AP Latin Multiple-Choice Item Writing Tutorial
How to Choose a Passage: Catullus

1. Choose from the AP Catullus syllabus:
   
   

Catullus (as numbered in Mynors' Oxford Classical Text):
1, 2, 2b, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 22, 27, 31, 34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 53, 62, 70, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 92, 95, 95b, 96, 101, 107, 109.

2. B. Select a text:
   
   
• Use the most recent Oxford Classical Text edition (Mynors, 1990)
  
  
• Adjust capitalization to conform to common English usage. Change accusative plurals in -is to -es and consonantal u to v. Do not use j for consonantal i. You may adjust punctuation to increase clarity.
  
  
3. C. Seek a passage that
   
   
• is 8 to 12 lines in length
  
  
• is an entire poem or, if an excerpt, treats a self-contained incident
  
  
• employs manageable vocabulary and syntax (few, if any, glosses appear)
  
  
• lends itself to a variety of item types (grammar, translation/comprehension, reference, metrics, figures of speech, background)

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