Senior English 2015-2016: PSA Scavenger Hunt
1. Go to http://www.psaresearch.com/bib9830.html. Write down the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) definition of PSA.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. In your own words, summarize the definition (do NOT write “In non-government speak,
PSAs are messages in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge.”)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Go to http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest/publicservice-announcements/main. Read the section titled “What Is A Public Service
Announcement?” Summarize the information in your own words.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RUYkzJio24. Watch the PSA.
5. Watch the “no kid hungry” PSA again. Fill in the following information:
Elements of a PSA
Length of time
Sponsoring
organization(s)
Target audience
Characters/actors
Thesis (central argument)
Tone (music, actors’
expressions, colors, etc.)
“No Kid Hungry”
example
Additional Notes
6. Go to Google or to YouTube. Search for PSAs. Notice trends in target audiences, central
arguments, and sponsoring organizations. Watch a variety, then write down the title and
URL of your top three.
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
7. Look up the following terms and write down their definitions. Three are done already!
 Logical fallacy
 Satire
 Sarcasm
 Irony
 Understatement
 Ethos - In rhetoric, ethos represents credibility or an ethical appeal which
involves persuasion by the character involved (literarydevices.net).
 Logos - Logos is a literary device that can be defined as a statement, sentence
or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing
reason or logic (literarydevices.net).
 Pathos - Pathos is a quality of an experience in life or a work of art that stirs up
emotions of pity, sympathy and sorrow. Pathos can be expressed through words,
pictures or even with gestures of the body (literarydevices.net).
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_zWIVRIWk Fill in the chart with information
from the PSA.
Term
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Example
Effect on the viewer
9. PSA thesis statements (central arguments) typically follow a “verb + noun” format (i.e.
end child hunger; stop domestic violence). Watch some more PSA’s. Write down the
thesis in “verb + noun” format.
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
10. Think about television, internet, and radio advertising. What are some PSAs with which
you are familiar? Do any stand out? What about them makes them memorable?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
11. Search the internet for information regarding the pros and cons of PSAs. Make a list of
your findings.
PSA Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
12. Brainstorm a list of topics or ideas that you care about that might make good content for a
PSA



