I am sitting at home playing Nintendo with my roommate, jake, when I hear

a knock at the door. I wonder who in the world would be coming over this late

at night, because it's after midnight. As I open the door, the tired, bloodshot eyes of

my upstairs neighbor, Steve, stare at me. "Hi Sam," Steve says. As he attempts to

enter my apartment, he stumbles on the slight rise where the weather strip runs

under the door. As he trips, his forehead smashes onto the edge of the coffee table

leaving a deep and bloody gash. I run in the bathroom and grab a towel while Jake

tries to help Steve. It doesn't take us long to realize that Steve is going to need

stitches and is in no condition to drive. He smells strongly of alcohol. We place a

make-shift bandage on his cut and throw him in Jake's Chevy truck.

On the way to the hospital, Steve starts complaining about being really cold.

He is talking incoherently and half crying. I ask Steve what he has been doing, and

he just hangs his head down mumbling about drinking. Steve isn't a social drink

abstaining and accepting the use of alcohol as a way to change moods or to be

The symptoms of alcoholism vary from person to person, but the most

the National Academy of Sciences estimates that alcoholism and alcohol abuse in

take and prolonged use of alcohol can cause serious disturbances in body chemistry.

of memory lapses, and possibly complete memory loss. They may also suffer from

especially prominent in the teen years. It is estimated that over 3 million teens

Social and cultural factors play roles in to establishing drinking patterns and

Caplan, Roberta. "Alcoholism." Academic American Encyclopedia. 1992.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jake's Chevy, Academy Sciences, Sam Steve, Causes Effects, effects alcoholism, development alcoholism, Collier's Encyclopedia, King Dodd, drinker drinks, Johnson Institute, Chemical Dependency, Dodd English, American Encyclopedia, social drinker drinks, physical effects, alcoholism alcohol, night steve, cause serious, social drinker, symptoms causes effects, abuse alcohol, alcoholism causes,
Approximate Word count = 1215
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)