essay latin

1590s, "trial, attempt, endeavor," also "short, discursive literary composition" (first attested in writings of Francis Bacon, probably in imitation of Montaigne), from French essai "trial, attempt, essay" (in Old French from 12c.), from Late Latin exagium "a weighing, a weight," from Latin exigere "drive out; require, exact; examine, try, test," from ex "out" (see ex- ) + agere "to set in motion, drive" (from PIE root *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move") apparently meaning here "to weigh." The suggestion is of unpolished writing. Compare assay , also examine .

"to put to proof, test the mettle of," late 15c., from French essaier , from essai "trial, attempt" (see essay (n.)). This sense has mostly gone with the divergent spelling assay . Meaning "to attempt" is from 1640s. Related: Essayed ; essaying .

Entries linking to essay

c. 1300, "to try, endeavor, strive; test the quality of," from Anglo-French assaier , from assai (n.), from Old French assai , variant of essai "trial" (see essay (n.)). Related: Assayed ; assaying .

c. 1300, "put (someone) to question in regard to knowledge, competence, or skill, inquire into qualifications or capabilities;" mid-14c., "inspect or survey (something) carefully, scrutinize, view or observe in all aspects with the purpose of forming a correct opinion or judgment," from Old French examiner "interrogate, question, torture," from Latin examinare "to test or try; consider, ponder," literally "to weigh," from examen "a means of weighing or testing," probably ultimately from exigere "demand, require, enforce," literally "to drive or force out," also "to finish, measure," from ex "out" (see ex- ) + agere "to set in motion, drive, drive forward; to do, perform" (from PIE root *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move"). Legal sense of "question or hear (a witness in court)" is from early 15c. Related: Examined ; examining .

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Translation of "essay" into Latin

thesis, progymnasma, meditatio are the top translations of "essay" into Latin. Sample translated sentence: He delivered lectures and wrote essays in a simple language, along with the statistics from original and authentic sources and documents, so that common man can also understand. ↔ Postea et alios doctores acquisivit; ipse libere fontes scriptos, originales et conversos, cognoscebat.

A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject. [..]

English-Latin dictionary

Progymnasma.

written composition

Less frequent translations

• Progymnasma
• temptamentum

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Automatic translations of " essay " into Latin

Translations with alternative spelling

"Essay" in English - Latin dictionary

Currently we have no translations for Essay in the dictionary, maybe you can add one? Make sure to check automatic translation, translation memory or indirect translations.

Phrases similar to "essay" with translations into Latin

• Essay, Orne Essay
• essay to treat inchoo
• Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie
• proof essay temptamentum

Translations of "essay" into Latin in sentences, translation memory

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Ultimate Guide to the AP Latin Exam

The Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum is a set of standardized courses designed by the College Board and delivered at high schools throughout the country and abroad. Of the 38 available AP classes, eight are world languages and cultures courses. For more information about the Advanced Placement curriculum and why you should consider it, check out CollegeVine’s What is an AP Class?

The AP Latin course, though not hugely popular overall, still attracts a steady stream of students each year, as it has done since its first administration in 1956. In fact, the exam has had a near constant registration of approximately 6,500 students each year since 2010. Prior to 2013, the curriculum consisted of two courses. One of these was a prose course called AP Latin Literature, and the other was a poetry course titled AP Latin Vergil. In 2013, the courses were combined and AP Latin students can now expect to study both poetry and prose during a single school year.

About the AP Latin Exam

The course is intended to provide you and other advanced high school students with a rich and rigorous Latin curriculum, approximately equivalent to an upper-intermediate college or university course. A class of this level would generally be taken during the fourth or fifth semester of college-level studies. In this course, you will learn to read, understand, translate, and analyze Latin poetry and prose.

The previous versions of the class, wherein the two genres were taught separately, made structural sense in that poetry and prose in Latin have distinctly different features. Combining both curriculums into a single course, however, is indicative of the belief that a strong student should understand the broad features of both genres. As such, the syllabus of required readings includes a work of poetry and a work of prose to ensure that students will be confident in handling both.

Each year, the AP Latin course uses the same required selections from the same two classical texts. The poetry selection is always the Aeneid by Augustan author Publius Vergilius Maro (also known as Vergil or Virgil). The prose text is always Commentaries on the Gallic War, by Gaius Julius Caesar, commonly referred to simply as Caesar. During the course, selections from these texts will be studied in both Latin and English. Be sure to check the Required Reading List for exact details about which selections will be required in which languages. In addition to reading and translating these seminal works, you will also need to place them in a greater historical and literary context.

There are no prerequisites for the AP Latin course, though you will need to have enough proficiency in Latin to read and understand the required texts. For most students, this typically means that you’ll need to be in at least your fourth year to undertake the required work.

The AP Latin exam is one of the longer AP exams and lasts for three hours. The first section contains 50 multiple-choice questions, which you’ll have one hour to complete. This section is worth 50% of your total score. The second section, called the free-response section, contains two translation prompts, one analytical essay, and approximately 12 short-answer questions. You will have two hours to complete this section and it will account for the remaining 50% of your score.

In 2016, the curve for AP Latin scores was generally in line with the average AP score curve. Of the 6,500 students who took the exam, 65.6% passed the test by receiving a score of three or higher. Only 12.7% of all students received the highest score of a five, while nearly a third of all students scraped by with a three. Students receiving the lowest score of a one accounted for 11.5% of all test-takers.

Before you begin your studying for the AP Latin exam, review the College Board course description to help shape your understanding of the course content and exam format.

Read on for tips for preparing for the exam.

Step 1: Start with Assessing Your Skills

Start your studying for the exam by taking a practice or diagnostic test. It might seem counterintuitive to dive straight into test-taking when you haven’t even reviewed the material, but the easiest way to narrow in on content areas that need your attention is to get a realistic and objective score through a formative assessment. Check out CollegeVine’s What is a Formative Assessment and Why You Should Be Using One To Study? for more information.

You can find some sample test questions in the College Board course description , but to get a more comprehensive picture of the work ahead, you might choose to also take more practice test questions about Vergil’s Aenid or practice test questions about Caesar’s Gallic War .

Once you’ve taken some kind of diagnostic test, score your answers and make a list of areas that need more studying. Use this list to target content that will shape your studying.

Step 2: Study the Material

In the case of the AP Latin exam, your studying will focus on four major skills applied to the seven major themes of the course. The skills that you will need to develop are: reading & comprehension, translation, contextualization, and analysis of texts. These skills will be used in the context of the seven themes, which include:

• Literary Genre and Style
• Roman Values
• War and Empire
• Views of Non-Romans
• History and Memory
• Human Beings and the Gods

As you study, you should concentrate in part on vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. These hard skills will make it easier for you to prepare and translate the required Latin readings with accuracy. In addition to translating known selections from the Latin texts, you will also be required to read and comprehend passages at sight. This doesn’t mean that you will have to precisely decode each word, but you will need to be able to get the general gist of selections that are not familiar to you.

