SAWYER 1
Alexis Sawyer
Dr. Cristine A. James
WGST 2020C
1 March 2022
The Gradual Decline of the Middle Class
The middle class is where some families are and where some families strive to be. What
do you think when you hear about the middle class? Everyone has their own view on the middle
class and how they can obtain this status.
There are three different social classes all around the world. These social classes are the
upper class, the middle class, and the lower class. The upper class consists of rich and wealthy
families and people. The middle class usually make up your average people who are sometimes a
little better than average but not to the point where they reach the upper class. The lower class
are considered poor. They make just enough to survive.
In the social hierarchy, the middle class is the class that falls in between the lower class
and the upper class. They do not have too much or too little money but just enough. They do not
stay in the little shabby houses or the big mansions, but the just right house. People can think of
the middle class as Goldilocks. Everything is just right or just enough just like for Goldilocks.
The peer review article and the section in the textbook about the middle class took two
different approaches about the given topic. The textbook revealed to readers what it is like to
have a middle class life with different circumstances. They utilized charts to give us more insight
about the middle class. The peer review article did research to uncover to readers how the middle
class has changed over the years and what affects the economy had on that change.
SAWYER 2
When it comes to the definition of middle class, both texts had something different to
say. In the textbook, readers are told that there is “no single accepted definition of ‘middle
class’” (Blank 3). The textbook then goes on to give us a possible example of what a middle
class family is. The article tells the readers that the middle class is considered “the backbone of
both the market economy and of democracy in most advanced countries” (Derndorfer 1). The
article then goes on to explain to readers the reasoning behind their definition of middle class.
Graphs and charts are an excellent way to ensure that an audience fully understands what
you are talking about. It breaks down the information and numbers you give the audience by
showing them a picture example of the same information. Both texts utilized graphs to further
explain their points to the readers. The article used more graphs and many different graphs
