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How to revise for Classical Civilisation??

Hello,

Currently need to know four plays and the whole odyssey. But don't know how to revise for it???

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Its hard to say really. Just revise it in the same way as English lit. I dont think its much different plus do past papers. You should become familiar with the plots as structure, but more importnat are the themes behind it and what the characters represent. That will require you to read then make notes, then practice writing essays.

What seems to be your actual problem? Are you having diffcultu understanding the themes? How much work have you done already?
Reply 2
Original post by 999tigger
Its hard to say really. Just revise it in the same way as English lit. I dont think its much different plus do past papers. You should become familiar with the plots as structure, but more importnat are the themes behind it and what the characters represent. That will require you to read then make notes, then practice writing essays.

What seems to be your actual problem? Are you having diffcultu understanding the themes? How much work have you done already?


Problem is I never did English Lit. There was a lot of complications at GCSE as much as I wanted to do. Basically teacher messed up a lot. I had like 5 different ones in the space of 2 months etc. It was a disaster. Anyway for classics I have not done much at all and only read one play and wrote notes from it in synopsis form and then done character study's for the main 3/4 characters in a spider diagram form etc with in the case of Antigone like rebellious etc.
Well you better get on with it if you have the exam coming or is it next year?

With classics its as much about the ideas behind the character as to what they represent in Greek society and its values. You should also pay attention as to what the author is trying to tell you about society. You will have to do the best you can so you have read the books and can manage the cintent, then do past papers.

If you feel you have been prejudiced by teaching then you need to make a complaint to the school. If its becayse you have sat on your backside, then you need to take responsibility.
Original post by Aaron2515
Hello,

Currently need to know four plays and the whole odyssey. But don't know how to revise for it???


For the Odyssey, as we have that unit in common (I do Roman thought/society for the other one):
-re-read the relevant chapters (you don't need to know most of the middle chunk for AS!), which can be found on the OCR website's syllabus
- make notes, summarise, and practice analysing the texts. Are there good and bad examples of xenia? Note them down. Past papers are really useful for figuring out what kinda themes you need to know, especially when used in conjunction with the mark schemes!

I hope this was a little helpful: as long as you work hard and know the texts, you'll be fine!
Reply 5
Original post by roarchika
For the Odyssey, as we have that unit in common (I do Roman thought/society for the other one):
-re-read the relevant chapters (you don't need to know most of the middle chunk for AS!), which can be found on the OCR website's syllabus
- make notes, summarise, and practice analysing the texts. Are there good and bad examples of xenia? Note them down. Past papers are really useful for figuring out what kinda themes you need to know, especially when used in conjunction with the mark schemes!

I hope this was a little helpful: as long as you work hard and know the texts, you'll be fine!


Thank you very much. This was helpful
Have you got the past papers? How many? If the papers are short i would write the questions oit so I can rearrange them in a word document.
Little late but hopefully I can be of some help as I did these two units last year and got 96 (Odyssey) and 100 (Tragedy) UMS. For Tragedy I studied Antigone, Agamemnon, Electra and Medea.

First off, for each text its so important to have a firm understanding of plot, otherwise you'll throw away the 10 mark questions that actually super easy.

For my Odyssey I did very little revision after I felt I knew the plot inside out. This is what you should spend most of your time on in my opinion because all character and theme questions become really quite easy once you have the plot down. As you go through the plot also make note of interesting character actions, similies and omens to help with essay questions. After this I just made large mindmaps on themes in the epic: xenia, kleos/time, identity and disguise, oikos/nostoi, gods, women, slaves, fantasy versus reality, and omens/prophecies. Try to make these as detailed as possible, using a number of examples for the characters you apply the ideas to.

For Greek Tragedy I revised using:
-Relatively detailed summaries of each play, pulling out short quotes for certain characters. Don't get caught up in this as my teacher stressed that you can get an A* without quotes (obviously not in extract questions) and I don't recall using very many
-Overview of the structure of each play (prologue, parados, stasimon, exodus, kommos etc.). This isn't necessary but it will seem impressive in the exam if you can throw out some of this terminology...
-Character analysis for protagonists in each play (e.g. Antigone with loyalty to family, loyalty to gods, and empowerment/femininity)
-Mindmaps on moral condemnation of protagonists (villainous or victims/virtuous) - this has featured so many times in exams
-How dramatic irony features in each play (handy for a 'dramatic/interesting passage' mini-essay Q)
-Mindmaps on themes for each play: power, women and society, morality, fate and freewill, justice etc.
-How tragic terminology applies to the plays and their protagonists: peripeteia, anagnorisis, agon, hubris, hamartia, catharsis and messenger speeches - this is especially important and basically must be discussed to get good marks!

