3 longer paragraphs. Also try to do a brief intro basically just saying the overall topic.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: napkin101 on June 12, 2018, 07:00:49 pm
Aim for 3-4 but it really depends on what information we get. If its easier for you to organise it into 5 paragraphs then do 5 shorter paragraphs, if it's easier to organise into 3 then do 3 longer paragraphs. Also try to do a brief intro basically just saying the overall topic.
Ok thank you! Sorry for the constant nagging but is that 3-4 body paragraphs excluding the intro?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: talixxa on June 12, 2018, 07:06:31 pm
Hi,

I was wondering if there is any link where there is a sample of the writing parts (what is expected) of the GAT as on VCAA websites there is only the answers of the MCQ. I know there is no reason to stress but still... haha. So it will help me relax  :)
Thanks
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: technodisney on June 13, 2018, 08:37:56 am
Any last minute tips?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 13, 2018, 08:59:48 am
Any last minute tips?

Don't leave early. :)

P.S. It would be great if somebody could upload a copy post-GAT!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 09:13:45 am
Lets do this Kids!! :D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 01:27:50 pm
The memes have started
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 13, 2018, 01:30:11 pm
The memes have started

How did you find it? What were the most memeworthy bits? Haha.

EDIT: Do you still have your copy, PF?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 01:48:34 pm
How did you find it? What were the most memeworthy bits? Haha.

EDIT: Do you still have your copy, PF?

I will attach. It's all out of order, but the writing task is there well.

Last 2 pages ar missing. I will attach those later.. :D

EDIT. Attachments are to big. Put them on Notes section?

nvm
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: technodisney on June 13, 2018, 01:49:25 pm
How did you find it? What were the most memeworthy bits? Haha.

EDIT: Do you still have your copy, PF?

The cucumber and grape monkeys part seems to be coming out with some great memes.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 13, 2018, 01:51:16 pm
I will attach. It's all out of order, but the writing task is there well.

Last 2 pages ar missing. I will attach those later.. :D

Love it!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Poet on June 13, 2018, 01:53:55 pm
GUYS THE MONKEYS HAVE YOU SEEN THE ORIGINAL VIDEO:
AND ALSO THE FIELDS QUESTION. What was that?
Also I got hypothermia because the gym was literally that cold - anybody up for a representative proceeding against VCAA? (Here comes the university tuition, oh boy oh boy)

I held onto a copy as well - did you guys want anything from it?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 01:55:55 pm
The cucumber and grape monkeys part seems to be coming out with some great memes.
Also the individual traders.

How did you find it? What were the most memeworthy bits? Haha.

EDIT: Do you still have your copy, PF?
I have it, but can't upload it at the moment. I'll do it when I eventually get home tonight if someone doesn't beat me to it.

I reckon I did worse on the 2nd writing task than last year. But then I thought that last year too. I kinda just waffled on and repeated myself haha, I always find the first one easier.

Also I got hypothermia because the gym was literally that cold - anybody up for a representative proceeding against VCAA? (Here comes the university tuition, oh boy oh boy)
I was shaking I was so cold - and I'm wearing 2 jumpers
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 01:58:26 pm
AND ALSO THE FIELDS QUESTION. What was that?
The fields question was the one I did first second. I did the painting first, worked backwards...

But I got 63 = B, 64 = C, 65 = C, 66 = B.

Not 100% sure, but yeah.
____________________________________

Here is a link to the files. Writing tasks were done separate, so they're good, but the frickin questions are all haywire!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 02:01:36 pm
I took photos of it. It's probably readable but not particularly good

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ufwx0pc5ftg0x9l/AADOqpGk7JRGUY0S9Rrd_UWaa?dl=0

Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: MissSmiley on June 13, 2018, 02:45:48 pm
The memes have started
Hey PhoenixxFire :)

Would you be able to help me find these memes?
I'm guessing Facebook VCE Discussion Space?

However, I'm not on any social media, hence wondering where you found those  :D

Thanks so much!  ;D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 02:51:03 pm
Did anyone else actually use the Gatchphrase?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 03:04:12 pm
Hey PhoenixxFire :)

Would you be able to help me find these memes?
I'm guessing Facebook VCE Discussion Space?

However, I'm not on any social media, hence wondering where you found those  :D

Thanks so much!  ;D
Yeah all the ones I've seen are on FB.
stolen meme dump
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35147100_958323324340476_7433694121350397952_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=6ffde38931896e0f802b03bc5dbafcb8&oe=5BB68FC4)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35142842_484871938610932_6258319674476331008_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=16007bc4c75a43e2d99d87bbbf1a2411&oe=5B78E439)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35240267_636012403410031_951218823795572736_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=9d0c9bdd4ecb4df252b0459a0c0ea556&oe=5BB1F5D3)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35210618_636020546742550_1498827385963806720_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=965d4e11dead9b1d1febb05c9da7650d&oe=5B776A69)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35295857_2019568154751999_4780863122359451648_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=8f42f0f985b5d7d12ea344932af64d04&oe=5BC24CEB)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35193521_223628391763626_6699536330445029376_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=d7b900499486d6855288eae7685c647c&oe=5B7A7F71)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35196946_2053000014970168_8896186912918732800_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=675008b5c11c49224daa0681db0c4fa6&oe=5B7AC51E)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35229044_561223894279408_5588684296790474752_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=c78a1ac6d02b47bb549b75932cdf17cb&oe=5BADAEE0)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35114685_480383189048941_4938706481907236864_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=ca1e00f7c86e43aa91f1faab979c2d9d&oe=5BB5CE28)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35223032_598832800493256_22657391300444160_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=4f53a3bb07132da94026b1d021e410bf&oe=5BB81741)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35241442_1898841180146504_2421374889286959104_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=f679728a6a5b079aaadaaf07c4daac9b&oe=5BBB6396)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35162064_959974360830283_6731195410557173760_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=a1e221a9b260ac6f49b0cd0637d03586&oe=5BA64B55)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35123793_2107760972801388_937113992281718784_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=8df1c5621743177fe35d33ef204466ce&oe=5BB24A81)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35298102_615713945479613_4162291379654885376_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=8b3e6e38f36c399f7a7936b7b8b7f985&oe=5B7B9AF8)

