Zack's Writing the Essay

Final Reflection

2008-01-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

The blogs that I did in this class were very helpful to me. I think that the biggest help that it gave me was it helped me to stay organized. Instead of just having a bunch of random information, I was able to write them down in the form of a blog that enabled me to reference them in the future when I needed them for the paper I was writing. The blogs also helped to enhance my writing skills more than just simply writing an essay. Rather than having to be proper and formal in my writing all the time, it allowed me to write more personally and really get into the things I was writing about.

The entries for the final project are the ones that I am most proud of writing this year. I felt that I was able to utilize the blog to its full potential and use it the way it was designed to be used. It also showed me how using hyperlinks to bookmark the articles I need was important and how well it allowed me to be organized. I was able to simply go back to my blog and connect instantly to the website rather than having to look all over the place to find the exact article again. I think that the blogs could be more effective if students were giving a more specific rubric to follow when writing on them. It was hard for me to write when there was such a broad range to write about. Changing this would make the blogs more interesting and the effort to do them would be greater.

Introduction

2008-01-08T05:57:00.001-08:00

In the United States, 1 out of every 3 people that drink is under the legal drinking age. This is a very serious issue that we as a nation are facing. If these drinking trends continue, the alcohol problem will only increase over time. The biggest concern with alcohol is that it is a gateway drug that can lead to the use of other drugs. However, there are different steps that can be taken by our government to at least lessen this problem, but they must be used soon. The most obvious idea to me would be to lower the drinking age down to 18 rather than the 21 age that it is now. Another solution would be to give a drinking “permit” to high school students to teach them how to drink responsibly. These resolutions can make a major impact on our culture and save it from becoming worse than it already is.

Should I put more specific details in the intro or does it give a good overall feel for the essay? Is the idea of putting both sides, whats the harm of alcohol and solutions to it, a good decision?

Solution to teen drinking problem?

2008-01-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

When looking for ways to reduce the amount of teen drinking in the US, there are not very many options open. The regular punishments that are received by violators are doing little to nothing to deter the teen drinking. The lowering of the drinking age is still the best choice in my opinion, but other scientists have come up with a new "solution" to the problem.

Leading scientist Dr. Roderic B. Park has been researching a new method to stop the abuse of alcohol by underage kids. He believes that if teens were given a "liquor permit" it would keep them from overusing alcohol. He thinks that the reason for the abuse is that kids are not educated enough about the drastic effects that alcohol can have so they are unprepared for the consequences. The liquor permit would educate them on how to properly consume alcohol without endangering their own lives as well as the lives of others.

When this liquor permit was experimented with in Boulder, Colorado, there was a drastic change in behavior by the college students. Accidents and drinking violence dropped to less than half of the previous levels they had been at as well as the attitudes of the fraternities and sororities. Because these teens would introduced to and allowed to use the alcohol before they went off to college, they were much more aware of the consequences that they would face if they abused their alcohol privileges. They became safer drinkers rather than the inexperienced ones at most universities.

There are a few downsides to this proposal as in most cases. It is feared that advertising may use this new permit to their advantage and begin to target younger audiences in the alcohol ads. As serious as this is, it could be prevented if the advertising companies were simply censored or told they were not allowed to. Also, this permit would completely change our alcohol culture, which means it would take time before it became entirely effective, But I believe that it is a step in the right direction to getting teen drinking to a safe level.

Alcohol: Gateway Drug?

2007-12-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

It is strongly believed by many people that alcohol is a gateway drug. It is said to be the first drug that is usually used by minors before they move on to more harmful drugs. If this is true, then it is a very serious problem because of all the teens that do in fact drink. It puts them at a very high risk of being exposed to more powerful drugs and messing up their lives.

