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2010 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre — Classical Greek

Contents

• Introduction
• Continuers
• Section I – Prescribed text – Herodotus II
• Section II – Prescribed text – Aristophanes, Frogs
• Section III – Unseen texts
• Extension
• Section I – Prescribed text – Homer, Odyssey XXI–XXIII
• Section II – Non-prescribed text

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 courses in Classical Greek. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2010 Higher School Certificate examinations, indicating the quality of the responses and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.

This document should be read along with the relevant syllabuses, the 2010 Higher School Certificate examinations, the marking guidelines and other support documents which have been developed by the Board of Studies to assist in the teaching and learning of Classical Greek.

General comments

Teachers and candidates should be aware that examiners may ask questions that address the syllabus outcomes in a manner that requires candidates to respond by integrating the knowledge, understanding and skills they developed through studying the course.

Candidates need to be aware that the marks allocated to the question and the answer space (where this is provided on the examination paper) are guides to the length of the required response. A longer response will not in itself lead to higher marks. Writing in excess of the space allocated may reduce the time available for answering other questions.

Candidates need to be familiar with the Board’s Glossary of Key Words which contains some terms commonly used in examination questions. However, candidates should also be aware that not all questions will start with or contain one of the key words from the glossary. Questions such as ‘how?’, ‘why?’ or ‘to what extent?’ may be asked or verbs may be used which are not included in the glossary, such as ‘design’, ‘translate’ or ‘list’.

Continuers

Section I – Prescribed text – Herodotus II

Question 1

1. The passage was generally translated well by most candidates. In the better responses candidates understood the concessive force of the participle eousa in line 1.
   In the weaker responses, candidates often mistranslated the following:
   • ton eineken…legoimi
   • auton epipsausas.
2. The passage was generally translated well by most candidates. Recurring errors included:
   • elasai which was often mistranslated
   • ek touteon line 8 and pros touto in line 11 which was often misunderstood
   • diatribein in line 3 which was not understood.

Real challenges arose from the series of accusative and infinitive clauses dependent upon elegon and made more difficult by the series of accusative participles. However, in the better responses, candidates handled them very well.

Question 2

1. 1. In better responses, candidates knew the context, and therefore the outline of the story.
   2. In better responses, candidates knew the translation of this passage well enough to analyse the passage and discuss what it reveals about Herodotus’ methods of research.
2. In better responses, candidates demonstrated sufficient knowledge of both the translation of this passage and the content of the whole of the prescribed text to be able to draw conclusions about Herodotus’ knowledge of Egyptian animals.
3. In better responses, candidates demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the whole story of which this passage forms a part.

Question 3

Candidates had clearly spent time studying the whole of Book II and not just the sections set for translation. In the better responses, there was not just discussion of Herodotus’ presentation of Egypt or the methods he used to gather information, but a clear understanding of how the latter shaped the former. In all responses, candidates supported their points of view with specific reference to the text.

Section II – Prescribed text – Aristophanes, Frogs

Question 4

1. The passage offered some significant challenges, but was translated well by most candidates. In the weaker responses, candidates misunderstood some forms and constructions including:
   • eksein kata choran
   • eksoisousi.

In better responses, candidates demonstrated that they recognised that autoin was a dual, and were consistent with their translation of future tenses in the final lines.

Question 5

1. and b
   In general, all parts of these questions were answered well. Candidates knew the meaning and context of the passages well, and knew the relevant information about every character referred to in the questions.

In the better responses, candidates demonstrated knowledge of not only the decision Dionysus makes at the end of the play, but also what influenced his decision, and could therefore explain how this extract anticipates that decision.

Question 6

Candidates had clearly spent time studying the whole play and not just the sections set for translation. In the best responses, candidates discussed the way Aristophanes developed the plot in order to accommodate the series of comedy sketches. Candidates also made direct references to the play in a way that demonstrated a clear understanding of the text, and therefore provided strong support for their argument.

Section III – Unseen texts

Question 7

In general, both unseen texts proved challenging.

3. In the better responses, candidates recognised the dual forms in doulo diarriptounte and understood that echon, deksioteron and sophoteron all agreed with the diminutive logidion. Some of the more common difficulties arose from hemin esti, tes tuches charin and hina thuraze me ksiei, and correctly recognising the voice of eksapatomenos.
4. The candidates who translated the passage well also answered this question well.

Question 8

5. This passage proved to be the more challenging of the two unseen passages to translate. The most common difficulties arose from knowing who was sending whom away in line 2, knowing that hoi in lines 6 and 8 were dative, recognising the genitive absolute in line 9, knowing the tenses of huededekto and diaphereei, and correctly translating eh me apostas ieis, hestheis and to parapan.
6. The candidates who translated the passage well also answered this question well.

Extension

Section I – Prescribed text – Homer, Odyssey XXI–XXIII

In the weaker responses, candidates offered a paraphrase of the passage rather than an actual translation. Common problems were as follows:

• the tenses of pedaaskon, epeimi, akachetai and eisin were not recognised
• the infinitive komzemeni used as an imperative.

Question 2

1. (i) and (ii) and (b) (i) These three questions were for the most part answered well, with the better responses demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the content and context of each passage.
2. (ii) In the best responses, candidates referred directly to the simile in lines 233–240 and linked it to the past experiences of Odysseus and Penelope.

Question 3

In general, this question was answered well and most responses demonstrated knowledge of the text with candidates using this knowledge to support their argument. However, in the better responses, candidates were clearly conversant with the whole of books XXI–XXIII and not just the passages prescribed for translation. In the best responses, candidates demonstrated how Homer portrays the character of Odysseus through the latter’s words and deeds as set out in all three books.

Section II – Non-prescribed text

Question 4

1. (v) Some sections of this passage proved to be quite challenging for all candidates. This applies to vocabulary, in particular. The words that posed the greatest difficulty were neon ee paroithen, pheideo, pareion, paros and kecharismena.
2. All candidates chose to do part (i) which was generally better translated than (a) (v). Some of the difficulties were with hoi autou nooi, epethon rheidios ethelon theie, the two meanings of neon and aeikea hesso.

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