University of Virginia Library

DEFINITIONS OF THE UNITS.

The following definitions of the units in the requirements for
entrance are designed on the one hand to guide the student in his
preparation for the entrance examinations, and on the other to govern
the high school principal and teachers in organizing the courses
of instruction.

English.

English A. English Grammar and Grammatical Analysis:—
The parts of speech with inflections and uses of each; syntax, especially
of nouns, verbs, and conjunctions; detailed study of sentence-structure,
including capitalization and punctuation. Textbook
recommended, Baskervill and Sewell's English Grammar.
Grammar and analysis might well be taught through two years of
the High School. (One unit.)

English B. Composition and Rhetoric:—The choice, arrangement
and connection of words with exercises on synonyms, antonyms,
and degrees and shades of meaning; fundamental qualities of
style, with selected and original examples; the sentence in detail as
to unity, coherence and proportion with ample exercises in constructing
sentences of varied types and emphasis; the paragraph with reference
to placing topic, structure for unity, continuity, and emphasis,
with abundant exercises in composing good paragraphs; much practice
in planning and writing simple compositions on familiar subjects
under the heads of narration, description, exposition and argumentation:
Text-book recommended, Brooks and Hubbard's Composition-Rhetoric.
Practice in composition should continue through the entire
High School course, though formal rhetoric may be studied but
one year. (One unit.)

English C. Critical Study of Selected Specimens of Literature:
—The specimens for reading and study designated for college
entrance requirements by the joint committee of colleges and secondary
schools. These required books or their equivalents should
be studied throughout the High School course under the guidance
of the instructor. Parallel reading should be encouraged and intelligent
conversation about books directed. (One unit.)

The college entrance requirements in English for 1913-1919
inclusive are:

A. Reading.

The aim of this course is to foster in the student the habit of
intelligent reading and to develop a taste for good literature, by
giving him a first-hand knowledge of some of its best specimens.

He should read the books carefully, but his attention should not
be so fixed upon details that he fails to appreciate the main purpose
and charm of what he reads.

With a view to large freedom of choice, the books provided for
reading are arranged in the following groups, from each of which
at least two selections are to be made, except as otherwise provided
under Group 1.

Classics in Translation.

Group 1: The Old Testament, comprising at least the chief narrative
episodes in Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings,
and Daniel, together with the books of Ruth and Esther; The Odyssey,
with the omission, if desired, of Books I, II, III, IV, V, XV,
XVI, XVII; The Iliad, with the omission, if desired, of Books XI,
XIII, XIV, XV, XVII, XXI; The Aeneid. The Odyssey, Iliad and
Aeneid should be read in English translations of recognized literary
excellence.

For any selection from this group a selection from any other
group may be substituted.

Shakespeare.

Group 2: Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights' Dream; Shakespeare's
Merchant of Venice Shakespeare's As You Like It; Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night; Shakespeare's The Tempest; Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet; Shakespeare's King John; Shakespeare's Richard
II; Shakespeare's Richard III; Shakespeare's Henry V; Shakespeare's
Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet (if not chosen for study
under B).

Prose Fiction.

Group 3: Malory's Morte d'Arthur (about 100 pages); Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress, Part I; Swift's Gulliver's Travels (voyages to Lilliput
and to Brobdingnag); Defoe's Robinson Cruso, Part I; Goldsmith's
Vicar of Wakefield; Frances Burney's Evelina; Scott's Novels,
any one; Jane Austen's Novels, any one; Maria Edgeworth's Castle
Rackrent, or The Absentee; Dickens' Novels, any one; Thackeray's
Novels, any one; George Eliot's Novels, any one; Mrs. Gaskell's
Cranford; Kingsley's Westward Ho! or Hereward, the Wake; Reade's
The Cloister and the Hearth; Blackmore's Lorna Doone; Hughes' Tom
Brown's Schooldays; Stevenson's Treasure Island, or Kidnapped, or
Master of Ballantrae; Cooper's Novels, any one; Poe's Selected Tales;
Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, or Twice Told Tales, or
Mosses from an Old Manse; a collection of Short Stories by various
standard writers.

Essays, Biography, etc.

