1.

Vocabulary.  Before doing any other review exercises, students must have a solid working knowledge of the vocabulary.  Proper daily practice with cards (several times a day for 1 minute at a time) is the key to learning.  For students who have not learned the vocabulary yet, there is no substitute for making and using the cards.  Student who use the cards properly always have success with vocabulary.

Vocabulary cards can be supplemented, but not replaced.  Student use the self-correcting vocabulary exercises on the course web pages.  It can also be helpful to organize vocabulary into lists according to parts of speech and also in groups based on meaningful contexts (people, the house, the city, daily life, etc.).

2.

Grammar.  Latin nouns and verbs change their endings depending upon their grammatical function in a sentence.  Endings show whether nouns and verbs are singular and plural, and in verbs they show person (I, you, she, he, we, they...).  Students have to learn several sets of endings, what they mean, and how they are attached to word stems.  Re-reading the "About the Language" sections in each chapter is helpful, as is doing exercises on the course web pages and doing worksheets handed out in class.

3.

Translation.  The bulk of the exam consists of translating Latin into English.  Some passages will be straight from the book while others will be made up using the same grammar and vocabulary.  Translation skills can be exercised by re-reading stories in the book, and by doing review exercises in class and online.