SWA 20 Essay 3 Outline

Title: The Debate of Lowering the Drinking Age

Thesis: The on going debate of whether to lower the legal drinking age or not has two distinct sides. John McCardell, the founder of Choose Responsibility, and individuals involved with college campuses believe the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) should be lowered to 18 while Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believe the MLDA should stay at 21. All four perspectives believe they have valid evidence to support their beliefs.

I.               John McCardell believes lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a good solution to irresponsible drinking.

A.     His organization “Choose Responsibility”

1.     Parents teach children how to drink responsibly

2.     Reduce binge drinking and alcohol abuse

B.     Government need to become more creative in dealing with binge drinking

1.     Alcohol education classes

2.     Alcohol license

     

II.             Individuals that work on college campuses believe from what they have witnessed personally that the MLDA should be lowered to 18

A.     Professor Ruth C. Engs has been doing research on why the drinking age should be lowered for over 20 years.

1.     Statistics

2.     Teach responsible drinking techniques

B.     Police chief of Boulder, Colorado whose police force patrols the University of Colorado at Boulder believes underage drinking is unenforceable

1.     Just giving out drinking tickets; not preventing it

2.     Students abusing alcohol

III.           Mothers Against Drunk Driving use statistics to support their belief of keeping the drinking age at 21

A.     The number of drunk driving related deaths has dropped since the MLDA was raised to 21

B.     Teenage brain is still developing

C.     If the MLDA is lowered than teenagers will start drinking at a younger age

IV.            The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has collected data on why the MLDA should stay at 21

A.     Teen motor vehicle risks

B.     Examines different arguments activists for lowering the drinking age have

Conclusion: From all of my research combined I have learned much more than I thought I knew about the debate on lowering the drinking age. John McCardell, people affiliated with colleges, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration all make valid points and use evidence to back up their claims. When I first chose this topic though, I thought the drinking age should be lowered to 18, but after my thorough research I realized supporters of keeping the MLDA at 21 promote a much better argument than those wanting to lower it. I now believe the drinking age should not be lowered and should stay at 21 years old.