AP Latin Units: Complete Guide

Key Takeaways

• The AP Latin course helps you read and comprehend Latin poetry and prose.

• The course focuses on describing the context and style of Latin written works.

• Analyze Latin texts like poetry and prose.

Introduction: What Is AP Latin?

AP Latin (opens in a new tab) is a high school course that helps students read and understand Latin. In this class, you’ll explore the works of famous Roman writers like Virgil’s Aeneid and Pliny the Younger’s letters. 

You’ll not only translate Latin passages but also learn about Roman history, culture, and society, seeing how language and literature reveal what life was like in ancient times. The course doesn’t have “units” like other AP courses. Instead, it is organized into skill sections and text sections.

The AP Latin exam tests both your reading skills and your knowledge of Roman history. You’ll be asked to translate Latin passages, answer multiple-choice questions, and write essays analyzing the texts. The course and exam together help students gain a deeper understanding of Latin and the influence of Roman culture on the modern world.

AP Latin underwent significant changes for the 2025-26 school year. Caesar's Gallic War has been replaced with Pliny the Younger's letters, and the course structure has been revised from 8 units to 6. 

Thematic and Skill-Based Units in AP Latin

AP Latin doesn't have traditional thematic units like “Unit 1: Roman Politics” or “Unit 2: Epic Poetry”. The course is organized around distinct skills that help you think and act like classic scholars.

The College Board structures the course around four main skill areas. Master these, and you'll be ready for the exam.

Unit 1: Teacher’s Choice: Latin Prose

Teachers can choose a text to begin the AP Latin course. You’ll strengthen the reading fundamentals before transitioning to longer passages. You’ll slowly start taking on longer pieces of Latin prose.

To get started, you’ll focus on:

• Reviewing and expanding Latin vocabulary

• Review and establish your understanding of Latin morphology

• Practice Latin grammar

• Understand and translate Latin texts

• Start developing analytical skills

Unit 2: Pliny’s  Letters: Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Required reading for this part of the course is two of Pliny the Younger’s letters. They are written about the 79 CE eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

You’ll focus on things like:

• Building Latin reading and comprehension skills

• Using context clues to help with literal translation of Latin

• Explore stylistic elements and facts relevant to Pliny the Younger’s like and works in Latin prose

• Develop analytical skills of Latin works

• Develop your own analysis of Latin works

• Develop interpretations of Latin works

• Develop sight-reading skills

Unit 3: Pliny’s Letters: Ghosts and Apparitions, Letters to Trajan and Calpurnia, and Teacher’s Choice - Latin Prose

The reading for this section includes several of Pliny’s letters on different topics. You’ll also read texts that explore Roman personal and professional relationships.

Skills you will develop using these texts include:

• Learning relevant cultural understanding and knowledge

• Use supporting evidence to develop textual interpretations

• Answer questions requiring references

• Reviewing core vocabulary from Pliny’s Letters

Unit 4: Teacher’s Choice - Latin Poetry and Vergil’s Aeneid, Excerpts from Books 1 and 2

The texts in this section introduce you to Latin poetry. You’ll also discover Aeneas and Dido. These are two key leaders in Aeneid. Reading includes the trials of the Trojans and roles of other mortal and divine characters. 

Skills you’ll focus on include:

• Reading Latin poetry with understanding

• Identifying the Latin poetry’s stylistic features

• Identifying facts (contextual, historical, and mythological)

• Continued development of analytical skills

• Learning to scan Latin poetry in dactylic hexameter

Unit 5: Vergil, Aeneid, Excerpts from Books 4,6,7,11, and 12

You’ll continue reading about Queen Dido and Aeneas and their doomed relationship in this unit. Take a trip to the underworld with Aeneas and his father, Anchises. Meet new characters, Turnus and Camilla at the end of this epic.

Skills you’ll work on in this unit include:

• Refine reading and comprehension skills with Vergilian poetry

• Comprehend Latin works and meanings that are implied

• Learn new stylistic devices and features of epics

• Discover contextual facts relevant to the Aeneid and Virgil

• Practice analytical and interpretive skills

Unit 6: Course Project and Teacher’s Choice - Latin Poetry

Explore the four course project passages that are unique to the course each year. You’ll also continue to develop reading and comprehension of Latin poetry. The texts you explore will be chosen by your teacher.