Did anyone else actually use the Gatchphrase?
Some people on FB are saying they did. I sort of referenced it but not very well haha
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 03:09:58 pm
Some people on FB are saying they did. I sort of referenced it but not very well haha
I found it kinda easy to work in with the idea of change in legislation under the second task...
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 03:10:42 pm
I found it kinda easy to work in with the idea of change in legislation under the second task...
Yeah seems like that's where most people put it
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 03:11:29 pm
Music might have been a touch harder to link it with... :D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: MissSmiley on June 13, 2018, 03:12:30 pm
Yeah all the ones I've seen are on FB.
stolen meme dump
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35147100_958323324340476_7433694121350397952_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=6ffde38931896e0f802b03bc5dbafcb8&oe=5BB68FC4)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35142842_484871938610932_6258319674476331008_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=16007bc4c75a43e2d99d87bbbf1a2411&oe=5B78E439)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35240267_636012403410031_951218823795572736_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=9d0c9bdd4ecb4df252b0459a0c0ea556&oe=5BB1F5D3)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35210618_636020546742550_1498827385963806720_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=965d4e11dead9b1d1febb05c9da7650d&oe=5B776A69)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35295857_2019568154751999_4780863122359451648_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=8f42f0f985b5d7d12ea344932af64d04&oe=5BC24CEB)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35193521_223628391763626_6699536330445029376_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=d7b900499486d6855288eae7685c647c&oe=5B7A7F71)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35196946_2053000014970168_8896186912918732800_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=675008b5c11c49224daa0681db0c4fa6&oe=5B7AC51E)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35229044_561223894279408_5588684296790474752_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=c78a1ac6d02b47bb549b75932cdf17cb&oe=5BADAEE0)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35114685_480383189048941_4938706481907236864_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=ca1e00f7c86e43aa91f1faab979c2d9d&oe=5BB5CE28)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35223032_598832800493256_22657391300444160_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=4f53a3bb07132da94026b1d021e410bf&oe=5BB81741)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35241442_1898841180146504_2421374889286959104_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=f679728a6a5b079aaadaaf07c4daac9b&oe=5BBB6396)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35162064_959974360830283_6731195410557173760_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=a1e221a9b260ac6f49b0cd0637d03586&oe=5BA64B55)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35123793_2107760972801388_937113992281718784_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=8df1c5621743177fe35d33ef204466ce&oe=5BB24A81)
(https://scontent.fmel2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/35298102_615713945479613_4162291379654885376_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=8b3e6e38f36c399f7a7936b7b8b7f985&oe=5B7B9AF8)
Some people on FB are saying they did. I sort of referenced it but not very well haha

Thank you so so much!!   ;D
Really nice of you!!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: m2121 on June 13, 2018, 03:20:16 pm
What did everyone write about for the second task??
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: RedRobin on June 13, 2018, 03:20:50 pm
Thought I'd go ahead and post what I did for MC. On the ones I'm particularly unsure of, I've put an asterisk. Feel free to challenge any of these answers!
Spoiler
1.C
*2.B
3.A
4.C
5.C
6.A
7.A
8.C
9.B
10.D
11.B
12.D
13.D
14.D
15.A
*16.C
17.D
18.C
19.A
20.B
21.B
22.A
23.B
24.B
25.D
26.C
27.A
28.C
29.A
30.A
*31.B
32.C
*33.B
34.B
35.B
36.B
*37.C
38.D
39.D
*40.B
41.C
42.C
43.D
44.B
45.D
46.C
47.B
48.A
49.D
50.B
51.D
52.C
53.C
54.A
55.B
56.B
57.C
*58.A
59.D
60.A
61.B
62.A
63.B
64.C
65.C
66.A
67.A
68.D
69.A
70.B
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Poet on June 13, 2018, 03:27:09 pm
What did everyone write about for the second task??
Went on a tirade about the paradoxical characteristics of change, and how change is needed for progress but also for regression. It is a vital part of everything, etc. A little bit off topic, but I managed to bring it back and my fingers were blue by that stage anyway. You?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 03:28:38 pm
What did everyone write about for the second task??
I did how you can't fight it (Kodak), embrace it (Wright Bros, Edison), Takes only one right change to correct a change that isn't progress. I chucked the gatchphrase under the last part - referring to government policies being changed.

Thought I'd go ahead and post what I did for MC. On the ones I'm particularly unsure of, I've put an asterisk. Feel free to challenge any of these answers!
Spoiler
1.C
*2.B
3.A
4.C
5.C
6.A
7.A
8.C
9.B
10.D
11.B
12.D
13.D
14.D
15.A
*16.C
17.D
18.C
19.A
20.B
21.B
22.A
23.B
24.B
25.D
26.C
27.A
28.C
29.A
30.A
*31.B
32.C
*33.B
34.B
35.B
36.B
*37.C
38.D
39.D
*40.B
41.C
42.C
43.D
44.B
45.D
46.C
47.B
48.A
49.D
50.B
51.D
52.C
53.C
54.A
55.B
56.B
57.C
*58.A
59.D
60.A
61.B
62.A
63.B
64.C
65.C
66.A
67.A
68.D
69.A
70.B
33. I had it as D (IV) as option B (II) was also my answer for 34.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: viralcricstar on June 13, 2018, 03:53:49 pm
Hi guys.
Did anyone here talk about the change in America's immigration law??
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 03:56:26 pm
Hi guys.
Did anyone here talk about the change in America's immigration law??
I talked a bit about the change of presidents making progress go backwards lmao
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: undefined on June 13, 2018, 03:57:40 pm
were we meant to incorporate the writing task 1 information into a creative piece or something? because i just restated all of the information given in an article type piece

I talked a bit about the change of presidents making progress go backwards lmao
yeah i talked about how communism presents change but backwards progress lol
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: PhoenixxFire on June 13, 2018, 03:58:35 pm
were we meant to incorporate the writing task 1 information into a creative piece or something? because i just restated all of the information given in an article type piece
Some people do it as a creative but you definitely don’t have to
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 04:02:31 pm
I did how music has affected us. Categorized the stuff into three things and did a paragraph on each.
You can see the classification on my scan of the writing task.. :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: addictwithatextbook on June 13, 2018, 04:19:44 pm
33. I had it as D (IV) as option B (II) was also my answer for 34.