You will also need to practice your critical reading skills, since the exam will test your ability to build clear and coherent arguments supported by evidence from the text. It will also assess your mastery of the many terms that have been devised by scholars and teachers over the years to describe and analyze Latin grammar, syntax, and literary style.

In order to build these critical analyses, you should be able to place the readings in the broader context of Roman history and civilization. The two required texts ( Gallic War and Aeneid) were selected specifically to allow exposure to some of the important people, events, and literary genres of Roman times, focusing on the core periods of the late Republic and the early Principate.

Aeneid is widely regarded as the most influential work of Latin literature for both its model of Latin poetry and its deep reflection on Roman history and civilization. Similarly, Gallic War provides a pure and straightforward example of prose in the historical context of controversial themes such as war and peace, leadership, and ethnicity.

Unlike the case for most AP exams, it is difficult to find a high-quality, commercial study guide that is widely used for the AP Latin exam. There are many relevant study materials available, but few produced specifically for the exam. The two primary study guides that were produced for the exam are Vergil’s Aeneid: A Fully Parsed Vocabulary Guide for the AP Latin Exam and Caesar’s Gallic War: A Fully Parsed Vocabulary Guide for the AP Latin Exam .

These books were developed by a former university professor who spent several years grading the exam, and they contain complete vocabulary lists and detailed grammatical and historical notes. They do not, however, contain sample questions, quizzes, or practice tests.

More study materials can be found online. Many AP teachers have posted complete study guides, review sheets, and test questions. There is also a large database of materials  used in one high school AP course. Navigate through the menu in the left-hand margin to find materials related to Caesar and Vergil, along with sample multiple-choice questions. Another helpful site for perfecting your grammar and vocabulary  is also available. Although it wasn’t specifically developed for AP studying, this website contains many Latin phrases, abbreviations, proverbs, and maxims along with links to more study materials on other sites.

You should also take advantage of the materials provided by the College Board. Be sure to review the official course Learning Objectives , beginning on page seven of the course description. Also look through the vast compilation of study materials listed on the teacher’s AP Latin Web Guide .

Finally, a fun and easy way to brush up on your vocabulary and grammar can be through the use of the many apps available on your mobile device. These range widely in price and quality, so be sure to read reviews before downloading one. The SPQR Latin app is one that consistently receives high marks.

Step 3: Practice Multiple-Choice Questions

Once you have spent some time focusing on the theory behind the exam, you’ll be ready to put it to use by practicing some multiple-choice questions. You can find 30 sample questions beginning on page 41 of the course description . More are available on the AP Latin teacher’s Sample Passages and Multiple-Choice Questions page.

The multiple-choice portion of your exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions that include both readings from the syllabus and sight reading. Approximately 20 questions will focus on Vergil and Caesar selections from the required readings while about 30 will contain sight readings. As you review questions, keep a running list of vocabulary, grammar, and skills that are still tripping you up. These will be areas for further review when you go back over the materials one last time.

Step 4: Practice Free-Response Questions

Before you begin practicing for the free-response section of your exam, make sure that you know what to expect on it. The first two free-response questions will be literal translations of required course readings. You will be asked to translate one given selection from the Caesar text and one given selection from the Vergil text as verbatim as possible. Each selection will be approximately five lines long, and you will be provided with any particularly unique vocabulary terms. It is recommended that you spend about 15 minutes on each of these translations.

The next section of the free-response will require you to write an analytical essay based on a selection from the course’s required readings . As you build your argument, you will need to refer specifically to the Latin text by writing it out and/or citing line numbers. You must also translate, accurately paraphrase, or otherwise make clear in your discussion that you understand the Latin that you are using. It is recommended that you spend about 45 minutes on the essay.

The final two sections of the free-response portion will ask you a series of short-answer questions about one selection from Vergil and another selection from Caesar. In the past, these questions have included translations, identifying stylistic devices, and making inferences about character intentions, among others. You should plan to spend about 15 minutes answering questions for each selection.

The best way to prepare for the free-response portion of your exam is to practice by using the many available free-response questions from past administrations of the exam. You can find all of the past free-response questions dating back to 2013, including authentic examples of student responses, scoring explanations, and scoring statistics available at the bottom of the exam page . Review the free-response questions and the scoring criteria from one year to get started. This should give you a good understanding of what you’ll be expected to perform on this section and how your answers will be evaluated.

Using this knowledge, you should then read and reply to the free-response questions from another year, trying your best to stay within the recommended time constraints. Score your own responses after reading the scoring guidelines for that year, then have a friend score your responses too. It can be difficult giving yourself an objective score, so having a classmate to trade scores with is a good idea. Continue to practice free-response questions from prior years until you feel confident in your approach.

Step 5: Take Another Practice Exam

Though it is difficult to find complete practice tests for the AP Latin exam, you should be able to cobble one together using some of the resources for multiple-choice questions listed above, and the released free-response questions from previous exams. Try to make as realistic a practice test as you can, then score it with a classmate to identify content areas that need more studying or practice.

With your list of areas to review, repeat the steps above to incrementally increase your score.

Step 6: Exam Day

In 2017, the AP Latin exam will take place on Friday (May 12) at 12 PM.

For information about registering for the exam, especially if you have self-studied or are a homeschooled student, read CollegeVine’s How to Register for AP Exams (Even If You Didn’t Take the Course) .

For specifics about what to bring with you to the exam, read CollegeVine’s What to Bring To Your AP Exam .

Want access to expert college guidance — for free? When you create your free CollegeVine account, you will find out your real admissions chances, build a best-fit school list, learn how to improve your profile, and get your questions answered by experts and peers—all for free. Sign up for your CollegeVine account today to get a boost on your college journey.

For more about APs, check out these CollegeVine posts:

• Can AP Tests Actually Save You Thousands of Dollars?
• Should I Take AP/IB/Honors Classes?
• How to Choose Which AP Courses and Exams to Take
• What If My School Doesn ’ t Offer AP or IB Courses?
• Are All APs Created Equal in Admissions?

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Latin Terms and Abbreviations

What this handout is about.

In your college career, you will encounter the abbreviations e.g. and i.e. E.g. is a Latin abbreviation that means “for example” and often appears before lists. I.e. is another Latin abbreviation that means “in other words,” “namely,” or “which is to say.” Use e.g. when introducing a non-exhaustive list of examples and i.e. when rephrasing the exact same idea in different words. The rest of this handout explains these and many other Latin abbreviations you might see, such as etc., N.B, cf., sic, versus, circa, et al., ibid. and id., and more.

About Latin terms and abbreviations

Despite the fact that Latin is no longer the international language of scholars, bits and pieces of it can still be found scattered around. Some of these bits are very common and are even seen in non-academic writing, while others are much more obscure.

Simply knowing what an abbreviation stands for and how to translate the underlying Latin words does not necessarily tell you how the abbreviation is used in actual modern practice. These little remnants of Latin have had a long and colorful life separated from their original language and context.