Group 4: Addison and Steele's The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers,
or selections from the Tatler and Spectator (about 200 pages);

Boswell's selections from the Life of Johnson (about 200 pages);
Franklin's Autobiography; Irving's selections from the Sketch Book
(about 200 pages), or Life of Goldsmith; Southey's Life of Nelson;
Lamb's selections from the Essays of Elia (about 100 pages); Lockhart's
selections from the Life of Scott (about 200 pages); Thackeray's
lectures on Swift, Addison, and Steele in the English Humorists;
Macaulay, any one of the following essays: Lord Clive, Warren
Hastings, Milton, Addison, Goldsmith, Frederic the Great, Madame
d'Arblay; Trevelyan's selections from the Life of Macaulay (about
200 pages); Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, or Selections (about 150
pages); Dana's Two Years before the Mast; Lincoln's Selections, including
at least the two Inaugurals, the Speeches in Independence
Hall and at Gettysburg, the Last Public Address, the Letter to
Horace Greeley; together with a brief memoir or estimate of Lincoln;
Parkman's The Oregon Trail; Thoreau's Walden; Lowell's Selected
Essays (about 150 pages); Holmes' The Autocrat of the Breakfast
Table; Stevenson's An Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey;
Huxley's Autobiography and selections from Lay Sermons, including
the addresses on Improving Natural Knowledge, A Liberal Education,
and A Piece of Chalk; a collection of Essays by Bacon, Lamb, De-Quincey,
Hazlitt, Emerson and later writers; a collection of Letters by
various standard writers.

Poetry.

Group 5: Palgrave's Golden Treasury (First Series): Books II
and III, with special attention to Dryden, Collins, Gray, Cowper,
and Burns; Palgrave's Golden Treasury (First Series), Book IV, with
special attention to Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley (if not chosen
for study under B); Goldsmith's The Traveller and The Deserted Village;
Pope's The Rape of the Lock; a collection of English and Scottish
Ballads, as, for example, some Robin Hood ballads, The Battle of
Otterburn, King Estmere, Young Beichan, Bewick, and Grahame, Sir
Patrick Spens, and a selection from later ballads; Coleridge's The
Ancient Mariner, Christabel, and Kubla Khan; Byron's Childe Harold,
Canto III or IV, and The Prisoner of Chillon; Scott's The Lady of the
Lake, or Marmion; Macaulay's The Lays of Ancient Rome, The Battle
of Naseby, The Armada, Ivry; Tennyson's The Princess, or Gareth
and Lynette, Lancelot and Elaine, and Passing of Arthur; Browning's
Cavalier Tunes, The Lost Leader, How They Brought the Good News
from Ghent to Aix, Home Thoughts from Abroad, Home Thoughts from
the Sea, Incident of the French Camp, Hervé Riel, Pheidippides, My Last
Duchess, Up at a Villa—Down in the City, The Italian in England, The
Patriot, The Pied Piper, "De Gustibus," Instans Tyrannus; Arnold's
Sohrab and Rustum, and The Forsaken Merman; selections from American
Poetry, with special attention to Poe, Lowell, Longfellow and
Whittier.

B. Study.

This part of the requirement is intended as a natural and logical
continuation of the student's earlier reading, with greater stress
laid upon form and style, the exact meaning of words and phrases,
and the understanding of allusions. The books provided for study
are arranged in four groups, from each of which one selection is
to be made.

Drama.

Group 1: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; Shakespeare's Macbeth;
Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Poetry.

Group 2: Milton's L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, and either Comus or
Lycidas; Tennyson's The Coming of Arthur, The Holy Grail, and The
Passing of Arthur; the selections from Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley
in Book IV of Palgrave's Golden Treasury (First Series).

Oratory.

Group 3: Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America; Macaulay's
Speech on Copyright and Lincoln's Speech at Cooper Union; Washington's
Farewell Address and Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration.

Essays.

Group 4: Carlyle's Essay on Burns, with a selection from Burns'
Poems; Macaulay's Life of Johnson; Emerson's Essay on Manners.

English D. History of English and American Literature. (One
unit.)

The courses outlined, in accordance with the program of most
high schools, have taken into account English, (1) as a language, (2)
as a means of expression, (3) as a literature—all so intimately connected,
however, that the proper study of each will bear indirectly
on the other two.

