DEFINITIONS OF THE UNITS.
The following definitions of the entrance units 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 their courses of instruction.
ENGLISH.
The courses outlined, in accordance with the programme of most high
schools, take 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.
English A. 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. Text-book 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 the placing of the topic and to
the attainment of 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 English 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 part of the requirement 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 Æneid. The Odyssey, Iliad, and Æneid 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 A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant
of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet,
King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry V, Coriolanus, Julius Cæsar,
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 Crusoe, Part I; Goldsmith's Vicar of
Wakefield; Frances Burney's Evelina; any one of Scott's Novels; any
one of Jane Austen's Novels; Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent, or The
Absentee; any one of Dickens' Novels; any one of Thackeray's Novels:
any one of George Eliot's Novels; 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; any
one of Cooper's Novels; a selection of Poe's 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); selections
from Boswell's Life of Johnson (about 200 pages); Franklin's Autobiography;
selections from Irving's Sketch Book (about 200 pages), or his Life
of Goldsmith; Southey's Life of Nelson; selections from Lamb's Essays of
Elia (about 100 pages); selections from Lockhart's Life of Scott (about
200 pages); Thackeray's lectures on Swift, Addison, and Steele in the English
Humorists; any one of the following essays of Macaulay: Lord Clive,
Warren Hastings, Milton, Addison, Goldsmith, Frederick the Great, Madame
d'Arblay; selections from Trevelyan's Life of Macaulay (about 200 pages);
Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, or selections from Ruskin's works (about 150
pages); Dana's Two Years Before the Mast; selections from Lincoln's works,
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; selections from Lowell's 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, DeQuincey, 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 Cæsar, Macbeth, 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.)
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 polynomials 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:—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:—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 ascendancy 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:—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:—(1) History:
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. (2) Civil Government: 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, Æneid.
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 (Bucolies,
Georgics, and Æneid) 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, Æneid, 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 inlections,
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 can not 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. Cæsar's Gallic War, Books I-IV, Grammar, Composition:—
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 Romæ, 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. Cicero's Orations against Catiline, and Two Others, Grammar,
Composition:—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. Vergil's Æneid, Books I-VI, Grammar, Composition:—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 Æneid 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:—
Careful drill in the inflections of Attic prose, and the fundamental principles
of syntax; 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:—
Idiomatic translation, with constant attention to forms and syntax,
and to the subject-matter of the author; prose composition based on Xenophon.
(One unit.)
MODERN LANGUAGES.
German A. Elementary Grammar, Composition, and Translation:—
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:—
Three hundred pages of German of intermediate grade, 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:—
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:—
Four hundred and fifty pages of modern French prose and poetry, 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:—
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:—
Four hundred and fifty pages of modern Spanish prose and poetry, 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 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
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. Text-books recommended: Maury's
Physical Geography, or Tarr's Elementary Physical Geography. (One
unit.)
Science B. Inorganic Chemistry:—The ground covered by Remsen's
Introduction to the Study of Chemistry, with about one hundred hours
in the laboratory, or enough time to perform intelligently the usual experiments
given in a high-school laboratory course. (One unit.)
Science C. Experimental Physics:—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. (One unit.)
Science D. Botany:—Sound elementary instruction in the structure
and functions of plants, and their classification, based upon such a textbook
as Coulter's Plant Structure, and supplemented by laboratory work.
(Half unit.)
Science E. Zoölogy:—Sound elementary instruction in the structure
and functions of animals, and their classification, based upon such a textbook
as Jordan and Kellogg's Animal Forms, and supplemented by laboratory
work. (Half unit.)
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.
