The role that language played in Amy Tan’s life was significant since it wasn’t her best subject growing up she decides to take it up herself and become better at writing which along the way she discovers that maybe her mother’s form of speaking English had affected her too. Because of the contrast from her mothers “limited” English and academic English taught in school showed her that she had learned to code switch between both but at the same time limited her academic performance. As Amy describes growing up her mother’s dialect had shaped everything around her, “that was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things,made sense of the world.” Amy became to become self aware of her own perception of herself and the bias of language. In the beginning Amy gives a t description of the importance that language conveys as she claims “the way it can evoke an emotion, a complex idea…language is the tool of my trade” which helped how to balance between the pro’s and con’s of code switching. Personally, growing up in an immigrant household with the same struggles of language as Amy I wasn’t made conscious of it, until I started school and saw the differences in pronunciation of certain words and the incomplete English sentences my mother would speak in. Many are probably unaware of this language barrier if they’re not exposed to other outlets of learning language. I was made aware of how English is used around me, when I had a business internship was when I first learned what code-switching meant, in order to sound more professional there is a certain English that is spoken. For Instance, when Amy explains how her mother is limited by her “broken” English as banker or even doctors don’t give her the same level of respect as a native English speaker. For example, Amy states the doctors had lost her mother’s CAT scan of a brain tumor and had brushed her off encouraging her to make another appointment and showed no sympathy but as soon as “her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English– lo and behold…apologies for my suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake.” Goes to show the lengths of being deemed of more importance simple because of the way language is spoken. I wish more people knew that simply because of someone’s “limited” English doesn’t mean it’s a limit to a person’s ideas they’re trying to send across, they’re just as rich as the next person’s thoughts they just need to be served with the same kind of respect.

Hello, my name is Laura and my intended major is International Business and Marketing my preferred pronouns are she/her. What I’m most excited about is how much this course promises to teach by the end of it. Becoming a better writer is crucial since it can help you immensely by making your point, some that the syllabus included were, “support a well-reasoned argument”, “read analytically and critically”, along with the engagement with my peers and growing my social network is something to look forward to. What I am nervous about is the element of a full asynchronous course, usually I’m a visual learner rather than reading off instructions but hopefully I’ll adapt. The qualities of good writing include being focused on the task at hand, being coherent and clear in the message you’re trying to send across and overall know your target audience. Like everything, writing becomes a skill that is best when constantly practiced it becomes almost muscle memory to continue to do well. Through constant reading and expanding your knowledge is what makes perfect writing. This becomes an important skill because it’s used constantly whether you’re composing an email, or your resume, professionalism shines through your writing. The easiest part of writing for me is when it’s a free write where I’m in control, I feel like I do best with creative freedom. The hardest for me would be an argumentative essay since sometimes finding the evidence becomes difficult as I second guess which point would benefit the claim the most, I need to work on persuading an audience. The genres I’ll be expected to write in is probably professional since it deals with a business field, mainly emails or spreadsheets for the rest of my coworkers. An effective writer can affect career opportunities because it can be a skill that’s required in many intended majors and overall to show off your expertise in advocating through writing, which can open up a lot of doors because of this skill.