Same.

Also, isn't 35 A and 36 C? My reasoning was that, for 35, my final expression was 35+7*(4+?), and ?=1 gives 70? For 36, wouldn't one digit ( 8 ) give a winning ticket out of 10 digits?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: undefined on June 13, 2018, 04:23:24 pm
Same.

Also, isn't 35 A and 36 C? My reasoning was that, for 35, my final expression was 35+7*(4+?), and ?=1 gives 70? For 36, wouldn't one digit ( 8 ) give a winning ticket out of 10 digits?
I had B for 36 because there are 9 possible digits
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Ed_ward on June 13, 2018, 04:25:43 pm
Hi all,

I hope you’ve worked well on the GAT exam.... it wasn’t the case for me. I don’t know what happened but I just was like “paralysed”. I’ve only done one writing task and haven’t finished the MCQ.

I know that apart from the Derived score the GAT play a minor part in calculating the study score. But what does that mean, what happen if I do really bad on the gat and good on the final exams?? Will it impact my study scores? My ATAR?

Thank you !

Any help is appreciated
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: addictwithatextbook on June 13, 2018, 04:27:14 pm
I thought there were ten - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, or does 0 not count?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: MathMethodsGuru on June 13, 2018, 04:30:13 pm
Addicted,

same as what u did
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: undefined on June 13, 2018, 04:31:31 pm
I thought there were ten - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, or does 0 not count?
you should be correct because the possible numbers were from 000000001 to 999999999
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: addictwithatextbook on June 13, 2018, 04:35:01 pm
you should be correct because the possible numbers were from 000000001 to 999999999

Phew lmao I couldnt afford to get many more questions wrong haha Cheers!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Jim_Bob on June 13, 2018, 04:38:03 pm
Well my first creative part was kind of a joke ahaha.
Wrote it in the perspective of a hippie musician who absolutely adores music, hence talking about the benefits of music, bonus for the economy blah blah blah.
For the second creative part (as I'm a Year 11) didn't know we could refer to actual current events.... i just talked about how change ruins routine and how routine can help build confidence and empowerment, yet again blah blah blah.
How'd everyone else find it?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: sarangiya on June 13, 2018, 04:54:05 pm
Not much. I wouldn't sweat it.
You'll probably be treated as a statistical outlier and the overall tendencies of your school cohort will dictate the statistical moderation for your SACs, not yours alone.

Just try not to fall ill before your exams haha.
Good luck !

Hi all,

I hope you’ve worked well on the GAT exam.... it wasn’t the case for me. I don’t know what happened but I just was like “paralysed”. I’ve only done one writing task and haven’t finished the MCQ.

I know that apart from the Derived score the GAT play a minor part in calculating the study score. By what does that mean, what happen if I do really bad on the gat and good on the final exams?? Will it impact my study scores? My ATAR?

Thank you !

Any help is appreciated
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Owlbird83 on June 13, 2018, 05:29:54 pm
What was the gatchphrase?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: userrrname on June 13, 2018, 05:40:21 pm
Yeah what's this gatchphrase everyone's talking about...? Was there more to the page than just those sentences about change?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 13, 2018, 05:41:01 pm
Quote
Students should be allowed to leave if the teacher is more than 15 minutes late

That was the gatchphrase
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: userrrname on June 13, 2018, 06:20:29 pm
Smh and i thought i stuffed up english for myself
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Lear on June 13, 2018, 07:05:06 pm

The fields question was the one I did first second. I did the painting first, worked backwards...

But I got 63 = B, 64 = C, 65 = C, 66 = B.

Not 100% sure, but yeah.
____________________________________


Also got these answers :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: RedRobin on June 13, 2018, 08:44:05 pm
Also, isn't 35 A and 36 C? My reasoning was that, for 35, my final expression was 35+7*(4+?), and ?=1 gives 70? For 36, wouldn't one digit ( 8 ) give a winning ticket out of 10 digits?

Yep, you're totally right! Looking back on it I had somehow added 3 and 1 to make 3 and so had 35+7*(3+x)... so I deserve to lose that mark. And for 36 I reverted to the reasoning that the last digit couldn't be a zero because it would make it a digit shorter, even though they had clearly stated those numbers would be accepted. I wasn't sure about 33 however, and my toss up was between II or IV, though IV might be the better choice in hindsight.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: S200 on June 14, 2018, 09:11:27 am
Yep, you're totally right! Looking back on it I had somehow added 3 and 1 to make 3 and so had 35+7*(3+x)... so I deserve to lose that mark. And for 36 I reverted to the reasoning that the last digit couldn't be a zero because it would make it a digit shorter, even though they had clearly stated those numbers would be accepted. I wasn't sure about 33 however, and my toss up was between II or IV, though IV might be the better choice in hindsight.
I forgot that zero was counted as well... :'(
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Owlbird83 on June 14, 2018, 01:31:37 pm
I forgot that zero was counted as well... :'(
Aghh! so did I :(
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Lear on June 14, 2018, 05:30:58 pm

Yep, you're totally right! Looking back on it I had somehow added 3 and 1 to make 3 and so had 35+7*(3+x)... so I deserve to lose that mark. And for 36 I reverted to the reasoning that the last digit couldn't be a zero because it would make it a digit shorter, even though they had clearly stated those numbers would be accepted. I wasn't sure about 33 however, and my toss up was between II or IV, though IV might be the better choice in hindsight.