There are a few generally accepted rules that apply to most Latin abbreviations. The major style manuals (MLA, APA and Chicago) agree that Latin abbreviations should be kept out of the main body of a text-that is, they should not appear in ordinary sentences within ordinary paragraphs. Certain abbreviations may be used in parentheses within the body of a text (etc., e.g., i.e.), but the rest should appear only in footnotes, endnotes, tables, and other forms of documentation. One notable exception: APA style allows writers to use the abbreviation et al. when discussing works with multiple authors and v. in the titles of court cases.

Except for N.B., none of the abbreviations we’re about to discuss need to be italicized or capitalized.

Why should you bother learning about Latin abbreviations?

While it’s perfectly acceptable to use English phrases instead of Latin abbreviations, there’s a reason why these abbreviations have survived and continue to be used today: they contain a lot of meaning in a very small package. It takes less time and fewer characters to write e.g. than “for example.” As an added bonus, using Latin abbreviations correctly can make your writing sound more sophisticated and scholarly.

Even if you decide that you don’t want to use Latin abbreviations in your own writing, you’re still going to encounter them in other texts. Knowing what these abbreviations mean and how they are used is crucial to understanding and interpreting these works.

The big three: etc., i.e., and e.g.

The average person could go through life never having to worry about most Latin abbreviations, but there are three that have become so widespread that they’re impossible to avoid: etc., i.e. and e.g. These are also the most often misused Latin abbreviations. Let’s take a look at each of them, what they mean and how they can be used.

The abbreviation etc. stands for et cetera, which translates literally as “and others” or “and the rest.” A more useful translation that can be substituted for etc. (especially when reading aloud) is “and so on.” It is used at the end of a list to indicate that there are more elements to the list that are being left out so that the list doesn’t become too long. For example:

All of the objects in our solar system (planets, comets, etc.) orbit the sun.

Many other examples could be included in a list of objects in our solar system (like asteroids and moons), but it would take too much space and time to list them all. Also, listing them all wouldn’t add much to the sentence-readers don’t need to know the identity of every object orbiting the sun in order to understand the sentence.

In lists where you use etc., be sure all the listed items are of the same kind. If you wrote the following sentence, your readers might have a hard time telling what “etc.” is substituting for because some of the items listed are objects, while others are people or activities:

I’m very interested in astronomy—planets, stargazing, Carl Sagan, etc.

When etc. is used at the end of a list, it should be preceded by a comma just like the other elements of the list. It should never have the word “and” before it: the Latin word et has already got that covered.

e.g. and i.e.

These are the two most often misused and confused Latin abbreviations-and for good reason. In any given sentence, it’s often not immediately clear how i.e. and e.g. are different. Both appear inside parentheses and offer extra information that helps explain what’s come before. There is, however, a very important and useful difference between these two abbreviations.

The abbreviation e.g. stands for exempli gratia, which translates literally as “for the sake of an example”-but you can really just cut out the stuff in the middle and read it as “for example.” It is used to give an example or set of examples to help clarify the preceding idea. In general, if you use e.g., you should provide one or two short examples. More can be used, but only if they are simple and can be expressed in a single word or short phrase. It isn’t necessary to use etc. at the end of a list following e.g.; it’s understood that there are more examples than those that you’ve given. You should not list all of the possible examples.

The abbreviation i.e. stands for id est, which translates literally as “that is.” Sometimes it might be more useful, however, to translate it as “what that means is” or “that is to say.” This abbreviation is used to clarify the preceding idea by restating it more simply or in different terms. Strictly speaking, what follows i.e. in parentheses should be equivalent to what comes before-you should be able to switch them without changing the meaning of the sentence. If this involves making a list, you should include all of the elements that make up that list. It might be useful to think of i.e. as representing an equal sign (=). This will help you remember that i.e. stands for a strict equivalence.

Let’s look at some examples of how to use i.e. and e.g. correctly:

YES: The rocky planets (e.g., Mercury) are closest to our sun.

NO: The rocky planets (i.e., Mercury) are closest to our sun.

Mercury is not equivalent to the rocky planets-they’re not the same thing. Mercury is just one example of a rocky planet, therefore e.g. is appropriate.

YES: The rocky planets (i.e., Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are closest to our sun.

YES: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars (i.e., the rocky planets) are closest to our sun.

NO: The rocky planets (e.g., Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are closest to our sun.

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are all of the examples of rocky planets in our solar system (they are a full and complete list, not just a few examples), so e.g. should not be used. Instead, use i.e. to show that the list of four planets is equivalent to the rocky planets-they refer to the same thing. Notice that switching the rocky planets and Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence.

In some instances, i.e. and e.g. may both be acceptable, but using one or the other will drastically change the meaning of the sentence. For example:

Farmer Brown sells his produce (e.g., apples, oranges, carrots) at the market.

Farmer Brown sells his produce (i.e., apples, oranges, carrots) at the market.

In the first sentence, the use of e.g. tells the reader that Farmer Brown sells many different types of produce, including apples oranges and carrots. The information contained in the parentheses provides a few examples to help clarify the meaning of produce. In the second sentence, the use of i.e. tells the reader that Farmer Brown sells only apples, oranges and carrots -nothing else. The information contained in the parentheses tells the reader that, as far as Farmer Brown is concerned, apples, oranges and carrots are what constitute produce-they are equivalent.

Other useful abbreviations

While etc., e.g. and i.e. are perhaps the most important Latin abbreviations for you to get acquainted with, there are other less common abbreviations that you may find useful in certain situations.

The abbreviation N.B. stands for nota bene, which literally translates as “note well,” although in practice you can read it as “pay attention.” It is used in endnotes or footnotes to call the reader’s attention to a particularly important piece of information-such as a key assumption of or exception to an argument-that is nevertheless not crucial enough to be included in the main body of the paper. Also, notice that N.B. is the only Latin abbreviation that should be capitalized.

Example: N.B.: While all of the study participants were interviewed about their prior medical histories, researchers did not have access to their medical records to confirm the accuracy of self-reported data.

The abbreviation cf. stands for the Latin word confer which means “compare.” It is primarily used in endnotes or footnotes to point readers to works that the author recommends referencing in comparison with the work at hand. Therefore, it might be more useful to read cf. as “but compare this to.” It is generally preceded by citations of works that are sources for the author’s argument and then followed by one or two examples of works that somehow differ from or depart from the argument. Although it is not strictly necessary to explain how these works are different, you might find it useful to include a short phrase for the benefit of your reader.

Example: 2. Jones 1992, Smith 2003; cf. on methodology Harris 2005.

Although it is not an abbreviation, sic is included here because it is one of the more frequently used Latin terms. The word sic means “thus” or “so” and is used in quotations to indicate that any strange aspects of a piece of text, such as errors in of grammar, spelling, or word choice, are part of the original text and not a typo. Therefore, it could be more appropriately translated as “yes, that’s actually what it says.” Depending on the style you’re using, sic is italicized and placed in brackets after the word or phrase it identifies (as in APA and Chicago), or it is simply placed in parentheses after the entire quote (as in MLA). Consult the most recent edition of the appropriate style handbook to ensure that you’re using the proper format.

versus (vs. or v.)

