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.
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.
Examples of Public Service Announcements
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.
Once you have completed your PSA with the SOAPStone chart and reflection, please submit them with the Works Cited document to the dropbox.
This assignment might be a work sample that you want to include in your digital portfolio.
Once you have completed the module, please complete the module test.