My god I missed the 0 too R.I.P.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on May 28, 2019, 10:02:16 am
Bumped for 2019! :) Any thoughts on GAT preparation/feelings atm?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Geoo on June 01, 2019, 01:47:14 pm
Is doing the GAT worth is in year 11 when only doing one 3/4 subject?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 01, 2019, 01:57:49 pm
Is doing the GAT worth is in year 11 when only doing one 3/4 subject?

Yep! You never know what might happen at the end of the year.

In fact, it's compulsory.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Geoo on June 01, 2019, 02:04:54 pm
Yep! You never know what might happen at the end of the year.

In fact, it's compulsory.

Really? I was able to get out of the GAT this year due to illness. So I as worrying if it will affect my end results?
I still plan to do it next year though.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Donut on June 01, 2019, 02:47:11 pm
How does a derived score work? Is the score derived from all your GAT marks or just the section. i.e. mathematics for maths methods
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Bri MT on June 02, 2019, 12:39:18 pm
How does a derived score work? Is the score derived from all your GAT marks or just the section. i.e. mathematics for maths methods

I'm not very familiar or confident without how derived scores work but I believe they use a combination of your SAC results and consider your GAT score on a weighted basis (eg sci/math component would be the most important section for a methods derived score).
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: AngelWings on June 02, 2019, 02:21:44 pm
Yep! You never know what might happen at the end of the year.

In fact, it's compulsory.
I think J41's trying to say that you have to go if you're well enough to be at school that day and you can't skip it simply because you felt like it.

Really? I was able to get out of the GAT this year due to illness. So I as worrying if it will affect my end results?
I still plan to do it next year though.
I was sick with a fever and a bunch of nasty symptoms the day of the GAT back in Year 11, while I was doing U3/4 Psych. While they did state that it was unusual I was away for the GAT on my transcripts (saying something about being results being unavailable for illegitimate reasons or something), despite the fact that I did produce a medical certificate to my school and assumed VCAA would've had that on their records, there wasn't any effect as I was present for my end of year Psych U3/4 exam. Basically, VCAA'll think it odd, but you won't be in huge trouble, as long as you sit the final exam (although, if you have a bad day on the exam day, uh...).

Having said that though, if you are to do the GAT and are relatively well enough to do it, then please give it your best shot anyway. Having a safeguard is a lot better than going in with only one shot to make things go the way you want them to. (Basically, take the GAT seriously, please.)

Side note: Here's a brochure for this year's GAT.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Yemily on June 09, 2019, 09:02:26 pm
With Writing Task 1, would a topic sentence count as presenting an argument? E.g. Saying 'Music is a prominent part of many Australians' lives.' Then following up with some of the stats provided about how 'Every year more Australians attend live music events than sporting events.' Or introducing some famous albums by saying, 'A few notable albums include...' I guess my question is: will these adjectives be viewed as being opinionated?

I also find it difficult to relate some bits of information together without somehow referring to some implicit details that I know they have in common. So if someone can share any tips on how to improve coherency, that would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, for the second writing task, should I write the statement(s) that I intend to write about above my main piece? Or will they judge my writing based on how clearly it presents the statement(s)?

Thanks in advance! :) :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Bri MT on June 09, 2019, 10:33:06 pm
With Writing Task 1, would a topic sentence count as presenting an argument? E.g. Saying 'Music is a prominent part of many Australians' lives.' Then following up with some of the stats provided about how 'Every year more Australians attend live music events than sporting events.' Or introducing some famous albums by saying, 'A few notable albums include...' I guess my question is: will these adjectives be viewed as being opinionated?

I also find it difficult to relate some bits of information together without somehow referring to some implicit details that I know they have in common. So if someone can share any tips on how to improve coherency, that would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, for the second writing task, should I write the statement(s) that I intend to write about above my main piece? Or will they judge my writing based on how clearly it presents the statement(s)?

Thanks in advance! :) :)

Hey,

Your examples all look fine to me to include in section 1
There's definitely no need to write what stimuli you're referring to above your response :)


for coherency, I found it useful to figure out the links between everything before I started writing. (Eg, what type of media, what tone does it convey, what are the connotations/themes, what does it appeal to). This made it easier for me to flow smoothly from one point to the next. If you're unsure what I mean please let me know and I'll provide examples :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brothanathan on June 09, 2019, 10:52:11 pm
Isn't writing task 1 supposed to be done creatively and task 2 formally/a strict persuasive essay?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Matthew_Whelan on June 10, 2019, 12:17:38 am
Isn't writing task 1 supposed to be done creatively and task 2 formally/a strict persuasive essay?
Task 1 is to present the information (graphs, quotes, pictures, etc) into a logical order, showing your ability to 'rewrite' what they give you into a coherent structure, focusing on the important aspects. There is no creative aspect as it is expository.
Task 2 is to present a contention (argument or idea) on themed prompts, last years was about change. This one requires you to draw from external knowledge to construct your ideas.
Thats all I know at least, the GAT is a general ability test (not the actual acronym), the writing tasks solely require you to be perceptive/insightful and to write judiciously.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: AngelWings on June 10, 2019, 01:13:26 am
Task 1 is to present the information (graphs, quotes, pictures, etc) into a logical order, showing your ability to 'rewrite' what they give you into a coherent structure, focusing on the important aspects. There is no creative aspect as it is expository.
Technically, Task 1 doesn’t specify that you must write a(n) expository or creative piece; you’re allowed to do whatever type of piece you like, as long as the piece you wind up doing is not presenting an argument (which is pretty much persuasive). This means either expository or creative (and combinations of these) would be fine, as long as you integrate the provided information somehow.

I used pretty much all the information to write a creative piece on a daughter whose late father was a chess master and liked to spout chess facts back in 2014 (my Year 12). The piece was quite well-received.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brothanathan on June 10, 2019, 09:35:32 am
Technically, Task 1 doesn’t specify that you must write a(n) expository or creative piece; you’re allowed to do whatever type of piece you like, as long as the piece you wind up doing is not presenting an argument (which is pretty much persuasive). This means either expository or creative (and combinations of these) would be fine, as long as you integrate the provided information somehow.

