Advanced Placement (AP) Latin, formerly Advanced Placement (AP) Latin: Vergil, is an examination in Latin literature offered by the

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

Advanced Placement Program Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

. Prior to the 2012–2013 academic year, the course focused on poetry selections from the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'', written by Augustan author

Publius Vergilius Maro Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

, also known as Vergil or Virgil. However, in the 2012–2013 year, the College Board changed the content of the course to include not only poetry, but also prose. The modified course consists of both selections from Vergil and selections from ''

Commentaries on the Gallic War ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'', written by prose author

Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

. Also included in the new curriculum is an increased focus on sight reading. The student taking the exam will not necessarily have been exposed to the specific reading passage that appears on this portion of the exam. The College Board suggests that a curriculum include practice with sight reading. The exam is administered in May and is three hours long, consisting of a one-hour multiple-choice section and a two-hour free-response section.

Material previously tested (before 2012)

Students were expected to be familiar with these following lines of the ''Aeneid'': * Book 1: Lines 1–519 * Book 2: Lines 1–56, 199–297, 469–566, 735-804 * Book 4: Lines 1–449, 642–705 * Book 6: Lines 1–211, 450–476, 847–901 * Book 10: Lines 420-509 * Book 12: Lines 791–842, 887-952 Students were also expected to be familiar with the total content of Books 1 through 12.

Abilities tested

The exam tests students' abilities to: * Translate a Latin passage from the

syllabus A syllabus (; plural ''syllabuses'' or ''syllabi'') or specification is a document that communicates information about an academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curric ...

into English literally * Explicate specific words and phrases in context * Identify the context and significance of short excerpts from the works specified in the syllabus * Identify and analyze characteristic or noteworthy features of the authors' modes of expression, including their use of imagery, figures of speech, sound effects, and metrical effects (in

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

only), as seen in specific passages * Discuss particular motifs or general themes not only suggested by passages but also relevant to other selections * Analyze and discuss structure and to demonstrate an awareness of the features used in the construction of a poem,

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, or an argument * Scan the meters specified in the syllabus

Reading and translation

Critical appreciation of the ''Aeneid'' as poetry implies the ability to translate literally, to analyze, to interpret, to read aloud with attention to pauses and phrasing, and to scan the

dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter and the meter of epic) is a form of meter or rhythmic scheme frequently used in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The scheme of the hexameter is usually as follows (writing – for a long syllable, ...

verse. Students should be given extensive practice in reading at sight and in translating literally so that their translations not only are accurate and precise, but also make sense in English. The instructions for the

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

questions, "translate as literally as possible," call for a translation that is accurate and precise. In some cases an

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

may be translated in a way that makes sense in English but is rather loose compared to the Latin. In general, however, students are reminded that: * The tense, voice, number, and mood of verbs need to be translated literally * Subject-verb agreement must be correct *

Participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...

s should be rendered precisely with regard to tense and voice *

Ablative absolute Latin syntax is the part of Latin grammar that covers such matters as word order, the use of cases, tenses and moods, and the construction of simple and compound sentences, also known as ''periods''. The study of Latin syntax in a systematic way ...

s may be rendered literally or as

subordinate clause A subordinate clause, dependent clause, subclause, or embedded clause is a clause that is embedded within a complex sentence. For instance, in the English sentence "I know that Bette is a dolphin", the clause "that Bette is a dolphin" occurs as t ...

s; however, the tense and number of the participle must be rendered accurately *

Historical present In linguistics and rhetoric, the historical present or historic present, also called dramatic present or narrative present, is the employment of the present tense when narrating past events. It is widely used in writing about history in Latin (w ...

is acceptable as long as it is used consistently throughout the passage.

