Writer's intention

In your assignment, you are also asked to focus on the writer’s intention in the article “Mothers and teenagers: a modern tragedy” by Rachel Cusk. Rachel Cusk’s overall intention is to present the perspectives of both parents and teenagers on their relationship. This way, she intends to make readers understand that the ‘modern tragedy’ of mothers and teenager is not necessarily as dramatic as it looks.

The author’s intention is to offer a balanced view on parent-teenager relationships. For instance, she describes both positive and negative aspects of this relationship through various examples. On the one hand, there are parents who may be right to be concerned about their children's behaviour: “…the son of a friend has a party at the family home that results in hundreds of pounds’ worth of damage…” (ll. 85-88)

On the other hand, there are parents who...