Opposing Views: Public Service Announcement Project
English II Pre-AP

As part of our continuing study of rhetoric and the way in which writers and speakers achieve their purposes, your next assignment will be to create two public service announcements (PSAs) on a single issue – one arguing each side of that issue.
You may work individually or in a group of up to four other students. You may work with anyone who is taking English II Pre-AP including both Mr. Feudo’s class and Mrs. Forys’ classes. However, I would recommend working with students within your own class period since you will have time in class to work on this project. In selecting an issue, be sure that you choose something school appropriate. Do not limit yourselves to merely the “hot button” issues. Research different proposals, ideas, and voting issues, and see what you can find.
There will be three components to this project: The PSAs, scripts, and an annotated bibliography. Each PSA must be around sixty seconds in length (and must be a minimum of thirty seconds in length). You may use actors, video clips, graphics, and/or sound elements to get your message across. Your PSA may be in the form of a video or another multimedia form such as a PhotoStory. In addition, each PSA must contain at least three rhetorical devices or strategies. Although there may be some overlap, you must use at least four original rhetorical devices in total between the two PSAs. Finally, be sure to avoid logical fallacies. Points will be deducted if fallacies are present within your presentation.

The second component will be the scripts. Just like in last year’s Romeo and Juliet project, your scripts must contain in writing all the elements that we will see and hear in your PSAs. You will find the formatting guidelines for the scripts attached. Unlike for essays, I will not collect a rough draft of the script; however, you are welcome to submit rough drafts for review in order to get feedback early in the process.

Finally, you will create an annotated bibliography that identifies the sources of the information you used in your PSAs and explains what information came from each source. Any images or videos that are not of your own creation must be cited on the annotated bibliography as well.

ALL final elements of the project are due on Monday, September 28. The following day, we will watch the PSAs in class. I am so excited to see what you will create and cannot wait to see what I’m sure will be thoughtful and engaging presentations!

Due Dates and Details:
Block Day, September 9/10 / Project Assigned
Tuesday, September 15 / Group Choices Due
Topic Choices Due
Library Work Day (MEET IN LIBRARY)
Monday, September 28 / FINAL DUE DATE – SUMMATIVE GRADE
Hard Copy of Scripts
Annotated Bibliography
PSAs in Digital Form