However, her young daughter had other plans for her mother's time. What Tan is classifying in this essay is the different kinds of English she uses. The broken English spoken by Tan's mother had far reaching effects. Anecdotes are real useful in a story because they help you paint a picture with your words. Overall, anecdotes are very important in getting your point across through life stories. Considering Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”. Will you provide the anecdote first and then explain your point, or will you state your point and then use the anecdote to illustrate it? In this essay, Tan uses anecdotes about herself and her mother with the stockbroker and the hospital. Mother Tongue by Amy Tall Kaé Murray-Francis September 2, 2011 Florida Memorial University Recently, in my College Writing II class, I had the opportunity to read, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. It could even be said that an anecdote can be like a seed in your essay which all the other writing around it sprouts from. Blog. Rhetorical Device: 1b. I think it’s great way that you would use an educational views in your essay which are a different side from most people’s view. After you submit your comment, please submit a reply of one well-developed paragraph to at least one of the other students' comments. Not only did it help me know what it meant but also now I know how to incorporate anecdotes into my classification essay. I would use anecdotes in my classification essay by describing my thought and impression what I felt at an event. 1. In this essay, Tan uses anecdotes about herself and her mother with the stockbroker and the hospital. Whereas, for me at least, the answers on English tests were always a judgement call.." (469; 16) After this she describes a specific scenario that was on an English test and she had trouble with, the close to the end of it she says " Well, according to my mother, there were very few limitations as to what Tom could have been and what Mary might have though of him. For example Amy tells us when she fifthteen her mother had her call people “To pretend I was she”...(468). However, more deep conversations will be harder for her to understand.Tan would have to go back to her native language to have a more deep conversation. But despite it being the mother tongue for many, the Scots language is struggling for recognition. For example in Amy Tan’s story, “Mother's Tongue,” on page 468 in paragraph 10, she says because of her mother’s broken english, she has to talk to people for her. That helped the reader understand how she felt about her mother’s English. I will go into greater depth about what was happening at these events and even go into greater depth as Tan did when she gives a whole paragraph of her mother talking about the gangster, "He is like Du Zong - but not Tsung-ming Island people. Such as describing how we as students jump to the opportunities for extra credit or free things just for attending speeches given at school. International Mother Language Day Stock Illustration by RedKoala 1 / 326 Cartoon mother dog with her cute puppies Clipart by Tigatelu 1 / 63 Handwriting text Translation Service. Amy Tan uses anecdotes is her essay "Mother Tongue". Though it is a bit late for Halloween I will essentially masquerade as someone else for a bit while writing from their perspective. It seems like you have a thorough understanding of how to use anecdotes to support your main points! Including personal thoughts and experiences to a story not only does it make it fascinating but it engages the reader’s attention. Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson, 9780141040080, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. That is how I would use anecdotes in my essay. Stories can be fake or made up and are longer in duration compared to an anecdote. "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan is a personal anecdote regarding the different "Englishes" she has encountered and used throughout her life. This makes it even harder to understand her mother due to her seeming to not make sense. And then something, something, bloom, beautiful imagery. In my essay I will use anecdotes in my essay by describing my experience at the events I’ve been too similar to how Amy Tan did in “mothers tounge “. Not really. With my friends it is free, anything goes but with my parents it has to be completely formal, even a “ what” could be taken as disrespectful. Those are two ways I could add anecdotes to my essay. It is very descriptive and very clear to understand. Her essay out-right requires a very personal touch, and she delivers. In the essay she says "yet some of my friends told me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. In Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue", she uses many anecdotes from the beginning to end of her essay. Tan said “Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese,” made me decide to write about their thoughts. Therefore as I relate to Tan, I plan to find ways in order for the audience to relate to me and what I have to say. Definition of anecdote- a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing or biographical incident. Amy's mothers English is different for a lot of people, but for Amy it is completely normal and she always understands what she is saying. In the essay “Mother Tongue” the writer uses anecdotes to compare the type of English her mother tends to use and the type of English she has learned to speak throughout her life. Also maybe throw in the respond to the other students part on here because i don't care for really any people in this classroom, and having discussions with people i don't know is really the main thing that makes me want to leave this class. In Mother Tongue, we get a glimpse of the experiences Amy Tan had growing up in a home where English was not the first language. I want to describe in as much detail as possible. The young mother was ready for a few minutes of relaxation after a long and demanding day. I also like that you already used some anecdotes in your essay. Her mother can Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. By using anecdotes in this way, I will be able to do that. An example I use is the Corn Maze event where students can socialize with other students or with their family. Like when Amy Tan wrote about her experience and thought “Here’s an example from the first draft of a story that later made its way into The Joy Luck Club, but without this line:…” (470), I want to give readers a specific experience example and my thought of it. I want to make sure that i go into as much detail as I can. I have found that she uses anecdotes quite frequently throughout the story. Perhaps understanding how Amy Tan uses anecdotes to explain her life will prove helpful even beyond writing the classification essay. In it she speaks about how she uses a more ”simple” version of English with her mother, compared to how she would normally speak. It kind of shows, y'know? I'm also going to be using anecdotes the same way as the author. Another way that I will be using anecdotes to better my essay is by using them to compare each event to one another and place them into more detailed sub-categories if necessary. For example I will use an anecdote about going to ram jam and getting free tacos and a free shirts. I would like to use them as little bits of experience into what was happening in what I was talking about or the situation. That is, using different past tenses, adverbs and unique expressions? it is a good idea to learn how to cite your resources. Another example I plan on using is how my fellow campers felt about Ram Round Up. Anecdotes are good examples for the reader to relate or understand the author’s perspective on a situation. There's something amusing about using one form of essay introduction to describe another. It give the reader a more clear vivid picture of the choice of words you are trying to create and want the reader to know. Just as Amy Tan used anecdotes to help the reader understand her ideas and points, I will be using them in hopes of achieving the same goal. Authors use anecdotes to better convey things from their point of view so that the reader can have a better understanding of why the author chose to write the way he/she did. I see you also chose the line from Amy about the gangster showing up to her wedding to show the amount of details. In my classification essay I intend to use anecdotes about my personal experiences towards situations in regards to educational extracurricular activities here at school. Anecdotes are a great tool to use when writing and Amy Tan showed us this in her essay titled "Mother Tongue". This will help the reader better identify each event that will be discussed and how they are classified differently. What does this say about you? (e.g. She is fascinated by language in daily life. Be sure to consider the anecdotes regarding Tan’s giving a speech, the stockbroker, the CAT scan, and Tan’s experience with the … To ensure the best experience, please update your browser. Anecdote, Short Story, Joke. It is easy to connect with what Tan is explaining, for both native English speakers and second language English speakers alike. 466). I didn’t think about writing down other’s thought in my essay.