The short answer
Specific, developed examples are the backbone of a strong Section II essay — one vivid example beats three vague ones.
Written and checked by GAMSAT tutors — not AI-generated.
Try the reasoning style
We treat forgetting as a failure — a lapse to be patched with reminders and records. Yet a mind that kept everything could not think; it would drown in the undifferentiated noise of every moment it had ever lived. To forget is not so much to lose information as to decide, mostly without our noticing, what was never worth keeping.
The author's argument relies most directly on which unstated assumption?
Pick an option to see how the tutor reasons to the answer — not just whether you were right.
Not quite — the answer is B.
Work backwards from the conclusion: a mind that ‘kept everything’ supposedly ‘could not think.’ That only follows if thinking means leaving most of experience out — so B is the premise the argument quietly rests on. A raises reliability, which the passage never weighs; C contradicts ‘mostly without our noticing’; D smuggles in a claim about intellect the passage never makes. The question rewards finding the hidden premise, not recalling a fact.
A strong Section II essay stands on specific, well-developed examples — not vague generalities. One vivid, fully-explained example does more work than three hand-waved ones. The skill isn't having examples; it's choosing and developing them so they actually prove your point.
Name it, then EARN it
Don't just drop an example and move on — explain how it supports your claim. The pattern: state the point → introduce the example → show the connection ("this matters because…") → link back to your thesis. The analysis is what scores, not the name-drop.
Weak vs strong use of an example
Weak (name-dropped)
- 'Many great leaders, like Mandela, changed the world.'
- Vague, generic, could fit any essay
- No specific detail, no analysis
- Tells the reader nothing new
Strong (developed)
- Picks ONE specific moment or detail
- Explains exactly how it illustrates the point
- Connects the detail back to the thesis
- Reveals the writer's thinking
Range and relevance
Draw examples from a range of domains — history, science, literature, current events, even careful personal observation — so you're not a one-note essay. But relevance beats variety: a perfectly fitting example from one field is better than a forced one for the sake of breadth.
Worked example
Turn this vague claim into a developed example: "Technology can isolate people."
Check yourself
What most distinguishes a high-scoring example in a Section II essay?
Key takeaways
- Specific, developed examples beat vague generalities — depth over quantity.
- Pattern: state the point → give the example → show the connection → link to thesis.
- The analysis scores, not the name-drop.
- Draw from a range of domains, but relevance beats variety.
- One vivid, fully-explained example can carry a paragraph.
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