Taylor Haran

Professor Melton
English 5
18 April 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Casey, B. J., R. M. Jones, and Hare, T. A. "The Adolescent Brain." PubMed 1124 (2008): 111-26.
Web. Mar.-Apr. 2016.
This study focuses on why adolescents are so different from any other age group. It also explores
why teens are more prone to make bad decisions. From brain imaging done on human teens and
animals, this study found the neurological answers to the previous questions. The study also
hypothesized that adolescents childhoods effect the extremity of the bad decisions they are
prone to make.
When I clicked the link to author information, I was given that the three authors are affiliated
with the Sackler Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University and the California
Institute of Technology. This source is also trustworthy because it cites over 100 additional
sources that contributed to their conclusions.
This main thing Im taking from this article is the fact that teens are more likely than any other
age group to seek risk. This piece of information is beneficial to my research because Im going
to use it to show that because alcohol is seen as a forbidden fruit, teens are more likely to
dangerously experiment with it.
Christensen, J. "21: Science's Limit When It Comes to the Drinking Age." CNN. 15 July 2014.
Web. Mar.-Apr. 2016.
This article highlights the state of our country the past 36 years the minimum legal drinking age
was raised. It states that Ronald Reagan signed the law in 1984 in an effort to lower the amount
of 16 to 20-year-old drinking and driving accidents, which was not significantly impacted, and
neither was the amount of people drinking in that age group. The article cites a study that
concluded teens are more likely to seek risk, potentially making drinking more appealing to teens
after the law was put in place. Another study in the article found that a majority of college
students drink, and when they do drink they binge drink, which is harmful and dangerous for
teens developing brains. Considering this find, the article suggested lowering the minimum legal
drinking age, and taking advantage of the learn-by-watching nature of teens to teach them to
drink responsibly.

The author of this article works for CNN, and I questioned the credibility of the article and
looked for a possible bias. I was unable to find a bias; the author clearly states his opinion on the
topic but backs up his reasoning with credible sources.
This text was extremely useful to me, because it gave me access to many reliable authors of
sources that I used for my research. Specifically, I will use the information about Ronald Reagan
that is presented in this piece. This article supports my thesis.
Kirley, B. B., L. A. Hellinga, and McCartt, A. T. "The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Age
21 on Alcohol-Related Driving in the United States." PubMed 41.2 (2010): 17381. Web.
Mar.-Apr. 2016.
The objective of this article was to observe the correlation between drinking alcohol and drinking
and driving accidents among Americans under the age of 21. Another objective was to review the
effects of the minimum drinking age laws. Drinking and driving accident trends were also
examined in correlation to underaged comumption of alcohol. It was found that teen and young
adult drinking declined in the late 1970s. It was also found that raising the drinking age lowered
the amount of alcohol related accidents.
I found this article because it was cited in the CNN article I used. The authors are affiliated with
Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, which makes their information about driving credible. It
is also a credible article because it is a peer reviewed journal.
This article had interesting finds but did not take into consideration other factors that could have
lowered the amount of drinking and driving accidents, such as the fact that driving has become
significantly safer since the 1970s. Although this source goes against my thesis, I am able to use
it as part of a counter argument. It strengthens my points.
Drinking Age Debate. Perf. Leslie Stahl. CBS News, 2009. YouTube.
This video was part of a 60 Minutes special that explored some experts opinions on the current
minimum drinking age. A major portion of the video featured those who were for lowering the
age to 18, because of how dangerous drinking has become since the age was raised. The other
part featured those who are in favor of keeping the minimum drinking age where it is currently,
with organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
This is a special that was done by CBS, who used opinions and facts from both sides of the
argument. I trust CBS to be a credible source because of the wide variety of sources they used to
accumulate their information.

This video will be perfect for my research, because it highlights many points I have found that
support my stance. The video also tells a story of an alcohol-related death that may have been
prevented if the drinking age was lowered, which I can use as a real-life testimony for lowering
the drinking age.
Steinberg, L., E. Cauffman, J. Woodlard, S. Graham, and Banich, M. "Are Adolescents Less
Mature Than Adults?" American Psychological Association (2009). Web. Mar.Apr.
2016.
This piece conducted by the American Psychological Association describes the difference
between adolescents and adults, specifically addressing the debate of whether or not capital
punishment should be legal for 16-year-olds or if the minimum age should be 18. It compares the
different mindset of an adolescent when committing a crime and an underaged female adolescent
wanting to get an abortion.
The American Psychological Association has an established credibility.In addition to that good
reputation, the American Psychological Association cites many references that contributed to
their conclusions made in the article.
The main ideas in this article are not relevant to my research; the specific idea I grabbed from
this was that adolescence starts around age 10 and ends around 19. I am going to use that fact
and compare it to how the minimum drinking age of 21 delays a true sense of adulthood, because
the end of adolescence brings many things, but not alcohol.
Wechsler, H., and Nelson, T. F. "Will Increasing Alcohol Availability by Lowering the Legal
Minimum Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among
Youths?"
PubMed 100.6 (2010): 986-92. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2016.
This journal acknowledged how dangerous alcohol can be if abused, but it also explored the idea
of lowering the drinking age and how it could affect 18 to 20 year-olds positively, advocating for
alcohol education to create safer drinking environments. The authors also explored the other side
of the spectrum, which supports the current minimum drinking age and acknowledges their
points.
The authors of this article are associated with Harvard and the University of Minnesota, and both
have doctorates. In addition to their own work, the authors cite 70 more sources that contributed
to their final product. This article has also been cited over 100 times.
This journal explored a range of subtopics under this issue, but the one fact I am going to include
in my research is the fact that driving accidents did slightly decrease since the drinking age has
been raised, but it is mostly likely from safer driving conditions and the enforcement of seatbelt

laws and effective airbags. This being one of the main reasons the law was created in the first
place makes this a strong argument for my stance.