No student will be conditioned on English A or B.

Mathematics.

Mathematics A. Algebra to Quadratic Equations:—The four
fundamental operations for rational algebraic expressions; factoring,
determination of highest common factor and lowest common multiple
by factoring; fractions, including complex fractions; ratio and
proportion; linear equations, both numerical and literal, containing
one or more unknown quantities; problems depending on linear equations;
radicals, including the extraction of the square root of polynominals
and numbers; exponents, including the fractional and negative.
(One unit.)

Mathematics B. Quadratic Equations, Progressions, and the
Binomial Formula:—Quadratic equations, both numerical and literal;
simple cases of equations with one or more unknown quantities, that
can be solved by the methods of linear or quadratic equations; problems
depending upon quadratic equations; the binomial formula for
positive integral exponents; the formulas for the nth term and the
sum of the terms of arithmetic and geometric progressions, with applications.
(Half unit.)

Mathematics C. Plane Geometry, with Original Exercises:—
The usual theorems and constructions of good text-books, including
the general properties of plane rectilinear figures; the circle and the
measurement of angles; similar polygons; areas; regular polygons
and the measurement of the circle. The solution of numerous original
exercises, including loci problems. Application to the mensuration
of lines and plane surfaces. (One unit.)

Mathematics D1. Solid Geometry, with Original Exercises:—
The usual theorems and constructions of good text-books, including
the relations of planes and lines in space; the properties and measurement
of prisms, pyramids, cylinders and cones; the sphere and the
spherical triangle. The solution of numerous original exercises, including
loci problems. Applications to the mensuration of surfaces
and solids. (Half unit.)

Mathematics D2. Plane Trigonometry:—Definitions and relations
of the six trigonometric functions as ratios; circular measurement
of angles; proofs of principal formulas; product formulas; trigonometric
transformations. Solution of simple trigonometric equations.
Theory and use of logarithms (without introducing infinite
series). Solution of right and oblique triangles with applications.
(Half unit.)

History.

History A. Greek and Roman History, including the geography
of Greece and the early development of Ancient Hellas; state and
national development to the period of the foreign wars; the foreign
wars and the supremacy of Athens; the wars between the Greek
states; the Macedonian invasion and the empire of Alexander the
Great; the geography of Italy and early Roman legend; the Roman
Republic and its supremacy in Italy; the conquest of the Mediterranean;
the transition from republic to monarchy; the ancient world
under the Roman empire; the transition from ancient to mediæval
history, down to the death of Charlemagne. (One unit.)

History B. Mediæval and Modern European History, including
the Carolingian empire and feudalism; the papacy and the beginnings
of the new Germano-Roman empire; the formation of France;

the East and the crusades; Christian and feudal civilization; the era
of the Renaissance; the Protestant Revolution and the religious
wars; the ascendency of France and the age of Louis Quatorze; the
rise of Russia and Prussia and colonial expansion; the French Revolution;
Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars; the growth of nationality,
democracy and liberty in the Nineteenth Century. (One unit.)

History C. English History, including the geography of England
and early Britain; Saxon England; Norman England; England
under the Plantagenets; Tudor England; Puritans and Royalists;
the constitutional monarchy; the modern British empire. (One
unit.)

History D. American History and Civil Government:—In American
History the work includes the earliest discoveries to 1607; Virginia
and the other Southern colonies; Massachusetts and the other
New England colonies; New York and the other Middle colonies;
the colonies in the Eighteenth Century; the causes of the revolution;
the Revolution, the Confederation and the Constitution; Federalist
supremacy to 1801; Jeffersonian Republicanism to 1817; economic
and political reorganization to 1829; the National Democracy to 1844;
slavery in the Territories to 1860; the War of Secession, Reconstruction
and the problems of peace to 1900. In Civil Government the
work covers the early forms of Government; the Colonies and Colonial
Government; Colonial Union and the Revolution; the Confederation
and the Constitution; the Political Parties and Party Machinery;
the existing Federal Government; the Foreign Relations of
the United States. (One unit.)

Latin.

