The Analytical Report
Questions for the Analytical Report
1. The circadian rhythm of teenagers makes it difficult for them to waken before
8:00 am, yet most high schools require students to be in class by that time. Is
attendance and performance improved by measures such as flexible schedules?
Audience: Local school board.
2. Alcoholics Anonymous has been a staple of American culture for over half a
century. How successful has it been?
Audience: Board of directors of a new drug/alcohol center trying to decide whether or not to
base its recovery program on AA principles.
3. Are online dating sites and apps like Tinder, Hinge, and LetsDate a sensible way
to approach courtship or are they merely an addictive pastime?
Audience: Young people in college and recent graduates starting new careers.
4. DARE is a popular anti-drug program that many schools have adopted. How
effective is DARE at preventing drug use in teens?
Audience: Local elementary school PTA debating whether or not to pay for the DARE
program to continue at its school.
5. Are vaccines safe, and should measles vaccination be required for all children?
Audience: Parents of school-age children.
6. Bitcoin is an online virtual currency system involving no central banking
authority or government backing. Is it safe and practical to use bitcoins?
Audience: Students in a college economics class.
7. Several states have decriminalized marijuana, and others are considering doing
so. Will decriminalization decrease drug trafficking, and how will it affect crime?
Audience: Voters of a state who will be deciding on a decriminalization amendment in the
next election.
8. What would have happened to the course of World War I I if the atomic bomb
hadn’t been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Audience: High School American history class.
9. What will happen to sea levels if global warming due to ozone layer depletion
continues and the polar caps melt significantly?
Audience: Environmental education class at a local college.
10. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act raised the US drinking age to 21 more
than thirty years ago. Should the law be reconsidered?
Audience: Group of teenagers petitioning to loosen the age restriction.
11. Are red light cameras an effective deterrent to automobile accidents?
Audience: County board of commissioners considering installing the cameras.
12. Do sex education programs prevent the spread of sexually transmitted
diseases among teenagers?
Audience: School board of local high school considering adopting a new sex education
program.
13. Are drivers under age 21 poorer drivers than those over 21? Would raising the
driving age from 17 to 21 decrease the number of auto accidents?
Audience: Voters in a state considering increasing the driving age from 17 to 21.
14. Is online college instruction as effective as face-to-face classroom instruction?
Audience: Board of Trustees at a college considering whether or not to offer online courses.
15. Does reduced class size increase student achievement?
Audience: Voters in Florida who will determine whether or not to support the class size
amendment in the fall election.
16. Are newly arriving freshmen college students better or more ill prepared
academically than freshmen in the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s?
Audience: President of local college who is trying to increase student success.
17. Are GMOs (genetically modified organisms) a safe and effective way to
increase world food supplies? Do GMO benefits outweigh real or anticipated
dangers?
Audience: Aid workers interested in reducing malnutrition in third-world countries.
18. Is “vaping” with e-cigarettes a solution to the dangers of tobacco
smoking/ chewing, or does it’s own set of health concerns outweigh benefits?
Audience: Healthcare professionals at a local hospital.
19. Is the “sharing economy” based on online services like Uber, Lyft, AianB, and
TaskRabbbit a viable business model and the wave of the future, or merely a fad?
Audience: A networking event attended by young college-age entrepreneurs.
20. Are general school-based and other suicide education programs effective in
reducing suicide among adolescents?
Audience: School board of local district considering offering a suicide education program.
21. Why is “fracking” to extract shale oil and gas becoming an attractive
alternative for oil companies? What is involved in the hydraulic fracturing process
and what are the dangers?
Audience: Property owners in a region where shale oil has been discovered.
22. Do students today have access to too much technology? ls technology
enhancing or impeding learning?
Audience: Parents of middle school students.
23. Is a college education worth the money?
Audience: Parents of college age students.
24. Is allowing carrying concealed weapons on college campuses a good idea?
Audience: College and university administration.
25. Have colleges gone too far or not far enough to accommodate students with
disabilities?
Audience: College planning committee which is designing new facilities.
26. Is Wikipedia a legitimate academic research source?
Audience: College students who are taking a technical writing course.
27. Should college athletes be paid?
Audience: College athletic directors.
28. Can robots reach human levels of intelligence and performance?
Audience: College psychology students.