AP Latin cheat sheet

Sight-reading passages are drawn from Vergil's Aeneid (roughly Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 12) and Caesar's Gallic War (roughly Books 1, 4, 5, 6), with some passages from the syllabus read at sight.

Question stems often ask for the case and use of a noun: nominative subject, genitive possessive/partitive, dative indirect object/reference, accusative direct object/object of preposition, ablative of means/agent/manner/time.

Identify subjunctive by syntax, not by form alone: purpose (ut/ne), result (ut/non), indirect command (ut/ne after verbs of ordering), cum-clauses (cum + subjunctive = when/since/although), indirect question (interrogative word + subjunctive).

Ablative absolute = noun/pronoun + participle in the ablative, grammatically independent of the main clause; translate with 'with/after/when/since' plus a clause.

Indirect statement uses accusative subject + infinitive; tense of the infinitive is relative to the main verb (present = same time, perfect = earlier, future = later).

Rhetorical and poetic devices tested include chiasmus (ABBA), anaphora (repetition of a word at clause starts), asyndeton (omitted conjunctions), polysyndeton (many conjunctions), hyperbaton (separated word pair), and synchesis (interlocking word order).

Scansion: a dactyl is long-short-short, a spondee is long-long; the final foot of a hexameter is typically a spondee or trochee, and elision occurs when a vowel or vowel + m at word end precedes a word beginning with a vowel.

Translation prompts (Vergil and Caesar) are scored for accurate rendering of grammar and vocabulary; literal accuracy takes priority over stylistic polish.

The Vergil essay prompt requires analysis of a passage's literary technique (imagery, simile, word order, repetition, allusion) supported by specific Latin quotations.

The Caesar essay prompt requires analysis of historical/rhetorical content - characterization of Gauls and Germans, ethnography, justification of the campaign, use of third person - supported by Latin citations.

Essays are scored holistically on a 0–6 scale in the standard AP Latin rubric: 6 = excellent, well-organized, textually supported; 3 = adequate but thin; 0 = no response or off-task.

A strong essay cites Latin words or short phrases (not long untranslated blocks) and explains how each citation supports the thesis.

For translation, parse ambiguous forms before writing: check whether -ae is genitive/dative singular or nominative plural, and whether -is is genitive singular or accusative plural.

In Caesar, note the recurring ablative absolute and indirect statement constructions; in Vergil, note the frequent use of epithets, enjambment, and epic similes.