OCR A-Level Latin Past Papers & Mark Schemes

For the unseen translation, accuracy and completeness are paramount — but so is readability. OCR's mark scheme rewards translations that read as natural English, not 'translationese.' When you encounter a complex periodic sentence (common in Cicero and Livy), restructure it for English rather than slavishly following Latin word order. The sentence 'Caesar, having crossed the river, the enemy having been put to flight, set up camp' should become 'After Caesar crossed the river and routed the enemy, he set up camp.' Metrical scansion is specifically assessed in the verse literature paper. For dactylic hexameter (Virgil, Ovid), know the rules: each foot is either a dactyl (long-short-short) or a spondee (long-long), the fifth foot is almost always a dactyl, and the sixth foot is always a spondee or trochee. More importantly, explain what the metre contributes to meaning — spondees slow the pace (appropriate for gravity or weight), dactyls accelerate it (appropriate for speed or excitement), and caesura creates dramatic pauses. The literary analysis in both prose and verse papers requires you to comment on the Latin itself, not just the translation. Quote the Latin text, then explain its effect: 'The juxtaposition of 'arma virumque' at the opening of the Aeneid immediately signals that this epic will concern both warfare and individual heroism, echoing Homer's Iliad ('arma') and Odyssey ('virum') in a single phrase.' Engaging with the original language is what distinguishes A-Level Latin from Classical Civilisation. For prose composition, learn the common constructions that appear repeatedly: indirect statement (accusative + infinitive), purpose clauses (ut/ne + subjunctive), result clauses (tam...ut + subjunctive), ablative absolutes, relative clauses with subjunctive (characterising), and conditional sentences (future more vivid, future less vivid, contrary to fact). Practise daily in the months before the exam.