ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

Paper #4: Public Service Announcement

What Should We Care About?
A Public Service Announcement can take many forms: a TV ad, a small ad in a magazine, or an ad on the
radio. On television, a PSA is typically a 30-to-60-second spot. PSAs are not commercials, because they
are not selling anything. A PSA gives you advice, reminds you, or warns you of something. They can be
related to your health, your community, education, or the environment. In this project, you will write,
design, film, and produce a PSA for a Purdue student audience. You will present your PSA to the class,
and upload it to YouTube as well.

Possible Subjects
Here is a short list of possible PSA topics. Well generate a much better list in class:
Internet safety
Health
Plagiarism/Academic Honesty
Drinking on campus (consequences)
Campus security and safety
Tolerance
Anti-drug
Your topic must be related to Purdue; that is, your audience must be Purdue students (those who would
benefit from your PSA message).

Research
You must research your topic thoroughly. You may use primary research methods if you wish (surveys,
interviews, observations), but you will be required to find at least four secondary sources (Exponent
articles, news stories, blogs, statistical reports). You will need to keep your own annotated bibliography
once again, and I will discuss some research practices with you during our second team conference. You
should also cite any music or sources used in your video in the credits.

Length and Format

Your team is required to produce a total of at least 30 seconds of public service announcement video.
You may, of course, produce more, but you are shooting for the standard 30-to-60 seconds. You should
not have a PSA thats over 90 seconds long. You may use a combination of video footage, still images,
music and/or narration in your video. We will discuss how to create these elements in class.

Materials Needed
PC computer with Windows Movie Maker OR Mac computer with iMovie
o The lab computers all have MovieMaker, but be aware that you may need more
time than our class periods to edit your video.
Flashdrive
o It will be best to use the same flashdrive to save your video as you add and edit
footage. Switching between multiple forms of media may corrupt your file.
Camera
o iPhone cameras are acceptable. The ICaP Office (HEAV 302) also has iPad Minis
and cameras available for rent.
o The iDesk in Hicks Undergraduate Library has a limited number of cameras and
microphones available for rent.
Final video MUST be saved as an .mp4 or .wmv file. My computer is ancient, so your
video must be compatible with either Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

Objectives for the PSA Project

To write in several different

genres/mediums for parts of a single
project
To understand why different
genres/mediums can be necessary on a
single project
To determine the difference between
PSAs and commercials
To understand and develop persuasive
arguments (in writing and by using
images)
To write an effective PSA script

To integrate writing with imagery:

storyboarding
To use media to enhance the meaning,
atmosphere, and tone of the script and
video
To learn team building and writing
within a team
To make the results of your writing
public
Uploading video to web site (YouTube)

Skills You Should Acquire

Writing persuasively
Using logos, ethos, pathos in an argument
Storyboarding
Use of video camera
Editing video

Phases of Your Project

(note: any phase could take 1 -2 weeks to complete, depending on the extent of instruction.)

Phase I: Preproduction (Week of 4/13)

Brainstorm and search for problems on campus

Write proposal
Conduct research. Fully understand your issue.
Identify key scenes and characters
Compose the script
Select your sound effects
Practice the script

Phase II: Production (Week of 4/20)

Set up sound, video, props

Record your segments
Save your files often
Make more versions than you think youll need

Phase III: Postproduction (Week of 4/27)

Edit the audio or video

Add any additional music or sound effects
Test the final recording
Present your video to the class

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

Components to the PSA Assignment

Deliverable

Due Date

Points

Description

Planning Questions and

Team Contract

Mon., 4/13

20

Establishes mission, conflict resolution

strategies and project brainstorming

Fri., 4/17

25

Formal proposal of topic, audience,

research and goal. See separate
assignment sheet for details

Wed., 4/22

25

Detailed plan for video that includes

frame-by-frame breakdown of
narration, images, scenes, sound
effects, music and captions.

PSA Video

Fri., 5/1

50

30-to-60-second video. MUST be

saved as an .mp4 file.

Group Presentation

Fri., 5/1

10

Brief introduction to your film,

including goals, approach and
strategies used to create the video.

Project Log (individual)

Fri., 5/1

10

Weekly log of your own contributions

to the project

Annotated Bibliography
(individual)

Fri., 5/1

25

Documentation of all primary and

secondary sources used. See separate
assignment sheet for details.