Good luck and don't stress, with a subject as subjective as classics there's only so much revision you can do and if you have a solid grasp of plot/character you'll be fine.PS I think I still have the majority of my revision notes so I'd been happy to send them to you if you end up struggling.
Original post by poppyamelia

Good luck and don't stress, with a subject as subjective as classics there's only so much revision you can do and if you have a solid grasp of plot/character you'll be fine.PS I think I still have the majority of my revision notes so I'd been happy to send them to you if you end up struggling.


Hey, so, about those Odyssey revision notes...... :wink:
Would it be possible for you to send them to me? I have my own but since I'm entering privately and don't have a teacher I'd really appreciate another perspective, especially one that might be more logically organised than my own!
Original post by poppyamelia
Little late but hopefully I can be of some help as I did these two units last year and got 96 (Odyssey) and 100 (Tragedy) UMS. For Tragedy I studied Antigone, Agamemnon, Electra and Medea.

First off, for each text its so important to have a firm understanding of plot, otherwise you'll throw away the 10 mark questions that actually super easy.

For my Odyssey I did very little revision after I felt I knew the plot inside out. This is what you should spend most of your time on in my opinion because all character and theme questions become really quite easy once you have the plot down. As you go through the plot also make note of interesting character actions, similies and omens to help with essay questions. After this I just made large mindmaps on themes in the epic: xenia, kleos/time, identity and disguise, oikos/nostoi, gods, women, slaves, fantasy versus reality, and omens/prophecies. Try to make these as detailed as possible, using a number of examples for the characters you apply the ideas to.

For Greek Tragedy I revised using:
-Relatively detailed summaries of each play, pulling out short quotes for certain characters. Don't get caught up in this as my teacher stressed that you can get an A* without quotes (obviously not in extract questions) and I don't recall using very many
-Overview of the structure of each play (prologue, parados, stasimon, exodus, kommos etc.). This isn't necessary but it will seem impressive in the exam if you can throw out some of this terminology...
-Character analysis for protagonists in each play (e.g. Antigone with loyalty to family, loyalty to gods, and empowerment/femininity)
-Mindmaps on moral condemnation of protagonists (villainous or victims/virtuous) - this has featured so many times in exams
-How dramatic irony features in each play (handy for a 'dramatic/interesting passage' mini-essay Q)
-Mindmaps on themes for each play: power, women and society, morality, fate and freewill, justice etc.
-How tragic terminology applies to the plays and their protagonists: peripeteia, anagnorisis, agon, hubris, hamartia, catharsis and messenger speeches - this is especially important and basically must be discussed to get good marks!

Good luck and don't stress, with a subject as subjective as classics there's only so much revision you can do and if you have a solid grasp of plot/character you'll be fine.PS I think I still have the majority of my revision notes so I'd been happy to send them to you if you end up struggling.

Thank you so much for this! I've been really worried about how to prepare for the exam. Would you also be willing to send the revision notes? They would be really helpful!
I'm not doing the Odyssey unit but I am studying Greek Tragedy. Here are some things:

My tutor had me read chapters 6-22 and 24 of Aristotle's Poetics (link below). It is very tough reading and beyond the specification, but it can give you a standard from which to judge the plays.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6763/6763-h/6763-h.htm#link2H_4_0008

After this, he had me do this:

Aristotle identifies six ingredients in tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. For each of these please provide a paragraph giving:

A definition and example from the four set texts.
Three ways in which that ingredient could be defenctive
Explanation of why the above would make a lower-quality tragedy.


He also assigned me some essay topics:

"Medea is irrational." To what extent do you agree?
Is Medea more or less rational than the other female characters you have met?
In what different lights does Aeschylus present the grievances of Clytaemnestra?
How useful are omens, prophecies and oracles in Agamemnon and the three other plays you have read?
What does Antigone tell us about a Greek view of burial and the treatment of the dead?
How are Antigone and the three other plays you have read more powerful for being set in a mythical and heroic past?
What does Electra teach us about a Greek view of the value, the roles and the duties of children?
What elements of Electra and the three other plays you have read mark them as distinct from Homer?


Other than these, I would read the plays and familiarise yourself with them, and read the plays with the express purpose of finding instances of themes.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 11
Original post by poppyamelia
Little late but hopefully I can be of some help as I did these two units last year and got 96 (Odyssey) and 100 (Tragedy) UMS. For Tragedy I studied Antigone, Agamemnon, Electra and Medea.

First off, for each text its so important to have a firm understanding of plot, otherwise you'll throw away the 10 mark questions that actually super easy.