The Latin units are construed in accordance with the following
Report of the Commission on College-Entrance Requirements in
Latin:

I. Amount and Range of the Reading Required.

1. The Latin reading required of candidates for admission to
college, without regard to the prescription of particular authors and
works, shall be not less in amount than Cæsar, Gallic War, I-IV;
Cicero, the orations against Catiline, for the Manilian Law, and for
Archias; Vergil, Aeneid, I-VI.

2. The amount of reading specified above shall be selected by
the schools from the following authors and works: Cæsar (Gallic
War and the Civil War) and Nepos (Lives); Cicero (orations, letters,
and De Senectute) and Sallust (Catiline and Jugurthine War);
Vergil (Bucolics, Georgics, and Aeneid) and Ovid (Metamorphoses,
Fasti, and Tristia).

II. Subjects and Scope of the Examinations.

1. Translation at Sight. Candidates will be examined in translation
at sight of both prose and verse. The vocabulary, constructions,

and range of ideas of the passages set will be suited to the
preparation secured by the reading indicated above.

2. Prescribed Reading. Candidates will be examined also upon
the following prescribed reading: Cicero, orations for the Manilian
Law and for Archias, and Vergil, Aeneid, I, II, and either IV or
VI at the option of the candidate, with questions on subject-matter,
literary and historical allusions, and prosody. Every paper in which
passages from the prescribed reading are set for translation will
contain also one or more passages for translation at sight; and candidates
must deal satisfactorily with both these parts of the paper, or
they will not be given credit for either part.

3. Grammar and Composition. The examinations in grammar and
composition will demand thorough knowledge of all regular inflections,
all common irregular forms, and the ordinary syntax and
vocabulary of the prose authors read in school, with ability to use
this knowledge in writing simple Latin prose. The words, constructions,
and range of ideas called for in the examinations in composition
will be such as are common in the reading of the year, or
years, covered by the particular examination.

Note. The examinations in grammar and composition may be either in separate
papers or combined with other parts of the Latin examination, at the option of each
individual institution; and nothing in any of the above definitions of the requirements
shall be taken to prevent any college from asking questions on the grammar, prosody,
or subject-matter of any of the passages set for translation, if it so desires.

Suggestions Concerning Preparation.

Exercises in translation at sight should begin in school with
the first lessons in which Latin sentences of any length occur, and
should continue throughout the course with sufficient frequency to
insure correct methods of work on the part of the student. From
the outset particular attention should be given to developing the
ability to take in the meaning of each word—and so, gradually, of
the whole sentence—just as it stands; the sentence should be read
and understood in the order of the original, with full appreciation
of the force of each word as it comes, so far as this can be known
or inferred from that which has preceded and from the form and
the position of the word itself. The habit of reading in this way
should be encouraged and cultivated as the best preparation for all
the translating that the student has to do. No translation, however,
should be a mechanical metaphrase. Nor should it be a mere
loose paraphrase. The full meaning of the passage to be translated,
gathered in the way described above, should finally be expressed
in clear and natural English.

A written examination cannot test the ear or tongue, but proper
instruction in any language will necessarily include the training of
both. The school work in Latin, therefore, should include much
reading aloud, writing from dictation, and translation from the teacher's
reading. Learning suitable passages by heart is also very useful,
and should be more practiced.

The work in composition should give the student a better understanding
of the Latin he is reading at the time, if it is prose, and
greater facility in reading. It is desirable, however, that there should
be systematic and regular work in composition during the time in
which poetry is read as well; for this work the prose authors already
studied should be used as models.

In accordance with the above report, the following detailed description
of the four units of Latin is given:

Latin A. Grammar, Composition, and Translation:—The Roman
pronunciation; habitual observance of accent and quantity; thorough
mastery of the regular forms; the simple rules of word-formation
and derivation; syntax of the cases, tenses, and modes; accusative
and infinitive, relative and conditional sentences, indirect discourse,
and the subjunctive. Translation into Latin of easy detached sentences
illustrating grammatical principles, and of very easy continuous
prose based upon the vocabulary of Cæsar and Cicero. (One
unit.)