You have probably seen the term versus or one of its abbreviation, vs. or v., in the names of court cases (for example, “Smith v. the State of North Carolina”). Versus translates as “against” or “as opposed to.” Versus is used to express conflict or comparison. You may see it in the main body of academic texts, in phrases such as “man versus nature,” “measured in kilograms versus pounds,” or “protectionism versus free trade.” Versus and its abbreviations also appear frequently in the titles of books and articles.

Circa, which translates as “around” or “approximately,” usually appears with dates. You may see it abbreviated as c. or ca. (or, more rarely, as cca. or cir.). It indicates that a number or value is approximate, not exact. For example, you might see sentences like “the construction of Stonehenge began circa 3000 BCE.” More rarely, you may see circa in reference to measurements of amounts, such as “circa $45,000” or “c. 1.5 mL.” Your meaning will often be clearer to readers if you stick with English in the main body of your text and save “c.” for things in parentheses and notes. So, for example, you might write “the construction of Stonehenge began around 3000 BCE” or “when Stonehenge began to be constructed (c. 3000 BCE).”

Citation shortcuts

The abbreviations in this section are used primarily in notes and bibliographic entries in order to save space. It is important to understand these abbreviations not only so that you can correctly interpret bibliographic citations, but also so that your citations can be accessible to your readers.

The Latin abbreviation et al. stands for et alii which translates as “and other people.” It is like etc., but it is used only for people. You will generally see et al. used in bibliographical entries for books, articles, or other publications that have several authors (usually four or more) in order to save space. In such cases, the name of the first author will be given in full and then followed by et al. As with etc., there is no need to include ‘and’ before et al., but do notice that unlike etc. there is a space (and no period) after et in this abbreviation.

ibid. and id.

The abbreviation ibid. stands for the Latin word ibidem, which means “in the same place.” It is used in endnotes or footnotes when you cite the same source and page number(s) two or more times. If you cite the same source but a different page number, you can use ibid. followed by a comma and the page number(s). Also, note that ibid. is capitalized when it begins a note. For example:

• 1. Barsby, 99-101.
• 3. Ibid., 97.

Although it is becoming less common, you may encounter the abbreviation id. used in a way similar to ibid. The abbreviation id. stands for idem, which means “the same person.” It is used in place of ibid. when the same author is cited but not the same page number. In such instances, ibid. is only used to repeat the preceding citation exactly. For example:

• 3. Id., 97.

Like sic, passim is not an abbreviation, but it is included here as a Latin term commonly used to save space in bibliographic entries. The Latin word passim means “here and there” or “throughout.” It is used when a particular word, phrase or idea is not restricted to just a few pages of a work, but occurs in many different places. Using passim is not a way to avoid providing specific citations—instead, it indicates to the reader that the information being cited occurs frequently in the work and that they may want to use the table of contents or index to find specific examples.

Abbreviation obscurity

While you may occasionally encounter the following abbreviations in your academic career, they are becoming increasingly rare. There is no need for you to attempt to incorporate them into your own writing. Instead, use short English phrases; it will be easier for you to write and for your reader to understand!

loc. cit. and op. cit.

The abbreviations loc. cit. and op. cit. are old forms used in bibliographic citations similar to ibid. and id. above. The abbreviation loc. cit. stands for loco citato, which translates as “in the place cited,” whereas op. cit. stands for opere citato which translates as “in the work cited.” Generally, loc. cit. is used to refer to the same work and page number(s) as the previous citation, while op. cit. refers only to the same work and may or may not be followed by page numbers. In all modern style manuals, ibid. is preferred to loc. cit. and op. cit.

inf. and sup.

The abbreviations inf. and sup. stand for the words infra and supra, which translate as “below” and “above” respectively. They are used to indicate that information will be more fully explained or cited elsewhere. If the information has already appeared in an earlier note, sup. is used. If the information will appear in a later note (where a more complete citation or explanation is perhaps more appropriate), inf. is used. In general, you can replace both of these abbreviations with “see below” and “see above” without any change in meaning.

viz. and sc.

The abbreviation viz. stands for the Latin contraction videlicet which translates literally as “it is permitted to see,” but a more useful translation is “namely” or “that is to say.” It is used to clarify something by elaborating on it, giving a detailed description of it, or providing a complete list. In this sense, viz. is similar to i.e., although viz. tends to emphasize the precision and exactness of what follows and is thus a stronger version of i.e. It is generally acceptable to use i.e. instead of viz.

The similar abbreviation sc. stands for the Latin contraction scilicet which translates literally as “it is permitted to know,” but a more useful translation is “namely” or “as if to say.” It is often used to provide a clarification, remove an ambiguity, or supply an omitted word. Like viz., sc. is a more specific version of i.e. and stresses the clarity of what follows. As with viz., it is generally acceptable to use i.e. rather than sc.

The abbreviation q.v. stands for quod vide, which translates literally as “which see,” although in practice it means something more like “for which see elsewhere.” It is used in notes after a word or phrase to indicate that more information can be found about the topic somewhere else in the current work. Because q.v. is generally used in reference books or similar works, page numbers are not included after it. The reader is expected to know how to locate this information without further assistance. Since there is always the possibility that the reader won’t be able to find the information cited by q.v., it’s better to use a simple English phrase such as “for more on this topic, see pages 72-3” or “a detailed definition appears on page 16.” Such phrases are immediately comprehensible to the reader (who may not even know what q.v. means) and remove any ambiguity about where additional information is located.

The abbreviation s.v. stands for sub verbo, which translates as “under the word.” It is used when citing a specific entry in a dictionary or encyclopedia. The word or phrase following the abbreviation should correspond exactly to the heading in the dictionary or encyclopedia so that the reader can find the precise entry being indicated. Since s.v. is no longer recognizable to most modern readers, it is better to use a simple English phrase such as “see the Oxford English Dictionary; look under grape” or something similar.

We hope that this handout will be useful to you as you decipher the Latin terms and abbreviations in your reading and perhaps begin to use them in your own writing!

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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A Little Latin Every Day: How to Learn Latin With Short Texts and Audio

This article has been reviewed in accordance with our editorial policy .

How to Learn Latin?

• Mas­ter Short­er Latin Texts

Learn Latin Every Day

Where to get short texts, a series of short recordings, who are they for, what to do now.

When my stu­dents ask me how to learn Latin, I always say, spend as much time with it as pos­si­ble, read as much as pos­si­ble , prefer­ably for hours each day.

This is, of course, eas­i­er said than done. In this day and age, it’s not at all evi­dent how to find all the time need­ed to learn Latin to a high lev­el, espe­cial­ly if you are not doing it in an aca­d­e­m­ic set­ting but rather in your leisure time.

How­ev­er, it is often­times under­es­ti­mat­ed how much progress you can make in Latin or any oth­er lan­guage by just spend­ing 5–10 min­utes a day on a focused task. Quite quick­ly, the min­utes amount to hours and the small steps to great progress.

