A public service announcement (PSA) is like an advertisement that informs us about something important. The purpose of a PSA is to benefit the public by raising awareness about an issue or topic.

Watch these public service announcements first to get an idea of what a PSA is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x-KaVwUpNI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPmLoUDFIHY

1. Create the PSA flyer

In this assignment, you will choose a single fiction story from the list below, analyze the story, and create a PSA flyer on a single theme from your analysis (see the example attached to the directions). You will not include the story title or author in the flyer; this is not a book report cover. The flyer focuses only on the theme and adheres to the purpose of a PSA.

Fiction story options/choose only one:

Ambush

Everything Stuck to Him

A Worn Path

The Turtle

Winter Dreams

In Another Country

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

The Rockpile

Everyday Use

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

A Rose for Emily

Your PSA flyer should:

• Include a “hook” that grabs the viewer’s attention.
• Use font and color choices wisely and purposefully. For example, bold font can emphasize key points.

• Fit on a single 8 ½ x 11 page.
• Be in Microsoft Word or PDF file format and not hand drawn/created. If you do not have Microsoft Word, download the free OpenOffice software here: https://www.openoffice.org/ Acceptable file formats are .doc, .docx, .odt, or PDF only. Do not use a presentation program like PowerPoint.

• Contain 2 related images (no more and no less than 2). An image or an informative graph or chart can make information stand out and be more effective.

• Have no mechanical errors.
• Use a minimum of 2 credible sources for content and 2 sources for images credited in APA format. Use the CRAAP Tool from Lesson 3.3 to evaluate credibility.

2. Compose your response about the PSA flyer

On page 2 of your Word document, write a paragraph of 7 sentences that explains the theme’s connection to the story and why this is a topic that is important for the world to understand.

Paragraph structure:

First sentence: Topic sentence identifying theme’s connection and naming the story’s title and author

Second sentence: Evidence for the theme

Third sentence: Explanation of the evidence

Fourth sentence: Identify why the PSA topic is important for the public’s awareness

Fifth sentence: Evidence for importance

Sixth sentence: Explanation of the evidence

Seventh sentence: Summary sentence

3. Reference your sources to avoid plagiarism and copyright issues

Below your paragraph include your 2 information sources and 2 image sources in APA format.

Below is the format to use for each website information source:

Author’s last name, Author’s first initial. (year the article was written). Title of article. Retrieved add date and include full and accurate URL

Example:

Jones, C. (2016). Basics of the workplace. Retrieved December 14, 2016, fromhttp://www.jones.com/basicsworkplace/

If you cannot locate the author, use the organization’s name in the author spot:

Workplace, Incorporated. (2016). Basics of the workplace. Retrieved December 14, 2016, from http://www.jones.com/basicsworkplace/

Below is the format to use for each website image source:

Artist or Author. (Year of image creation). Description or title of image [Image format]. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Example:

Smith, L. (2016). Vietnam War Soldier [Photograph]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.PTSD.com/signsandsymptoms/

See the example PSA flyer attached. The example PSA flyer is based on Jack London’s To Build a Fire that you read in Part 1 of the course. In To Build a Fire, the themes present are man versus nature and the main character’s arrogance. The PSA illustrates these themes by noting the life-threatening danger of hypothermia and how to educate ourselves (listening to the experts) and to plan ahead and prepare. When you analyze your chosen story, remember that summary is not analysis. To create the PSA, you must focus on a dominant theme(s) from the story’s analysis.