HSC Indonesian Extension (NSW) cheat sheet

Text types carry fixed structural signals: news reports lead with the main event (what/who/when/where) then elaborate; recounts are chronological; expositions state a thesis, give arguments, then restate the position; discussions present both sides before a conclusion.

Cohesive devices to track: namun/akan tetapi (contrast), oleh karena itu/akibatnya (consequence), selain itu/tambahan pula (addition), misalnya/contohnya (exemplification), sebaliknya (reversal), dengan kata lain (reformulation).

Formal register markers: menggunakan, merupakan, berdasarkan, sehubungan dengan, mengemukakan, menyatakan; informal markers: banget, nggak, gimana, kayak, dong/sih. Register signals the audience and purpose.

Affixation changes meaning systematically: meN- (active/transitive), di- (passive), ber- (stative/intransitive), ter- (accidental/superlative), peN- (agent/instrument), -kan (causative/benefactive), -i (locative/repetitive), ke-an (abstract noun or adversative passive).

The prefix ter- is ambiguous: ter- + adjective = superlative (terbaik); ter- + verb = accidental or abilitative (terbuka, tertinggal). Context decides which reading applies.

Reduplication signals plurality or intensity (buku-buku, pelan-pelan) and can also form reciprocal or iterative meanings (tolong-menolong, berjalan-jalan).

Inference questions require evidence from the text, not prior knowledge: locate the clause that licenses the answer, then check whether the option overstates, reverses, or adds information absent from the text.

For listening tasks, capture numbers, names, times, and negations first; Indonesian negation (tidak, bukan, belum, jangan) often sits immediately before the element being denied, so mishearing it inverts meaning.

Text-type conventions govern production: procedure uses imperative verbs and sequencing (pertama, kemudian, selanjutnya, akhirnya); recount uses past time markers and first/third person; exposition uses thesis-argument-reiteration with abstract nouns.

Passive di- constructions foreground the object and are preferred in formal written Indonesian: 'Pemerintah telah mengeluarkan kebijakan' becomes 'Kebijakan telah dikeluarkan oleh pemerintah'.

The agent in a passive is optional; when present it follows oleh. First and second person agents attach as pronouns without oleh (dibaca saya, ditulis kamu are nonstandard; use oleh saya in formal prose).

Impersonal and nominalising structures raise register: penggunaan, peningkatan, pelaksanaan, kenyataan bahwa, adalah penting untuk dicatat bahwa.

Sentence connectors for argument: pertama-tama, di samping itu, sehubungan dengan itu, meskipun demikian, sebaliknya, sebagai kesimpulan.

Time and aspect markers: telah/sudah (completed), sedang (progressive), akan (future), baru saja (recent), pernah (experiential), belum (not yet). Consistency across a recount is a marking criterion.

Word order is Subject-Predicate-Object; modifiers follow the noun (rumah besar itu, mahasiswa yang rajin). Relative clauses introduced by yang must agree with the head noun.

Spelling conventions: ber- + kerja = bekerja (one r drops); meN- + p/t/k/s drops the consonant (memukul, menulis, mengirim, menyapu); meN- + vowel keeps ng (mengambil, mengukur).

A theme study requires a stated issue, a rationale for its significance in Indonesian contexts, and evidence drawn from multiple text types (media, literary, official, personal).

Analysis vocabulary in Indonesian: isu, dampak, penyebab, solusi, tantangan, peluang, nilai, sikap, sudut pandang, latar belakang.

Perspective analysis distinguishes author position (posisi penulis), audience (sasaran pembaca), and purpose (tujuan). The same issue yields different framings across outlets and genres.

Cultural and social framing matters: concepts such as gotong royong, musyawarah, adat, and urbanisasi carry connotations that shape how an issue is argued in Indonesian texts.

Comparative evaluation: identify criteria (evidence quality, balance, currency, representativeness), apply them to at least two sources, and state a judgement supported by specific textual evidence.

Synthesis means combining findings into a coherent claim, not summarising sources sequentially; each paragraph should advance an argument with cited support.

Referencing conventions in Indonesian academic writing: kutipan langsung in quotation marks with source, parafrase with attribution, daftar pustaka ordered alphabetically by author surname.

A research question must be focused, answerable from accessible sources, and tied to the prescribed theme; broad topics are narrowed by population, place, time, or text type.

Primary sources: interviews, surveys, observations, questionnaires. Secondary sources: news articles, academic journals, government reports, documentaries, literary works.

Ethical requirements: informed consent (persetujuan), anonymity (kerahasiaan identitas), right to withdraw, and secure storage of participant data.

Interview protocol: open-ended questions, avoid leading phrasing, pilot the questions, record with permission, transcribe, then code responses into themes.

Source evaluation criteria: authority (kredibilitas penulis/lembaga), accuracy (akurasi data), objectivity (keberimbangan), currency (kemutakhiran), and relevance (relevansi).

Triangulation strengthens findings: corroborate a claim across at least two independent source types before treating it as established.

Project structure: pendahuluan (aim and scope), metodologi (sources and method), temuan (findings), analisis (interpretation), kesimpulan (conclusion), daftar pustaka.

Citation integrity: distinguish direct quotation, paraphrase, and own analysis; unattributed borrowing is plagiarism regardless of language of the source.