HSC Indonesian Continuers cheat sheet

Identity vocabulary: diri sendiri (oneself), jati diri (identity), kepribadian (personality), latar belakang (background), sifat (character trait).

Family and relationships: keluarga inti (nuclear family), keluarga besar (extended family), saudara kandung (sibling), orang tua angkat (adoptive parent), tetangga (neighbour).

Describing self: use adalah for definitions (Saya adalah siswa), menjadi for roles (Saya ingin menjadi dokter), and merasa for feelings (Saya merasa bangga).

Personal pronouns: saya/aku (I), kamu/Anda (you), dia/ia (he/she), kami (we exclusive), kita (we inclusive).

Reduplication signals plurality or variety: teman-teman (friends), sifat-sifat (traits), kegiatan sehari-hari (daily activities).

Daily routine markers: setiap hari (every day), biasanya (usually), sering (often), jarang (rarely), tidak pernah (never) precede the verb.

Me- verbs with personal subjects: Saya menyukai musik; Saya membantu ibu; ber- verbs for states: Saya bersekolah di SMA.

Expressing plans and hopes: ingin (want), berharap (hope), berencana (plan to), bercita-cita menjadi (aspire to be) + verb or noun.

Greeting register: Selamat pagi/siang/sore/malam by time of day; Apa kabar? answered with Kabar baik, terima kasih.

Address terms encode age and status: Bapak/Ibu (adults, formal), Kakak (older sibling/young adult), Adik (younger), Mas/Mbak (Javanese-influenced, informal).

Polite request frames: Boleh saya...? (May I...?), Tolong... (Please...), Maaf, saya mau... (Excuse me, I would like...).

Community institutions: RT/RW (neighbourhood units), posyandu (integrated health post), karang taruna (youth organisation), gotong royong (mutual assistance).

Religious and cultural calendar terms: Idul Fitri, Natal, Nyepi, Waisak, Imlek - each tied to a recognised Indonesian holiday.

Formal vs informal vocabulary pairs: tidak/tak, tetapi/tapi, sekarang/kinisekarang, mengapa/kenapa, bagaimana/gimana.

Introducing others: Ini teman saya, namanya Budi; Dia berasal dari Surabaya; Dia bekerja sebagai guru.

Leave-taking: Selamat tinggal (to the person staying), Selamat jalan (to the person leaving), Sampai jumpa lagi.

Technology vocabulary: teknologi (technology), ponsel/telepon genggam (mobile phone), media sosial (social media), jaringan (network), daring (online), luring (offline).

Environment terms: lingkungan (environment), sampah (rubbish), pencemaran/polusi (pollution), daur ulang (recycling), perubahan iklim (climate change), hemat energi (energy saving).

Passive di- construction is common in reports: Sampah dibuang ke sungai; Hutan ditebang secara liar; Air sungai tercemar limbah.

Cause-effect connectors: karena (because), sehingga (so that/resulting in), akibatnya (as a result), oleh karena itu (therefore).

Comparison of change: semakin...semakin... (the more...the more...), dibandingkan dengan (compared with), berbeda dengan (different from).

Globalisation and youth: budaya populer (popular culture), tradisi (tradition), modernisasi (modernisation), generasi muda (young generation).

Numbers and statistics: persen (percent), meningkat (increase), menurun (decrease), sebagian besar (the majority), sekitar (approximately).

Opinion frames for essays: Menurut saya (in my opinion), Saya setuju/tidak setuju bahwa (I agree/disagree that), Di satu sisi...di sisi lain (on one hand...on the other).

Identify text type from cues: pengumuman (announcement) opens with addressed audience; iklan (advertisement) uses persuasive imperatives; wawancara (interview) alternates question and answer.

Listen for question words to predict the answer type: siapa (who), kapan (when), di mana (where), mengapa (why), bagaimana (how), berapa (how much/many).

Register cue: Anda/Bapak/Ibu signals formal speech; aku/kamu/gimana signals informal conversation between peers.

Numbers and times: listen for ribu, juta, setengah, seperempat, pukul, kurang, lewat - e.g. pukul tiga lewat lima belas.

Negation traps: tidak (not), belum (not yet), bukan (not + noun); belum means the action may still happen, unlike tidak.

Sequencing markers guide order of events: pertama (first), kemudian (then), setelah itu (after that), akhirnya (finally).

Inferring attitude from tone words: senang, kecewa (disappointed), khawatir (worried), kagum (impressed), marah.

Note-taking rule: record names, places, numbers and the stated reason (karena...) because detail questions target these.

Skim for gist from title, first sentence and repeated key nouns; scan for specific data such as dates, prices and percentages.

Recognise affixes to decode meaning: meN- (active verb), di- (passive), -kan (causative), -an (noun/result), ke-...-an (abstract noun, e.g. kebersihan).

Connectors signal logical relations: namun/tetapi (however), selain itu (besides), oleh sebab itu (therefore), meskipun (although), sebagai akibatnya (as a result).

Text types and purposes: berita (news report), artikel (article), surat pembaca (letter to editor), cerpen (short story), pengumuman (notice).

Reference words point back: ini, itu, tersebut, hal ini, dia, mereka - identify the noun each refers to before answering.

Distinguish fact from opinion: opinion markers include menurut, sebaiknya (should), mungkin (perhaps), saya kira (I think).

Formal written vocabulary: merupakan (constitutes), dilakukan (is carried out), bertujuan untuk (aims to), meningkatkan (to improve), mengurangi (to reduce).

Answering inference items: combine two stated facts; the correct option must be supported by the passage, not by general knowledge.

Text structure for a letter: place and date, Salut (Dengan hormat / Halo), opening, body paragraphs, closing (Hormat saya / Sampai jumpa), signature.

Essay structure: pendahuluan (introduction with thesis), isi (body with arguments and examples), kesimpulan (conclusion restating position).

Cohesion devices: pertama-tama, selanjutnya, di samping itu, sebaliknya, dengan demikian, sebagai kesimpulan.

Formal letter uses Anda and no contractions; informal message uses kamu/aku and particles (sih, deh, ya) sparingly.

MeN- spelling rules: me- + vowel-initial stem keeps nasal (membaca, menulis); me- + s/p/t drops the consonant (memukul, menulis, menari).

ber- and ter- forms: ber- shows having/doing (bermain, bersepeda); ter- shows accidental or superlative (terbuka, terbaik).

Punctuation and capitalisation: capitalise names, places, days, months and the pronoun Anda; write times as pukul 08.00.

Word-count planning: allocate roughly 10 percent to introduction, 80 percent to body, 10 percent to conclusion; count words after drafting.