Writing about the adverse effects of drugs is a thankless job, and getting this job done without making the readers nauseous with its preachy tone already is impressive enough. Rob Sheffield has gone an even more successful way by prompting his audience to acknowledge the explicit abuse of Ambien – the problem that has been brewing in the United States for several years running (Reel & Abraham, 2007). By organizing his ideas clearly and getting his point across in an efficient manner, Sheffield tackles a very controversial and quite notorious issue rather successfully.
Specifying the details of the text layout and the stylistic choices, which served as the methods for originally addressing the issue in question and drawing enough attention to it, one must mention that Sheffield starts with background information about Ambien and its use in the United States. Thus, even the people, who are not familiar with the issue, can sense the urgency of the issue and realize the complexity of the problem, as well as acknowledge the political implications of Ambien abuse for the residents of the United States. More to the point, Sheffield switches from the discussion of the political life of the state to the effects of Ambien abuse on media and popular culture quickly, therefore, making the readers see that the cancerous spreading of Ambien consumption among the U.S. citizens is extremely dangerous to their wellbeing.
The rest of the text is just as impressive as the hook that the author places at the beginning of the essay. The very fact that Sheffield manages to sum up the problem in four paragraphs is truly fascinating – despite the complexity of the issue, he has managed to convey the essence of the problem in a relatively short text and motivate the readers for addressing and analyzing the problem of Ambien abuse in the American society. Finally, the ingenuity, with which the author exposes the effects of Ambien abuse to his audience, is beyond criticism – the nonsensical phrase, which Sheffield uses to explain what happens in the mind of a person hooked on the drug, makes the reader shudder.
The arrangement of the paragraphs, therefore, is perfect. Every word is placed exactly where it belongs, and every phrase hits very close to home even for the readers, who were unaware of the existence of the problem. An interesting representation of the problem, Sheffield’s article on Ambien abuse is worth reading.
Reference List
Reel, S. J. & Abraham, I. L. (2007). Business and legal essentials for nurse practitioners: From negotiating your first job through owning a practice. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Health Sciences.