Essay on PSA (Public Service Announcements) Part 1 (Research)!

Prompt for Parts 1 and 2

The Ad Council is a non-profit organization that creates media to raise awareness about public issues. Specifically, they produce Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to educate the public or change negative behavior.Your task is to write a proposal for a Public Service Announcement that you would like to see produced. While the Ad Council distributes media to both visual and print medium, your proposal will be for a print advertisement to be run in a national magazine.

Goals for Parts 1 and 2

This assignment will ask you to finesse your skills in writing arguments tailored to specific audiences (the American public and the Ad Council).In terms of writing in different disciplines, this assignment will help you explore skills used in marketing, communications, and non-profit management.

(Per the semester’s Student Learning Outcomes):

• Students will apply the principles of research-based academic writing: distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, drawing conclusions supported by facts, reasoning to valid conclusions, distinguishing implications and consequences.
• Students will apply conventions appropriate for different audiences, purposes, and genres.
• Students will use credible evidence in supporting a position.
• Students will apply the basics of academic writing: clear expression, coherent ideas, discipline-appropriate thesis development, logical organization, and the conventions of standard written English.

1. Students will use discipline-specific documentation styles, including in-text citations and properly formatted Works Cited or reference pages.

Specific Requirements for Part I- Research

Finding a Topic for the Research:

According to the Ad Council’s website:

• Issues must be of great public importance to the public and worthy of a print ad for a nation-wide market.
• Ad pitches should address issues that are not overdone. The Ad Council will not want to recreate an ad that they already have in production. Thus, try to be creative in your topic selection.
• How long has this issue been going on?
• How severe is this issue?
• Who is affected by this issue?
• What other solutions have been proposed so far?

Outlining the Problem:

Part I is your chance to inform the Ad Council about the issue you wish to address. Consider telling them things like:

Evidence

• Must cite 5 sources (4 of these sources need to come from the Wake Tech databases).
• Sources need to be cited in MLA format.
• You should have both parenthetical citations and a Works Cited list.

Logistics

• You may use “I” in this essay to pitch your campaign. However, this is a formal proposal so students should stay away from “you” and contractions.
• Write Part 1 as a formal research essay. Thus, you will need all the components of a formal essay: intro, thesis, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• The thesis for Part 1 should state the nature of the issue and your reasons for why this issue merits an ad campaign. If the overall goal of this unit is to create an ad for the Ad Council, your thesis will want to address this objective specifically.
• Don’t forget to include “big picture” information in your conclusion about why this issue matters to your audience (the “so what” question).
• Essay should be a minimum of 750 words and not more than 850.
• Essay must be formatted in appropriate MLA format (one inch margins, 12 pt. font, heading, etc.)
• Do not recycle material from old classes.

For More Information

Ad Council Website [opens in a new window]

Link: http://www.adcouncil.org/

How to Create the Perfect PSA [opens in a new window]

Link: https://www.govtech.com/education/news/How-to-Create-the-Perfect-Public-Service-Announcement.html