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3. Claims and Evidence / Reasoning and Organization. How does Nguyen’s statement that
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“Our parents have probably lied to us, too” (par. 12) serve his purpose? How convincing do
you find this reasoning?
4. Rhetorical Situation / Reasoning and Organization. How does Nguyen use the concept
of risk to establish common ground for the different audiences of this essay?
Identity
Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure

1. Vocabulary in Context. Nguyen concedes that “failure (and penury)” (par. 7) are risks that
parents hope to protect their children from. What is “penury,” and why does Nguyen portray it
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
as the natural result of failure? What does this logic reveal about his perspective on the way
society views education and success?
2. Rhetorical Situation. What is the purpose of opening this essay with a question that is
readily asked of Nguyen?
3. Rhetorical Situation / Claims and Evidence. Why does Nguyen choose to tell us about
his brother, including information about the schools he attended? How do these particular
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universities serve a rhetorical purpose?
4. Rhetorical Situation / Style. Why does Nguyen metaphorically compare life to a “lottery”
(par. 7)? What is the grand prize in this contest?
5. Reasoning and Organization / Style. How does the structure of this essay contribute to
Nguyen’s line of reasoning? Consider the bold section headings in your response.
TRM Rubric Topics for Composing
A rubric for these prompts can be found in 1. AP FRQ Rhetorical Analysis. In “Advice for Artists Whose Parents Want Them to Be
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the Teacher’s Resource Materials. Engineers” (2021), Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses the difficulty in reconciling the tension
between individual dreams and parental expectations, specifically when those parents have
sacrificed much to give their children a stable, successful life. Read the essay carefully. Write
an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Nguyen makes to convey his argument that all
DIFFERENTIATION subjects, including ones like art and literature, provide necessary contributions to society.
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Mode of Expression 2. AP FRQ Argument. Viet Thanh Nguyen, in “Advice for Artists Whose Parents Want Them
to Be Engineers” (2021), cites writer Kavita Das, who says that when children pursue goals
Composing Q1. You could ask students to other than those set by their parents, “we are not throwing away all their hard work but
choose one of their passions that they honoring their hard work, because it allowed us to pursue our dreams.” Write an essay that
might consider, or have considered, as a argues your position on whether children should honor their parents’ hard work by adhering
career choice and have them draft a letter to the dreams established by them.
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to their parents trying to persuade them 3. AP FRQ Argument. Viet Thanh Nguyen concludes his essay “Advice for Artists Whose
that they should be supportive of their Parents Want Them to Be Engineers” (2021) by stating, “Doctors, lawyers and engineers
make great societal contributions, too. Still, we will always need our poets and artists, our
choice. They could use lines of reasoning teachers and storytellers, our misfits and dreamers, contrarians and risk-takers.” Write an
gathered from Nguyen’s article and their essay that argues your position on whether enrolling in humanities courses should be
own argument skills, and they should required of college students who are pursuing degrees in a STEM field.
address potential counterarguments their 4. Connections. Afghan American novelist Khaled Hosseini, whose family emigrated to the
parents might raise. United States when he was fifteen, explains in an interview, “I made a rational decision to go
to medical school . . . but it was not my first love.” After the success of his first novel, The
Kite Runner, he finally decided: “I could allow myself to, at least for a while, try to write as a
profession.” How do Hosseini’s decisions and trepidations echo the concerns reflected in
DIFFERENTIATION Nguyen’s essay?
Scaffolding 270
Composing Q3. To further consider STEM
subjects as a counterargument to artistic
pursuits, you could have students work
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with the 2022 AP Language Synthesis 05_sheatlc4e_40925_ch04_170_315.indd 270 12/10/22 2:37 PM
prompt, which was about the value of DIFFERENTIATION
STEM programs. You could have students
complete that essay and use some of Connections to Text
Nguyen’s arguments as an additional Composing Q4. To expand the context for
source, or you could ask students to con- Nguyen’s arguments, you might have stu-
sider how Nguyen might respond to some dents explore some of his other work. They
of the arguments among the sources. could find some of his essays and video
interviews linked on his website. You could
ask them to think about how his career and
the subjects he focuses on connect to the
issues he raises in this essay and how they
relate to his ethos.

270 chapter 4 / Identity

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