The Task: 

You will be writing a research paper evaluating the effectiveness of a propaganda campaign. In your research, you will provide three examples of propaganda that attempted to influence public opinion. These may be posters, videos, written texts, etc. You will then assess the extent to which the propaganda was effective in swaying the public in favor of its cause. 

Intro: Provide background information about the event, including time period, people impacted, relevant events leading to this point. 

• Tip: Your thesis will preview the propaganda pieces and could follow a structure like this: "The Rosie the Riveter poster, Uncle Sam Needs You poster, and Buy War Bonds posters influenced the outcome of WWII" .

Body (3x): Each body paragraph will provide a single piece or single genre of propaganda, explain how it was introduced, will identify the targeted audience and purpose, and will analyze the impact of the propaganda. 

• Tip: TEAAEAAC can help. Here is a possible structure: 

Topic Sentence: In 1942, the Rosie the Riveter poster depicted a woman flexing her bicep with the message of "We Can Do It!", which was intended to encourage women to join the war effort by working outside of the home. 

Evidence:  After the introduction of the campaign, "the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent" and by 1943, women made up 65% of the aircraft industry workforce  ("Rosie the Riveter") 

Analysis: With more women working out of the home, wartime production had the potential to increase, despite the loss of so many men who were now fighting in the war. 

Analysis: The impact was both immediate and sustained; many women signed on to work right away, and many of them chose to continue to work after the war, which was unexpected

Evidence: By 1944, over 18 million women had been employed "in the shipyards, lumber mills, steel mills, foundries. They  [were] welders, electricians, mechanics and even boilermakers. They [operated] streetcars, buses, cranes and tractors.” (Butler)

Analysis: Women were working a variety of jobs that has typically been reserved for men, taking the place of those many men that had been serving on the warfront.

Analysis:  The work industry was completely upended, as the female workforce never shrunk to prewar numbers. 

Concluding Statement: The "Rosie the Riveter" poster is an iconic and instantly recognizable image. It encouraged millions of women to step out of the role of homemaker and into the workforce, targeting positions that would help the war effort. 

Conclusion: The conclusion will evaluate the collective impact of the three different pieces of propaganda you presented, and will reflect on how they influenced the outcome of the targeted campaign. 

Examples of Propaganda campaigns

Tip: Remember that while propaganda is biased and persuasive in nature, it is not always used for causes that you might find to be negative

Tools: understanding Bias

Tools: MLA 

Examples of Propaganda