For my Odyssey I did very little revision after I felt I knew the plot inside out. This is what you should spend most of your time on in my opinion because all character and theme questions become really quite easy once you have the plot down. As you go through the plot also make note of interesting character actions, similies and omens to help with essay questions. After this I just made large mindmaps on themes in the epic: xenia, kleos/time, identity and disguise, oikos/nostoi, gods, women, slaves, fantasy versus reality, and omens/prophecies. Try to make these as detailed as possible, using a number of examples for the characters you apply the ideas to.

For Greek Tragedy I revised using:
-Relatively detailed summaries of each play, pulling out short quotes for certain characters. Don't get caught up in this as my teacher stressed that you can get an A* without quotes (obviously not in extract questions) and I don't recall using very many
-Overview of the structure of each play (prologue, parados, stasimon, exodus, kommos etc.). This isn't necessary but it will seem impressive in the exam if you can throw out some of this terminology...
-Character analysis for protagonists in each play (e.g. Antigone with loyalty to family, loyalty to gods, and empowerment/femininity)
-Mindmaps on moral condemnation of protagonists (villainous or victims/virtuous) - this has featured so many times in exams
-How dramatic irony features in each play (handy for a 'dramatic/interesting passage' mini-essay Q)
-Mindmaps on themes for each play: power, women and society, morality, fate and freewill, justice etc.
-How tragic terminology applies to the plays and their protagonists: peripeteia, anagnorisis, agon, hubris, hamartia, catharsis and messenger speeches - this is especially important and basically must be discussed to get good marks!

Good luck and don't stress, with a subject as subjective as classics there's only so much revision you can do and if you have a solid grasp of plot/character you'll be fine.PS I think I still have the majority of my revision notes so I'd been happy to send them to you if you end up struggling.





Hi,
Would you be able to send me the notes please and also how many points did you put for in your answers to get full marks?

Ana
Original post by Anaw015
Hi,
Would you be able to send me the notes please and also how many points did you put for in your answers to get full marks?

Ana


This was a very long time ago, my tutor didn't assign marks and we haven't gone over Greek Tragedy recently. We're planning on doing it in a few weeks before the exam.
Reply 13
Original post by poppyamelia
Little late but hopefully I can be of some help as I did these two units last year and got 96 (Odyssey) and 100 (Tragedy) UMS. For Tragedy I studied Antigone, Agamemnon, Electra and Medea.

First off, for each text its so important to have a firm understanding of plot, otherwise you'll throw away the 10 mark questions that actually super easy.

For my Odyssey I did very little revision after I felt I knew the plot inside out. This is what you should spend most of your time on in my opinion because all character and theme questions become really quite easy once you have the plot down. As you go through the plot also make note of interesting character actions, similies and omens to help with essay questions. After this I just made large mindmaps on themes in the epic: xenia, kleos/time, identity and disguise, oikos/nostoi, gods, women, slaves, fantasy versus reality, and omens/prophecies. Try to make these as detailed as possible, using a number of examples for the characters you apply the ideas to.

For Greek Tragedy I revised using:
-Relatively detailed summaries of each play, pulling out short quotes for certain characters. Don't get caught up in this as my teacher stressed that you can get an A* without quotes (obviously not in extract questions) and I don't recall using very many
-Overview of the structure of each play (prologue, parados, stasimon, exodus, kommos etc.). This isn't necessary but it will seem impressive in the exam if you can throw out some of this terminology...
-Character analysis for protagonists in each play (e.g. Antigone with loyalty to family, loyalty to gods, and empowerment/femininity)
-Mindmaps on moral condemnation of protagonists (villainous or victims/virtuous) - this has featured so many times in exams
-How dramatic irony features in each play (handy for a 'dramatic/interesting passage' mini-essay Q)
-Mindmaps on themes for each play: power, women and society, morality, fate and freewill, justice etc.
-How tragic terminology applies to the plays and their protagonists: peripeteia, anagnorisis, agon, hubris, hamartia, catharsis and messenger speeches - this is especially important and basically must be discussed to get good marks!

Good luck and don't stress, with a subject as subjective as classics there's only so much revision you can do and if you have a solid grasp of plot/character you'll be fine.PS I think I still have the majority of my revision notes so I'd been happy to send them to you if you end up struggling.


Thank you so much and sorry for the really late reply. Notes would be most useful thank you
Original post by Aaron2515
Hello,

Currently need to know four plays and the whole odyssey. But don't know how to revise for it???


Hi :smile: I did these last year (Got an A in Greek Tragedy and high B in the Odyssey). For revising the Odyssey I found making theme sheets really helped (going through the chapters and finding examples of for example Role of the Gods, Odysseus as a leader, Role of Women). Make the quotes short and pick ones that can be used to answer a variety of questions (this is also really helping me revise for the Iliad/Aeneid this year). Also go through lots of past papers to familiarise yourself with the exam (you will feel a lot more confident when it comes to exam time). For the plays I also remembered lots of short quotes (which I used in the exam and I feel this definitely helped me to get an A), also go through lots of past papers and remember main points from the plot (sparknotes/remembering quotes certainly helped me).

