Module 5: Stretching Limits in the Age of Reason

Public Service Announcement

Have you ever seen a public service announcement when watching TV? Public service announcements (or PSAs) are advertisements used by the government and non-profit organizations to raise awareness of an issue or encourage people to take action to make an improvement in their community. Their aim is to benefit the public by raising awareness and motivating change and opinion. An effective PSA is one that appeals to a target audience, informs the listener, and provides a call to action. PSAs can be found on the television, radio, and other forms of media.

For this assignment, you will select a topic, determine what message you want to convey to your audience, and create your own PSA as a TV or radio segment.

You will need to conduct research and use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment, so please submit a Works Cited document with your assignment submission. If you need assistance, visit the Developmental Module for information on citing any resources that you used.

Step 1:
Select a topic for your PSA from the list below.

• Internet filters in public schools
  
• Status of women in other countries
  
• Media/video game violence/effect on viewers
  
• Human cloning
  
• Salary caps for professional athletes
  
• Advertising in public schools
  
• Funding for college sports programs
  
• Funding for women's sports programs
  
• Cultural impact of reality television
  
• Copyrights and the impact of music downloading
  
• Impact of internet social networks
  
• Capital punishment
  
• Polygamy
  
• Academic cheating
  
• AP enrollment and achievement
  
• Boys / girls dress
  
• Religious clubs in public schools
  
• Stem cell research
  
• Affirmative action
  
• US funding of AIDS education in other countries
  
• Animal rights (medical research or factory farms)
  
• Punishments for hate crime
  
• Off-shore oil drilling
  
• "Clean" coal production
  
• Family violence / child abuse
  
• Doping in sports
  
• Farming / organic or genetic engineering
  
• Social costs of state lotteries
  
• Gang violence
  
• Gay rights (marriage, adoption, etc.)
  
• Elderly care
  
• Gun control
  
• Weight programs in public schools
  
• Free speech and censorship in public schools
  
• Cell phone use while driving
  
• The U.S. space program
  
• Smoking in public places
  
• Arranged marriages
  
• Required physical education classes in schools
  
• Biomedical ethics
  
• Fertility drugs / multiple births
  
• Endangered species protection
  
• Euthanasia
  
• Vouchers / school choice
  
• Animal rights
  
• Children's rights
  
• Exit / SOL tests for high schools
  
• State and federal support for arts programs
  
• The legal age for voting or driving
  
• Slavery reparation
  
• Dress codes
  
• U.S. embargo in Cuba
  
• Spending versus saving
  
• Social costs of "big box"chain stores
  
• Aging / failing urban infrastructures
  
• Sports: instant replay for interference
  
• Federal funding of renewable energy
  
• Technology for the blind or deaf
  
• Sports injury and brain damage
  
• Plea bargaining in exchange for testimony
  
• "No snitching" morality
  
• Vegetarianism
  
• Use of torture to gain intelligence information from terrorists
  
• Technology investments in public schools
  
• "Fat" tax
  
• Ecotourism
  
• Genetically modified foods
  
• Sale of human organs
  
• Ban on fish farming
  
• Ban on junk food advertising
  
• Virginity pledges
  
• Performance pay for teachers
  
• Ban on Muslim veils
  
• Negotiating with terrorist groups
  
• Naming sex offenders on the internet
  
• Limiting state medical care for smokers
  
• Immigration reform
  
• Abstinence-only sex education
  
• Advertising and children
  

Step 2:
Complete the SOAPStone chart below as a prewriting strategy before you begin your PSA.

SOAPStone Aspect	Question	Answer
Speaker	Who is the speaker in the PSA? Why?
Occasion	What knowledge do you need to develop the occasion for the PSA?
Audience	Who is the intended audience for the PSA? Do you need more information about your audience?
Purpose	What is your purpose for producing this PSA? What message do you want your audience to take away?a
Subject	What is your purpose for producing this PSA? What message do you want your audience to take away?
Tone*	What attitude towards the subject do you want your audience to feel?

*Consider using one of these tones: merry, restrained, cheerful, urgent, acerbic, playful, mocking, alarmed, poignant, sinister, or alarmed.

Step 3:
Research facts that describe the problem and possible solutions. For this step, you must find at least three credible resources and complete a Virtual Notecard for each. Decide whether the solutions make logical, emotional, or ethical appeals. Access Using Virtual Notecards for an explanation and the Virtual Notecards Template if you would like to use a pre-made template.

Step 4:
Brainstorm and collect elements in your plan that include appropriate music, images, and persuasive elements that match your intended tone.

Step 5:
Write a script for your TV or radio segment. Be sure that your PSA includes the following required elements:

Step 6:
Once you have your script written and edited, you will use presentation software, audio recording software, or movie making software provided to you by your school or free software available online, such as Audacity®, to record your PSA.

Before you begin the assignment, review the Public Service Announcement Rubric below to help you complete your assignment and understand how your work will be graded. Also, please take a few minutes to view the examples of public service announcements provided below.

Reflection

After you have completed the assignment, think about the following questions and write your responses to them. Submit your work to the dropbox when you have completed your reflection to share your personal goals as they relate to writing persuasively.

• What did you learn in this module about persuasive writing?
  
• What goals have you set for yourself in terms of your writing?
  
• How do the skills in this module relate to your future dreams?

Once you have completed your PSA with the SOAPStone chart and reflection, please submit them with the Works Cited document to the dropbox.

 

 

Once you have completed the module, please complete the module test.