Sug­gest­ed: Videos and arti­cles in Latin

Master Shorter Latin Texts

In my expe­ri­ence when we have lit­tle time, focus­ing on short­er texts and real­ly mas­ter­ing them, under­stand­ing the vocab­u­lary and the gram­mar and con­quer­ing the texts, so to speak, builds an enour­mous amount of confidence:

Even if we feel like we don’t know Latin, or that we aren’t pro­gress­ing, we can look at the short­er texts we’ve thor­ough­ly mas­tered and say:

“yeah, maybe I have a long way to go, but that text I under­stand ful­ly, it’s mine.”

This bite-sized approach was a big part of how I learned French and Latin. Grant­ed, if you have the time, com­bin­ing this approach with exten­sive read­ing is ide­al. A byprod­uct of focus­ing on mas­ter­ing short­er texts is that you can more eas­i­ly remem­ber exact quotes, con­struc­tions, or con­texts appro­pri­ate for a par­tic­u­lar word.

In a pre­vi­ous post, I out­lined a method I’ve used to mas­ter short­er texts as a way of build­ing lan­guage abil­i­ty and con­fi­dence as well as study habits. I dis­cuss this fur­ther in a talk here (in Latin).

The basic idea is that you pick a short text and study it for a few min­utes every day in var­i­ous ways, rang­ing from cur­sive read­ing to look­ing up any­thing dif­fi­cult, to read­ing and under­stand­ing it ful­ly simultaneously.

So if you do have a few min­utes, and want to work with some short and inter­est­ing texts, where do you get them?

One way is to go look through Latin lit­er­a­ture, antholo­gies, and Latin read­ers. But track­ing down and find­ing inter­est­ing texts takes a lot of time

Let’s see what you can do instead.

To help peo­ple strug­gling to find short, inter­est­ing Latin texts, we record and pub­lish short 1–5 minute episodes (you can find them here).

We aim to pro­vide record­ings of texts from a vari­ety of peri­ods, gen­res, and lev­els. This is of course a work in progress, but if it appeals to peo­ple, we’ll con­tin­ue broad­en­ing the material.

The texts are read at a fair­ly slow pace and are sup­port­ed by a tran­scrip­tion. Click the link below to access this series of record­ings of Latin texts.

List of all the Latin audio episodes .

To me learn­ing lan­guages has always been a very audi­to­ry task, where lis­ten­ing and devel­op­ing lis­ten­ing com­pre­hen­sion has been cen­tral to get a firm foothold in the language.

It also helps us avoid trans­lat­ing, which is at times a good tool, but in order to read Latin flu­ent­ly we have to be able to read with­out hes­i­tat­ing, or look­ing up words all the time.

At first, you may need to trans­late, but lis­ten­ing over and over again while refer­ring to a trans­la­tion will slow­ly wean you off it. You will grad­u­al­ly devel­op a firm com­mand of the syn­tax and most of the vocab­u­lary so as to be able to fol­low the flow of the language.

These days, lis­ten­ing can be done on the go quite eas­i­ly and so you can con­tin­ue work­ing on your Latin even while doing the dish­es or going to work or stand­ing in line. I know I learned most of my French going places and stand­ing in line.

In the series we’ll try to find texts of every lev­el and every time peri­od, so hope­ful­ly there’ll be some­thing for any­one want­i­ng to spend some time on their Latin. Nev­er­the­less, the amount of tru­ly easy Latin out there is quite sparse. So depend­ing on you lev­el, you may have to rely on some dic­tio­nary work and trans­la­tion at first, but after lis­ten­ing repeat­ed­ly you will start to inter­nalise the lan­guage in the texts and make them yours.

If you want to read and lis­ten to an eas­i­er text in Latin, check out Pugio Bru­ti — A Crime Sto­ry in Easy Latin. Amelie and I want­ed to cre­ate a longer sto­ry that would be quite easy (350 unique words) to read. The response has been awesome!

If you’re learn­ing Latin, I would sug­gest the following:

• Go through the cur­rent episodes and find some­thing that appeals to you and work with it,
• Set a goal to go through every episode or the ones you like.

I’m cur­rent­ly learn­ing Ger­man with pod­casts and I find that hav­ing a lim­it­ed but grow­ing amount of mate­r­i­al that I can work my way though, makes cre­at­ing a read­ing habit a lot easier.

We hope you enjoy this new attempt to pro­mote the study of Latin. Let us know what you think.

Want to Learn Latin?

Find out how

Daniel Pettersson

Written by Daniel Pettersson

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How to Write an AP Latin Essay

The free-response section of the AP exam has three parts to it: translation, short answer questions, and an analytical essay comparing two passages that may come from the Aeneid,  Caesar’s  De Bello Gallico (DBG), or both. Of these, the essay counts the most. Unfortunately, it is also the section that many students are the least prepared for. Translation and comprehension are tasks that your average AP Latin student is at least semi-proficient at, but the essay is something which he, quite often, has no clue how to do. That isn’t to say he hasn’t done his homework. The issue lies with the fact that he’s approaching the essay the wrong way, treating it more like a standard English essay than an essay designed to test his knowledge of Latin. That’s a recipe for failure; here’s how you should approach it.

1. Forget English Class

Good-sounding semantics in Anglice won’t score you any points with an AP reader. Beyond basic grammar, the College Board doesn’t give a flying crap about how your English sounds on a Latin exam, only about what it says and what it’s supported with.

2. Don't worry about length

You should take no more than 45 minutes to write this essay, and, with practice, you’ll probably be able to write it in considerably less time than that. Thus, the appropriate length for an AP Latin essay is approximately 1-1.5 pages on standard notebook paper. Think quality over quantity; it will yield results.

3. Answer the question

Your thesis should directly answer the question (or directly related to the prompt if it’s not a question); don’t be ambiguous.

4. Short intro and conclusion

As stated above, you should be able to complete your essay in no more than 45 minutes. As such, there is no time to waste on lengthy introductions or conclusions. Your intro should be 2-3 sentences in length, just long enough to introduce the question and state your thesis. Similarly, your conclusion should be only a few sentences, just long enough to state how your thesis is supported by all your analysis.

5. Quote the Latin

The main purpose of this section of the exam is to test your ability to comprehend and analyze. As such, you should be quoting from BOTH PASSAGES throughout. In fact, your ideal essay is one where the English serve only to set up your thoughts and act as bridges between Latin quotes.

This being the case, before you even write your essay, you should go through both passages and underline, bracket, etc. all the snippets that support what you’re saying. Figuring out what to say shouldn’t be too difficult for you, since, if you’ve done your homework, you should be very familiar with all the passages that could potentially be used, BUT DO NOT make a single claim about the passage that isn’t backed up with a quote.

What should a quote look like, you ask? For the Latin, it should be underlined (Don’t use quotations); if it’s a longish spiel, using elipses is fine. Pretty simple, BUT YOU’RE NOT DONE. Equally important to quoting the Latin is making clear that you understand it. You can do this three ways: first, you might just use a literal translation in quotations right after the quote, second, you can paraphrase the meaning, or, third, you can make the meaning clear using the surrounding English co-text.  Nota bene,  if you opt for either of the last two options, make absolutely certain that it’s clear that you know how to translate the Latin, not just the general meaning of it. If you don’t, the reader will mark you down.

