This blog post is written in memory of my second cousin Rick.
In the spirit of experimenting with different writing forms, such as the medical writing I posted last month, this post is an example of another form of writing: a public service announcement, or PSA. PSAs are brief—about 60-75 words, or 30 seconds when read aloud—and they raise awareness about an issue or inspire people to take action on an issue. Although the sample I’m providing is meant to be read on air, such as on a podcast or a radio program, some PSAs include visual as well as textual components and can be shown on television or in a movie theater. Others use mainly visual elements and are designed to be used as billboards or flyers.
You’ll notice some particular formatting conventions in my example PSA. PSAs like this one that are text-based usually have a header that includes information about when it should be aired, how long it is, who’s sponsoring it, and its title. It also ends with three hash marks to clearly designate its closing boundary. This is useful if you want to submit several PSAs at once to a potential broadcaster.
For more information about writing PSAs, you might check out the University of Kansas Center for Community Health and Development’s guide. Another great source of information about writing PSAs is the Purdue University Global Academic Success & Writing Resource Center & Blog. Finally, you might find some helpful information about video-based PSAs on the Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology website.
I should point out that because my PSA is a sample, it’s not endorsed by any particular organization. Therefore, in the header, I’ve included my business name where the sponsoring information would normally appear. The content of this example PSA is made up of my own ideas and does not aim to represent any other entity’s ideas. Because it’s not being presented on a separate piece of paper or on its own screen, I not only end it with hash marks but also begin it with hash marks to clearly delineate its starting and stopping points.
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Did you know estate plans can help your loved ones while you’re still living, like by telling them what kind of medical care you want should you slip into a coma? And yes, they’re helpful when we die, too. Yet according to CNBC, only a third of us have estate plans. Don’t wait. Create an estate plan today. Cost-free resources are available at freewill.com, doyourownwill.com, and eforms.com, or you can contact an attorney of your choice.
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So there’s my sample PSA. By the way, the CNBC report I mentioned contains more statistics that might be relevant, but I chose to include what I thought was the most impactful. The report came out over a year ago, but I doubt much has changed since then.
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| Last Will and Testament (Flickr/Ken Mayer) |
I recently took my own
advice and updated my estate plans. Should I become deathly ill or even pass
away, my estate plans will make it easier for my next of kin to manage my
affairs. I’ve made it clear what kind of healthcare I want to receive should I
not be able to make those wishes known myself, I’ve named beneficiaries to my
financial accounts should I die, and I’ve even indicated where I’d like to be
buried.
Like many people, I thought that since I’m not the richest person in the world, I didn’t need to bother making an estate plan. Once I started doing some research, though, I realized I was wrong. Estate plans cover more than just financial matters, and even when only a modest amount of money is involved, having a correctly documented plan can save your loved ones a lot of hassle.
If you’d like to plan your own estate, as I state in my PSA, you can certainly contact a lawyer for assistance. However, there are lots of free resources available to guide you should you prefer to do it on your own. My PSA mentions three of them: https://www.freewill.com, https://doyourownwill.com, and https://www.eforms.com. On these sites you can find resources not only for completing your last will and testament but also for completing a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, an advance healthcare directive, or a living will. Some hospital systems also offer forms that cover some of these topics.
I hope you’ll take the advice of my PSA and establish your estate plans as soon as possible. Not to be morbid, but we never know what the future holds. Why not be as prepared as you can be?