1 Latin 4b Essay #2 Guidelines

Latin 4b Essay 2

Due date: 7 pm ET on Friday, March 24 (correct date!

An extension!)

Title the file: LAST name_First name_4bEssay 2

send as a formatted attachment to amy@lukeion.org

This is your last slowly and carefully planned AP Latin Essay

assignment (your final essay is timed, online, and will simulate the

actual AP exam more closely). Create your BEST analytical essay ever now!

Please be aware that the AP judges consider all the assigned ENGLISH passages as fair-game-fodder

for essays. Not only must you have an idea about plot but also specifics like proper names, places, and

events. This essay will simulate a prompt that requires full knowledge of the authors, even the

assigned English portions.

A major part of AP Latin success will be thoughtful, well written,

analytical essays. A student can’t earn a 3, 4 or 5 on this exam

without writing home-run analytical essays. Don’t just take my

word for it. Here is what the College Board has to say about the

essay portion of the exam:

Some questions in the free-response section of the exam instruct the students to write either a short essay or a long essay that is “well developed.” In both instances, the students may be asked to…

• interpret the text • analyze critical statements about the text • compare and contrast different aspects of the form, structure, or content of the text • evaluate some issue of importance relevant to the text.

Essays receiving the highest scores are analytical and interpretive rather than merely descriptive or narrative. In both types of essays, the students must refer specifically to the Latin throughout the passage or poem to support their statements.

• When students are asked to refer specifically to the Latin, they must write out the Latin and/or cite line numbers.

• They must also translate, accurately paraphrase, or otherwise make clear in their discussion that they understand the Latin.

Essays receiving the highest

scores are analytical and

interpretive rather than

descriptive or narrative.

True story: I have been providing careful

feedback on all of your exam essays for this

course! Most of you read that feedback and

make necessary improvements. Meanwhile a

few of you are making the same error time

after time. On this essay and only all

remaining exam essays, I will make sizable

deductions from the scores of repeat

offenders, especially with reference to those

who still don’t know how to cite Latin

properly, install a translation with finesse, or

use ellipses correctly.

2 Latin 4b Essay #2 Guidelines

• When referring to a relatively long portion of Latin text, students may either cite the line numbers or use ellipses (“first word . . . last word”).

• When referring only to words or phrases, students should write them out. The responsibility rests with the student to convince the Reader that the student is drawing conclusions from the Latin text and not from a general recall of the passage.

When writing their essays, students should:

• use the Latin most appropriate to supporting their argument and cite it properly; • understand that referring to the Latin “throughout” the poem or passage means that they should, at a minimum, use material from the beginning, middle, and end of the text; • connect the cited Latin to the point they are making and explain the connection;

• omit information they have learned when it is not relevant to the specific question; • refer to a figure of speech or aspect of meter only when it can be used to make their analysis of the passage stronger, unless the question specifically asks them to do so; • avoid making figures of speech, scansion, or sound effects the basis or major focus of their essays; • refer to other poems or passages by the same author only if there is a strong connection that strengthens the point they are making.

This assignment (and all those like it this

semester) is built to help you practice for the

free response essay portion of the AP exam.

On the AP exam, you will be given a passage

or passages to translate and then you will

write an essay (or two) on those passages.

This assignment is not requiring that type of

severe time constraint because you are going

to develop your analytical skills first (speed

writing, second). For now you are to practice

the ‘analytical and interpretive’ essay with a

careful use of the Latin at hand for evidence.

Be analytical, not narrative

(narrative=literal and focused on the

story) Your AP Judges will evaluate your essays according to this

chart. Essays earning the lowest score are literal (column

one). The next step up are essays that are moderately

interpretive (column two). Only analytical essays win

top scores (column three).

In short:

□ Interpret the text

□ Analyze critical statements

about the text

□ Compare and contrast different

aspects of the form, structure,

or content of the text

□ Evaluate some issue of

importance relevant to the text.

3 Latin 4b Essay #2 Guidelines

AP Judges are looking for a clear analytical interpretative stance:

The essay questions on the AP Latin Exams are scored using a holistic rubric on a scale from 0 to 6. The

criteria at the higher end of the scale (5 and 6) use terms such as “excellent” and “discerning” to

describe the depth of discussion in these essays; those in the middle of the scale (3 and 4) are

characterized as being “uneven” or “more descriptive than analytical”; those at the low end of the scale

offer an argument that is deemed “vague,” “weak,” or “very general”—at the lowest level, the essay

includes “no substantive argument.”

“Descriptive” essays reiterate what the Latin says, often by going through the passage(s) sequentially

and telling the reader what the characters are doing, what the author is saying, or what images are

used. Latin/translation is included but only to retell the story. “Analytical” essays are centered on

interpreting some aspect of the passage(s) using the Latin, rather than summarizing what is said or

narrating what occurs.

Guidelines for this assignment Be precise and concise. Say exactly what you mean and remove extraneous words.

