Outline
1. Introduction
• Overview
o We should lower the legal drinking age to 18 years old.
• Claim
o We should lower the legal drinking age to 18 years old instead of 21 because at the age of 18 you’re considered an adult and you can do basically everything except drink alcohol.
2. Background
• Background/History
o In 1984, the National Minimum Age Act was passed
o Dr. John McCardell, a former president of Middlebury College wanted to reopen the debate on the act
3. Conformation
• Reason 1
o The minimum age of 21 causes underage drinkers to conform to dangerous situations.
• Evidence
o Underage kids will drink in unsupervised areas where no adults know their whereabouts.
• Assumption
o The drinking age should be lowered.
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• Reason 2
o The high drinking age of 21 causes people to overreact about the privilege of finally being able to drink.
• Evidence
• In Germany kids can drink when they’re 14 so by the time they’re 21, they don’t even think of drinking as a big deal therefore, they don’t overreact as often as we do here when we are 21.
• Assumption
o People shouldn’t make such a fuss over drinking alcohol because when they do, it makes us want to drink and abuse it even more.
• Reason 3
o Lowering the drinking age would give cops a break from trying to locate underage parties.
• Evidence
o Cops need to focus on more serious crimes rather than underage drinking such as murder and kidnappings.
• Assumption
o By lowering the age, less underage kids will be drinking since they won’t have to wait as long to drink alcohol therefore cops will be able to focus on the more serious crimes.
4. Refutation(Counter-Argument)
• Address Opposition
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o Lowering the drinking age would be medically irresponsible.
• Answer Opposition
o When people are 18 they’re also allowed to purchase cigarettes which cause many different types of diseases and illnesses such as lung cancer.
o You can also die for your country when you’re 18 years old.
5. Conclusion
• Summary
• Emotional Connection
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Katelin Uzzell
Ashley Keffer
English 111
September 28, 2017
Argumentative Essay: Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age
The talk about the minimum legal drinking age has been a hot topic in the last couple of years. Some people have argued that we should lower the drinking age down to 18 years old. Others however, have said they don’t want it to change and its fine the way it is now. Both sides have valid arguments as to why their opinion is what it is. We should lower the drinking age to 18 years old instead of 21 because at the age of 18, you are considered an adult and you have basically all privileges you can have in life except for drinking alcohol.
The current minimum drinking age of 21 is causing many underaged drinkers to conform to dangerous environments when drinking alcohol. According to Wes Woods, the current drinking age is forcing drinking to be behind closed doors and secret places that are unsupervised which is dangerous to underaged teens. The reasoning for these actions to occur from these underaged teens is because they are scared they will get caught drinking and get in trouble. Dr. John McCardell, a former president of Middlebury College has similar views as those from Woods. He stated that “the law is forcing underaged teens to drink in places that are
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unsafe and dangerous.”(John McCardell) By lowering the drinking age, teens will now be in safer environments where there are other/older people around in case of an emergency.
Since the United States’ drinking age is so high, people tend to overreact about finally being able to drink alcohol when they turn 21 years old. In Germany, kids are able to drink when they’re as young as 14 years old. This is a good idea because by the time they are 21, which is the legal age to drink in the U.S. they’ve already been drinking alcohol a while so, they don’t abuse it like we do in the United States. By the time we turn 21, we have waited a long time to be able to drink alcohol legally so, we party a lot, get alcohol poisoning, and make poor choices. By lowering the age to 18, people in the U.S. most likely will not make as poor choices because it’ll be three years earlier that we get to drink. That’s three extra years we will have to adjust to drinking alcohol and get to know our limits. We will be making smarter choices when it comes to alcohol.
Police officers would also be benefitting greatly from lowering the legal minimum drinking age to 18. This is because by lowering the age, it will give cops more time to focus on the more serious crimes. They won’t have to worry about trying to catch as many underage drinkers. The cops will be able to focus on things like kidnappings and murders. Therefore, lowering the drinking age to 18 benefits everyone.
Although some people feel that lowering the drinking age would be medically irresponsible, there are more pros than cons on the matter. When people are 18 years old, they are able to purchase cigarettes which cause many diseases including lung cancer. Cigarettes are just as dangerous to your body as alcohol is, maybe even worse. Also, when you are 18, you are able to die for your country at war so what’s the problem with being able to drink alcohol? Some
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people also may say that since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, there has been a decrease in the number of deaths caused by drunk driving. According to Dr. John McCardell,
this is not necessarily because of the Act but, more because of our recent technological advancements we’ve made including uber and people having designated drivers.
Lowering the minimum legal drinking age in the United States has been a big controversy over the past couple of years. There are a number of people who say we should lower it, but there are also a great deal of people who think the law should stay how it is now. Both sides have good reasoning to back up their opinions but in the end, only one side can win the debate. By lowering the minimum legal drinking age to 18, we will make drinking situations safer for teens, help the law enforcement not have to worry about underage drinking and focus on more serious crimes, and also help young adults have smarter judgment about alcohol and knowing their limits with it.
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Bibliography
Foust, Angie, et al. "YOUNG & SHARP // INLAND YOUTHS JOIN THE PUBLIC DEBATE // THIS WEEK'S QUESTION ; The legal drinking age is 21 in the United States and as low as age 16 in other countries. Do you think the U.S. legal drinking age is too high?" ProQuest Central, Press Enterprise, 18 Mar. 2007, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/249442669?accountid=12050.
Hufner , Markus. "Opinion: Lowering drinking age has many benefits for US citizens Opinion: Lowering drinking age has many benefits for US citizens." ProQuest Central, Uloop, Inc., 27 Apr. 2015, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/1675990289?accountid=12050.
Kapsidelis, Karin. "Changing the drinking age?: Some people say lowering the legal drinking age would reduce binge drinking. Others say that idea is ludicrous." ProQuest Central, Tribune Content Agency LLC, 26 Nov. 2007, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/463535912?accountid=12050.
Marron , Richard C. "Vermont Considers Lowering Drinking Age to 18." ProQuest Central , New York Times Company, 13 Apr. 2005,
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lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/433041876?accountid=12050
"Old enough to drink." ProQuest Central , The Blade, 23 Mar. 2008, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/380736315?accountid=12050.
Scarhnberg, Kirsten. "States weigh lowering legal drinking age to drink." ProQuest Central , Tribune Content Agency LLC, 11 Mar. 2008, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/456843942?accountid=12050.
Wechsler, Henry , and Toben F. Nelson. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?" ProQuest Central, American Journal of Public Health; Washington, June 2010, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/347533689?accountid=12050.
Woods, Wes. "Lower drinking age is put in play." ProQuest Central, Los Angeles Newspaper Group, 20 Aug. 2008, lenoircc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=search.proquest.com?url=search.proquest.com/docview/379416231?accountid=12050.