Assignment due

Writing Activity 2: Outline, Working These

Statement, & Starting Draft

ChaVeda A. Willis

ENG 215 - Research & Writing

Professor Gabriel Smith

November 6, 2018

Outline

I. Introduction

A. People abuse antidepressants other than taking them for depression.

II. Body

A. Health risks

1. Brain loss

2. Hemorrhage

3. Infertility (women)

4. Seizures

B. Who abuses them

1. Ages 15- 30

2. Mostly common in African Americans and Caucasian people

C. List of antidepressants that are being abused

1. Oxycotin

2. Vicodin

3. Valium

D. Counter Perspective: Antidepressants help those who are suffering with depression and anxiety.

1. Response to Counter Perspective: Taking them if they are prescribed to you really helps with your depression.

III. Conclusion

A. In conclusion, the detrimental impacts that abusing prescription drugs has among adolescents is clear. Partnering with the community to address this issue is integral to preparing teenagers to better understand how to use prescription drugs safely. The responsibility to help keep children and adolescents’ safe falls to all of us. Acting now and educating students about the dangers of prescription drugs is the first step among many to eliminating this increasingly negative trend.

Working Thesis Statement

Prescription drugs can cause negative effects such as addiction, tolerance, physical dependence, and death, thus, anyone taking medication needs to be aware of these hazards.

Starting Draft

The goal of this capstone paper is to present current and up to date research on prescription drug abuse and addiction as it relates to the specific population of adolescents. Prescription drug abuse presents a major concern to professionals at varying degrees, but the purpose of this paper it to

give you all an overview of how to detect possible drug abuse, intervene appropriately, consult fellow co-workers, administrators, and community personnel, empower others to make a change, and prevent at risk students who exhibit signs of eventual addiction. A thorough evaluation of the history, statistics, dangers, and presenting problems of prescription drugs is also discussed. This paper also takes into consideration ways of assessing prescription drug abuse and addiction.

Drug abuse represents an overwhelmingly dangerous trend among adolescents with prescription drugs being a major culprit at this age level (Manchikanti, Fellow, Allinani, & Pampati, 2010; Weigel, Donovan, Krug, & Dixon, 2007; SAMHSA, 2010). The problem with most of these trends is the ever-increasing accessibility to prescription drugs, and their use for reasons other than the prescribed treatment. Research clearly states that parents, educators, and other health professionals need to be cognizant of the fact that “when prescription drug abuse occurs before age 16, there is an increased risk for addiction and abuse of psychotherapeutic drugs later in life”. I also read that state prescription drug abuse as a major social problem and concern for counselors. According to the American Psychiatric Association (2013), it is the most prevalent mind disorder, encompassing some 40 percent of the diagnoses in the DSM-V. Inaba and Cohen (2011) call it the number one continuing health problem, as well as the number one prison problem in the United States.

Feedback from Writing Activity 1

1. A little unclear what you mean here. Who is abusing antidepressants? A little context would help make your point come through a bit more effectively here.

2. Wouldn’t your audience consist of people who are already abusing these drugs? How might you approach this to engage a wider reading audience?

3. Are they used for “fun”? Which antidepressants are you referring to?

4. You said that there would be a list of abused prescriptions, but I don’t see any listed here, ChaVeda.

5. Prewriting is one of the most important stages of the writing process because it gives you the opportunity to think through your ideas, develop your points, and bring some structure to your work. Completing the Week 3 Assignment should give you a solid head start on the projects to come, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing how this all comes together.

How Feedback Was Used

I used what the Professor told me, and I added statistic. I added certain antidepressants that are abused the most. I also did some self-regulation when I revised some of my points because I suffer from depression and I read up on a little more about how others abuse antidepressants.

How Feedback Will Help with Future Writing

The feedback I was given advised me to think about prewriting and how she wanted me to get my audience attention without giving all the information out there. The feedback I got will help me in building stronger arguments on my next assignment.

Sources

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Manchikanti, L., Fellow, B., Allinali, H., & Pampati, V. (2010). Therapeutic use, abuse, and

nonmedical use of opioids: A ten-year perspective. Pain Physician, 13(1), 401-435.

Weigel, D. J., Donovan, K. A., Krug, K. S., & Dixon, W. A. (2007). Prescription opioid abuse

and dependence: Assessment strategies for counselors. Journal of Counseling &

Development, 85(2), 211-215.