Student: Taya Advisor: Bernarda Del Course: AP Eng. Language & Comp.

Kerwin Villar
Exam Grade: B Trimester Grade: A- Engagement Grade: Meets Final Grade:
Expectations A-

In AP English Language and Composition this trimester, we studied Jon Krakauers 2015 powerful,
meticulously considered and reported narrative, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College
Town, which examines acquaintance rape and the criminal justice system, particularly what it looks like
for students at the University of Montana in Missoula. Alongside this text, we read short supplementary
essays and excerpts from Judith Hermans Trauma and Recovery, which Krakauer often invokes. Three
years before publishing Missoula, Krakauer learned that a close friend had been raped twice both
rapists were individuals the survivor knew and trusted. Krakauer writes, I was angry with myself for
being so uninformednot only about her ordeal but about non-stranger rape in general. So I resolved to
learn what I could about it. The ensuing quest led him to learn about and follow five cases of rape at
the University of Montana through the eyes of the survivors, the local police officers and campus safety
officers, and the prosecutor's office. Missoula, a stark narrative that began with the questions of a
citizen who realized how uninformed he was, is a layered, rhetorically compelling piece of journalism
that represents one of the goals of this course: promoting engaged citizenship. Through engaged
citizenship, we can be discerning readers and consumers, learn more and learn better, and inform and
empower our communities.

After studying Missoula, we prepared for the AP exam. Students each selected two historical speeches
that fell fifty years apart in delivery and conducted intense analyses of each, commenting on the
rhetorical modes, rhetorical strategy, purpose, and impact of the speeches then they shared their
speeches and analyses with their classmates. Students then revisited their writing feedback and
individual goals from the year, which were fine-tuned in four back-to-back in-class writing assignments
with accompanying teacher feedback.

After taking the AP exam in mid-May, juniors and seniors in the class embarked on two different final
projects. Seniors were tasked with creating original podcasts they created the premise, script, and cast
of characters or roster of interview subjects for their podcasts then they recorded them, added
soundtracks and sound effects, and, finally, edited the podcasts into their final form. Juniors began a
two-week workshop series on the college essay they began with a session run by Ms. Macy, Dublins
college counselor, and then they conducted a series of brainstorm, writing, and revision prompts with
their teacher and peers. In the end, each junior had two peers and their teacher read their essay and
provide feedback over the summer, we encourage them to take the feedback as they develop and fine-
tune their drafts for the college process next fall.

Taya has continued to be a vivacious, determined, perceptive thinker in AP English Language and
Composition. She has channeled the tenacity and power of her role in Once on This Islandor, perhaps
she channeled her own tenacity and power for that roleto complete the spring term in good stride. Her
writing is always captivating, well-organized, and armed with especially creative introductions and
conclusions. To improve, Taya will do well to bolster her verb choice, smooth transitions between ideas
within paragraphs, and implement more rhetorical moves (with parallelism, anaphora, zeugma, etc.) in
her writing. Overall, too, she can also work on refining her claims so that they are their most precise.
Taya did well with our Membean vocabulary development program, seeing a total of 213 new
vocabulary words this spring, eclipsing many of her peers in the process, and establishing a fine
accuracy level that usually ranged between 84-92% during assessment. I recommend that she keep using
these words in practice. I provided feedback for Tayas college essay on Schoology during the last week
of May I encourage her to read the feedback, experiment with different drafts, and see me in the fall if
she has any questions or would like a second pair of eyes on a new and improved version. It has been an
absolute joy to work with Taya in AP English Language and Composition I wish her a lovely summer
and look forward to seeing what literary mysteries she will explore and what new goals she will set for
herself in AP English Literature and Composition next year.

Rachael Jennings

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