I used pretty much all the information to write a creative piece on a daughter whose late father was a chess master and liked to spout chess facts back in 2014 (my Year 12). The piece was quite well-received.

I know this is a bit of a stretch but would you remember or know the cartoon used in the Unit 3 section (Multiple Choice) of the 2014 GAT: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/GAT/2014/2014GAT-cpr-w.pdf

It's copyrighted so there's literally no image provided...

Thanks Angel :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Bri MT on June 10, 2019, 09:50:54 am
Isn't writing task 1 supposed to be done creatively and task 2 formally/a strict persuasive essay?

I didn't go creative for 1 (I analysed the stimuli) or an essay for 2 (I wrote a speech) & I received high marks for the writing section so no.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: AngelWings on June 10, 2019, 11:09:13 am
I know this is a bit of a stretch but would you remember or know the cartoon used in the Unit 3 section (Multiple Choice) of the 2014 GAT: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/GAT/2014/2014GAT-cpr-w.pdf

It's copyrighted so there's literally no image provided...

Thanks Angel :)
Unfortunately, I don’t remember what the cartoon was. The only thing I remember from the GAT 2014 were the writing tasks, because I hadn’t written in those styles since Year 10, as I was doing English Language. My copy of the GAT 2014 has also been long gone and I have no idea where it’s vanished to. 

Moreover, since it’s copyrighted material, even if I knew where that copy was, I can’t share it because it’s against forum rules. (We hope to build a community without getting into trouble with the law, so hope you understand.) You can, however, ask a teacher (probably a VCE coordinator or English teacher) for a copy and hopefully they’ll be able to provide one for you. :)

Really sorry I can’t help there, but hope you find a (legal) version of it somewhere.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Evolio on June 10, 2019, 11:32:16 am
Hi guys.
How are you doing?
I just completed the 2018 GAT paper including  the writing tasks.

Writing Task 1 required you to express your ideas about a range of pictures that they gave you relating to the benefits of music.They said that you should not present an argument.
I wrote a creative piece where a son wants to go to music camp and the father said no. Then the son starts firing the benefits of music and the father rebuts his points. However, he finally convinces the father to allow him to go to music camp. Does this count as presenting an argument? If so, does this mean my writing piece is not valid?

I hope this makes sense.
Thank you for your help.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: DBA-144 on June 10, 2019, 12:35:16 pm
IS writing task 1 meant to be a creative piece or are we allowed to write an informative one?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: AngelWings on June 10, 2019, 01:24:32 pm
IS writing task 1 meant to be a creative piece or are we allowed to write an informative one?
According to the GAT:
Quote from: GAT paper 2018
Develop a piece of writing presenting the main information in the material. You should not present an argument.
Basically, anything goes, as long as you don't start arguing a point. Informative, expository and creative are all fine.

Hi guys.
How are you doing?
I just completed the 2018 GAT paper including  the writing tasks.

Writing Task 1 required you to express your ideas about a range of pictures that they gave you relating to the benefits of music.They said that you should not present an argument.
I wrote a creative piece where a son wants to go to music camp and the father said no. Then the son starts firing the benefits of music and the father rebuts his points. However, he finally convinces the father to allow him to go to music camp. Does this count as presenting an argument? If so, does this mean my writing piece is not valid?

I hope this makes sense.
Thank you for your help.
I don't really know as it might have to depend on the piece itself. Please be careful for the real deal and I'd be wary about skimming this fine line.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: brothanathan on June 10, 2019, 02:23:42 pm
I wrote a creative piece where a son wants to go to music camp and the father said no. Then the son starts firing the benefits of music and the father rebuts his points. However, he finally convinces the father to allow him to go to music camp. Does this count as presenting an argument? If so, does this mean my writing piece is not valid?

I hope this makes sense.
Thank you for your help.

Yeah it counts, maybe write about his father who is a passionate musician introducing his son to the world of music.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: edwardtremethick on June 11, 2019, 01:58:29 am
I was looking through past GAT papers, and the writing sections are really confusing me? Is anyone else on the same page I am?  Writing task 1 seems more understandable than 2,  what do you even need to do? Are you arguing whether the statements are true or false?  And in task 1, do you just literally have to write down the important information, or is there more to it?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: leonm19 on June 11, 2019, 11:52:50 am
I was looking through past GAT papers, and the writing sections are really confusing me? Is anyone else on the same page I am?  Writing task 1 seems more understandable than 2,  what do you even need to do? Are you arguing whether the statements are true or false?  And in task 1, do you just literally have to write down the important information, or is there more to it?

In task 1 you are literally presenting the information, but be careful not to copy down the information exactly. In my opinion, the easiest way to tackle task 1 is to present it in a creative form, so you can make up a little story or something and embed the information in there. For task 2, it's a persuasive piece, so you choose one or a few prompts and form your own opinion based on that prompt, you can argue whether the statements are true or false. My advice would be to make sure you use lots of persuasive devices/techniques and make your contentions really clear. Hope this helps and good luck for the GAT tomorrow!! :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: edwardtremethick on June 11, 2019, 02:54:40 pm
but be careful not to copy down the information exactly

The papers say that you can write down the information however you want (so that can be informative) so how would you go about doing it informatively without actually copying it all down exactly, I don't think doing it creatively would suit me
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: leonm19 on June 11, 2019, 03:10:13 pm
The papers say that you can write down the information however you want (so that can be informative) so how would you go about doing it informatively without actually copying it all down exactly, I don't think doing it creatively would suit me

Sorry I wasn't very clear, but I meant you can't just literally spew out all the information. You have to organise it in a way where it makes sense, so group things together by categories or whatever you think should be mentioned together. You should definitely write down the exact facts and statistics they give you though. I know some people prefer doing expository essays, so I assume you'd probably choose that format?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Nostalgia on June 11, 2019, 03:55:47 pm
Has anyone used Checkpoints for the GAT? Is it worth getting, seeing as the GAT doesn't directly affect your results?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 11, 2019, 04:04:39 pm
Has anyone used Checkpoints for the GAT? Is it worth getting, seeing as the GAT doesn't directly affect your results?

