Drinking survey

1. Introduction
Do you ever go back to your home and see people who can’t stand up because they are so drunk? Do you drink? Do your friends drink or does one of your family drinks? Should we allow alcohol for people under 21, like 19 or 18? Scientists find that drinking is really bad for our health. We may have serious diseases such as addiction to alcohol, and poisoning, and you may die or you may get stomach ulcers.
Drinking is a problem these days because the research has found that 22% of all students under 21, compared to 18% over 21 years old, are heavy drinkers (Engs, 1998, para.5). Also, they have found that only 32% of under age youths compared to 24% of legal age youths are heavy drinkers. Some people think that states should raise the drinking age to 21 and this is the right thing to do. But some think that drinking age should be less than 21, they think that 18 is the best age to start to drink. Also, males and females may have a different idea about drinking. Moreover, young people and old people may have different ideas.
2. Purpose
Our group, EAP1-A, including me, decided to find out some things; first, if the females started to drink before the males, or the males started first. Second, we wanted to know at which age they started to drink alcohol. Third, what do the people think about lowering the drinking age to 18? Another thing we wanted to know was if they think much drinking is a problem in Carbondale or not.

3. Hypotheses
I had two hypotheses abut drinking alcohol. First, I thought that males start to drink alcohol before females. Second, I thought the teenagers, at age 18 and under, would want to lower the drinking age to 18 or less.

4. Methods and procedures
Each person in our group was supposed to ask 6 people who were of different genders and ages in the Student Center and on the S.I.U. campus to get different opinions; all respondents were probably students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. In addition, we asked anyone we saw. We prepared a survey that had 9 questions. Those questions were almost all yes or no questions, so it was easy for respondents to answer the questions.

5. Data + chart
6. Results
Actually, most of the people we asked said that they drink. 8 out of 12 (67%) 18-20 years-olds told us that they started to drink at age 18-20 years old. 20 out of 25 males (88%) drink and 19 out of 24 (79%) females drink. 3 of 25 (12%) males and 4 out of 24 (17%) females started drinking when they were 13-15 years old so the females started first. 9 of 25 males (36%) and 11 of 24 (46%) females started drinking when they were 16-18. 11 of 25 (44%) males and 6 of 24 (25%) females started drinking when they were 19-20. 4 of 12 (33%) people who are 18-20 years old and 8 of 25 (31%) people who are over 21 said that they should lower the drinking age.

7. Conclusion and discussion
I believed that males started to drink alcohol before females. However, it was not true because our survey showed that females started to drink before males. I was shocked at that fact, because I thought that males started to drink first. Also, I thought that teenagers at age 18 and under would want to lower the drinking age to 18 or less. The survey showed they were only slightly more likely to farer lowering the drinking age. This was true; 33% of people who are 18-20 said that they should lower the drinking age, and 31% of people who are over 21 said that they should lower the drinking age. I think the results came out as they did, because people who are 18 are more likely to say yes, to lower the drinking age. They want to drink as adults and they think that they have the right to do it. They think if they can get marred and go to the war when they are 18 they can drink alcohol; it is not a big deal. Moreover, 4 out of 20 (20%) people who are 18-20 years old, and 8 out of 64 (12.5%) people who are over 20 think that too much drinking is a problem in Carbondale. This means that Engs was right about that underage people drink. Finally, if I do another survey about the drinking age I will ask two more questions. I want to know how can they get alcohol when they want to drink? Also, I want to know how they would feel if they made alcohol illegal in the U.S.A.
8- Reference
Engs, R. (1998, March 20). Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. Applied Health Sciences, Indiana University. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cqoped.html