BBS & BA-BSW First Year
New Course 2019
English
Patterns for College Writing
A Rhetorical Reader and Guide
Laurie G. Kirszner
Stephen R. Mandell
Why Chinese mothers are Superior
Style and Structure
1. Why does Chua begin her essay with a list of things
daughters were not allowed to do as they were growing up? How do you
think she expects readers to react to this list? How do you react?
Ans: Chua expected readers to be shocked, possibly
angered but this list; she included it with the intent of eliciting the
response in the reader. She intends to persuade the more by appealing to their
emotion.
2. Is this essay a point-by-point comparison, a
subject-by-subject comparison, or a combination of the two organizational
strategies? Why does Chua arrange her comparison the way she does?
This essay is organized using a point-by-point
structure. This organizational style works well because it allows Chua to touch
on many individual points and write about how each parenting tule differs
regarding that point in a way that is not confusing for the reader.
3. What evidence does Chua present to support her view
that there are marked differences between the parenting styles of Chinese and
Western parents?
Ans. First of all, Chua heavily relies on her own
experiences of rearing children. Most of the evidences that Chua provides is
based upon her own opinions and observations. Her comparisons between how
Chinese and Western parents deal with learning instruments and how to speak to
one's child are based purely on her own experiences. In paragraph 5, Chua cites
a study to compare Chinese immigrant mothers and Western mothers' opinions on
topics like academic expectations.
4. Chua was born in the United States. Does this fact
undercut her conclusions about the differences between Western and Chinese
child-rearing?
Ans: The fact that Chua was born in the US does not
undercut her arguments; if anything, this helps her case. Being born in the US
has given her an opportunity to see both parenting styles she discusses
firsthand. Her conclusions are more severely undercut by the lack of nuance she
provides, there is little evidence that the techniques she discusses are
effective.
5. What points does Chua emphasize in her conclusion?
How else could she have ended her essay?
Ans: Chua ends her essay by comparing and
contrasting Western and Chinese parenting styles. She also could have used
narrative as a strategy for her conclusion, perhaps circling back to talk about
her experience with her own daughters again.
