2015 Notes from the Marking Centre – Modern Greek Extension
Introduction
This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Modern Greek Extension course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2015 Higher School Certificate examination, indicating the quality of the responses and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.
This document should be read along with:
- the Modern Greek Extension Stage 6 Syllabus
- the 2015 Higher School Certificate Modern Greek Extension examination
- the marking guidelines
- Advice for students attempting HSC languages examinations, and HSC Languages oral examinations – advice to students
- Advice for HSC students about examinations
- other support documents developed by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW to assist in the teaching and learning of Modern Greek in Stage 6.
Oral examination
Characteristics of better responses:
- a logical and well-structured argument was developed and presented
- ideas were communicated with confidence and fluency
- arguments were supported with the use of relevant information and ideas
- sophisticated vocabulary and sentence structures were used
- a consistently high level of grammatical accuracy was demonstrated.
Characteristics of weaker responses:
- an attempt was made to formulate an argument by linking some relevant ideas
- ideas were effectively communicated but they lacked grammatical accuracy
- the language used was comprehensive but included repetition and anglicisms.
Section I – Response to Prescribed Text – Part A
Characteristics of better responses:
- a thorough knowledge and comprehension of the prescribed issues were demonstrated
- a thorough understanding of the symbolism used in the text was demonstrated (Q 1b and Q 1c)
- the ability to discuss the use of film techniques, in order to explore the issue of the search for personal identity, was demonstrated (Q 1e).
Characteristics of weaker responses:
- repetition was used and sufficient detail to address the requirements of each question was not provided
- the story was retold instead of focusing on analysis of the text
- film techniques were listed without providing appropriate discussion or linking to the requirements of the question (Q 1e).
Section I – Response to Prescribed Text – Part B
Characteristics of better responses:
- a perceptive and sensitive understanding of the prescribed text was demonstrated, for example, the letter to Panos reflected Panagakis’ change in attitude
- flair and creativity was demonstrated in the approach taken
- an excellent understanding of vocabulary and language structures relevant to the task was demonstrated, with some minor mistakes
- information and ideas were organised effectively to meet the requirements of the task.
Characteristics of weaker responses:
- a limited understanding of the prescribed text was demonstrated
- a basic knowledge and understanding of vocabulary and sentence structures was demonstrated.
Section II – Writing in Modern Greek
Characteristics of better responses:
- a well-balanced and coherent argument was presented and developed
- the specific audience, purpose and context of the task was effectively and perceptively addressed using correct text type
- breadth and depth in the treatment of relevant ideas was demonstrated
- a high level of grammatical accuracy using a broad range of vocabulary and sentence structures was demonstrated.
Characteristics of weaker responses:
- an attempt was made to develop a coherent argument
- some understanding of audience, purpose and context of the task was evident
- points were supported with relevant material and examples
- a range of vocabulary and sentence structures was demonstrated, however with frequent errors.
NSW Government