6. Know the texts

Your life will be made infinitely easier if you are hyper-familiar with the passages. The Latin exam is different from other AP language exams in that it tells you beforehand about certain passages from the Aeneid and DBG. These are the only passages that will be used for the essay; as such, you should take advantage of it. If you are familiar with, you can begin formulating your answer as soon as you’ve read the prompt. Then, instead of having to translate the whole of both passages to get your points, you can come up with them based on what you already know, and then just skim both passages to get supporting quotes.

That, beatissimi discipuli, in a nutshell, is how to get a five on your AP Latin essay.

Hi, I'm Elijah M! A student at Ashland University, I specialize in tutoring math, latin, humanities, civics, and social sciences

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21 Latin Phrases Every Writer Should Know

• Persona Non Grata “An unwelcome person” (lately defined, by some, as a literary agent).
• Habeas Corpus “You have the body” (the legal right to appear before a judge).
• Cogito Ergo Sum “I think, therefore I am.” For a writer it would be “Scribo ergo sum.”
• Deus Ex Machina “God from the Machine.” In a novel it basically means the author has written something too convenient to explain events, a plot device to solve the unsolvable problem.
• E Pluribus Unum “Out of many, one.” Would you dare use this phrase to describe a book: “Many words, one book”?
• Carpe Diem “Seize the day,” incorrectly used to describe a particular species of fish. Should not, if swapping the “a” and the “r,” be used to describe the nature of your day.
• Quid Pro Quo “This for that” or, in other words, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
• Non Sequitur “It does not follow,” a conclusion that is not connected to the statements leading up to it. For example, “Trees are made of wood. My pencil is made of wood. It’s time to finish typing my book.”
• Ad Hominem “To the man.” During an argument or discussion, one party attacks their opponent’s reputation or expertise, rather than sticking to the issue at hand. A daily practice on social media.
• Alter Ego Literally, “other self.” Incorrectly misspelled and then used to describe certain preachers.
• Soli Deo Gloria “Glory to God alone,” a motto of the Reformation. Johann Sebastian Bach would sign his compositions with the initials S.D.G.
• Caveat Emptor “Let the buyer beware” (before you use the “Buy Now” feature on any online site).
• Pro Bono “Done without charge,” incorrectly used by fans of U2.
• Memento Mori “Remember your mortality” (also the name of an album by the band Flyleaf).
• Caveat Lector “Let the reader beware” (be nice to your reading audience!).
• Sui Generis “Of its own kind” or “unique,” a key principle in copyright or intellectual property law.
• Alma Mater Literally, “Nourishing mother.” More often used when referring to the school you attended. But what if you went to Alma School?
• Veni, vidi, vici “I came, I saw, I conquered,” a message supposedly sent by Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate to describe a battle in 47 BC. For the writer? “Veni, vidi, scripsi” (I came, I saw, I wrote).
• Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam “For the Greater Glory of God.” See 1 Corinthians 10:31. Johann Sebastian Bach also used the initials A.M.D.G.
• Mea Culpa “By my fault,” or, in common language today, “My bad.”
• Per Diem “Per day.” A business may give an employee a set amount of money they can spend each day while taking a trip on behalf of the company. Also known as “I can only afford a bowl of hot water and some ketchup when I travel.”

About Steve Laube

Steve Laube, president and founder of The Steve Laube Agency, a veteran of the bookselling industry with 40 years of experience. View all posts by Steve Laube →

Reader Interactions

February 11, 2022 at 5:55 am

I don’t usually read my emails before I have my quiet time in the morning, but my husband is away and I have to make my own cup of hot tea today. Thanks for the humor to to start the day while I wait on my tea to steep!

February 11, 2022 at 6:48 am

These are so fun, especially with the added levity. You taught me some new ones (and new interpretations of some I already knew). I had heard about Bach signing with S.D.G. but didn’t know about A.M.D.G. Very interesting. Thanks for the nice start to Friday.

February 11, 2022 at 7:00 am

So interesting, Steve! Thank you for sharing!

February 11, 2022 at 8:01 am

This is a keeper. I created a Word document so I can reference these.

February 11, 2022 at 8:10 am

I needed the refresher course, Steve. Thanks!

February 11, 2022 at 8:21 am

I’d never seen “Sui Generis” before. Thanks.

February 11, 2022 at 8:24 am

You hooked me with the picture of the puppy! This was so good and humorous!! A nice read this morning.

February 11, 2022 at 12:14 pm

Felix canis!

February 11, 2022 at 9:15 am

These are great! Can’t believe how often “Ad Hominem” shows up … actually, it’s become the norm for a lawyer defending someone accused of rape. Blah!

February 11, 2022 at 9:22 am

These were terrific! Thanks for posting!

February 11, 2022 at 10:16 am

I took Latin in middle school, and I still love the language. There’s one you left off the list: James Scott Bell’s admonition to be diligent in our work. “Carpe Typem.” (Seize the typewriter.)

February 11, 2022 at 10:17 am

So many of these phrases have become part of our everyday writing life, depending on the type of story you’re writing. Thank you for the list. It’s good to keep in mind what each of them mean so we can use them properly.

February 11, 2022 at 10:41 am

Don’t forget D.V. (Deo volente)!“God willing,” as in, “Everyone in our writing group plans to publish, D.V.”

Or, as my church history prof said, “it’s the Latin equivalent of, ‘Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.’” 🙂

February 11, 2022 at 12:07 pm

As a prior student of Latin, I knew most of these phrases, but I enjoyed reading them with your humorous perspective. Thanks!

February 11, 2022 at 12:09 pm

I forgot one:

Carpe Crustum!

The best way to start a special day… (you have to look it up…)

February 11, 2022 at 5:02 pm

Lol, we do carpe crustum for birthdays, but I always feel sick for the rest of the morning. So I might stick to my boring, usual, morning fare. Thanks for the suggestion anyway! 🙂

February 11, 2022 at 12:19 pm

Steve….you and your excellent crew always amaze me. It’s great hearing from a Literary Agency staffed by people with both feet on the floor. Bill McBride, “The ROOT of all EVIL”

February 11, 2022 at 3:00 pm

Superb information! Thanks! You are more highbrow than I suspected.

February 11, 2022 at 3:03 pm

Thank ouyay orfay ouryay oughtsthay. Iyay amyay ayay uetray intellectualyay .

February 13, 2022 at 5:55 am

In my case, the phrase is, “Mea maxima culpa” (“my most grievous fault”). BTW, “Memento Mori” is also the name of the gift shop next to The Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.

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StoryLearning

Learn A Language Through Stories

11 Life-Changing Reasons To Learn Latin

Whether you have the opportunity at school or even on your own, there are plenty of reasons to learn Latin.

The language of the ancient Romans, the Catholic church, and even of pop culture’s witches and demons, has many uses. So it's no-so-dead after all!

By the end of this post, it’ll be clear to see why you should take the leap and learn Latin.

By the way, if you want to learn Latin fast and have fun while doing it, my top recommendation is   Latin Uncovered  which teaches you through StoryLearning®.

