HSC Modern Greek Extension cheat sheet

For a prescribed novel or play, separate plot summary from analysis: a response earns marks by naming a technique (narration, imagery, symbolism, dialogue, stagecraft) and linking it to meaning, not by retelling events.

For a prescribed film, treat the shot as the basic unit of evidence: identify shot size (close-up, medium, wide), camera angle, movement (pan, tracking, handheld), and lighting, then state the effect on the viewer's understanding of character or theme.

Mise-en-scène analysis covers set, costume, props, colour palette and actor blocking within the frame; sound analysis separates diegetic (source visible in the story world) from non-diegetic (score, voice-over) sound.

Editing terms to deploy precisely: cut, dissolve (signals time passing or linkage), fade, montage (compressed sequence), cross-cutting (parallel action), and match cut.

A literature response needs textual evidence: quote a short phrase (roughly 2-8 words) and analyse the diction or syntax rather than quoting a whole paragraph.

Characterisation is built through what a character says, what others say about them, what they do, and how the author or director frames them; cite at least two of these channels per claim.

Structure and narrative point of view are analysable features: first-person narration limits knowledge, omniscient narration shapes judgement, and a frame narrative or non-linear order creates interpretive effects.

In Modern Greek, use analysis verbs such as παρουσιάζω (present), αναδεικνύω (highlight), υποδηλώνω (imply), αντιπαραβάλλω (contrast), and σκιαγραφώ (portray/sketch a character).

A theme is an abstract idea the text explores (e.g. ξενιτιά/emigration, μνήμη/memory, ταυτότητα/identity, πόλεμος/war, οικογένεια/family); a value is a principle the text endorses, questions or critiques (φιλοπατρία, φιλοξενία, τιμή, θρησκευτική πίστη).

Distinguish theme from motif: a motif is a recurring concrete element (an object, image, refrain) that points to a theme; identify the motif, then name the theme it serves.

Cultural context includes historical setting (e.g. Asia Minor Catastrophe 1922, the Axis Occupation 1941-44, the Greek Civil War 1946-49, the junta 1967-74, the debt crisis from 2010) and the social norms of the depicted community.

Evaluation requires a judgement: state whether the text affirms, complicates or subverts a value, and support the judgement with a specific scene, line or image.

Avoid biographical fallacy: an author's life may illuminate context but a claim about the text must be evidenced from the text itself.

Contextualise without over-claiming: link a depicted practice (a name-day, a μοιρολόι lament, a village panigyri) to its social function in the text rather than offering general anthropological description.

Where a text has been adapted (novel to film, play to screen), compare the two media's affordances: film can show in one shot what prose must narrate, and adaptation choices reveal interpretive emphasis.

Comparative statements need a shared criterion: compare two texts on the same axis (e.g. how each treats loss of homeland) rather than listing features of each separately.

An extended response needs a thesis stated in the introduction that answers the question directly, then body paragraphs each built on one claim plus textual evidence plus commentary, and a conclusion that restates the position without new evidence.

Signposting connectives for Greek academic prose: αρχικά (firstly), επιπλέον (moreover), ωστόσο (however), αντιθέτως (by contrast), επομένως (therefore), συμπερασματικά (in conclusion).

Greek punctuation follows the raised question mark (;), uses the ano teleia (·) where English uses a semicolon, and places guillemets (« ») around quotations.

Accurate metalanguage in Greek: αφηγητής (narrator), αφηγηματική προοπτική (narrative perspective), σύμβολο (symbol), μεταφορά (metaphor), εικόνα (image), πλάνο (shot), σενάριο (screenplay), σκηνοθεσία (direction), μοντάζ (editing).

Register: written Greek extended responses use the accusative after prepositions and avoid colloquial contractions; keep verb aspect consistent, using the aorist for completed narrative events and the imperfect for habitual or background description.

Quotation integration: introduce a short quote with a colon or comma, keep it grammatically embedded in your own sentence, and follow it immediately with the interpretive point it supports.

Word economy: one claim per paragraph, roughly 4-6 sentences; a paragraph that only summarises plot earns no analytical credit.

If the question specifies a stance (συμφωνείτε ή διαφωνείτε), state agreement or disagreement explicitly in the first paragraph and maintain it throughout.

A personal response is still argued: first-person framing (κατά τη γνώμη μου, θεωρώ ότι, αυτό με οδηγεί στο συμπέρασμα ότι) must be followed by textual evidence, not by unanchored feeling.

Distinguish reader response from authorial intent: 'the text invites us to read X' is defensible; 'the author clearly meant X' requires external evidence.

A critical interpretation must survive counter-evidence: acknowledge an alternative reading (μια διαφορετική ανάγνωση θα ήταν…) and explain why your reading accounts for more of the text.

Evaluative language in Greek for judging a text: πειστικός (convincing), αποτελεσματικός (effective), ρεαλιστικός (realistic), μελοδραματικός (melodramatic), αμφίσημος (ambiguous), προβλέψιμος (predictable).

Ambiguity is analysable, not a flaw to be resolved: an open ending or unresolved symbol can be discussed as producing interpretive instability.

Positionality is legitimate when framed analytically: a reader's own migrant, diaspora or family experience can be named as the reason a scene resonates, provided the response then returns to specific textual detail.

Personal-response paragraphs should balance three moves: observation (what the text does), interpretation (what it means), and evaluation (how well it does it).

Avoid anachronism when judging values: assess a text's attitudes against its own depicted world first, then, if you critique them, mark the shift explicitly as a present-day judgement.