In this unit, you’ll focus on:

• Comprehension and analysis of the four course project passages

• Translate the four course project passages

• Analysis of deeper meanings, attitudes, and purposes of Latin passages

• Review your knowledge of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and knowledge

• Practice sight-reading skills

• Identify and describe stylistic features and details

Thematic and Skill-Based Units in AP Latin

To do well on the AP Latin exam (opens in a new tab), you’ll want to master the four main skill areas as described by the College Board. You’ll work on these throughout the class as you explore different Latin texts. Let’s break them down so you know how to prepare for the exam.

Literal Translation and Comprehension

This is the foundation. You’ll need to be able to translate Latin into English. On the exam, you’ll be expected to translate passages “as literally as possible.” It needs to be accurate and precise. It’ll also need to be correct in terms of mood, number, voice, and tense.

Tips for translation success:

• Memorize each author’s style and specific vocabulary

• Master grammar structures

• Understand how word order differs between Latin and English

• Identify verb forms accurately and quickly

• Precise translation matters

Textual Analysis and Literary Devices

To master this part of the test, you’ll want to analyze how authors use style to create meaning. Virgil, for example, writes epic poetry using complex meter and vivid imagery. 

Your areas of focus include:

• Identify figures of speech

• Analyze word choice and sound effects

• Understand meter in Virgil

• Explain how stylistic choices affect meaning and tone

Contextual Understanding and Cultural Connections

To fully understand Latin texts, you’ll need to know about Roman culture and history. 

Topics to understand:

• Religious beliefs and practices in Rome

• Military organization and strategies

• Roman values (pietas, virtus, gloria, fides)

• Early empire’s republic and political structures

• What Romans thought of non-Romans

• Historical context of each text

Essay Writing and Short-Answer Analysis

The AP Latin exam contains 52 multiple choice questions and 5 free response questions. Your answers may compare passages, translate questions, or write an analytical essay. Some short-answer questions may be based on a specific passage.

Types of Questions:

• Short-answer questions about specific sections or lines

• Historical commentary that connects to the Roman culture

• Literary analysis of stylistic features

• Analytical essays on themes taken from many passages

Tips for Exam Success:

• Support all claims with evidence from the Latin text

• Provide translations of quoted sections

• Stay focused on the prompt

• Use clear thesis statements to structure essays

• Connect broader themes with specific details

Frequently Asked Questions

How many units are in AP Latin?

AP Latin will be changing to 6 formal units in the 2025-2026 school year. It will still be skill-based and have reading requirements. However, it will follow a traditional 6-unit format. You’ll practice textual analysis, literal translation, contextual understanding, and essay writing relevant to Latin works.

Do I need to memorize every line of Latin?

No. You don’t need to memorize every single line. You will need to be very familiar with the passages you are assigned. You should know many of the key phrases, terms, and lines that you study, but you do need to know your assigned passages extremely well.

You’ll be examining numerous passages. Even though you don’t have to recite them from memory, you should be able to:

• Translate them accurately 

• Identify which passage a quotation comes from

• Analyze literary devices within them

• Connect them to broader themes

The exam also includes sight-reading passages you've never seen before, so focus on building strong translation skills, not just memorizing specific passages.

What's the hardest part of the AP Latin exam?

Students struggle with different things. For example, you may have more difficulty translating passages you haven’t seen before. It can seem overwhelming since you haven’t studied those passages at all. 

It can also be difficult to manage time limits. You’ll have a set amount of time to write an essay and answer content-based questions. Taking plenty of practice tests before exam day to help you learn how to manage your time.

Final Thoughts

AP Latin is structured around passage sets, skills you'll develop, and exam sections.

To succeed in AP Latin, balance three things:

1. Translation practice — Build speed and accuracy with Latin passages

2. Literary analysis — Learn to spot and explain stylistic devices

3. Cultural knowledge — Understand the Roman world that shaped these texts

Start early, practice consistently, and don't try to cram. This exam rewards long-term study and genuine engagement with the texts.

Remember: if you're taking AP Latin in 2025-26 or later, check the updated College Board materials, as the course has been significantly revised.

Good luck with your studies!

Want more AP Latin resources? Check out Save My Exams for AP study resources like past exams, study guides, practice questions and more. 

References

College Board AP Latin Class Overview (opens in a new tab)

College Board AP Latin Exam (opens in a new tab)