Personally I think all you need is available publicly online. :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: jemima.allpress on June 11, 2019, 09:48:25 pm
Can someone please confirm what the GATch phrase is this year?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Joseph41 on June 12, 2019, 07:03:46 am
Good luck for the GAT today, team!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: edwardtremethick on June 12, 2019, 07:01:39 pm
Hope everyone did well! I wrote a creative piece for Task 1, and was surprised how easy Task 2 was.  Who thought some of the questions were a bit over worded and confusing?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Bri MT on June 12, 2019, 08:21:03 pm
Hope everyone did well! I wrote a creative piece for Task 1, and was surprised how easy Task 2 was.  Who thought some of the questions were a bit over worded and confusing?

Hey, just thought you might want to know that some people are answering that over in [url=https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=185916.0]this[url] gat discussion thread :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Evolio on June 13, 2019, 05:35:58 pm
Quote
I don't really know as it might have to depend on the piece itself. Please be careful for the real deal and I'd be wary about skimming this fine line.

Yeah it counts, maybe write about his father who is a passionate musician introducing his son to the world of music.
Thank you for your help!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on August 06, 2020, 05:07:21 pm
So will the GAT be more important this year than usual?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: mi-xao-14 on August 06, 2020, 05:16:11 pm
I love how they rhyme each other lmao
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on August 06, 2020, 07:04:50 pm
I love how they rhyme each other lmao
.....  ???
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: homeworkisapotato on August 06, 2020, 08:01:46 pm
So will the GAT be more important this year than usual?
I've asked many teachers and all of them think the GAT and the final exams will play a bigger role than sacs this year. This is because due to lockdown the way sacs are run have been seriously impacted and every school is doing very very different things. But whether it holds more importance than sacs or not, it's best to do really well in the GAT because say lockdown for yours or anyone's school occurs during exams because of a positive case, they can use the GAT to give you a derived exam score. Please take this with a grain of salt though because I haven't asked any VCAA examiners haha  ;D
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Coolgalbornin03Lo on August 06, 2020, 09:29:45 pm
I've asked many teachers and all of them think the GAT and the final exams will play a bigger role than sacs this year. This is because due to lockdown the way sacs are run have been seriously impacted and every school is doing very very different things. But whether it holds more importance than sacs or not, it's best to do really well in the GAT because say lockdown for yours or anyone's school occurs during exams because of a positive case, they can use the GAT to give you a derived exam score. Please take this with a grain of salt though because I haven't asked any VCAA examiners haha  ;D

That would be really unfortunate because some people do terribly in the GAT but end up getting 40+ study scores! Although this will be good for the schools that force their kids to do practise GATs.........
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: homeworkisapotato on August 07, 2020, 07:35:01 am
That would be really unfortunate because some people do terribly in the GAT but end up getting 40+ study scores!
I think that's because many people don't study/ practise for the GAT (this is my first year for the GAT so I'm really nervous hahah). Everyone on this forum is hardworking and diligent so if they try I'm sure everyone will ace it! Most people say you can't really study for it but my school teachers say it's like the edutest, so I think practice exams really will boost your marks. I hope I don't sound pretentious (I have no idea when I should start studying for it). Also, do some schools actually force their kids to do past GATs??
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: K888 on August 07, 2020, 11:30:20 am
I think that's because many people don't study/ practise for the GAT (this is my first year for the GAT so I'm really nervous hahah). Everyone on this forum is hardworking and diligent so if they try I'm sure everyone will ace it! Most people say you can't really study for it but my school teachers say it's like the edutest, so I think practice exams really will boost your marks. I hope I don't sound pretentious (I have no idea when I should start studying for it). Also, do some schools actually force their kids to do past GATs??
There really isn't much point to doing past GATs. It's not like it's testing your knowledge of a study design like a SAC or exam does. Think of it as a general reasoning test - it's there to test your skills on the day. There really is no significant prep that you can do that's worthwhile. Best thing to do is look at a few past GATs on the VCAA website so you're familiar with the structure, but otherwise IMO it's not worth wasting your time on doing past GATs.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: homeworkisapotato on August 07, 2020, 06:19:37 pm
There really isn't much point to doing past GATs. It's not like it's testing your knowledge of a study design like a SAC or exam does. Think of it as a general reasoning test - it's there to test your skills on the day. There really is no significant prep that you can do that's worthwhile. Best thing to do is look at a few past GATs on the VCAA website so you're familiar with the structure, but otherwise IMO it's not worth wasting your time on doing past GATs.
Ohh thank you for the input! I probably would have wasted time spamming past GATs ahaha. Do you think it's worthwhile practising the writing tasks?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on August 07, 2020, 09:39:28 pm
Ohh thank you for the input! I probably would have wasted time spamming past GATs ahaha. Do you think it's worthwhile practising the writing tasks?
I did the GAT last year. In my opinion, you can only really practice for the first part (I think that was it - the one where you categorise and write up information into a report, no argument.) I think that learning to set out related ideas and form logical connections can be got more used to (if that makes sense) by practise - even just, how would I put these into a logical flow? But I don't know.
(Bear in mind I got I think 26 for the written, def. my worst in the GAT! - not sure what happened there! given that I'm usually ok at writing stuff)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: homeworkisapotato on August 07, 2020, 09:52:04 pm
Ohh, thank you! How would you approach the writing task where you get given three different ideas and you have to present an argument?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: AngelWings on August 08, 2020, 05:31:42 pm
Ohh thank you for the input! I probably would have wasted time spamming past GATs ahaha. Do you think it's worthwhile practising the writing tasks?
I only would if you haven’t done a persuasive and/or other type of writing in a while. For me (back in the day), I know that I hadn’t in a long time, as I was studying English Language, which doesn’t really touch those types of writing until later on in the year (or would’ve been if you did the GAT on its original date back in June). Even then, I only did one or two practise pieces to get used to writing that way again. But it’s up to you.

