6. Consider the excerpt from the artide "Teenage Brains Are Malleable and Vulnerable, Researchers Say" by Jon Hamilton (National Public Radio) in relationship to William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Write an argument with a claim either defending or refuting the various choices that Romeo and Juliet take in Act II of the play. Support your claim(s) with valid reasons and relevant evidence from the text about the characters' motivations and actions.

Part of the bad rap has come from studies suggesting that adolescent brains are wired to engage in risky behavior such as drug use or unsafe sex, says BJ Casey of Weill Cornell Medical College.

These studies have concluded that teens are prone to this sort of behavior because the so-called reward systems in their brains are very sensitive while circuits involved in self-control are still not fully developed. Casey says. The result has been a perception that "adolescents are driving around with no steering wheel and no brake," she says.​