HSC Classical Greek Extension study plan
HSC Classical Greek Extension · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek prose passage & Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek verse passage
Parse and translate 400 words of unseen Attic prose daily, marking every participle and genitive absolute before consulting a lexicon
Build a personal vocabulary log of 120 high-frequency prose and verse lexemes with principal parts and dialect variants
Translate 60 lines of unseen Greek verse (iambic trimeter and dactylic hexameter) aloud, scanning each line before rendering meaning
Draft a 10-item checklist of comprehension traps (negatives, particles, compressed syntax) and apply it to two unseen passages
Your checkpoint
A timed 90-minute translation of one unseen prose passage (approx. 180 words) and one unseen verse passage (approx. 25 lines), with a written self-audit listing every error and its grammatical cause
Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek prose passage & Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek verse passage
Translate three unseen prose passages under exam timing, allocating 15 minutes to read-through and annotation before writing
Translate two unseen verse passages, annotating metrical irregularities, resolutions, and caesurae
Compose 20 short comprehension answers in 2-3 sentences each, quoting the Greek to justify each claim
Revise the week-1 error audit and eliminate repeat errors in a fresh set of passages
Your checkpoint
Two complete practice translations (one prose, one verse) with comprehension answers, scored against a self-made rubric and compared to the week-1 baseline
Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: literary technique and style & Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: themes, ideas and values
Annotate the prescribed prose text for narrative technique: narrator stance, speech framing, and pacing, marking 25 passages with technique labels
Annotate the prescribed verse text for stylistic devices (metaphor, ring composition, enjambment, gnomic statement), logging 30 examples with line references
Write 8 analytical paragraphs linking one stylistic device to one thematic idea, each with two quoted Greek phrases
Map the prescribed texts' recurring themes onto a one-page grid, noting where style reinforces theme
Your checkpoint
A 1200-word analytical essay on how one stylistic technique in each prescribed text shapes a central theme, with at least 12 accurately cited Greek quotations
Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: literary technique and style & Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: themes, ideas and values
Draft and refine 6 timed 40-minute analytical responses on unseen essay prompts, each with a clear thesis and structured evidence
Cross-examine each essay for unstated assumptions about authorial intent and replace them with text-based claims
Compare how the prose and verse authors treat one shared value (e.g. justice, honour, or fate), citing 10 passages
Compile a quotation bank of 40 short Greek phrases organised by theme and technique
Your checkpoint
A timed 40-minute essay written under exam conditions and then self-marked against a criterion checklist, plus the completed 40-quote thematic bank
Historical, social and cultural context of the prescribed texts & Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: literary technique and style
Summarise the historical and social setting of each prescribed text in 400 words, distinguishing secure evidence from inference
Identify 15 passages where context (institutions, civic ritual, social hierarchy) changes the interpretation, and explain each shift in writing
Analyse how the authors' contemporary audiences would have received specific stylistic choices, citing genre conventions
Revise the quotation bank to tag each entry with its contextual significance
Your checkpoint
A 900-word contextual commentary connecting 10 cited passages to their historical and social setting, with a short bibliography of consulted scholarship
Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek prose passage & Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek verse passage & Historical, social and cultural context of the prescribed texts
Return to unseen translation with two timed prose and two timed verse passages, applying contextual knowledge to resolve ambiguous phrasing
Complete 20 comprehension questions under 10-minute limits, focusing on inference rather than literal recall
Integrate contextual evidence into two practice essays, ensuring context supports rather than replaces textual analysis
Drill 80 vocabulary items and 15 syntactic constructions flagged as weak in earlier audits
Your checkpoint
A full mock paper (unseen prose, unseen verse, and one analytical essay) completed in one sitting and scored, with a written improvement plan
Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: literary technique and style & Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: themes, ideas and values & Historical, social and cultural context of the prescribed texts
Write four full-length essays across the three analytical domains, each integrating style, theme, and context within a single argument
Refine essay introductions to state a contestable thesis within three sentences
Practise 10-minute planning drills for 12 unseen essay prompts, producing thesis plus evidence outline only
Audit all essays for accurate quotation and eliminate any paraphrase presented as quotation
Your checkpoint
Four polished essays (two on style-and-theme, two on theme-and-context) with verified quotations and a self-marked rubric score for each
Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek prose passage & Translation and comprehension of an unseen Greek verse passage & Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: literary technique and style & Critical analysis of prescribed Greek texts: themes, ideas and values & Historical, social and cultural context of the prescribed texts
Sit two full timed mock exams under strict conditions and mark both against official-style criteria
Review every error from the mocks and write a one-page correction sheet for recurring weaknesses
Rehearse a 5-minute translation read-through routine and a 3-minute essay planning routine until automatic
Consolidate the quotation bank and contextual notes into a single two-page revision sheet
Your checkpoint
Two completed timed mock exams with scores, a one-page error-correction sheet, and a final two-page revision sheet covering all five domains
Milestones
Week 2: Complete one unseen prose and one unseen verse translation within exam time, with fewer grammatical errors than the week-1 baseline audit
Week 4: Produce a timed 40-minute analytical essay scoring at least 70% on the self-made criterion rubric, supported by 12 verified quotations
Week 6: Complete a full mock paper in one sitting, achieving at least 65% overall with no domain below 55%
Week 8: Score at least 75% on the final mock exams and demonstrate a documented reduction in repeat errors from week 1