For the writing task using the information, I personally found it easier to write creative there and would spatter the information in a creative manner. I remember the one time I did the GAT (I was sick the other time), this worked out really well for me. Note that this is purely a personal thing, so it’s absolutely OK to not do that and present the information in another way. (There’s no advantage if you write creative vs. informative.)

Ohh, thank you! How would you approach the writing task where you get given three different ideas and you have to present an argument?
From memory, the prompts are usually similar to each other. You can respond to as many or as few as you like, as long as you at least respond to one of them.

If you have a look over the past GATs you’ll notice that the prompts are set up for a debate/ argument/ persuasive, so it’s a matter of writing out your own key points and starting to elaborate from there, as you would for any other argumentative piece.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Texyrialed on August 15, 2020, 08:53:03 pm
Newbie to the GAT here,

So my school is kinda pushing us to do at least 10 writing tasks (so 5 Writing Task 1 and 5 Writing Task 2) and I have two questions;
1. Is it worth stressing over to do so many practice tasks?
2. What is the best way to tackle these writing tasks? Task 1 looks like a mess and task 2 is just ??? what am I meant to write?
3. (I know i said two but i'm not bothered to change two to three) For both tasks, is there a certain way to write the piece? Like is task 1 meant to be creative and task 2 has to be persuasive? That's what I'm getting and I'm really sitting here confused af lol.

I've looked at a couple of past GAT papers and everything just kind of just goes over my head and I can't stop thinking about how writing task 1 always looks like a mess

Anyways, please help a gal out, I'm stressin  :-\
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: J_Rho on August 15, 2020, 09:46:28 pm
Newbie to the GAT here,

So my school is kinda pushing us to do at least 10 writing tasks (so 5 Writing Task 1 and 5 Writing Task 2) and I have two questions;
1. Is it worth stressing over to do so many practice tasks?
2. What is the best way to tackle these writing tasks? Task 1 looks like a mess and task 2 is just ??? what am I meant to write?
3. (I know i said two but i'm not bothered to change two to three) For both tasks, is there a certain way to write the piece? Like is task 1 meant to be creative and task 2 has to be persuasive? That's what I'm getting and I'm really sitting here confused af lol.

I've looked at a couple of past GAT papers and everything just kind of just goes over my head and I can't stop thinking about how writing task 1 always looks like a mess

Anyways, please help a gal out, I'm stressin  :-\
Hi Texyrialed!

For the writing tasks, it will help to know what you need to do but you don't have to do that many practice tasks to complete the GAT (but it might help if you are that way inclined). Basically writing task one is organising and presenting the information they throw at you. 2nd one is essentially an opinion/persuasive piece that incorporates one or multiple of the topics they give you. I recommend reading this, its a good overview :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ErnieTheBirdi on October 01, 2020, 02:10:59 pm
PLEASE HELP!!!! It's my first GAT and I have no idea how to go about doing it? How do I study for it? How do I go about doing the writing tasks? PLEASE HELP!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Roger Luo on October 03, 2020, 10:33:10 pm
Hi for the writing tasts, is there a word limit
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: lm21074 on October 03, 2020, 10:35:01 pm
Hi for the writing tasts, is there a word limit
No :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: scientificllama on October 03, 2020, 10:54:13 pm
PLEASE HELP!!!! It's my first GAT and I have no idea how to go about doing it? How do I study for it? How do I go about doing the writing tasks? PLEASE HELP!

Hey there :)

The best thing you can do to prepare for the GAT (just to reiterate there isn't a set way to study for the GAT) is to go over past exams and become familiar with the format and types of questions which can be found here. Attempting a  few questions can also be quite beneficial to understand what is asked in the multiple-choice section. With the writing tasks, task 1 is to reiterate or sum up the stimuli were given which can be done in a creative way or an essay like structure whilst task 2 is to present a point of view with the given statements. I suggest trying to write each task in timed conditions :)

Happy studying!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: rozmaaate on October 05, 2020, 04:32:07 pm
Could anyone please explain why this “C” is the correct answer for this question

Thanks in advance
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on October 05, 2020, 05:00:38 pm
Could anyone please explain why this “C” is the correct answer for this question

Thanks in advance
Ooh, this question! I got it wrong (did the GAT last year) but figured out why since.
So the vet is talking to the owners of the dog, thus the quoted dialogue is directed at the owners. It's clearly not directed at the dog itself, since the dog is able to move itself. Instead, the underlying message is to the owners, which is that he can wag his tail but usually doesn't want to, something that probably implies the owners are not being kind enough to the dog, and thus is an accusation against the owners, warning them to be kind to their dog.
I hope this helps! Since I haven't seen it since probably a year ago I can't really remember how it got explained to me (I marked what answers I did, took the question booklet, and then worked through it with others).
Anyone else, is this a fair description?
:)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: kat05 on October 05, 2020, 05:36:11 pm
Is it okay to write a short story/conversation surrounding writing task 1?

thanks :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: homeworkisapotato on October 05, 2020, 06:18:39 pm
Is it okay to write a short story/conversation surrounding writing task 1?

thanks :)
Hey! My english teacher who is a GAT assessor said that it's best to do an information report or brochure. Anything outside the information such as character names, descriptions of the appearances, etc. is considered as not addressing the task instructions :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Zixin_137 on October 05, 2020, 07:13:14 pm
Hey Guys,

Just some GAT videos I found super useful at these links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdUy-xToVqc&lc=UgyXdXrn2oNeKBiehIp4AaABAg.9E8uTQMou3L9EN90cKkl4r&ab_channel=TheEnglishLab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhH53k2ERQs&ab_channel=TheEnglishLab
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Kimchi27013 on October 05, 2020, 10:27:01 pm
Hey everyone,
Just like what @riyaxxs said, I found that some people suggested to write a creative piece that includes the information given for the first written task of the GAT, namely Lisa from Lisa's Study Guides on YouTube. Are we encouraged to do this and how should we go about writing this creatively?

