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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION


SECTION II
Total time – 2 hours

Question 1

(Suggested time-40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score.)

Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying seven sources.

This question requires you to synthesize a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. When you
synthesize sources you refer to them to develop your position and cite them accurately. Your argument should be
central; the sources should support this argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources.

Remember to attribute both direct and indirect references.

Introduction

Countries, including the United States, traditionally grant adulthood to citizens the ages 18 and over. But like the
United States, countries do not allow full freedom and choice to citizens until the age of 21. The differences in the
legal obligations the two ages allow differ in many countries, but the United States has strict laws that separate the
legally obtainable adult statuses at both the ages of 18 and 21.

Assignment

Read the sources that follow (including the introductory information) carefully. Then choose an issue related to
the legal adulthood age at either 18 or 21.You might choose an issue such as military enlistment, legal
consumption of alcohol and tobacco ages, parental consent and health insurance coverage’s. You do not have to
choose an issue that you have had experienced personally. Then, write an essay in which you use this issue to
argue which age the United States should recognize a citizen as a legal adult. Synthesize at least three of the
sources for support.

You may refer to the sources by their titles (Source A, Source B, ect.) or by the descriptions in the parentheses.
Source A (U.S 18)
Source B (U.S 21)
Source C (Wheat)
Source D (ICAP)
Source E (Map)
Source F (Table)
Source G (Tobacco)

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source A

U.S Department of State. When a Child


Becomes an Adult. U.S. Department of State:
Washington, DC
http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21961.htm
March 24, 2010; 7:45pm

The following is excerpted from an article in from the U.S Department of State about citizens turning 18.

Regulations that govern allowances for family members turn children into adults at various ages.

Turning 18: 

When a child reaches the age of 18, they become a full legal adult in most US localities. That may not be the case
in overseas environments where the age for acquiring adult status under another country’s jurisdiction may differ
significantly.

In any event, those turning 18:

 Need to be encouraged to register to vote in U.S. local, state and federal elections.


 Can join the military, receive medical care, get married, and receive a number of other adult privileges
and responsibilities without parental consent.
 Need to be reminded, if they are male, to register for the Selective Service.

Some "dependent" status remains, at least in the context of the Federal Government. Children retain the status
if eligible family member (EMF) until they turn 21. They would still be eligible to work in a job designated for
EMFs at an overseas mission. They will still be on parents' travel orders, covered by their health insurance, and
the medical services of the embassy or consulate health unit, and be eligible for evacuation for either medical or
security reasons.

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source B

U.S Department of State. When a Child


Becomes an Adult. U.S. Department of State:
Washington, DC
http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21961.htm
March 24, 2010; 7:45pm

The following is excerpted from an article in from the U.S Department of State about citizens turning 21.

Turning 21:

A family member who turns 21 is no longer eligible for any allowances, coverage under the health unit, or
medical or emergency evacuations. They are no longer eligible family members (EMFs)…
There are a few exceptions if the family member is still in undergraduate college in the U.S. (or in an affiliated
year/semester abroad program), or has served in the military. In the first case, the family member will continue to
receive the education travel allowance until he/she turns 23 or graduates from undergraduate studies. If the family
member has served in the military, he/she would not have been considered a dependent during his/her military
service and can extend his/her period of eligibility by the number of years of service, for educational travel
allowances only, provided it is established that the family member would normally live with the employee/parent
if not attending college. Until age 23, a child can remain eligible for summer hire programs if he/she is still in
undergraduate school and receiving the educational travel allowance.

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source C
Wheat, Lori. Three Reasons the Age of Majority Should Be Raised
from 18 to 21. Oklahoma: Associated Content, Oct. 30, 2007
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/427230/three_reasons_the
_age_of_majority_should.html?cat=17
March 24, 2010; 8:00pm

The following is excerpted from an article from an attorney about reasons to move the Adult age from 18 to 21.

1. Raising the age of majority from 18 to 21: less young people will die in battles and wars.

For most people, graduation from high school presents a major question of what to do next. Some people may
choose to delay going to college in favor of joining the military. By serving in the military before going to
college, the financial aspects of college will be easier to weather. Of course, that is assuming the young person
makes it through their time in the military. 

If the age of majority is changed from 18 to 21, young people at age 18 will no longer have the option to join the
military. They will be more likely to go on to college immediately after high school graduation. Taking college
courses will help broaden their horizons, and they will be much more mentally prepared to decide whether the
military is the right choice for them at age 21.

2. Raising the age of majority from 18 to 21: there will be legal consistency regarding what a person of a
certain age is considered legally competent to decide.

Many people think it is strange that the age of legally becoming an adult is age 18, but the age to legally consume
alcohol is age 21. At age 18, the decision whether to join the U.S. military is considered to be completely within
the realm of competent decision-making, but an 18 year old is not considered competent to choose whether to
consume an alcoholic beverage. Both decisions can have serious consequences, but surely going to war will have
at least as many grave mental and physical consequences as choosing to consume alcohol. Changing the age of
majority from 18 to 21 (or conversely, changing the age of allowing alcohol consumption from age 21 to age 18)
would result in legal consistency regarding what a person of a certain age is considered legally competent to
decide.

