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2012 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre – Classical Greek

Contents

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 2012 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 2012 Higher School Certificate examinations, the marking guidelines and other support documents 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 far beyond 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 that are not included in the glossary may be used, such as ‘design’, ‘translate’ or ‘list’.

Classical Greek Continuers

Section I – Prescribed Text – Thucydides, Book VII

Question 1

  1. In better responses, candidates recognised that the hopos…kinetheie clause is better translated straight after diabouleusasthai eti. The better translations also indicated that the candidate realised that mellesasi meant ‘who had delayed’.
  2. In better translations, candidates recognised that tou etous is genitive of time, that is ‘during the year’, and that philei in this context means ‘are likely’ or ‘are accustomed’.

Question 2

  1. i. In better responses, candidates identified reasons for Demosthenes’ recommended departure referring to both this extract and the text immediately before this extract.
  2. In better responses, candidates demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the narrative techniques employed by Thucydides to convey the intensity of battle.
  3. i. In better responses, candidates provided a good explanation of why Demosthenes is described as polemiotaton. The better responses referred both to the fact that Demosthenes had been in command at Pylos and that under his leadership the Spartan forces on Sphacteria were captured.

    ii. In better responses, candidates focused clearly on the level of consistency they saw in Thucydides’ judgement and discussed both Nicias in the extract and the portrayal of him earlier in the book.

Question 3

In better responses, candidates presented a clear assessment of the importance of morale and supported that assessment with direct reference to the events described in Book VII. In weaker responses, candidates discussed morale in the events, but made no assessment of its importance.

Section II — Prescribed Text – Sophocles, Philoctetes

Question 4

  1. In better translations, candidates understood the relationship between the clauses of the last three lines, that skopein depends on chre and that tenikauta connects its clause with the indefinite clause before it. Better translations also recognised that me plus the subjunctive lathei was a clause of fearing.
  2. In better translations, candidates dealt with the optatives hikoit’ and trephoite well, recognised that kaloumenos was passive and that anakaloumenon is accusative in the set text and not dative as in variant readings.

Question 5

  1. In better responses, candidates demonstrated a thorough understanding of the meaning of the extracts of Greek text. They discussed the issues raised by the question strictly in terms of the extract rather than offering general comments drawn from the whole play.
  2. In better responses, candidates argued convincingly about the extent to which Philoctetes’ attitude in the extract is consistent with the rest of the play. To do this they demonstrated a thorough understanding of the Greek text and a deep familiarity with the rest of the play.

Question 6

In the best responses, candidates set out the moral dilemma they believed was at the heart of the play and then discussed the dramatic conventions Sophocles used to highlight the dilemma. In weaker responses, candidates focused on the moral dilemma and paid very little attention to the conventions.

Section III – Unseen Texts

Question 7

  1. In better translations, candidates knew that sugkomizein is a technical term for ‘to bury’, that ean is infinitive, the meaning of hopos echei, tinos charin, hothounek’ and hos heloi dori, the concessive nature of elpisantes and that Phygwn is a comparative genitive.

Question 8

  1. In better translations, candidates recognised that es ton Peiraia is part of the first clause, the correct meaning of katadramontes… ta polla, that hai nees is the subject of ephoboun, which is transitive and has the direct object autous, that pros tei Salamini means ‘at Salamis’ or ‘beside Salamis’ not ‘to Salamis’ and that to loipon refers to the future.

Classical Greek Extension

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

Question 1

  1. In the best translations, candidates properly understood pheriste, the force of ton in line 388, that opopa is perfect, the iterative force of kteineske,and that hos su per hode means something like ‘as you are also’.

Question 2

  1. b. In better responses, candidates demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the Greek extracts and the way in which the content of the extracts relate to the whole of Book XXIV.

Question 3

In better responses, candidates demonstrated that they understood the two Greek extracts and who the speakers were. They discussed the two assessments of Achilles and argued how well they reflected his portrayal throughout Books XXII and XXIV. In weaker responses, candidates tended to focus just on the negative assessment of Achilles.

Section II – Non-prescribed Text

Question 4

  1. iv. In better translations, candidates recognised the many dual forms and realised that Zeus was addressing two horses, that the neuter ti is the subject of estin and oizuroteron is the complement, that andros is genitive of comparison, that panton, ossa are neuter plurals and that ophra …saoseton is expressing purpose.
  2. All candidates chose to do part (i).
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