Kendra Cobb
College Prep English
Cause and Effect Essay Analysis/Response
December 7, 2016
College Prep English
Cause and Effect Essay Analysis/Response
December 7, 2016
Cause and Effect Analysis
“Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public”
p. 506-508
“Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public”
p. 506-508
1. Marquez develops her essay using a specific structure. In a well-developed paragraph, explain Marquez’s organizational structure. Provide at least
two specific examples from the essay to support your explanation.
two specific examples from the essay to support your explanation.
In “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public,” Myriam Marquez uses a specific structure to develop her essay about her life of being a bilingual in the United States. In Marquez’s essay she provides information on her life and how she got to where she is. She then states her thesis and goes on to prove her thesis in the following paragraphs. She states three reasons why her and her family have not made English their official language. Marquez’s first reason why has to do with respecting her family and her culture. Marquez says, “For me and most of the bilingual people I know, it’s a matter of respect for our parents and comfort in our cultural roots” (4). She shows how even though she lives in the United States she is still is comfortable in her culture, and she wants to respect her parents and where they came from. Marquez also implies that if America is a free country and has no official language then it should be okay for her and her family to speak whatever language they want to. Marquez states, “Being an American has very little to do with what language we use during our free time in a free country” (7). Just because she was not born in America and English is not her first language, does not mean that she is not an American. The government does not require to have English as her first language. Marquez goes on to talk about how she is not embarrassed about where she came from or who she is. She should not have to stop speaking in Spanish solely because it upsets some Americans. Marquez says that “But that ought not mean that somehow we must stop speaking our native tongue whenever we're in a public area, as if we were ashamed of who we are, where we're from” (9). She takes pride in where her family came from. Speaking Spanish is part of who Marquez is and she has used this structure to prove that.
2. In a well-developed paragraph, evaluate Marquez’s use of evidence. Why does Marquez cite immigrants from Poland, Finland, Italy, and “wherever else” (10)? Is this evidence sufficient to justify her claim that it’s okay for her family to speak their native language in public? Why or why not? Then provide specific examples of evidence that would be more effective in supporting her claim.
In “Why and When We Speak Spanish” Myriam Marquez uses this evidence to to justify her claim. She feels that in the past they people who are immigrants from other countries have not had to make English their first language. These people who are from other countries were allowed to speak the language of their culture in public. Marquez states that “Throughout this nation’s history, most immigrants…[have] kept their language through the first generation and, often, the second” (10). If other immigrants were allowed to keep their language, then her family should not have to give up their language either. To support her claim she also refers to how voting ballots used to be printed in other languages for the people who did not speak English. Marquez says, “Pennsylvania even provided voting ballots written in German during much of the 1800s for those who aren't fluent in English” (10). In the 1800s these people did not get isolated because they spoke in a different language, but today Americans expect others who come to this county to be able to be fluent in the English language.
3. Marquez makes a point of saying that immigrants from Latin America have “fought for this country” and “participated fully in this nation’s
democracy by voting, holding political office, and paying taxes” (11). In a well-developed paragraph, analyze the potential objection Marquez is
anticipating regarding her claim? Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy?
democracy by voting, holding political office, and paying taxes” (11). In a well-developed paragraph, analyze the potential objection Marquez is
anticipating regarding her claim? Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy?
In “Why and When We Speak Spanish” Myriam Marquez is trying to show they other side of her argument by showing that there are some immigrants who how have came to America and have decided to speak English. She states that “They have watched their children and grandchildren become so ‘American’ that they resist speaking Spanish” (11). This is the opposite of what Marquez was trying to tell us in the previous paragraphs. She knows that there are some families who come to America and continue speaking in a different language, but there are also people who come to America and make English their first language. Marquez says, “Latin American immigrants and others have fought for this country on U.S. led wars...participated fully in the nation's democracy by voting, holding office, and paying taxes” (11). She is trying to show that some immigrants will participate in American government and make English their first language. This does not mean that her family does not participate in the American government but her family chooses to be American without making English their first language.