Peer Evaluation of Group

Members (individual)

Fri., 5/1

10

Brief survey of your group members

contributions to the project

Rhetorical Reflection
(individual)

Fri., 5/1

25

Reflection on the rhetorical choices

used for multimedia writing. See
separate assignment sheet for details.

Proposal

Storyboard and Script

Phases of Your Project adapted from an NCTE online lesson plan. Gardner, Traci. ReadWriteThink: Lesson Plan:
Campaigning for Fair Use: Public Service Announcements on Copyright Awareness National Council of Teachers
of English. 2009. 11 March 2009. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=939

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

PSA Group Proposal

(25 Points)
1) Write an opening statement that describes what your PSA topic is and what your groups
mission is.
2) In the next section, explain the situation in more detail (develop your thoughts). Explain why
this is a good PSA to film.
What do Purdue students (or faculty or staff) need to know about this topic?
Why is this important?
3) In the following section, explain what you/your group already know about the topic.
What facts are commonly known about your topic?
How have you encountered this topic in your daily life?
4) After that, explain your projected research for this PSA. Also, what research do you need to
do to fully understand the issue?
How will your research help you contribute to the ongoing conversation?
Where will you search (search engines, databases, libraries)? What keywords will you
use?
Remember that your PSA must include facts, so you need to make sure you are using
credible sources.
5) Next, explain what you think your audience (Purdue students) needs to know.
What aspects of this issue are relevant to your audiences lives?
What are they aware of already? What are they NOT aware of?
6) Next, describe your next steps in the project. This is the section to offer a detailed account of
your plans.
How is the work divided?
How will you film the PSA?
Whose equipment will you use/reserve?
Who will you use as actors or voices?
What effects will you need to use? Music? Graphics? Sound effects?
Will you be using live actors, animation, or still pictures?
What are your goals for each week of the project?
o Ex.: Week 1Complete all research
o Week 2Decide what film vs. still images are needed.
Tips for formatting your proposal
I expect you to apply a formal tone and formatting for this proposal. You should use a memo
segment heading (illustrated below) and you should use descriptive headings for different
sections of your proposal.
Your proposal should look like this:

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:

Katherine Hummel, ENGL 106 Instructor

Student 1, Student 2, Student 3, Student 4
April 17, 2015
Proposal to Write and Produce a PSA on [insert topic here]

Our group is dedicated to raising awareness about... lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipiscing elit. Proin gravida ac nulla ut porta. Nullam feugiat turpis eu erat imperdiet, ac fermentum
massa facilisis. Sed ullamcorper erat eget eleifend bibendum. Morbi quis lectus in dolor pretium eleifend
eu eget dui. Maecenas nec blandit tortor. Integer porttitor vehicula augue a pretium. Etiam in finibus
ligula.

About our PSA

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin gravida ac nulla ut porta. Nullam
feugiat turpis eu erat imperdiet, ac fermentum massa facilisis. Sed ullamcorper erat eget eleifend
bibendum. Morbi quis lectus in dolor pretium eleifend eu eget dui. Maecenas nec blandit tortor. Integer
porttitor vehicula augue a pretium. Etiam in finibus ligula. Vestibulum tempor auctor euismod.

What We Know about [insert topic here]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin gravida ac nulla ut porta. Nullam
feugiat turpis eu erat imperdiet, ac fermentum massa facilisis. Sed ullamcorper erat eget eleifend
bibendum. Morbi quis lectus in dolor pretium eleifend eu eget dui. Maecenas nec blandit tortor. Integer
porttitor vehicula augue a pretium.

Projected ResearchWhat We Need to Know

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin gravida ac nulla ut porta. Nullam
feugiat turpis eu erat imperdiet, ac fermentum massa facilisis. Sed ullamcorper erat eget eleifend
bibendum. Morbi quis lectus in dolor pretium eleifend eu eget dui. Maecenas nec blandit tortor. Integer
porttitor vehicula augue a pretium. Etiam in finibus ligula.

