20. The Four Best Questions to Ask Teenagers at Risk for Suicide

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/01/11/screening_for_teen_suicide_the_four_questions_to_ask_at_risk_youth.html

Slate writer Emily Bazelon wrote on Friday, January 11th regarding teenage suicide causes. She introduced the article with a question asking the reader "If you had two minutes to screen teenagers who were potentially at risk for suicide, what four questions would you ask them?" In the next paragraph, Bazelon explained the approach taken by a research group who came up with a shorter list of questions compared to the SIQ (Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire) to question to 500 patients. It was later found out that four of the 17 were really close to the SIQ results.

Bazelon's purpose in writing this article was to prove that bullying is not a direct cause for teenage suicide, but rather a factor that contributes to suicidal thoughts in teens. The passage is directed to the general public and by using credible sources to support her argument (National Institute of Mental Health and Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire) she was effectively able to inform the reader that the key is that "proportion, and understanding that suicide usually has multiple causes."