Closed Prompt #3

TEEN EDITORIAL: Lower America's drinking age

In our modern word, it is impossible to hide from alcohol. Yes the drinking age is 21, but let’s be honest, we all know what alcohol is years before it is legal. For many teenagers, drinking is a common pass time. Others are naïve to its prevalence. Whatever the case, no one can deny that alcohol consumption is a controversial conversation. Whether one is getting an MIP, getting grounded by their parents, or getting ignored by a friend for ratting out a party, it can be a roadblock in many teenage lives. This editorial by Madyson Foltz, a 16 year old in favor of lowering the drinking age, uses details, diction, and syntax to create effects and meanings.

         With her use of important, crucial, congruent details, Foltz supports her position. She does an impeccable job of uses details that draw the reader in and make them agree with her side of the argument. Foltz brings in the law, telling us  “the 1984 federal law set the drinking age to 21 is a contradiction of the rights already given to 18 year olds.” Statistics are used to inform the reader of false accusations. The author seamlessly ties in history too speaking about “Prohibition [not working] in the past, and [not] working now.” By including heated facts like “eighteen year olds are given the right to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, and get drafted into the military” Foltz supports her position with not only true but prevalent information.

          Foltz successfully uses diction to enhance her position. Although she is only 16, and therefore an amateur writer, one would not be able to tell that from her piece. She successfully uses mature language. Phrases like “forbidden fruit” and words like “taboo” give her an educated appearance. She is able to acknowledge the position of her opponents but use feeble words and phrases to lessen their significance. She then counteracts them with forceful words supporting her position. Many times throughout the piece, she uses drinking as a noun. For example, she calls it “a badge of adulthood.” This is a unique technique but it is used in an enticing way.

         Using syntax in a creative, effective way helps Foltz hammer her point into the heads of her readers. In multiple instances, she uses conjunctions and punctuation throughout the sentence to make the ending that much more apparent. Since she is writing about a controversial issue that undoubtedly has a strong opposing argument, it was imperative for her to comment on the negatives of her argument. By using correct syntax, she is able to do this in an impeccable way that doesn’t negate her position. For example, she states how “alcohol affects teens performance in school” but immediately uses her rebuttal statement that “A teen's performance, however, tends to be affected only when consumed in abundance.“ Her use of semicolons helps her tie ideas together seamlessly. For instance, she says, “Teenagers drink regardless of the law; to them, rebelling is enticing.“ Her flawless use of syntax helps her tie her abundance of ideas together without making the reader feel overloaded with information.

         Madyson Foltz uses details, diction, and syntax to create effects and meanings in her editorial on teenage drinking. She is able to pound her position into the reader’s head and gives them adequate facts to help prove her point. Although it is a controversial issue with many strong opinions on both sides, this 16 year old does a remarkable job while trying to take a stand for what she believes is right. 

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/615707_TEEN-EDITORIAL--Lower-America-s-drinking-age.html