2024 AP Latin Exam Guide

Your Guide to the 2024 AP Latin Exam

A quick pep talk before we start

Format of the 2024 AP Latin Exam

• Section 1: Multiple Choice
  • 50 questions | 1 hour | 50% of score
  • 4 types of questions
    • Syllabus reading: Vergil (10-12 questions)
    • Syllabus reading: Caesar (10-12 questions)
    • Sight reading: Poetry (13-15 questions)
    • Sight reading: Prose (13-14 questions)
• Section 2: Free Response
  • 5 questions | 2 hours | 50% of score
    • 2 translation questions where you will literally translate a short passage from Vergil and a short passage from Caesar.
    • 1 analytical essay question where you will be asked to analyze the linguistic and literary features of two passages from required readings in comparative analysis.
    • 2 short-answer questions where you will be asked to answer 5-7 questions based on one passage from Vergil and one from Caesar.

How Should I Prepare for the Exam?

• First, download the AP Latin Cheatsheet PDF - a single sheet that covers everything you need to know at a high level. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses! 
• We've put together the study plan found below to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam. Pay special attention to the units that you need the most improvement in.
• Study, practice, and review for test day with other students during our live cram sessions via Cram Mode. Cram live streams will teach, review, and practice important topics from AP courses, college admission tests, and college admission topics. These streams are hosted by experienced students who know what you need to succeed.

AP Latin 2024 Study Plan

⚔️ Unit 1: Vergil, Aeneid, Book 1

• 1.0 Unit 1 Overview: Vergil, Aeneid, Book 1
• 1.1 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 1, Lines 1-209
• 1.2 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 1, Lines 418-440
• 1.3 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 1, Lines 494-578

🥗 Unit 2: Caesar, Gallic War, Books 1 & 6

• 2.0 Unit 2 Overview: Caesar, Gallic War, Books 1 & 6
• 2.1 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 1, Chapters 1-7
• 2.2 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 6, Chapters 13-20

🔥 Unit 3: Vergil, Aeneid, Book 2

• 3.0 Unit 3 Overview: Vergil, Aeineid, Book 2
• 3.1 Book II: The Burning of Troy
• 3.2 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 2, Lines 201-249
• 3.3 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 2, Lines 268-297
• 3.4 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 2, Lines 559-620

🏇 Unit 4: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 4

• 4.0 Unit 4 Overview: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 4
• 4.1 Book IV: 55 B.C. Chapters 24-25
• 4.2 Book IV: 55 B.C. Chapters 26-28
• 4.3 Book IV: 55 B.C. Chapters 29-31
• 4.4 Book IV: 55 B.C. Chapters 32-35 and First Line of Chapter 36

👑 Unit 5: Vergil, Aeneid, Book 4

• 5.0 Unit 5 Overview: Vergil, Aeneid, Book 4
• 5.1 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 4, Lines 160-218
• 5.2 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 4, Lines 259-295
• 5.3 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 4, Lines 296-361
• 5.4 Vergil, Aeneid, Book 4, Lines 659-705

🥊 Unit 4: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I

• 6.0 Unit 6 Overview: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I
• 6.1 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I, Chapters 24-26
• 6.2 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I, Chapters 27-29
• 6.3 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I, Chapters 30-32
• 6.4 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I, Chapters 33-35
• 6.5 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Part I, Chapters 36-37

🧄 Unit 4: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5 Part II, Book 6, and Book 7

• 7.0 Unit 7 Overview: Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5 Part II, Book 6, and Book 7
• 7.1 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Chapters 38-40
• 7.2 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Chapters 41-43
• 7.3 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Chapters 44-46
• 7.4 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 5, Chapters 47-48
• 7.5 Caesar, Gallic War, Book 6

Exam Practice

Section 1: Multiple Choice Questions

• Read the questions first before reading the passage.
  • It's especially important to avoid wasting time reading the whole passage and trying to translate it before looking at the questions. Think about it this way: Keep your end goal in mind. On the exam, your end goal is to answer as many questions correctly as you can, rather than rendering a translation of every passage provided on the exam.

• Understand that you may not be able to translate the entire passsage.
  • And that is absolutely alright! College Board isn't looking to see how good of a translator you are, they're looking to see how well you can pick out certain elements within a given passage.

• Make ABSOLUTELY sure that you are referring to the correct word in the text (when the question specifies.)
  • If a question asks you to translate a word or words in context, make sure that you are translating the right instance of that word. It's critical to double check, especially when that word is a pronoun, like a form of "qui/quae/quod."

• For sight 👓 passages, quickly scan the passage after reading the questions to see if there are any phrases that you already know from your syllabus reading.
  • Sight 👓 passages are meant to test your understanding of the full story behind the Aeneid and the De Bello Gallico. What they are NOT meant to do, however, is to see how fast you can translate. That is left to the syllabus readings, which you are expected to have read and translated throughout your time in class.

1. Translate vī superum of line 4. A) Of the power of the gods B) With the power of the gods C) The power of the gods D) By the power of the gods
2. What is the scansion for Albānīque patrēs, atque altae? A) spondee-dactyl-spondee-spondee B) dactyl-spondee-spondee-spondee C) spondee-dactyl-dactyl-spondee D) dactyl-dactyl-dactyl-spondee
3. Who is the passage about? A) Jupiter B) Aeneas C) Mars D) Ascanius
4. What is the case of quo in line 8? A) Nominative B) Dative C) Ablative D) Genitive
5. What figure of speech is Arma in the first line? A) Metonymy B) Chiasmus C) Enjambment D) Tmesis

1. D
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. A

Section 2: Free-Response Questions

• 2 translation questions (1 from Caesar and 1 from Virgil), which ask you to translate a passage as literally as possible
• 1 "Long Essay Question," which asks you to compare 2 passages from the syllabus readings and compare their literary features
• 2 "Short-Answer Questions," which ask questions similar to the MCQs, but without answer choices.

• Don't be afraid to leave blanks.
  • It's perfectly fine if you can't translate a certain word/words in a sentence. Leave a space where you think the word/words should go, and come back to it. Sometimes the rest of the sentence will offer some clues as to what those words should be.
• Don't stress about idiomatic translations.
  • It's especially important, on these translation questions, to focus more on producing a translation that accurately captures the grammar and meaning of the words, rather than the idiomatic meanings of certain phrases. For example, it is totally fine to say "to hold in memory" instead of "to remember" when translating "memoria tenere."

• Make sure you're making connections between the passages while you're reading.
  • One of the most important parts of the LEQ is to not only analyze the passages separately, but to look at the two passages together.
• You MUST use the Latin to support your point in the essay.
  • During your essay, you must use Latin quotes(either direct quotes or line numbers) from both passages, and you MUST either translate or paraphrase the Latin to show that you understand what is being said in the selections you use.