Page 202 - The Language of Composition 4e Teacher Edition Sample.indd

I have been thinking about all this lately, about over the English language. Here’s an example
my mother’s English, about achievement from the first draft of a story that later made its
tests. Because lately I’ve been asked, as a way into The Joy Luck Club, but without this line:
writer, why there are not more Asian Americans “That was my mental quandary in its nascent
4 / Identity
represented in American literature. Why are state.” A terrible line, which I can barely
there few Asian Americans enrolled in creative pronounce.
writing programs? Why do so many Chinese Fortunately, for reasons I won’t get into
students go into engineering? Well, these are today, I later decided I should envision a reader
broad sociological questions I can’t begin to for the stories I would write. And the reader I
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
answer. But I have noticed in surveys — in fact, decided upon was my mother, because these
just last week — that Asian students, as a were stories about mothers. So with this reader
whole, always do significantly better on math in mind — and in fact she did read my early
achievement tests than in English. And this drafts — I began to write stories using all the
makes me think that there are other Asian- Englishes I grew up with: the English I spoke to
American students whose English spoken in the my mother, which for lack of a better term might
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
home might also be described as “broken” or be described as “simple”; the English she used
“limited.” And perhaps they also have teachers with me, which for lack of a better term might be
who are steering them away from writing and described as “broken”; my translation of her
into math and science, which is what happened Chinese, which could certainly be described as
to me. “watered down”; and what I imagined to be her
Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in 5 translation of her Chinese if she could speak in
nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving perfect English, her internal language, and for
assumptions made about me. I became an that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither
English-major my first year in college, after an English nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to
being enrolled as pre-med. I started writing capture what language ability tests can never
nonfiction as a freelancer the week after I was reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the
told by my former boss that writing was my rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her
worst skill and I should hone my talents toward thoughts.
account management. Apart from what any critic had to say about
But it wasn’t until 1985 that I finally began my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it
to write fiction. And at first I wrote using what counted when my mother finished reading my
I thought to be wittily crafted sentences, book and gave me her verdict: “So easy to read.”
sentences that would finally prove I had mastery 2003

TRM Answer Key AP Multiple-Choice Questions
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The answer key for the AP -style multiple-
choice questions can be found in the 1. In this passage, the writer uses all of the 2. In paragraph 4, the writer puts the words “broken”
Teacher’s Resource Materials. following rhetorical strategies EXCEPT and “limited” in quotations to indicate that she
a. ironic paradoxes a. disagrees with others’ use of such terms
b. sentence fragments b. means the terms in a technical sense
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TRM AP MCQ Handout c. vivid imagery c. plans to translate the terms from Chinese
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A handout of these AP -style multiple- d. direct quotations d. intends to find just the right word
choice questions can be found in the e. personal anecdotes e. sympathizes with such a situation
Teacher’s Resource Materials. 308

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308 chapter 4 / Identity

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