Latin B. Grammar, Composition, and Cæsar's Gallic War,
Books I-IV:—A reasonable acquaintance with the time and purpose
of the author; intelligent grasp of the thought; ability to summarize
the narrative as a whole; ready comprehension of the normal forms
and constructions; a reasonable facility in reading at sight passages
of like vocabulary and construction. As much as one book of Cæsar
may be substituted by an equivalent amount of Viri Romae, or other
Latin prose. In connection with all of the reading there must be
constant practice in prose composition, as well as in sight translation.
(One unit.)

Latin C. Grammar, Composition, Cicero's Orations against Catiline,
and Two Others:—A reasonable acquaintance with the time
and circumstances of the Catilinarian conspiracy; intelligent appreciation
of the orator's thought and purpose; ability to summarize
the oration as a whole; readiness in explaining normal forms and
constructions; reasonable facility in reading at sight passages of like
vocabulary and structure. As much as two orations may be substituted
by an equivalent amount of Nepos, or other Latin prose. In
connection with all of the reading there must be constant practice
in prose composition, as well as in sight translation. (One unit.)

Latin D. Grammar, Composition, and Vergil's Aeneid, Books
I-VI:—A reasonable acquaintance with the time and purpose of the
poet; intelligent appreciation of the poet's thought and art; ability
to summarize the story as a whole; acquaintance with the typical
forms and constructions of poetry; practical mastery of the heroic
hexameter; reasonable facility in reading at sight passages of like
vocabulary and difficulty. The third and fifth book of the Aeneid
may be substituted by an equivalent amount of Ovid, or other Latin
epic poetry. In connection with all reading there should be constant
practice in prose composition, as well as in sight translation.
(One unit.)

Greek.

Greek A. Elementary Grammar, Composition, and Translation:
—The examination will test the proficiency of students who have covered

one of the standard beginners' books. It will consist of questions
on the inflections of Attic prose, and the fundamental principles
of syntax, and of the translation of detached sentences from
English into Greek, and from Greek into English. (One unit.)

Greek B. Xenophon's Anabasis i-iv, Grammar and Composition:
—Selected passages for translation, with questions testing the student's
knowledge of forms and of syntax and of the subject-matter of
the author; prose composition based on Xenophon. (One unit.)

Modern Languages.

German A. Elementary Grammar, Composition, and Translation:
—The examination will be such as to test the candidate's training
in an elementary course of one session of at least thirty-six weeks,
with five recitation periods a week of at least forty minutes each.
This first year's work should comprise careful drill in pronunciation,
dictation and the rudiments of grammar; abundant easy exercises in
composition both oral and written; and the reading of about 100 pages
of elementary graduated texts. (One unit.)

German B. Intermediate Grammar, Composition, and Translation:—The
examination will cover the second year's work, based on a
one-year elementary course as stated above. Length of session, the
number and length of periods should be as above stated. 300 pages
of German of intermediate grade should be read, with constant drill
in grammar, constant practice in dictation and conversation, daily
oral exercise in rendering English into German and weekly exercises
in German composition. (One unit).

French A. Elementary Grammar, Composition, and Translation:
—The examination will be such as to test the candidate's training in
an elementary course of one session of at least thirty-six weeks, with
five recitation periods a week of at least forty minutes each. During
the first year the work should comprise careful drill in pronunciation,
dictation, and the rudiments of grammar; abundant easy exercises
in composition, both oral and written; and the translation of
150 pages of elementary graduated texts. (One unit.)

French B. Intermediate Grammar, Composition, and Translation:
—The examination will cover the second year's work, based on a
one-year elementary course as stated above. Length of session, the
number and length of periods should be as above stated. During
the second year 450 additional pages of Modern French prose and
poetry should be covered, with continued drill in the grammar, constant
practice in dictation and in conversation, daily oral exercises in
rendering English into French, and periodical written exercises in
French Composition. (One unit.)

Spanish A. Elementary Grammar, Composition, and Translation:—The
general character of the examination will be as above

stated under French A. During the first year the work should comprise
careful drill in pronunciation, dictation, and the rudiments of
grammar; abundant easy exercises in composition, both oral and
written; and the translation of 150 pages of graduated texts. (One
unit.)