With Latin Uncovered you’ll use my unique StoryLearning® method to learn Latin naturally through story… not rules. It’s as fun as it is effective.

If you’re ready to get started,  click here for a 7-day FREE trial.  

If you prefer watching videos to reading, hit play on the video version of this post below. Otherwise, keep scrolling to read the post and find out my reasons to learn Latin.

1. Latin Expands Your English Vocabulary

Did you know over half of English words come from Latin origins?

Latin is the parent to the other Romance languages, such as Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian and Portuguese. So many loan words in English come from these languages, often through their Latin roots.

More often than not, if you come across a difficult word in English, breaking it down and seeing its Latin root can help you figure out its definition. Or at least its basic idea. 

Consider the word “maternity.” Many people know this word due to hearing it in certain contexts. But someone who paid attention in Latin 1 will recognise the Latin word for “mother,” mater . 

2. It's Easier To Learn Other Romance Languages With Latin

While so much of English vocabulary comes from Latin, Romance languages, which directly evolved from Latin, owe most of their vocabulary to their Latin roots.

Words, such as “water,” or aqua , in Latin are easily found in their Romance counterparts. Spanish and Portuguese’s agua , Italian’s acqua , Romanian’s apa ,and even French’s eau .

Beyond the vocabulary, typically the grammar is similar and easy to adjust to. Once you get Latin down, it becomes second nature to see the similarities of the other Romance languages to it. Then you're on your way to mastering all of the Romance languages.

3. Latin Makes It Easier To Learn Any Other Language

Latin helps the everyday person much more easily become a multilinguist in general!

Learning Latin will often focus on minute details of grammar and vocabulary. This trains your mind to look at languages in a logical way, making it much easier for you to understand how other languages work! 

After learning about what cases are, non-Romance languages, such as German, Icelandic, or even Japanese, grammatical cases make much more sense.

This allows you to learn these languages faster because you already have a grasp on grammatical concepts that would have made it more difficult without knowing Latin.

4. Latin Prepares You For Many Professions 

Many different professions also utilise words that come directly from or actually are in Latin.

Medical terminology borrows words from both Latin and Greek. For example, carpal tunnel, which is the nerve suppression due to pressure at the wrist comes from the Latin word carpus meaning “wrist.”

Scientific names for species of animals, plants, etc. are in Latin. It's the same with the abbreviation for the elements of the periodic table. Many legal terminologies, such as habeas corpus , are direct phrases from Latin.

5. Latin Improves Reading And Writing In Your Own Language

When learning Latin there is such a focus on grammar, that this helps you strengthen your knowledge of your own language.

After learning Latin you will understand better how to put words and sentences together so that they not only make sense, which is pretty important, but also so that they are more powerful and make you sound even more intelligent – a nice bonus.

Due to knowing Latin roots, it will become easier to read, recognizing more difficult words. Beyond even knowing the vocabulary, more complex sentences will be easier to understand the first time around, reducing the number of times you need to go back and reread sentences.

You will be able to read more difficult books, novels, and articles because of it. You will become faster at reading and, if you don’t already, will enjoy it, too!

6. Learn The History And Culture Of The Romans 

Much of Roman history and culture is argued to be the foundation of western culture and thought. That is technically a very controversial thing to say, but you can’t ignore when the similarities are seen.

The most obvious and popular example is government names and structures! The concepts of republic, democracy, and even symbols, such as the eagle and fasces, come from Roman and Greek origins.

You will be able to now know what these mean and why they are significant.

Besides the argument about the relation to western culture, Roman history and culture is just pretty interesting, right?

Consider the myths involving the gods and heroes (some admittedly borrowed and slightly changed from the Greeks), the battles and wars fought, political intrigue! Need I go on?

Learning Latin will expose you to many aspects of Roman history and culture!

7. Discover Latin Literature And Philosophical Thought 

When learning Latin, it's often unavoidable that you will run into works of Roman literature as well as philosophical thought.

A benefit of being a dead language is the speed at which you are exposed to real Latin! With other languages, you will have taken over two years of the language before reading real authors and their works.

In Latin, you are easily able to begin reading true works of Latin literature and philosophy even within the first year of learning it. Perfect for applying the StoryLearning® method. Although the philosophy may not make sense even to the best of us.

8. Develop A Systematic Approach To Thinking

Because you would be learning a dead language when taking Latin, it will cause you to look at language in a completely different way.

Many modern languages are taught through exposure and repetition of phrases and sentences until it feels natural. Latin, however, is much more systematic in the approach to learning it. 

Latin is a very organized language, which makes it a great language to learn for you if you are not great with languages or prefer math, science, and other STEM-type subjects.

Learning Latin helps you to approach not only languages but other subjects and topics in different ways than you would normally, improving your thought process and logic skills.

9. Latin Is Everywhere 

For most countries and cultures, LATIN IS EVERYWHERE. I mean it.

You can see Latin in the mottos of schools, countries, and on US state flags. Michigan’s coat of arms: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice translates to roughly “If you are looking for a pleasant peninsula, look around.”

On America’s one-dollar bill is the common phrase e pluribus unum , meaning “out of many, one.” Even the concept of placing important figures on currency is argued to be inspired by the Romans’ coins.

By learning Latin you'll be able to spot these and actually know what they mean. 

10. Improve Your Standardised Test Scores

Knowing Latin will vastly improve your chances of scoring high on standardized tests like SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, LSAT.

In a direct way, Latin will help you with recognizing Latin roots in more difficult words. This will improve the reading and writing portion of any standardized test.

Some standardized tests even include grammar portions. Your knowledge of Latin will help you to improve those parts of the test. 

In addition, due to Latin giving you a systematic and logical thought process, Latin can help you better understand the questions. And equip you with knowing how to approach them during the test.

Your analytical skills from learning Latin will no doubt help you improve your overall test score, not just the English portion. 

11. Improve Your Chances Of Gaining Entry To Law/Medical School

If you plan to apply to law or medical school, having learned Latin will give you a leg up.

As discussed earlier, much of legal and medical terminology comes directly from Latin and Latin roots. This will show that you already have a grasp of many of the terms and vocabulary that you will see in your studies.

To boot, Latin is not easy. It will show admissions for your school of choice that you are ready for the challenge of medical or law school.

In addition, the analytical skills and systematic-thinking skills that Latin has equipped you with will make you a great candidate in the eyes of an admissions board.

Especially for law school, when learning Latin it would not be uncommon to have read and analyzed examples of Roman oratory and speeches. This would be very beneficial if you plan to become a trial lawyer or even continue on to join politics.

11 Reasons To Learn Latin

Why should you learn Latin? This was just a list of the many reasons why you would want to learn this “dead” language.

No matter what you want to do with your future, Latin helps prepare you for so many things in life. If you just truly love languages, or if you need help with finding different ways to look at problems, Latin will help.

Plus, when watching your favourite supernatural show that incorporates Latin, you can critique just how badly they are at pronouncing it!

In the end, Latin can be difficult to learn. But once you get your sea legs, it's such an enriching and lasting benefit for you and your life. 

