LC Ancient Greek study plan
LC Ancient Greek · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Language, grammar, syntax and vocabulary & Translation of unseen Greek prose and verse
Parse and translate 300 lines of unseen Attic prose (Xenophon or Lysias) at 15 lines per sitting, marking every verb's tense, mood, voice, person and number
Drill the article, first/second declension and the present and future indicative active and middle until you can decline and conjugate 20 paradigms from memory in under 10 minutes
Build a 150-item vocabulary list from your own reading errors, entering principal parts for every verb and reviewing it daily
Translate 60 lines of unseen Homeric or tragic verse with a facing vocabulary, noting epic dialect forms (genitive in -οιο, duals, unaugmented verbs)
Your checkpoint
A marked-up translation notebook covering 360 lines with a one-page error log categorising every mistake as morphology, syntax or vocabulary
Language, grammar, syntax and vocabulary & Translation of unseen Greek prose and verse
Master the aorist and imperfect systems, including sigmatic, thematic and root aorists, by parsing 100 verb forms drawn from your own reading
Practise the middle and passive voices and the -θη- and -η- aorist passive forms across 40 sentences
Translate 300 lines of unseen prose containing subordinate clauses, and label every subordinate clause by type (purpose, result, temporal, conditional)
Review the 150-item vocabulary list and add 100 new items, with a daily 10-minute self-test
Your checkpoint
A 40-sentence syntax worksheet in which you underline and correctly label every subordinate clause and identify its mood and construction
Translation of unseen Greek prose and verse & Language, grammar, syntax and vocabulary
Translate 250 lines of unseen verse (Homer, Euripides or Sophocles) with attention to metre, marking every elision, hiatus and resolution you encounter
Scan 40 lines of dactylic hexameter and 30 lines of iambic trimeter, marking feet and caesurae
Master the subjunctive, optative and imperative across all voices by writing 50 original sentences using each, then checking against a grammar
Complete a timed 45-minute unseen prose passage and a 30-minute unseen verse passage under exam conditions
Your checkpoint
Two timed unseen translations (prose and verse) scored against a mark scheme, plus a scanned 40-line hexameter passage
Prescribed Greek texts: comprehension and interpretation & Classical civilisation, context and background
Read the prescribed prose text in full, writing a running commentary on every passage with historical, religious and social references
Annotate the prescribed verse text for dramatic or narrative structure, identifying turning points and their line numbers
Map the historical and political background of the prescribed texts onto a one-page timeline, including dates, institutions and key figures
Memorise 30 short quotations from the prescribed texts for use in essays
Your checkpoint
A complete annotated prescribed text with marginal commentary and a one-page background timeline cross-referenced to line numbers
Prescribed Greek texts: comprehension and interpretation & Literary analysis, theme and style
Write four 20-minute commentaries on set passages, covering context, language and interpretation
Analyse the author's style in the prescribed texts, cataloguing rhetorical devices, word order and metre with line references
Compare two passages from the prescribed texts thematically, citing line numbers for every claim
Answer ten comprehension questions on the prescribed texts without consulting notes
Your checkpoint
A 900-word comparative commentary on two prescribed passages, fully referenced and marked against a self-made rubric
Classical civilisation, context and background & Prescribed Greek texts: comprehension and interpretation
Consolidate knowledge of Athenian and, where relevant, Roman institutions (assembly, courts, festivals, religion) by writing 20 exam-style short-answer questions and answering them
Link each prescribed passage to at least one item of background knowledge and record the link in a table
Review the annotated prescribed text and close any gaps flagged by your week 5 commentary
Rehearse ten short-answer questions on background under timed conditions
Your checkpoint
A two-column table pairing every major prescribed passage with its relevant historical or cultural context, plus 20 answered short-answer questions
Translation of unseen Greek prose and verse & Literary analysis, theme and style & Personal response and essay questions
Complete three full timed unseen translations (one prose, one verse, one mixed) under exam conditions and mark them strictly
Write two practice essays with a personal-response component, each with a clear thesis and quoted evidence from the prescribed texts
Draft a bank of flexible essay openings and conclusions
Review your cumulative error log and eliminate your three most frequent recurring mistakes
Your checkpoint
Three marked timed translations plus two full essays with self-assessment against a rubric
Personal response and essay questions & Prescribed Greek texts: comprehension and interpretation & Translation of unseen Greek prose and verse
Sit two complete mock papers under timed conditions, covering all domains
Revise the 30 memorised quotations and the background timeline daily
Re-read the annotated prescribed texts, focusing on the passages flagged in earlier commentaries
Write a final personal-response essay and compare it with your week 7 essays to check improvement
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock papers with scores, plus a one-page revision sheet of your weakest points and a final personal-response essay
Milestones
Week 4: Translate an unseen prose passage of 20 lines in 30 minutes with no more than three lexical errors and no serious syntactic errors, and recite the prescribed text's background timeline from memory
Week 6: Answer 20 short-answer background questions with at least 80% accuracy and produce a fully referenced comparative commentary on two prescribed passages
Week 8: Score at least 65% on each of two full mock papers, with the unseen translation section completed within the time limit