Some of the rhetorical strategies employed by Amy Tan in Mother Tongue are as follows:

• Providing imagery / vivid descriptions to illustrate a point
• Developing content in a linear, fragmented, chronological, and/or theme-based fashion.
• Beginning or ending the argument in a non-traditional way (e.g. with an anecdote).
• Using subtitles, transitions, metacommentary, and/or summary to help guide readers.