Exam

The three-hour exam consists of a one-hour multiple-choice section and a two-hour free-response section that includes fifteen minutes of reading time and one hour forty-five minutes of writing time.College Board AP Latin: Vergil Course Description
/ref> The multiple choice section includes approximately fifty questions that relate to four passages: three read at sight and one from the syllabus. The multiple choice questions test the many skills learned and practiced throughout the year, including: * 20–30% grammar and lexical questions (10–15 questions) * 35–45% translation or interpretation of a phrase or sentence (17–23 questions) * 2–5% metrics: that is, scansion of the dactylic hexameter line (1–3 questions) * 2–5% figures of speech (1–3 questions) * 20–30% identification of allusions or references, recognition of words understood but unexpressed, explication of inferences to be drawn (10–15 questions) * 2–5% background questions on the ''Aeneid'' passage only (1–3 questions) The free-response section includes translation, analysis, and interpretation of the Latin text from the syllabus. The format is as follows: * Question 1: a 10-minute translation * Question 2: a 10-minute translation * Question 3: a 45-minute long essay * Question 4: a 20-minute short essay * Question 5: a 20-minute short essay based on the entire ''Aeneid'' (Latin selections and parts read in English)

Current AP Latin curriculum (2012-present)

For the 2012–2013 academic year, the College Board announced that it had made revisions to its AP Latin curriculum. In general, the College Board announced new goals in the curriculum. These include: * Required readings in both prose and poetry * Development of student capacity to read Latin at sight * Greater focus on grammatical, syntactical, and literary terminology Instead of solely focusing on Vergil's ''Aeneid'', the curriculum will now include both prose and poetry, including selections from Julius Caesar's ''Commentaries on the Gallic War''. The new required reading list, including revisions to the number of lines required from the ''Aeneid'', is: Vergil's ''Aeneid'' * Book 1: Lines 1–209, 418–440, 494–578 * Book 2: Lines 40–56, 201–249, 268–297, 559–620 * Book 4: Lines 160–218, 259–361, 659–705 * Book 6: Lines 295–332, 384–425, 450–476, 847–899 Caesar's ''Gallic War'' * Book 1: Chapters 1–7 * Book 4: Chapters 24–35 and the first sentence of Chapter 36 (Eodem die legati . . venerunt.) * Book 5: Chapters 24–48 * Book 6: Chapters 13–20 Also, there is a change to the required readings in English. The new list from the ''Aeneid'' is books 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12, instead of all twelve books, as was previously required. The new required reading list in English from the ''Gallic War'' is books 1, 6, and 7. Also in the revised curriculum there is also a newly placed emphasis on sight reading. The College Board announced that the exam will include Latin passages not on the required readings lists in an effort to enhance students' ability to read at sight. Recommended authors for prose include (inexhaustibly): Nepos,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

(though not his letters),

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

, and

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

, rather than authors such as

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan o ...

. For poetry, recommended authors (inexhaustibly) include:

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

Tibullus Albius Tibullus ( BC19 BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins. Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a fe ...

, and

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...

, rather than poets such as

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

, or

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

. For practice with sight reading in both poetry and prose, the College Board recommends additional Latin passages in the ''Aeneid'' and ''Gallic War'' that are not included in the required reading list. The free-response section includes translation, analysis, and interpretation of the Latin text from the syllabus. The format is as follows: * Question 1: 15-minute translation: Vergil * Question 2: 15-minute translation: Caesar * Question 3: 45-minute analytical essay * Question 4: 15-minute short answers: Vergil * Question 5: 15-minute short answers: Caesar

Grade distribution

In the 2010 administration, 6,523 students took the exam, and 4,114 passed (3 or higher), or about 63.1%. In the 2011 administration, 6,044 students took the exam, and 3,861 passed (3 or higher), or about 63.9%. In the 2012 administration, 18,161 students took the exam, and 11,244 passed (3 or higher), or about 61.9%. In the 2013 administration of the redesigned exam, 6,667 students took the exam, and 4,442 passed (3 or higher), or about 66.6%. In the 2014 administration of the exam, 6,542 students took the exam, a slight decrease from last year, and 4,307 passed (3 or higher), or about 65.8%, a slight decrease from last year's pass rate. The grade distributions were: AP Latin Scores 2010-2018

References

{{reflist

External links

AP Latin: Vergil at CollegeBoard.com

AP Latin: Course Revisions for the 2012-2013 Year

Commentary on selections from the Latin text of the Aeneid
at Dickinson College Commentaries (including the AP selections) Latin language tests Advanced Placement