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A Latina Harvard grad advised women to marry older men. The internet had thoughts.

When she was 20 years old and a junior at Harvard College, Grazie Sophia Christie had an epiphany. She could study hard and diligently pursue her “ideal existence” though years of work and effort.

Or she “could just marry it early.”

Christie chose the latter. 

In a column for New York magazine’s The Cut, the Cuban American editor and writer extolled the value of marrying an older, wealthier man as a shortcut to the life she desired. Christie’s March 27 story went viral, topping the magazine’s “most popular” list and inspiring hundreds of overwhelmingly negative comments online and on social media. As Miami New Times described it , “The essay hit the internet with a virtual thud heard round the world.”

Readers were taken aback by myriad aspects of Christie’s florid essay, which runs nearly 4,000 words. Though she was an undergraduate, Christie lugged “a heavy suitcase of books each Saturday to the Harvard Business School,” which she felt offered the best options for a suitable mate. “I had high breasts, most of my eggs, plausible deniability when it came to purity, a flush ponytail, a pep in my step that had yet to run out," she wrote. "Older men still desired those things.” 

She crashed an event at the Harvard Business School and met her future husband when she was 20, and they married four years later.

Many readers were struck by the fact that Christie had the benefit of an elite education — she also completed a fellowship at Oxford University — yet chose to enter into an unequal marriage. “My husband isn’t my partner. He’s my mentor, my lover, and, only in certain contexts, my friend,” she writes. “I’ll never forget it, how he showed me around our first place like he was introducing me to myself. This is the wine you’ll drink, where you’ll keep your clothes, we vacation here; this is the other language we’ll speak, you’ll learn it and I did.”

Christie, now 27, writes that she enjoys time “to read, to walk central London and Miami and think in delicious circles.”

There is, Christie writes, a downside to her monied existence: “I live in an apartment whose rent he pays and that shapes the freedom with which I can ever be angry with him. He doesn’t have to hold it over my head, it just floats there, complicating usual shorthands to explain dissatisfaction.”

By marrying so young — although as many social media users pointed out, her husband is only 10 years older — Christie was able to leave a “lucrative but deadening spreadsheet job to write full-time, without having to live like a writer.”

A recurring theme in the viral response to Christie’s article, ostensibly about age-gap relationships, is that it should have been titled “The Case for Marrying a Rich Man.”

Christie’s transactional approach to marriage and relationships resonated — negatively — with readers. An online parody of her original piece has already been posted by the literary magazine McSweeney’s. Her words have been dissected by a columnist at Slate, who called it “bad advice for most human beings, at least if what most human beings seek are meaningful and happy lives.”

Online, people who commented on Christie’s essay called it “an insult to women of any age,” “a sad piece of writing,” and “pitiful in so many ways.”  Some readers wondered if the article was a satire or a joke. One of the kinder comments on New York magazine’s website said: “This is one of the most embarrassing things I have ever read. I am truly mortified for the writer.”

Christie has so far not responded to media requests for interviews, and several attempts by NBC News to contact her were unsuccessful. Her Instagram account was recently switched from public to private.

According to her personal website , Christie is editor-in-chief of a new publication, The Miami Native, “a serious magazine about an unserious city.” Her website’s bio page, which appears to have been disabled, previously stated that she was “writing a novel between Miami, London, sometimes France.”

Christie grew up in Miami. Her parents,  Miami New Times has reported , are prominent in Florida’s conservative Catholic community. Her mother was appointed to the state Board of Education in March 2022. A senior fellow for The Catholic Association, she hosts a radio show , “Conversations with Consequences,” on the Eternal Word Television Network. Her father is a physician and an anti-abortion activist who, according to his website , lectures regularly on Catholic social issues, particularly marriage, family, and the dignity of life.”

For more from NBC Latino,  sign up for our weekly newsletter .

Raul A. Reyes, a lawyer, is a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors. He has written for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Texas Monthly and the Huffington Post.

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The tell-tale signs students are using chatgpt to help write their essays.

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Researchers have identified key features of ChatGPT-generated content that makes it easier to spot ... [+] (Pic: Getty Creative)

Researchers have identified tell-tale signs that students have used AI to help write their essays.

Excessive used of words derived from Latin, using unnecessary words and repeated use of the Oxford comma are among the hallmarks of using a generative chatbot to complete coursework, researchers found .

But while students taking part in the trial said they found using AI had some advantages, they acknowledged that relying on it completely would likely result in work of a low standard.

The impact of generative AI on education has been exercising educators since Open AI launched ChatGPT — a chatbot that generates text by predicting which words are likely to follow a particular prompt — in November 2022.

While some regard AI as a potentially transformative technology, creating a more inclusive and personalized education, for others it makes it impossible to trust coursework grades. Even academics have not been immune to using AI to enhance their work.

Now researchers at Cambridge University have tried to see if they could identify characteristics of AI’s writing style that could make it easy to spot.

And although their trial was small scale, they say it has the potential to help teachers work out which students used AI in their essays, and which did not.

Three undergraduates were enlisted to write two essays each with the help of ChatGPT, which were then compared with essays on the same topic written by 164 high school students. The undergraduates were then interviewed about their experience of using AI.

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(Undergraduates were included in the study because ChatGPT requires users to be 18 or over).

The ChatGPT essays performed better on average, being marked particularly highly for ‘information’ and ‘reflection’. They did poorly, however, for ‘analysis’ and ‘comparison’ — differences the researchers suggest reflect the chatbot’s strengths and weaknesses.

But when it comes to style, there were a number of features that made the ChatGPT assisted version easily recognizable.

The default AI style “echoes the bland, clipped, and objective style that characterizes much generic journalistic writing found on the internet,” according to the researchers, who identified a number of key features of ChatGPT content:

• A high frequency of words with a Latin root, particularly multisyllable words and a vocabulary above the expected level;
• Paragraphs starting with specific markers, such as ‘however’, ‘moreover’ and ‘overall’, followed by a comma;
• Numbered lists, with items followed by colons;
• Pleonasms: using unnecessary words, such as ‘free gift’ or ‘true fact’;
• Tautology: saying the same thing twice, such as ‘We must come together to unite’;
• Repeating words or phrases;
• Consistent use of Oxford commas, a comma used after the penultimate item in a list, before ‘and’ or ‘or’, for example “ChatGPT has many uses for teaching, learning at home, revision, and assessment”.

Although the students taking part in the trial used ChatGPT to different extents, from copying and pasting whole passages to using it as prompts for further research, there was broad agreement that it was useful for gathering information quickly, and that it could be integrated into essay writing through specific prompts, on topics and essay structure, for example.

But the students also agreed that using AI to write the essay would produce work of a low academic standard.

“Despite the small sample size, we are excited about these findings as they have the capacity to inform the work of teachers as well as students,” said Jude Brady of Cambridge University Press and Assessment, lead researcher on the study.

Future work should include larger and more representative sample sizes of students, she said. Learning to use and detect generative AI was an increasingly important part of digital literacy, she added.

“We hope our research might help people to identify when a piece of text has been written by ChatGPT,” she said.

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