Plan for AP Latin from the Start

By Amy Barr at The Lukeion Project

At The Lukeion Project, we offer AP Latin in our fourth-year Latin class after students have had a chance to complete their grammar years (Latin I and II with us) and a full year of Latin readings (Latin III). Students who make good progress in Latin will cross that golden finish line during their junior or senior year, depending on when they started Latin with us. The AP Latin Exam typically tests a student over the translation and close readings of two authors (Caesar and Vergil) as would be typical in a second-year college Latin course. This makes success on a single AP exam worth ticking four semesters at college off the "to-do" list.

Many students join our program after starting Latin elsewhere. Unfortunately, some super teacher-friendly Latin approaches on the market don’t offer enough Latin syntax, grammar, and language mechanics to carry a student into reading the real stuff. Obviously, some of our own students feel the need for a little more Latin review before moving into our third-year program. The solution? Offer a Transition course to give students who need it one more chance to fill in any gaps before moving into a translation-heavy Latin III course. If students have time in their schedule, this can be a good option for many students. Those who feel their Latin is pretty strong, we offer additional years of Latin study after AP Latin, including Cicero, Ovid, and now Terence.

So, students who would like to try their hand at AP Latin should already be reasonably competent in Latin translation as they start the course. What else do they need to succeed?

A College Board approved AP Latin course dictates the Latin that the class must read as well as a range of additional skills beyond skillful Latin translation alone. The course’s goals are to help students:
1. Build accurate literal translations from Caesar’s De Bello Gallico and Vergil’s Aeneid.
2. Understand the broader context of the written passages.
3. Understand the style of writing and the rhetorical devices employed.
4. Analyze the Latin and draw logical observations and well-supported conclusions based on Latin evidence.
5. Practice reading Latin prose and poetry aloud with accurate comprehension and appreciation.
6. Learn to scan dactylic hexameter and discover how it is used to enhance the text and create a specific effect.

That's a lot for two semesters of study so I would recommend a rising AP Latin student possess a certain mindset. First, AP Latin students must personally desire to be enrolled in the class. The material is challenging and extremely rewarding for those who do the work. Externally imposed incentives often fail in the long run. Examples of bad reasons to take AP Latin include: parent(s) alone think it is a good idea to take the class while Joe Student is just along for the ride, or Joe Student is mainly looking to collect shiny stars for college applications and hopes any old AP class will do. If you do not personally want to be enrolled in the class, you are not a good candidate, even if doing the fourth year of Latin would make mom really proud.

All AP Latin students must work hard to develop their critical/analytical essay writing skills. It is impossible to pass the AP Latin Exam without writing well-informed, well-organized, analytical essays. Does this mean you must begin this course with fierce college-level writing skills? No. But, if you do not wish to work hard to develop those fierce writing skills (or if you consider writing to be akin to dental surgery), this class also may not be the right class for you.

Conversely, most students do not start the class with an understanding of what will make an excellent AP Latin essay. If flowery essay-writing is a strong point-of-pride for you and you are not willing to learn the new methods consistent with philological analysis, this may not be the right class for you.

All AP Latin students must take personal responsibility for improving their Latin skills. One student may suffer over relative tenses in the translation of participles while her peers agonize over subjunctives. This course is not about the basics of Latin translation so be prepared to go brush up on your own. Only students who have already translated a selection of Golden and Silver authors prior to starting this class (Martial, Catullus, Ovid, Cicero, etc.) will be prepared to tackle Vergil and Caesar. If you have limited “real Latin” translation experience, this also may not be the right class for you.

This sounds tough! What’s the point of taking AP Latin?

1. Students who successfully earn a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP Latin exam, depending on the requirements of the college program they ultimately enter, will “test out” of two full years of a foreign language. The financial benefits of testing out of 16 credit hours of language are obvious in terms of time and money.
2. If you want to be a Classics major in college, earning a good score on the AP Latin Exam is nearly (sometimes always) a requirement of getting into a decent undergraduate program while hopefully winning a scholarship to study in that program. While I'm talking about things that make you an appealing applicant as an undergraduate going into Classics, let's include adding Classical Greek to your high school studies. If you are interested in studying Classics, try to do both languages (Latin and Greek). If you can only fit in time for Latin, be sure to take AP Latin.
3. If you don’t want to be a Classics major but enjoy Latin and want to test out of college language requirements, passing the AP Latin exam (if your college program accepts AP Latin credits), voila! You have just tested out and at great savings. Pro tip: add a Classics minor or even double major. If you have already tested out of your first two years of Latin, you’ll only have to add a few credits to make that minor (or double major) a reality. A Classics major/minor is a great addition for those considering degrees in law, medicine, sciences, literature/journalism, English, and so much more. 

What else can support success on the AP Latin Exam?

The AP Latin Exam presumes a decent understanding of Classics which is, in itself, very interdisciplinary. Don’t wait to take other classes in related areas (history, literature, writing, philosophy). I recommend the following Lukeion Project courses scattered through the high school years:
1. Muse Literature Series (Muse Reloosed focuses on Latin literature in translation but I consider both of them essential)
2. Mythology Alpha (including Iliad and Odyssey) and Mythology Beta (includes Aeneid in English plus a study of ancient heroes) - people mistakenly take this topic as "fun for kids." We should all consider it essential for understanding Western civilization.
4. Roman History – offered only in the spring semester (take Greek History too if Classics is on your horizon)
5. College Composition – master a range of writing assignment types assigned at the college level. This course is not just for those thinking about entering a program in the humanities. Both this course and College Research Writing make the perfect senior year English credit.
6. College Research Writing—We focus specifically on success in college research papers. Do not graduate from high school before taking this course. 
7.     Philosophy: the Romans (spring) - educated Romans mainly held a Stoic worldview when Caesar and Vergil were composing their works. Naturally, taking a full year of Classical Philosophy is a great idea.