Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Freewrite


My topic is drunk driving. I chose to write about drunk driving because I believe that more and more people are dying from drunk driving accidents every day and we need to be aware of this.  I will make the reader aware of the statistics to open their eyes about what is going on every single day on the streets that they drive. Most people do not understand the consequences, especially young teens who think there is no harm in drunk driving.
                I found a surveillance report in the online Clemson Library that may or may not be helpful. The document is titled, "Trends in Alcohol- related fatal crashes. Hopefully this will help with identifying the seriousness of intoxicated driving.  I also found a website called "Don'tdiedrunk.org". I think this will help me determine statistics of drunk driving crashes, and deaths of the last couple of years. Finding statistics is definitely important because they will help me prove my point. Audiences love to see numbers proving that the point is valid. I also hope to find big numbers that help attest to my thesis.  Another source I found was a website called, ""Underage Drunk Driving Fatalities | Century Council." This source looks like it will help me make the audience aware of prevention of drunk driving as well as underage drinking. Too many accidents that are alcohol related consist of teenagers who are not even supposed to be consuming alcohol. There has to be more prevention for these types of fatalities.  One more source I plan to use is an actual police officer. In my opinion, interviewing a state trooper will be very helpful in making my argument. State troopers see these kinds of cases every single day. They live through the heartache of young, old, innocent, and guilty dying in alcohol-related collisions. A state trooper would be one of the most important people to interview and talk with because of their background and investment in the topic. I'm sure they see all sides to accidents that occur because of a driver who has been drinking. He should know all about the consequences and devastation that people face.  If I have the opportunity I will also interview some college kids to get their outlook on drunk driving. If I have a state trooper's view and some college students' views then I think it will give me a more accurate and persistent stance to take on the subject of drinking and driving.  
                Driving under the influence of alcohol is a very broad topic. I feel like this might be a problem I might run into when writing this research paper. It has many consequences based on the amount of alcohol consumption and other distinguishing factors. There are also many different sides one may take on this subject so I might have a bit of a problem getting my argument across. There are many legalities that go into the drinking and driving subject as well. I am not sure if I will be able to cover all of these legalistic issues which may be a problem. Every drunk driving accident is different so it will be hard to come from one standing point and judge them all the same.


Timeline
Annotated Bibliography 5 Sources Due: Wednesday, Feb. 29
Interview Completed: Monday, Mar. 5
Outline Peer Review: Wednesday, March. 7
Research Completed: Wednesday, Mar. 14
First draft due: Friday, Mar. 16
Revisions: Wednesday, March. 21
Final draft due: Friday, Mar. 30

1 comment:

  1. Savannah, Driving under the influence is a good topic, but you're right, it is also a very broad one. What I've learned is that as you collect your research, you will begin to see patterns or make connections in the information you collect, and that will help you focus in on a few related aspects on a single topic. You cover aspects of drunk driving like accidents/crashes, underage drunk driving, drunk driving fatalities, etc. just in this post- if you focused on any one of these, I think you'd have plenty to talk about. Being aware of the possible issues though is a good thing, and I think you're on the right track; keep collecting research!

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