Read the excerpt from "mother tongue." lately, i’ve been giving more thought to the kind of english my mother speaks. like others, i have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” english. but i wince when i say that. it has always bothered me that i can think of no other way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. what best supports the inference that tan believes nonstandard english is no less valid than standard english? tan spends a lot of time thinking about her mother’s “fractured” english. tan has trouble thinking of descriptive words when she is writing. tan’s american education makes it difficult for her to understand her mother. tan winces when she describes her mother’s english as “broken.”

Read the sample student paragraph that addresses a counterclaim. some claim that the internet both invades and compromises one’s right to privacy. however, this is ridiculous. the internet is only as invasive as one allows it to be, particularly since there are laws to protect people’s privacy. exercising caution when supplying personal information online is the most vital step in protecting one’s privacy. any information you do not feel comfortable sharing online should not be shared, and sensitive information should only be provided to trusted organizations. additionally, some states have already enacted privacy laws that model the federal privacy act of 1974, ensuring that information collected for one purpose may not be used—or sold—for other purposes without first notifying the individual to whom the data belongs. the first and most important protector of an individual’s information is that individual. people whose personal information is not properly protected only have themselves to blame. what evidence weakens the counterclaim in this paragraph? the internet is only as invasive as one allows it to be. exercising caution is the best way to protect one’s privacy online. some states have already enacted online privacy laws. it is the individual’s fault when personal information is unprotected.