Section 3 of the BMAT requires you to write a short essay that covers a maximum of one side of A4 paper. You are given a choice of three essay titles that are usually in the form of a statement or a direct quote.
Normally, you’ll be asked to explain the reasoning behind the statement, argue to the contrary and then make a conclusion, although the sub questions can vary.
The quality of your content is scored from 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) and the quality of your English is scored from A-E (A being the highest).
Top Tips
So how should you prepare for this? Here are our top tips on preparing for BMAT Section 3!
Every Sentence Needs a Purpose
In the BMAT, you need to make sure every sentence has a purpose and adds to your argument/counterargument.
You need to make sure nothing is “fluffy” and each sentence makes a standalone point that could not be taken out of the essay. In some ways, this is like a scientific paper, where you want to skip any unneeded adjectives and storytelling to give the most coherent writing style possible.
Remember, you also only have one side of A4 so your space is precious!
Planning is Key!
A big chunk of your essay time should be spent making a plan. Depending on your writing speed, this can be anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes. Every sentence must have a purpose. If you plan in bullet points, you can cover each of your bullet points sentence by sentence.
Structure
Make your essay really structured, answering every subquestion individually. Some students use paragraphs to split this up; however, it may be wise to use small indents, as this gives you a little more space on the paper to write more.
It is most logical to follow the structure given in the sub-questions, which is usually:
Explain the reasoning behind the statement
Argue to the contrary
To give a conclusion
Examples
When asking your point, you need to give examples. This could be a specific scenario that you think the quote relates to or it could be an example from the news, public figures, a book, or a particular case.
Examples don’t need to be completely unique to score you highly, but they should be entirely relevant to the point of the essay. Don’t try to fit the essay around the example, instead, fit the example to the essay.
Practice as Though it were the Real Thing
You need to make sure that you are practising in the most realistic way possible. It’s really tempting to skip the plan and head straight into the essay; however, it’s going to be more effective if you time yourself the full 30 minutes and force yourself to use 10-15 minutes of this time to adequately plan.
If the BMAT is on pen and paper, download and print some section 3 answer sheets, so you know exactly how much space you have.
Have Fun With It!
I know this is really easy to say and hard in practice but, your application journey is an exciting period of your life. You get to decide on your own future and decide where you’re going to spend the next 5 or 6 years. The BMAT, although tricky, is a part of this and it may open up some really exciting doors for you!
If you would like further help, BMAT tutors can guide you.