How to Prepare for Convention Tests
By OJCL Secretary Alan Zhang (Walnut Hills)
There are 9 tests at
Convention: Grammar, Reading
Comprehension, Vocabulary,
Derivatives, Mythology, Roman
History, Roman Life, Latin
Literature, and Pentathlon (which
tests History, Life, Mythology,
Grammar, and Derivatives and
Vocabulary). Past tests and
references can be found at
ojcl.org. Past tests should be used
to gauge your comprehension:
generally, if you can pass a test,
you’ll probably place in the top
10, and getting an A puts you in
contention for 1st.
Alan winning awards for convention tests!
By far the best way to study for all these tests is paying attention to your
Latin class. You learn Latin to understand Latin, and the more you understand, the
better you’ll do. However, if you need specific grammar preparation, some of my
favorite materials are the Compendium of Latin Grammar as a grammar reference,
Allen and Greenough’s New Latin Grammar as an authoritative source on Latin
grammar, and the Latin Library for practicing reading and translating real Latin
(which you can check using the Perseus Digital Library).
You also learn a lot of vocabulary and derivatives in Latin class, though tests
can cover a much broader range of words. If you really want to completely learn
these subjects, you could try to memorize a couple dictionaries, but that’s a very
tall order, and they’re probably best left as references for all but the most hardcore.
Instead, I would prepare by making sure your knowledge of your in-class
vocabulary is strong and using public Quizlet sets.
Your Latin class doesn’t prepare you for everything though. The next
subject you’ll probably be most knowledgeable about is Mythology, through
page 3