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source D

International Center for Alcohol Policies. ICAPS Report 4: Drinking Age Limits.
Washington D.C. March, 2002.
http://www.grsproadsafety.org/themes/default/pdfs/Drinking%20Age%20Limits.pdf
March 25, 2010; 6:30pm

The following is excerpted from an article by the International Center for Alcohol Policies on legal
drinking ages.

United States
Legislation for the minimum drinking age in United States varied from state to state over a decade ago, ranging
from 18 to 21. Driven largely by the desire to curb traffic fatalities associated with alcohol consumption, the
National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their purchase and public possession of
alcohol age to 21, or risk losing federal highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act. By 1987 all states had
complied with the 21 minimum age law.

Based on statistics compiled by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHSTA) "alcoholrelated"
1 traffic fatalities for people under 21 dropped by 43% (from 5,062 alcohol-related fatalities to
2,883) during the years 1987 through 1996.2 this should be seen in context of a 28% drop in alcoholrelated traffic
fatalities in the general population. From 1982 through 1986 when minimum purchasing and public possession
age laws varied from 18 to 21, alcohol-related traffic fatalities for people under 21 dropped by 14% (from 6,329
alcohol-related fatalities to 5,455).3 Alcohol-related traffic fatalities for the general population during this period
dropped by 4%. In NHSTA's view, the minimum 21 age laws "have had greater impact over the years as the
drinking ages in the states have increased, affecting more drivers aged 18 to 20."4

The 21 age limit law in the United States has also raised concerns about the apparent inconsistency in not
allowing those under 21 to drink while being treated as adults in most other areas of life. O'Malley and Wagenaar
perhaps put it best when they state "it may seem unfair to many observers to allow 18-20 year olds to marry, to
have children, to own cars, homes and firearms and to be financially and socially independent, and yet to be
legally prohibited from drinking a glass of wine in a restaurant, or even a glass of champagne at their own
wedding.”20 While Toomey et al., argue that different activities have different ages of initiation and that the risks
to youth and society are sufficiently great as to justify this apparent inconsistency, 21 other countries do not feel
the same. The United Kingdom, for example, recommended in its Report by the Central Policy Review Staff that
"it would be impracticable to have a limit higher than the age of majority..."22

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source E

Legal Drinking Age Map


http://www.talkleft.com/story/2009/1/23/25436/0539
March 27,2010; 9:26pm

The following is a map of the legal drinking ages in the United States before the national drinking age law.

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source F

http://comptroller.defense.gov/fmr/07b/07b_appendix_h.pdf
DoD Financial Management Regulation Volume 7B,
Appendix H. March 28,2010; 10:30pm

The following is a list of the Age of Majority in the United States.

AGE OF MAJORITY BY STATE AND UNITED STATES POSSESSION


State Age State Age State Age State Age
Alabama 19 Nebraska 19 Kentucky 18 Texas 18
Alaska 18 Nevada 18 Louisiana 18 Utah 18
Arizona 18 New Hampshire 18 Maine 18 Vermont 18
Arkansas 18 New Jersey 18 Maryland 18 Virginia 18
California 18 New Mexico 18 Massachusetts 18 Virgin Islands 18
Colorado 18 New York 18 Michigan 18 Washington 18
Connecticut 18 North Carolina 18 Minnesota 18 West Virginia 18
Delaware 18 North Dakota 18 Mississippi 21 Wisconsin 18
District of 18 Ohio 18 Missouri 18 Wyoming 18
Columbia
Florida 18 Oklahoma 18 Montana 18
Georgia 18 Oregon 18
Hawaii 18 Pennsylvania 21
Idaho 18 Puerto Rico

Illinois 18 Rhode Island 18

Indiana 18 South Carolina 18

Iowa 18 South Dakota 18

Kansas 18 Tennessee 18

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2010 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (Form A)

Source G

Haigh, Susan. Lawmakers Consider Raising Smoking Age


from 18 to 21. The Boston Globe: Associated Press Writer,
March 5,2007.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2007/03
/05/lawmakers_consider_raising_smoking_age_from_18_to_21
/ March 28,2010; 10:30pm

The following is excerpted from an article in the Boston Globe on raising the legal tobacco age.

HARTFORD, Conn. --Some lawmakers want young people in Connecticut to wait a few more years before they
can legally buy cigarettes.
The legislature's Public Health Committee heard testimony Monday about a proposal to raise the legal age for
purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21.
If the bill passes, Connecticut would have the highest age requirement in the nation for buying cigarettes and
other tobacco products. The legal age in most states is 18, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. It's
19 in Alabama, Alaska and Utah, as well as some counties.

Almost 90 percent of cigarette smokers started at or before age 18, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

But it's unclear whether higher age requirements for buying tobacco lead to fewer young smokers.
In Alabama, where the smoking age is 19, 24.4 percent of high school students smoke, according to the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids. That's compared with the national average of 23 percent.
In Utah, 7.4 percent of high school students smoke, while that number is 19.2 percent in Alaska.
In Connecticut, 18.1 percent of high school students -- about 35,800 -- smoke, according to the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids.

New York City officials last year discussed raising the city's smoking age from 18 to 21 as a way to further reduce
smoking. Last month, a Texas state senator filed a bill that would raise the minimum age to use or buy cigarettes
and other tobacco products from 18 to 19.
A similar bill increasing the age to 19 was proposed in Onondaga County, N.Y., but the county executive vetoed
the legislation last month because it did not exempt young people in the military or provide funding for
enforcement.

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