□ Length: 1000-1500 words □ 11 point font □ Times New Roman □ 1 inch margins on all four sides □ Submit in a standard form such as .doc, .docx (contact me if you need more options). Do NOT

submit your words pasted into an email nor linked to a cloud source document. Rather, attach it as a separate document.

o Do NOT submit it as a .txt file or .dat! □ Place your name, date, class name and instructor single spaced in the upper right or left corner □ Spacing:

o double space after the data in step 5 ▪ center title above the main text on page one, double space after the title

o 1.15 spacing everywhere else in the essay. □ Edit your paper carefully for grammar, spelling and persuasive readability □ There should be no additional line spaces between paragraphs!

o Quotes longer than 3 regular lines must be block indented and single spaced (I don’t recommend quotes longer than 3 regular lines but, if you want to make me cranky, make me less cranky by following good formatting). PLEASE NOTE: be sure that any lines of Latin that are so long that you must block indent them are absolutely necessary and the world’s best. Big chunky blocks are a very poor use of essay real estate.

***How to properly cite text references*** Your primary source for the essay is the text (Caesar’s De Bello Gallico). After quoting a line, portion of a

line, a word or phrase, provide a citation using the following format in text: (1.2.1-3)

• The first number (here ‘1’) indicates that the passage is from Caesar’s De Bello Gallico.

• The period indicates that we are going to list chapter numbers next: chapter 2

4 Latin 4b Essay #2 Guidelines

• Our citation example points to lines 1 through 3. You should use the lines as they are listed in your

Mueller text for the purposes of this course.

• Add the title De Bello Gallico to the very first citation you provide in your essay: (De Bello Gallico ,

1.2.1-3) All additional instances should not have the title in the citation unless you include a citation

from some other author (i.e. Vergil) in the meantime. Be aware that the citation must refer to the

actual Latin, not to the book and line numbers listed somewhere in an English translation.

• I assume you learned how to cite the Aeneid last semester. You’ll need to cite both for the essay

below.

• I will give you a failing grade on this assignment if you put your citation in the middle of your

sentence from now on because you have been warned repeatedly.

THREE things you can do to get more credit during the AP exam: 1. Put some reading space into your essays: SHORT paragraphs are ALWAYS better

than long ones. Your readers HATE to wade through long bulky paragraphs. Keep paragraphs to 2 or 3 well developed sentences that end at logical breaks (don’t just give me Latin and a translation in one paragraph, for example).

o While ‘padding’ isn’t encouraged, wide margins and spaces between shorter paragraphs will encourage graders to read the whole thing.

o Densely-packed pages full of text encourage the lazy judge to “speed read,” possibly skipping important bits that should earn you points!

2. Don’t pile up ideas: You’ll get more ‘credit’ for your work if you break ideas up & develop them!

o ex: Which are your favorite colors and why? ▪ BAD: “red, blue and purple because they are pretty.” ▪ BETTER (note: I even put different ideas on different lines):

“I like red because it reminds me of fire, while purple is evocative of my favorite flowers, finally blue reminds me of the sky.”

3. Don’t waste too much time on the intro and conclusion: Try to focus the bulk of your time and effort in the body of the text. If you must skimp on one, skimp on the conclusion. Graders focus on the body of the text but will make snap decisions about you based on your intro. BEWARE: your intro must be drama free. Don’t start any essay with unnecessarily dramatic, broad, frilly, vague, narrative background blather. Short and Sweet ONLY. BTW: every future college professor will also appreciate this approach.

4. Do a reality check: Remember both Caesar & Vergil are spinning things to the best advantage and best face forward of our heroes, Caesar and Aeneas. Answer/Theorize WHY our authors do what they do to get this job done.

5 Latin 4b Essay #2 Guidelines

Essay #2 Topic: (Normally a 45 minute free-response essay topic) For the purposes on this assignment, take all the time you need to produce a thoughtful and analytical

response:

In De Bello Gallico 5.24-5.48 we learn about the revolt of the Belgic tribes. In

5.24-26, Caesar sets up the conditions under which the revolt took place. In 5.27

we read a speech by Ambiorix. What kind of portrait of himself does Caesar paint

with the words of an enemy? How might this have impressed Caesar’s readers at

home? What is believable about Ambiorix’s statements? What do you find

suspicious? Why? Use the Latin to support your statements.

I will return a compilation of all essays to you and your classmates by posting it to your class

page in a timely manner. Once the document is posted, I’ll announce the due date for peer

reviews. Participating in critique-writing is a required portion of your essay grade this semester.

Due date is posted in your syllabus.

Why do I want you to critique your classmates’ essays?

Add these ideas to your arsenal of analytical thoughts for your AP exam! Think of this process

as a gift exchange. For your efforts, you will also receive a full range of critiques, far better than

if I was the only one responding to your writing. You’ll also be able to collect fresh ideas from

your peers that may never have occurred to you. Use some of these shared ideas to do well on

the AP Exam.

AP Food for Thought

(possible AP essay: think about it)

Does Vergil use the speeches of others to depict

Aeneas’ character? For example, what impression do

we receive of Aeneas when Venus describes him?

Dido? His men? Is the image of Caesar portrayed more

consistently than the image of Aeneas? Why or why

not? For what reason?