The reason that alcohol is considered a gateway drug is because it is usually the most available. Because it is legal to own, most teens have some type of alcoholic beverages in their house that is their parents. They can be exposed to it at a very young age. When they do begin to start drinking, which is usually around high school, they don't really see it as something that is all that bad. This could lead them to think that other drugs aren't as bad so they may begin to experiment with those drugs as well. This can lead down a very bad road that many never come off of.

But is alcohol really a gateway drug, or are there other factors that contribute more to "harder" drug use. Alcohol is different from any other drug in that if you drink it responsibly, you won't do any damage to your body. For this reason, I do not believe that it could be put into the category of a gateway drug.

Do age-laws deter drinking?

2007-12-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

Although it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to consume an alcoholic beverage outside of their own home, this does nothing to deter the amount of teen drinkers. It seems to encourage more drinking rather than making it less. This poses the question, "Does having the drinking age be 21 actually stop or discourage underage drinking?"

In the United States, underage alcohol abuse is one of the biggest problems among the teens. This is a very serious problem that we face today. The statistic that over 32% of drinkers are underage is astounding. How are all of these teens gaining such easy access to all of this alcohol. The answer is simple, the laws are not be regulated strictly enough. But whose fault is this really? Police have been trying to crack down on it, but it is much to frequent to stop all of them. The parents are the ones that need to talk with their kids about it. But ultimately, it is the fault of the teens if they are drinking and they need to be responsible for their own actions.

Wit all of these underage drinkers getting away with drinking, it raises the question, "do these underage drinking laws actually work?" I would argue that they don't work, actually, it seems they almost encourage more drinking. The rebellious nature of teenagers makes them want to go against the law and do what they want. This means that drinking presents them with a risk that they want to take and will continue to keep taking. If the laws weren't there, would this many kids drink? Or would it not be as "exciting" anymore if they were allowed to and would less of them drink, or at least stop abusing alcohol?

Drinking age and Accidents

2007-12-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

The idea of switching the drinking age has both advantages and disadvantages. This issue has been debated for a long time and is still a hot topic throughout the country today, mainly on college campuses.

For those who wish to lower the drinking age down to 18, they claim that it will stop the alcohol abuse that is seen on many college campuses today. The reason for this is that the students are not allowed to go to bars and be socially accepted to drink, so they are forced to hide in their dorms and binge drink which cause much more harm. According to the Choose Responsibility group, if kids were exposed to drinking alcohol legally at a younger age, it would make them less likely to abuse it.

There are also many disadvantages that are prevalent in the drinking age being only 18. When some states used to have it at 18, the rate of highway deaths from drunk driving were very high. The inexperience of new drivers mixed with alcohol is a very bad thing to have. It was shown when the Drinking age was moved back up to 21, the number of these accidents decreased dramatically.

Mid Term Paper

2007-12-14T05:26:00.001-08:00

When brainstorming topics to write about, I hit upon a few good ideas. The one that seemed to jump out at me the most was the drinking age. Although this topic is not debated very regularly anymore, I think it is a very important one. Seeing as I myself am almost 18, I think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18 rather than 21 as it is now. This may be viewed by some to be a very bad idea, but I strongly disagree with this and say that it is a good idea.

Some arguments that I think I will use will be that 18 years olds are now adults and should not be restricted in this way. They are able to die in war for their country, vote for the president and other officials, buy and sell real estate, and other things as well. According to the article on the drinking age, it states that 18 year olds, if given all of these other responsibilities and privileges, should not be denied the right to have a drink as well.

This topic is something that I fell pretty strongly about so it will be easier to defend. Also, I think that I will be able to find enough information to back up my views. Many other people that I have read express the same views as me, so I know that I am not standing alone on this issue.

2007-11-28T05:39:00.000-08:00

In this class, I have learned about how to write a comparative essay. We went over how to create a T-chart to show what the two issues being discussed had in common. This was very helpful because it gave a good visual of all the points and reasons that we had. This helped with the brainstorming aspect and the deciding of what to do the essay on. It is also a good way to make sure that we had enough information to actually write n entire essay on without running out of things to say.