What Our Audience Needs to Know

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin gravida ac nulla ut porta. Nullam
feugiat turpis eu erat imperdiet, ac fermentum massa facilisis. Sed ullamcorper erat eget eleifend
bibendum. Morbi quis lectus in dolor pretium eleifend eu eget dui. Maecenas nec blandit tortor. Integer
porttitor vehicula augue a pretium. Etiam in finibus ligula.

Projected Timeline
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin gravida ac nulla ut porta. Nullam
feugiat turpis eu erat imperdiet, ac fermentum massa facilisis. Sed ullamcorper erat eget eleifend
bibendum. Morbi quis lectus in dolor pretium eleifend eu eget dui. Maecenas nec blandit tortor. Integer
porttitor vehicula augue a pretium.

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

Individual Annotated Bibliography

(25 Points)
Overview:
As part of the PSA, you will be required to compose an individual annotated bibliography. This
must contain at least four sources. Your group members may use the same sources, but I expect
each annotation to be in your own words.

Format:
An annotated bibliography must follow the same format as an MLA Works Cited Page. The
phrase Annotated Bibliography will be centered at the top of the page, and each citation will
be listed alphabetically, following MLA format. Each citation must be double spaced. Each
annotation must be single spaced. All sources must be documented in alphabetical order.
After each citation, you must provide an annotation of approximately 100-150 words. Use the
following questions to guide your annotations for each of your sources.
Summarize your source. Think about the rhetorical situation of your source.
o What is it about?
o What is its purpose or stance?
o Who is the audience?
o Is the source appropriate for your specific audience (Purdue students), or does
it attempt to reach a broader audience?
Evaluate your source.
o How does this source demonstrate good ethos?
o Does the source use any persuasive strategies (ethos, pathos or logos) to
accomplish its purpose? If so, how?
o How is this source helpful for your PSA?
There are examples of annotated bibliographies in Ch. 20 of Everyones an Author (pp. 377380). If you struggled with the annotated bibliography in the Analysis paper, please see me to
make sure you do not make the same mistakes twice.

Due:

This assignment is worth 25 out of 200 points. It is due with your PSA video and
presentation on Friday, May 1.

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

Group Presentation of the Public Service Announcement

(10 points)
Before the class watches your PSA on May 1, you will need to present your PSA. Think of the
presentation as more of an introduction to your topic, goals and rhetorical choices for your video.
Please use the following as an outline for your presentation. You may select a spokesperson from
your team to speak on behalf of the group, or you may each speak about a particular aspect of the
project. At the beginning of the presentation, please introduce yourselves (first and last names)
and state the topic of your PSA.

1. Explain who your audience is (specifically) and what your message is

2. Briefly explain your process--who did what? (act, voiceovers, production, research,
writing, editing, etc.)

3. What was the hardest part of the project?

4. What was the most important thing you learned in this project?

ENGL 106: Writing Your Way Into Purdue

Hummel Spring 2015

Individual Rhetorical Reflection

(25 points)
Your reflection should be a thoughtful and personal exploration of the work you did while
writing and producing your Public Service Announcement. I want you to consider what you
learned from your research, teamwork, writing, and video production, and make connections to
the rhetorical choices informing your work.
Your reflection needs to be in essay format, and I would expect it to be at least two pages
(approx. 500-750 words). You need to address the concerns below, but I do NOT want you to
simply answer the questions in the order you see them below.
Use MLA format for your paper with your last name and page number in the upper right corner
of all pages and the following information in the upper left corner of the first page.

Due: Friday, May 1 by midnight

Overall Experience

1. Describe your planning process. What led your group to

research and produce a PSA on your topic?
2. What was the most challenging thing about this project?
3. What did you learn about working with a team on a project?

What I Learned
about the Genre

1. How did creating a PSA change your opinion about the topic it
was about?
2. If you changed topics, why did you do so?

What I Learned
about Technology

1. What did you learn about technology by participating in this

project?
2. What steps did you take in the editing process?
1. Discuss how the words you added in the title, within the PSA,
or at the end of your PSA added to your message.
2. Describe the images and sound effects you used and how they
added meaning to your PSA.
3. Describe the color and design choices you made in your video.
Why did you choose these particular elements?

Rhetorical Choices
for Multimedia
Composition

Effectiveness for
Audience

1. What rhetorical strategies (ethos, pathos, logos) did you use to

appeal to your audience?
2. What message do you hope your PSA expresses to viewers?