Actually, for me, the main part I am worried about is the two written tasks. Are there any past student examples that we can access just to get a sense of how to structure our essay or what to work for?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Sine on October 06, 2020, 10:47:02 am
Need help with the question below thanks !!
Which question? This seems to be just the stem.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: rozmaaate on October 06, 2020, 10:56:33 am
Sorry here is the question below
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Sine on October 06, 2020, 11:09:26 am
Sorry here is the question below
Your working out on the first page is correct.
You can sell the grade 2 rocks for $1200 so at $80/cubic metre that is 15 cubic metres of rocks

You then need to look at the split. The 15 cubic metres is 25% whilst the third run is 75% of it. So it is a 1:3 ratio thus the amount of rocks crushed to 10mm is 45 cubic metres.

Once again there is another split this time 40% of the rocks go to become grade 3 rocks. So the total amount is 0.4 x 45 = 18 cubic metres.
To see how much you can sell it for you use the "dollars per cubic metre" from the stem which is $90/cubic metre for grade 3 rocks. So 90 x 18 = $1620 which is A.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ErnieTheBirdi on October 06, 2020, 02:13:02 pm
Can anyone please help me? I know the GAT doesn't really 'matter' but I can't help stressing and getting nervous over it. Is there any chance someone can help me understand how to write the two writing tasks? Are there any previous written task responses, sample essays, anything? I haven't done a test like this since selective exams and that was Y8. I've seen the videos but they don't really help, anything would help at this point. My GAT is tomorrow so... help asap would be appreciated. Thanks, y'all!!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: rozmaaate on October 06, 2020, 02:14:06 pm
Your working out on the first page is correct.
You can sell the grade 2 rocks for $1200 so at $80/cubic metre that is 15 cubic metres of rocks

You then need to look at the split. The 15 cubic metres is 25% whilst the third run is 75% of it. So it is a 1:3 ratio thus the amount of rocks crushed to 10mm is 45 cubic metres.

Once again there is another split this time 40% of the rocks go to become grade 3 rocks. So the total amount is 0.4 x 45 = 18 cubic metres.
To see how much you can sell it for you use the "dollars per cubic metre" from the stem which is $90/cubic metre for grade 3 rocks. So 90 x 18 = $1620 which is A.

Thanks could you please help me out with this question as well as the notation for coordinates puts me off
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: rozmaaate on October 06, 2020, 02:16:00 pm
Can anyone please help me? I know the GAT doesn't really 'matter' but I can't help stressing and getting nervous over it. Is there any chance someone can help me understand how to write the two writing tasks? Are there any previous written task responses, sample essays, anything? I haven't done a test like this since selective exams and that was Y8. I've seen the videos but they don't really help, anything would help at this point. My GAT is tomorrow so... help asap would be appreciated. Thanks, y'all!!


Have you checked out English Lab on YouTube ?they have sample responses for both writing tasks written by a GAT assessor . Remember from at what least I know the GAT can only help you it cannot bring you down !
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ErnieTheBirdi on October 06, 2020, 02:20:38 pm

Have you checked out English Lab on YouTube ?they have sample responses for both writing tasks written by a GAT assessor . Remember from at what least I know the GAT can only help you it cannot bring you down !

They only have a transcript, there isn't any sample responses?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: rozmaaate on October 06, 2020, 02:24:12 pm
They only have a transcript, there isn't any sample responses?

I'm not sure my teacher said that is his example of a sample response to the 2016 GAT to writing task 2

He also mentioned in the comments he was happy with the sample response he provided receiving an 8/10
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: rozmaaate on October 06, 2020, 03:09:40 pm
Hi guys I also need help with this questions as I’m not to sure where it start for both 68 and 69
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ErnieTheBirdi on October 06, 2020, 05:24:01 pm
Just out of curiosity, does the GAT really matter that much? Like if I show up to all my exams and don't fail will it even have an effect on my SS? Will the GAT bring it down if I do poorly?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: ErnieTheBirdi on October 06, 2020, 05:24:21 pm
Just out of curiosity, does the GAT really matter that much? Like if I show up to all my exams and don't fail will it even have an effect on my SS? Will the GAT bring it down if I do poorly?
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: The Cat In The Hat on October 06, 2020, 05:26:27 pm
Just out of curiosity, does the GAT really matter that much? Like if I show up to all my exams and don't fail will it even have an effect on my SS? Will the GAT bring it down if I do poorly?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Normally - it won't count at all unless you can't turn up to exams - your exam score is derived from the GAT. So if you do a terrible, awful exam and have aced your GAT, it still won't count.
This year - who knows. Seriously. It is believed to be used as a moderation tool, but how can we know? Just don't fool 'round, I guess... since we don't know how important it is. But it is expected to be more important this year.
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: SS1314 on October 06, 2020, 06:01:57 pm
Thanks could you please help me out with this question as well as the notation for coordinates puts me off

So I interpreted the first two numbers of Eliot's method as giving the width and height respectively, which the last two numbers giving the coordinate of the centre of the rectangles, e.g. centre of M is (2,2.5) and 2,2.5 are last two numbers of Elliots method. I interpreted the two sets of numbers in Rita's method as being the coordinates of the bottom left and top right corners respectively, so (1,1) is the bottom left corner of M and (3,4) is the top right corner (basically you break 1,1,3,4 into two).

I legit don't know if this is the right interpretation but I mean I got the answers right, so that must be saying something
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: lm21074 on October 06, 2020, 08:01:55 pm
Hey all,

Does anyone know what the GATchphrase is this year? :)
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: marble2 on October 07, 2020, 01:32:49 pm
How did everyone go on the GAT?   :D The writing topics weren’t as bad as I thought!!
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: eloisegrace on October 07, 2020, 01:42:40 pm
How did everyone go on the GAT?   :D The writing topics weren’t as bad as I thought!!
Yes the writing tasks were a lot better than the practice one I did! I felt as though some of the MCQs were a bit ambiguous and hard but hopefully I did well 🤞
Title: Re: GAT Questions and Discussion
Post by: Sine on October 07, 2020, 01:55:49 pm
2020 GAT Discussion is HERE