What issue in society today absolutely ticks you off? What issue are you passionate about? Is it pollution? Minority rights? The war? The draft? GMOs? Deforestation? The Green movement? Overdevelopment? Landfills? Genetic engineering? Cloning?
Now, you get a chance to make your voice heard. In this project, you will write a five-paragraph PSA (public service announcement) to draw attention to an important issue we covered in Unit Five.
A PSA is an advertisement featured on television, radio, or print. It is intended to benefit the public interest, by raising awareness of an issue, altering attitudes, and potentially stimulating people to take action.
While the most common PSAs are about health or safety, we will be limiting ourselves to topics we covered in Unit Five.
Choose one issue from the list below and write a PSA about it.
pollution
land conservation
minority rights
the war
genetically modified foods
deforestation
the Green movement
the Women’s Movement
overdevelopment
sustainable development
Your PSA should be suitable to be broadcast on radio or television, so use language that is upbeat and appropriate for the general public.
Follow these general guidelines:
Use short upbeat sentences and a conversational tone.
Tell how your information can help the listener.
Call the listener to action.
Tell the listener exactly where to go or what to do to meet the call to action.
Tell the listener to contact you for more information.
Include your contact information but don’t give your personal contact information; make up a phone number or mailing address.
Your PSA must be five paragraphs long. Most PSAs are much shorter since they must be broadcast and airtime is costly, but for this project, we will stick with the standard five-paragraph essay. When you have finished writing, try your PSA out on an audience. Read it to your family, friends, or your teacher.
