ASSIGNMENT
The Pitch Project
Q: What is The Pitch Project?
A: Your chance to show off your written and oral persuasion skills in a “pitch” about a
topic of your choosing related to your non-fiction text.
Your non-fiction text raises and/or addresses problematic, critical issues that are
relevant to our society today.
You want to think critically about the topics and issues presented in your text.
Overview of Pitch Project Parts:
A. Identify a problem/ social issue raised in your book, for further investigation. This
will form the basis of your pitch. Here are some examples of topics:
a. Columbine – gun violence, or mental health supports for youth
b. Seven Fallen Feathers – Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women &
Girls, Indigenous Education in Canada, Criminal Justice in Canada
B. Create a Causal Model for your problem/issue. What do you notice lies beneath
the surface of this problem? What have you learned about the obstacles to
justice from your text? What might be missing?
Use a KWL chart (or a similar strategy). Based on your causal model – what do
you know? What do you want to know? This will help you to develop research
questions.
C. Use credible sources (yes, databases) to find answers to your research
question. Find four additional, reputable research sources; create an
annotated bibliography that includes each of these four sources.
● Review our course content for a review of research skills, research note-taking to
avoid plagiarism, and questions to ask to assess the credibility of your sources.
Note: Submit your annotated bibliography to DropBox as a separate assignment
Your four entry annotated bibliography will be evaluated using this Rubric – Annotated
Bibliography.
D. Based on your work, develop a theory for a potential solution to the problem
you’ve explored. Develop a vision & plan for an initiative that would help to solve
the problem. Ideally this will be based on perspectives and voices from the root
of the problem.
E. Write a “pitch” (a convincing oral presentation – could be a speech or a spoken
word poem). Argue for why the issue needs attention (why is it significant?), and
explain your idea for change.
Keep in mind that it is important to identify a clear target audience for your pitch – who is
it that needs to act? What kinds of solutions do stakeholders suggest to the problem
you have explored? It is important to acknowledge that the people experiencing the
problem have great insight into what will help address this situation and make it better.
Questions to consider:
● Is there a social action, further research project, campaign need, policy change, educational opportunity, court case, law change, arts program, environmental action, investigation, advisory panel, or remediation project (etc.) that would help?
● What is it? How can it make things better?
● Who needs to hear about this plan? Who needs to take action?
F. Rehearse your pitch, and share it orally (either live (in class on due date) or by
video). Remember that you need to talk to your audience instead of at them
(therefore you should try to avoid sounding like you are just reading the script).
Remember to incorporate logos, pathos, ethos & rhetorical devices.
Check out these student Pitch Exemplars for inspiration.
TIPS FOR PITCH WRITING:
The aim of your pitch is to discuss why your issue deserves critical attention
within society today, to present your solution idea, and to petition for your
intended audience to take immediate action.
The structure of your pitch is up to you, but it should include a clear introduction &
conclusion, and have supporting points & proofs.
You must integrate specific information & direct references from the research you
have gathered — potentially including from your non-fiction text — to support your pitch.
Make sure to use in-text oral citations to acknowledge your sources.
You must incorporate some kind of visual aid in your pitch (image, graph, chart,
infographic, etc.).
Review the content area of our course for key skills including, but not limited to,
persuasion skills, 6+1 Writing Traits, and speech writing skills.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
You can either present live or record and submit your pitch – you must be able to upload
your video to either Google Drive or YouTube for sharing. Be careful about what
software you use if recording. Practice sharing a rough draft first.
Your Pitch Project video will be evaluated using this Rubric – Pitch Project Video.
Some inspiration: Kid President “I Think We All Need a Pep Talk”
To what extent did the pitch focus on a specific issue?
Was the evidence used as support effective? Why or why not?
Did they cite their sources?
To what extent do you feel that they demonstrated knowledge of the issue and of a potential solution?
Was the problem well thought out (causal model)?
To what extent was the underlying structure (intro, body, conclusion) effective?
To what extent is the argued solution logical and/or practical?
What OVERALL advice do you have for this section?
Was the evidence used as support effective? Why or why not?
Did they cite their sources?
To what extent do you feel that they demonstrated knowledge of the issue and of a potential solution?
Was the problem well thought out (causal model)?
To what extent was the underlying structure (intro, body, conclusion) effective?
To what extent is the argued solution logical and/or practical?
What OVERALL advice do you have for this section?