Spanish B. Intermediate Grammar, Composition, and Translation:—The
general character of the examination will be as above
stated under French B. During the second year 450 additional pages
of Modern Spanish prose and poetry should be covered with continued
drill in the grammar, constant practice in dictation and in
conversation, daily oral exercises in rendering English into Spanish,
and periodical written exercises in Spanish Composition. (One unit.)

Science.

Science A. Physical Geography:—The entrance requirements in
Physical Geography include such elementary knowledge of the following
topics, as would be obtained from the study of a text-book
like Maury's "Physical Geography" or Tarr's "Elementary Physical
Geography." The earth as a planet; planetary movements; magnetism
of the earth; internal heat of the earth; volcanoes; earthquakes;
arrangement of land masses; forms of land; relief forms of the continents;
islands; properties of water; waters of the land; drainage;
continental drainage; the sea; the oceans; waves and tides; currents
of the sea; physical properties of the atmosphere; climate; winds
and circulation of the air; storms; moisture of the air; hail; snow and
glaciers; electrical and optical phenomena of the atmosphere; relations
between plants and animals; range of plants and animals;
man, including range of human habitation, division into races, conditions
favorable to civilization, and man's influence on physical
geography; influence of physical geography on the industries of
countries. (One unit.)

Science B. Inorganic Chemistry:—The candidate for entrance
credit in Chemistry should have studied, under a competent teacher,
such a course in the elements of inorganic chemistry as can be covered
in three meetings a week during a nine-months' school year, and
in addition thereto should have worked in the laboratory about one
hundred hours, or enough time to perform intelligently the usual experiments
given in a High School laboratory course. The ground
covered by Remsen's "Introduction to the Study of Chemistry" is the
accepted standard. The student's autograph laboratory notes must
be submitted with the examination paper or entrance certificate.
(One unit.)

Science C. Experimental Physics:—A course of one full year,
covering the topics of Mechanics, Sound, Light, Heat, Electricity,
and Magnetism. The work should include (a) lecture-table demonstrations

by the teacher, with appropriate yet simple apparatus; (b)
text-book work, in which the pupil solves numerical problems; and
(c) laboratory exercises by the pupil—all three embodying fundamental
principles of the subject. In the laboratory work at least
thirty exercises should be performed; the following distribution is
advised: In Mechanics, 14; in Sound, 1; in Light, 5; in Heat, 3; in
Electricity and Magnetism, 7. The pupil's note-book of written reports
on these experiments should be submitted with indication of
acceptance on the part of the teacher. Any one of the standard texts
and laboratory manuals may be followed. (One unit.)

Science D. Botany and Zoölogy:—The entrance examinations in
these two subjects, which together count as a single unit, presuppose
such sound elementary knowledge of the structure and functions of
plants and animals, respectively, and of their classifications, as may
reasonably be regarded as representing a half year's work, in each
case, upon plants or animals with the aid of such a text-book on the
one hand, as Coulter's "Plant Structure," and on the other by Jordan
and Kellogg's "Animal Forms;" or other books of similar grade
and character. (One unit.)

In each case the candidate will be required to submit (with his
certificate of preparation or his written examination) his own laboratory
notes and drawings as an evidence of the amount and character
of the direct personal work done by him upon the plants or the
animals, which he has studied.

Drawing and Shop-Work.

Drawing: Mechanical and Projection Drawing:—Projections of
cubes, prisms, and pyramids in simple positions; method of revolving
the solid into new positions; method of changing the planes of projection;
projections of the three round bodies in simple positions
and in revolved positions; sections by planes parallel to the planes
of projections; sections by inclined planes; developments of prisms,
pyramids, cylinders, and cones; intersections of polyedra and curved
surfaces; distances from a point to a point or a plane or a line; angles
between planes and lines. (One unit.)

Shop-Work: Wood-Work, Forging and Machine-Work:—The
candidate must present valid certificates covering at least 240 hours of
competent instruction with adequate appliances in these topics.
About 80 hours should be devoted to wood-work, 40 to forging, and
120 to machine-work. He should be familiar with the usual shop
processes, the standard methods of work, and the properties of the
ordinary constructive materials. (One unit.)

In these units a practical examination in drawing and in shop-work
is given to validate the certificate of training.