Latin Extension 2022 HSC exam pack

Prescribed text

Students should:

• provide translations of prescribed texts that are coherent and fluent
• check their translations to ensure that words or phrases have not been omitted
• address all elements of a commentary question in a logical and cohesive manner, focusing only on relevant information
• support their explanation or analysis with relevant and specific examples, explaining the link between the examples given and the aspect being analysed
• use ellipsis or line numbers when quoting more than a few words from an extract, for example, exegi … altius or ‘in lines 1-2’ in order to avoid copying long sections of text
• explain how the Latin supports their argument in their English response, and not leave a section of quoted Latin text to speak for itself.

In better responses, students were able to:

• translate accurately the subjunctives vivamus, amemus and aestimemus, the comparative severiorum and the gerundive dormienda (Q1a)
• translate accurately the nuanced meanings of insolens, credulus and intemptata (Q1b)
• demonstrate how the poet uses antithesis to convey the message that death does not discriminate (Q2aii)
• explain concisely how the poet reveals his perspective on love (Q2b)
• focus on explaining three ways in which the poet creates humour (Q2c)
• show a clear understanding and nuanced interpretation of how a poet presents his ideas (Q2b, Q3)
• provide a balanced analysis of how each poet uses his poem to celebrate his own achievement, drawing implications from the way this is done (Q3)
• support their analysis with an appropriate selection of a range of specific details from both poems (Q3).

Areas for students to improve include:

• moving beyond mere description of the content of the poems to explanation or analysis (Q2aii, Q2b, Q3)
• considering the poetic intention of the poets’ comments about their literary achievement (Q3)
• not making stylistic analysis the primary focus of their responses, regardless of the question (Q3).

Non-prescribed text

In better responses, students were able to:

• recognise the noun-adjective agreements sodali in apposition to craterae, omne with pecus and otioso with bove (Q4a)
• recognise and translate appropriately the subjunctive expressing a wish incedas (Q4a)
• recognise the complimentary implications of tibi (Q4a)
• show their knowledge of the conventions used in lyric hymns by outlining four specific ways in which this extract is typical (Q4c)
• recognise and translate appropriately the ablative absolute custode … Caesare (Q5a)
• recognise and translate appropriately the unfamiliar verbs procudit and inimicat (Q5a)
• recognise that the adjective miser has a variety of meanings depending on its context (Q5a).

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing effective dictionary skills (Q4a, Q5a)
• selecting contextually appropriate meanings of vocabulary for the context (Q4a, Q5a)
• developing a more precise knowledge of parts of speech and spelling in order to differentiate between words which look similar, for example, vis and vix , and otium and odium (Q5a)
• identifying words in grammatical agreement (Q4a, Q5).