Morgane Kapto

Writing for the Sciences

SPSA Video Reflection Paper

Professor Debra Williams

2 April 2025

Our topics were similar enough that merging our issues together was easy. The introduction slide presents a picture of dirty tap water found in NYC, serving as a good hook for our topic. When brainstorming the introduction, my partner and I decided that the picture would be more impactful and visually engaging. When starting this project, I laid out a basic outline of the slides and my partner helped refine it and wrote a script for the voiceover lines. Our call for action slide urged our audience to contact their representatives to address water quality issues in their neighborhood. From my sustainability topic, I learned that NY tap water is not completely clean. I had no idea that lead pipes were still in use and resulted in lead-contaminated tap water. I also learned from my partner that tap water can be plain filthy in some neighborhoods, with the tap producing murky brown water. What I liked most about the SPSA slides is that they were consistent, concise, and clear. The blue branding tied into the fact we were talking about water, and the logo exemplified the issue of water quality. The slides were minimal in words but the diagrams and pictures spoke volumes, clearly showing the severity of the issue. The hardest aspect was choosing which information to include in the SPSA, as we were limited to only 30 seconds. There were many different causes and effects we could’ve discussed about poor water quality, but we ended up choosing the ones we felt were most impactful and relevant to the audience. Even so, our SPSA video ended up being 45 seconds long, although it doesn’t feel that way with the engaging visuals and paced voiceover. A PSA is very effective in promoting public awareness, especially when played on television, social media, or in ads. Information given is quick and digestible and visuals are compelling, creating a significant impact on the public when done correctly. Other visual media that may be more effective can be messages and videos endorsed by public figures, as those in the public eye easily gain attraction. The most favorable aspect of working on the group project was having a person to help out with the work. Least favorable aspect was trying to merge two sustainability topics together, as compromises had to be made. My topic focused on water pollution, discussing its numerous causes and effects. Our SPSA was more in line with my partner’s topic, which was water quality, which I did discuss in my paper as well. I don’t have many suggestions for improving the SPSA assignment, I think it worked well with groups of 2 or 3, where everyone had to pull their own weight. It was also great that we had creative freedom with this assignment, as long as basic information was included.