In "My Mother Never worked", a daughter remembering her mother's past, files for her mother's death benefit check. Yakel is asked for details of her mother, which she proudly states was a housewife. Yakel writes this essay in slouched but indignant tone, because her mother's work, as a housewife, is not recognized as Work by the Social Security office, as it denies her request. She writes this essay in protest of how society devalues "women's work".

Yakel uses a lot of dialogue, when talking to the operator at Social Security Office; this is done to bring a sense a reality to the text and appeal to readers. Yakel also takes full paragraphs (Para 12) out of her mother's diary, to make an emotional connectio

Yakel also includes all the dates, especially the years, so the readers can recognize or even relate to surrounding environment. Such as in 1931 (Para 16), Yakel's mother went through a drought, therefore people who had experiences such as this can relate to Yakel's mother's hardship.

Judy Brady, "I Want a Wife," Patterns for College Writing 7th Edition (1997)

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Approximate Word count = 937
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)