Latin
Some rules for translation
- Before you start, make sure that your pen will last - few things look uglier and shoddier than a multi-coloured text.
- Make sure the heading is underlined, preferably in red.
- Do your translation on alternate lines - it's easier for you to make any necessary alterations, it's easier for the marker and it looks neater!
- Use any information already known to you about the background to the passage (especially any information on the story at the top of the page).
- Don't panic if you see a word you don't know!
- Use what you do know to work out what you don't know - work out all that you can in a sentence before you even begin to guess the unknown word(s).
- Break up long sentences into smaller, more manageable bits.
- Search for any information you can find - notice whether a verb is singular or plural; notice what case the noun is in; etc.
- Never write down something you know is wrong! You might as well underline it in red yourself.
- Never write nonsense!
In general:
Find the verb - is it singular or plural? What tense is it?
Find the nouns - the nominative subject & the accusative object; are they singular or plural?
Notice any commas and pay attention to them, i.e. the sentence "nnnnnnnn, aaaaa, pppppp".