Hope this helps and good luck for the exams :smile:
Reply 15
Original post by Lottiethn
Hi :smile: I did these last year (Got an A in Greek Tragedy and high B in the Odyssey). For revising the Odyssey I found making theme sheets really helped (going through the chapters and finding examples of for example Role of the Gods, Odysseus as a leader, Role of Women). Make the quotes short and pick ones that can be used to answer a variety of questions (this is also really helping me revise for the Iliad/Aeneid this year). Also go through lots of past papers to familiarise yourself with the exam (you will feel a lot more confident when it comes to exam time). For the plays I also remembered lots of short quotes (which I used in the exam and I feel this definitely helped me to get an A), also go through lots of past papers and remember main points from the plot (sparknotes/remembering quotes certainly helped me).

Hope this helps and good luck for the exams :smile:


Thank you very much :smile:
Reply 16
Do you have any techniques for answering questions to get most marks and what to include in the 45 mark essay question.
Original post by Anaw015
Do you have any techniques for answering questions to get most marks and what to include in the 45 mark essay question.


For the Odyssey paper:
10 marker - have at least 6 things that happened in detail, i.e. put lots of detail in and make sure to demonstrate you really know the plot

20 markers - it's analysing the text in front of you: look for vocab choices/literary devices (repetition, direct speech, similes, tricolons etc) etc. Having about 8 examples from the text here (aim for 10, if you have the time!), each of which having its own evaluation sentence, would be really good. Group together similar techniques if there are multiple examples in the same passage.

25 marker - start by using examples from the text, and then branch out into own knowledge. You want to have 5-ish points, from different books if possible, each of which should have an evaluated example backing it up.

45 marker - make sure to compare the two sides/talk about alternatives e.g. if the question asks if Athene is the most important deity, once you've argued that she is argue that Poseidon is instead. If the question asks if the suitors got what they deserved, make sure you argue for both yes and no. Having roughly 8 points here (i.e. 8 explained and evaluated examples) and a well-thought-out conclusion here should get you the marks.
Reply 18
Would you be able to send me your greek tragedy notes? I'm having trouble organising all the things we need to know!

Thanks
Original post by poppyamelia
Little late but hopefully I can be of some help as I did these two units last year and got 96 (Odyssey) and 100 (Tragedy) UMS. For Tragedy I studied Antigone, Agamemnon, Electra and Medea.

First off, for each text its so important to have a firm understanding of plot, otherwise you'll throw away the 10 mark questions that actually super easy.

For my Odyssey I did very little revision after I felt I knew the plot inside out. This is what you should spend most of your time on in my opinion because all character and theme questions become really quite easy once you have the plot down. As you go through the plot also make note of interesting character actions, similies and omens to help with essay questions. After this I just made large mindmaps on themes in the epic: xenia, kleos/time, identity and disguise, oikos/nostoi, gods, women, slaves, fantasy versus reality, and omens/prophecies. Try to make these as detailed as possible, using a number of examples for the characters you apply the ideas to.

For Greek Tragedy I revised using:
-Relatively detailed summaries of each play, pulling out short quotes for certain characters. Don't get caught up in this as my teacher stressed that you can get an A* without quotes (obviously not in extract questions) and I don't recall using very many
-Overview of the structure of each play (prologue, parados, stasimon, exodus, kommos etc.). This isn't necessary but it will seem impressive in the exam if you can throw out some of this terminology...
-Character analysis for protagonists in each play (e.g. Antigone with loyalty to family, loyalty to gods, and empowerment/femininity)
-Mindmaps on moral condemnation of protagonists (villainous or victims/virtuous) - this has featured so many times in exams
-How dramatic irony features in each play (handy for a 'dramatic/interesting passage' mini-essay Q)
-Mindmaps on themes for each play: power, women and society, morality, fate and freewill, justice etc.
-How tragic terminology applies to the plays and their protagonists: peripeteia, anagnorisis, agon, hubris, hamartia, catharsis and messenger speeches - this is especially important and basically must be discussed to get good marks!

Good luck and don't stress, with a subject as subjective as classics there's only so much revision you can do and if you have a solid grasp of plot/character you'll be fine.PS I think I still have the majority of my revision notes so I'd been happy to send them to you if you end up struggling.


Firstly this is insanely helpful thank you! Secondly, do you still have a copy of your revision notes? I know a lot of people have asked you that question but the exam is this monday and I'm very nervous! Thank you

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