Date: February 12, 2015

Name: Bridget Callahan

Subject of my paper: Student-athletes, alcohol, effects of alcohol
Purpose: I am a Business Management major and am on the womens soccer team at UCF. I
have been through many experiences here having to deal with drugs and alcohol abuse and
would really love to write about what it does to athletes performances and just people in general.
I care deeply about this subject because I have witnessed many things that I wish I never had to
because of alcohol consumption.
Preliminary Thesis/ Argument: The increasing number of alcohol related incidents and deaths
is quickly rising. In college athletics, it may seem that athletes are ones who stray away from the
party scene because they do not want to effect their athletic performance and relationships with
authority. However, It is a very common usage in athletics, not only as a coping mechanism for
various problems, but a way to have fun.
Intended audience: My intended audience is my ENC1102 class, which has no studentathletes in. I do not want many people to hear about this issue, however, I think athletes abuse
alcohol much more than some may think and we suffer very severe consequences.
Types of research areas: I will be going on the internet for secondary sources and stories
involving alcohol and student-athletes or professional athletes in general. I will also be
interviewing some people on various teams, some at UCF, some from other schools and how
drinking alcohol affected not only their careers in their sport, but their lives.
Kinds of sources I will use and why they will benefit my paper: I think this goes hand in
hand with the above subtitle types of research areas. They will benefit my paper because they
are first-hand accounts of how alcohol affected the student-athletes way of life, on and off the
field.
Graphs or charts: I will do a survey of different athletes and compare them to in season and
out of season. I dont really know what to do and could use some input for the graphs and charts
area of my research paper.
Documentation Style: I will be using MLA.
Tentative List of Resources: I do not like to name names for who I am interviewing because it
is a personal matter, but I have three athletes I will be interviewing, a trusted website online,

maybe a book (auto bibliography) written by an athlete, and I will put my personal experience in
there.