CLN Library Services for AP Seminar

APA In-Text Citation Workshop

Here you will find a series of texts that are the result of a bibliographical trail that started in Britannica
ProCon.org. These texts deal with Pros and Cons of controversial issues. We have also provided basic
information about each text (title, author, year of publication, source).
Task: In groups choose a short fragment or idea from one of this texts and write a paragraph that uses
this fragment or idea. Cite the information how you have been doing so far (do not use any internet
resources). After a short presentation we will then, as a group make all the necessary changes to comply
with APA style.
Post your text in the jamboard shared with you earlier today. Each group should take a different
Jamboard frame.

Topic 1: Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age?

Topic 2: Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?

Topic 3: Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?

Topic 1

Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age?

Pro
“Prohibiting young people from consuming alcohol doesn’t stop them from drinking. However, it does make
drinking much less safe. Instead of drinking at a bar, for example, students drink secretly in dorm rooms or
at clandestine parties, where they are much less likely to be supervised and where drinks spiked with drugs
are much more likely. If someone overindulges or becomes ill, their friends are less likely to seek medical
and other assistance. Why? Because underage drinking is illegal, and calls for help risk self-incrimination.
Moreover, banning the sale of alcohol to people under 21 is certain to encourage binge drinking… Since
most college students are unable to buy their own alcohol, they have friends, family members, or even
strangers buy it for them. Nevertheless, these people are not always available. This lack of a reliable supply
makes young drinkers are more likely to overindulge when alcohol is available.
Lowering the drinking age would help mitigate or reverse these effects. With a reliable supply, young
drinkers would have less incentive to binge. In addition, when binging did occur, they would be more likely
to seek help.
Besides being ineffective, the drinking laws are incredibly costly. In 2005 the consequences of the underage
drinking (missed work, healthcare costs, etc.) spurred by current policy cost taxpayers $60.3 billion. The
U.S. government also spends millions of dollars every year enforcing these ineffective policies”
Elementos básicos de la cita:

Autor (s): Abigail R. Hall-Blanco, and Anna Wavrin.

Año: 3 de junio de 2017
Título: Underage-Drinking Laws Kill
Fuente: https://www.insidesources.com/underage-drinking-laws-kill

Con
“One argument for lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) from 21 is that 19-and 20-year-
olds are drinking anyway, so why not legalize it so they will drink in controlled settings. Research shows,
however, that about half of drivers arrested or killed while driving intoxicated (DWI) had been drinking at
licensed establishments. Another argument for lowering the MLDA is that keeping it at 21 only increases
the desire for the ‘forbidden fruit,’ such that when teens turn 21, they will drink heavily. Research shows,
however, that when the drinking age is 21, those younger than 21 drink less and continue to drink less
through their early 20s. A third argument is that the Federal MLDA exerts too much authority over the
States. The response to this argument is that providing for the public’s safety is the primary responsibility of
government at all levels… This policy paper argues that national and international evidence shows that
lowering the drinking age results in increased traffic crashes and that lowering the drinking age in
combination with alcohol education programs does not impact the drinking and driving habits of youth
under 21 years old. In arguing for a continuance of a MLDA of 21, this paper points to a 59-percent
reduction in the rate of young alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes between 1982 and 1998.”

Autor (s): James C. Fell

Año: Oct. 2008
Título: “An Examination of the Criticisms of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Laws in the United
States from a Traffic-safety Perspective”
Fuente: https://drinkingage.procon.org/should-the-drinking-age-be-lowered-from-21-to-a-younger-age-pro-
con-quotes/