The two articles were both written in a different style. The car article was comparing which type of pick-up truck was better. The Sport Trac from Ford had a bigger cab space but not as much towing capacity as the Chevrolet Avalanche. the Avalanche had the option of a fold down back seat which extends its truck bed by another 34 inches. It also has much more horsepower and is better on gas mileage. As good as they are, they are not as nice looking or cheap as a Ford Sport Trac.

The article of the two brothers was not so easily recognized as a comparison between the two. It started out as more of a story describing the two brothers and their accomplishments before all of this scandal began happening. However, it later talked about how each had a different role in what had happened. Both had been responsible for different aspects of the scandal and were held accountable for different things.

The writing styles of the two wee very different. The car essay was more of a block method of writing. First all of the information for the Sport Trac was given, then all of the information for the Avalanche was given. There were some combined points made at the end of the article, but foe the most part, the ideas were split apart into sections. In the other article, it was more of a flip-flop method of writing. The points kept jumping back and forth between the two brother's points to show more of a comparison and contrast. This was more effective for this article because it helped the reader to understand better what was being compared.

This information will help me as a writer because it shows which ways are effective when comparing. Although the block method is good to use, I think that the flip-flop method is much more effective. It helps the reader stay focused on the differences and similarities between the two things because they are both talked about in sequence. They won't have to jump ck p to the top each time to see what was said earlier.

What is a Blog?

2007-11-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

When talking about a blog, there are many things to consider. Blogs are usually informal and written as easy to read documents. They are more of a pouring out of the writers thoughts onto a page rather than an actual essay.

Blogs are meant to be informative, telling the reader something that is going to happen such as an event. They could also be used to tell stories, or short tales of things that have happened either personally or not personally. The effectiveness of a blog depends on how it is presented to the reader. They should e short and too the point without any useless details or information. Also, the easier a blog is to read, the more people will read it and be involved by it.

It should be broken down into smaller paragraphs to make it look less intimidating to a person looking at it. You want to encourage the reader, and not scare them away because it looks like one big paragraph full of words.

Blogs can have a big impact on our lives if we use them as they are intended. They provide a quick and easy way to notify people and also pass along messages. With the world becoming more dependent on computer technology, blogs keep us connected and up to date.

My Early Life

2007-10-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

Growing up in different parts of the world has given me a glimpse of what its like to live in other areas. Living in Kenya showed me the state of immense poverty that the people are forced to live in. I experienced their way of life, and how they have to fight to survive each and every day. While living in Virginia, I was exposed to a different type of world. Everything was easier, slowed down, and less stressful. The availability of everything was overwhelming in that there were grocery stores and gas stations everywhere. Once I moved to Connecticut, my life experienced yet another twist. I went to school, made new friends, learned to adapt to the faced-paced life lived by New Englanders. These different times of my life have left a lasting impact on who I am today and how i view the world and our society.

This essay is about my early life and all of the many changes and hardships that I have witnessed and had to go through. As the essay goes along, it will delve more into the specific events and trials that have shaped me into the person that I am today. I have a feeling that i put too much into the actual intro and that i should save more the the actual essay. I need to conserve on the space, seeing as I only have 500 words to work with. I need to condense everything down.

Difficulties in writin college essays

2007-10-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

There are many difficulties when it comes to writing a good college essay. One of the most challenging of these is that there is only a limited number of words that can be used. This means that you have to say everything you need to, using right to the point sentences. There can't be any added words that don't actually say anything. Every word has to have meaning and a specific place in what is trying to be shown. Also, there are many different questions that are asked of you to answer. These all require thought and effort when answering and are very challenging at times. If these difficulties are over come, it will be much easier to write a good college essay.

sample post

2007-10-19T05:42:00.001-07:00

This post is the first of many for Mr. Millers Writing the Essay class. This is just a test to make sure everything is working properly.