1950's Golden Age or Not?

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1950’s Golden Age or not? There are many elements too an academic text. When writing an academic text the writer should focus on three aspects; the writer will identify and discuss the primary audience, they will express the main points of the argument in a clear, concise manner and organize the body of the paper in a way that helps the reader understand their claim. In Stephanie Coontz “What We Really Miss About the 1950’s” it shows us a good example of an academic text, by arguing why the 1950’s may not have been as glamorous as we would have expected. One of the most important aspects of an academic text is to point out the primary audience, so that we can clearly see whom the author is trying to relate to. “In a 1996 poll by the Knight-Ridder news agency, more Americans chose the 1950’s than any other single decade as the best time for children to grow up” (32). This clearly states the audience the author is trying to convey. The quote is focused on parents of the 1990’s with young children. According to Coontz “If the 1990’s are lopsided in one direction, the 1950’s were equally lopsided in the opposite direction” (34). This helps the audience understand some of the main points Coontz is trying to make throughout the excerpt. She is trying to tell parents of the 1990’s that, though you may think the continuity between a family was so strong in the 1950’s, it simply may not have been. The parents of the 1990’s feel that their families are lack the togetherness and solid structure of 1950’s families, but what they may have not realized was, what it really looked like when you peel the layers off and take a deep look into their lives. Coontz expresses throughout her excerpt that the 1950’s may have been a golden age in economics; but it wasn’t so much the golden age for the women or minorities. In paragraphs 8-12, it gives us a history of what it

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