11/20/2014
Public Speaking
Topic: Drinking Age 18 or 21?
Purpose: To persuade students to change their feelings about the current drinking age and the benefits of changing it to eighteen.
Thesis: Underage drinking is to be expected. If an eighteen year old is old enough and mature enough to vote and serve the country in war, he or she should be able to drink. With proper upbringing and schooling on the subject, the drinking age should be changed to eighteen.
I. Introduction A. Attention getter: Have you ever wondered why the age to vote, serve your country, smoke cigarettes, serve on jury, or get married is 18, but to buy alcohol you have to be 21? B. Relevance to audience: of the people on campus under twenty-one, most have enjoyed a beer on occasion. The United States Government will tell you that all of the people are being irresponsible. C. Credibility Material: Is there some secret ceremony we all go through when we turn twenty-one that makes us responsible drinkers? When I 'm at a party I can look around and see people who are under 21 that are ridiculously drunk. However, I can also see an equal number of underage people who are very responsible about their drinking. People who are the age can be ridiculously drunk among the crowd. Face it; age doesn 't determine whether or not you drink responsibly. It never has. With my research on the topic, I hope to persuade you to think twice about your feelings on changing our drinking age to eighteen.
II. Body A. It is no secret that on any college campus any student, regardless of his age has access to alcohol. 1. This access may not be at the bar, but a student may drink himself to a stupor at a party or have an older friend purchase the alcohol. B. A University of Indiana study of students at 56 colleges found that on
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