NCEA Level 3 Latin case studies
NCEA Level 3 Latin · Put your knowledge to work in context.
NCEA Level 3 Latin is the final year of Latin study within New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement, offered under the Learning Languages area of the New Zealand Curriculum. NZQA describes the subject as the study of the Roman language and literature and its influence on modern languages, and publishes Level 3 achievement standards, past exams, exemplars, assessment schedules and reports, assessment specifications, and clarifications to support learners and teachers. The NCEA Level 3 Latin case studies are 5 cases and about 2,395 words.
1The Consul Who Would Not Turn Aside: Cum-Clause Judgement in Unseen Prose
An NCEA Level 3 candidate is translating a 32-word adapted prose passage for an unseen translation assessment. The passage reads: 'Cum legati adessent et pacem peterent, consul tamen iter suum non mutavit; namque hostes, antequam responsum daretur, castra oppugnaverunt.' The candidate first renders the opening as 'When the envoys were present and seeking peace...' and loses two marks.
483 words, about 2 min2Elision at the Start of a Hexameter: Reading and Translating a Tossed Figure
During preparation for a recitation of dactylic hexameter, a candidate is given the line 'litora multum ille et terris iactatus et alto' with the instruction to mark elisions and read it aloud. A classmate argues that every written syllable must be pronounced because 'the poet wrote it'.
486 words, about 2 min3Who Had Conquered Whom? Reflexives and Reported Speech in a Military Dispatch
A candidate is translating a 27-word historical sentence for a comprehension task: 'Dux militibus dixit se hostes superavisse et, cum ad flumen venisset, pontem rescidisse.' The candidate renders 'se' as 'they' because the soldiers are the nearest plural noun, and translates the cum clause as 'when he had come'. The teacher marks the first choice wrong but the second acceptable, then asks for a rewrite.
447 words, about 2 min4Lion or Wolf? Judging a Simile's Praise and Brutality
A candidate is analysing a 24-word battle narrative for a literary essay: 'Ille, velut leo qui per silvas fame actus praedam quaerit, sic in medios hostes ruit; nec mora: terra sanguine madet.' The question asks how the simile shapes the reader's judgement of the warrior. A classmate writes 'It compares him to a lion, so he is brave.' The teacher says this is only recall-level and asks for a judgement about whether the image glorifies or brutalizes him.
485 words, about 2 min5Dear Marcus: Sincerity and Irony in a Patronage Letter
A candidate is analysing a short patronage letter for a 6-mark response. The text reads: 'Marcus mihi saepe mittit tabellas plenas laudis et officii, sed numquam nummum.
494 words, about 2 min