Strategies for reducing drug abuse in America
Opposing viewpoints on drug abuse
Viewpoint 1. The war on drugs reduces drug abuse / Jonathan Last
Viewpoint 2. The war on drugs does not reduce drug abuse / Anthony Gregory
Viewpoint 3. Peer pressure causes drug abuse / Jamie Gadette
Viewpoint 4. Marijuana causes health problems / National Institute on Drug Abuse
Viewpoint 5. Marijuana does not cause health problems / Paul Armentano
Model essays and writing exercises
Preface A: The five-paragraph essay
Preface B: The cause-and-effect essay
Essay one: Discovering the causes of teenage drug abuse
Exercise 1a: Create an outline from an existing essay
Essay two: The consequences of drug abuse
Exercise 2a: Create an outline from an existing essay
Exercise 2b: Create an outline for your own essay
Essay three: Marijuana is a gateway drug
Exercise 3a: Examining introductions and conclusions
Exercise 3B: Using quotations to enliven your essay
Final writing challenge: write your own cause-and-effect five-paragraph essay
Supporting research material
Appendix A: Facts about drug abuse
Appendix B: Finding and using sources of information
Appendix C: Using MLA to create a works cited list
Appendix D: Sample essay topics