Topic 2
Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?
Pro
“As a physician, I have constantly searched for treatment options for my patients’ chronic pain. And until
the Florida medical marijuana initiative passed with an astonishing 71.3 percent majority in 2016, I realized
I had many misconceptions about the drug. With research, though, I learned that marijuana not only has
multiple potential medical uses, but it also has fewer side effects compared to other medications…
In addition to pain relief, medical marijuana provides relief to the common conditions associated with
chronic pain, such as anxiety/depression and insomnia. With medical marijuana, the pharmacological
management for chronic pain can be simplified with lesser need to also prescribe medications for anxiety,
depression and insomnia…
The addictive effect of marijuana is slight, and there is no risk of death with marijuana withdrawal.”
Autor (s): Pedro Oliveros
Año: Feb. 9, 2018
Título: Medical Marijuana Can Help Reduce Our Opioid Dependency: Physician,”
Fuente: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-medical-marijuana-can-cut-opioid-dependency-
20180207-story.html

Con
“The use of psychoactive drugs like marijuana is a health issue, particularly when used for medical
purposes. Regrettably, there is a lack of high-quality data that shows marijuana for most medical purposes is
both safe and effective. What little evidence exists is of poor quality and may not even be representative of
the purposes for which medical marijuana is sought. There are significant gaps in information necessary to
treat marijuana like other forms of medicine: Dosage standardization and overall quality control may not be
in place…
If marijuana is to be treated as medicine, then it needs to meet the same standards of quality, effectiveness,
and safety we would expect of any other prescription drug. That standard has not yet been met.”.

Autor (s): Scott Gavura

Año: Jan. 11, 2018
Título: “Medical Marijuana: Where Is the Evidence?”
Fuente: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/medical-marijuana-where-is-the-evidence/

Topic 3
Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?

Pro

“[School uniforms] are great levelers. With a strategically chosen uniform, body type disappears. And it’s
hard to distinguish who is cool and who is not. It’s harder to discern the differences in socio-economic
background. Nobody wants any item of clothing that the other is wearing; all are equally undesirable, so
thieving and general adolescent covetousness are reduced…
A uniform is not the same thing as a dress code… No endless back and forth between child, parents and
school. Moreover, when a kid’s in uniform, he or she sticks out like a sore thumb. The local community
knows where that kid belongs. It is harder for kids to skip school or get into trouble outside school. They’re
too easily spotted…What do bridesmaids, military personnel and emergency service workers have in
common? They all have to wear what they are given without whining, no matter how puffy the sleeves or
hideous the shoes. Oh yeah, and they also are there to serve somebody else. Nothing says ‘this is not just
about you,’ more than an ugly uniform. And where else could we learn a lesson in sacrifice and serving the
common good with so little actual sacrifice?…”
Belinda Luscombe, Editor-at-Large at TIME magazine, stated in her Mar. 25, 2014 article titled “How Ugly
School Uniforms Will Save Education,” published on Time.com:

Autor (s): Belinda Luscombe

Año: Mar. 25, 2014
Título: “How Ugly School Uniforms Will Save Education,”
Fuente: https://time.com/37090/how-ugly-school-uniforms-will-save-education/

Con
“Rather than promote an orderly and disciplined student environment, mandatory uniforms would cause
massive student disobedience and take away valuable instruction time. If one or two students wear
something inappropriate, administration will handle it. The student in question will change, be disciplined,
and return to class without disrupting the school day. [South Carolina] Rep. McKnight’s [mandatory
uniform] policy would trigger massive backlash from students, and would cost countless hours of classroom
instruction. Public schools already have dress codes which ban provocative, revealing, gang-affiliated, and
hateful clothing, which addresses Rep. McKnight’s concerns in introducing the bill.
Second, the bill would not mask income disparities, it would showcase them. The bill says that it would
provide funding for at least five uniforms for a student who cannot afford one, depending on the availability
of funding.
What happens when this funding is not available anymore? And why would this be the best use of money on
the school system? Wouldn’t it be better to fix the crippling inequality of schools along the I-95 corridor? Or
invest in vocational training for our students? Rather than attempting to disguise poverty, shouldn’t we
attempt to solve it and help these students and their families rise out of poverty?”

Autor (s): Letters

Año: Jan. 5, 2017
Título: “Will Galloway: Just Say No to School Uniforms,”
Fuente: https://www.fitsnews.com/2017/01/05/will-galloway-just-say-no-to-school-uniforms/