This I believe Essay

Background & Purpose:

This I Believe is an exciting media project that invites individuals from all walks of life to write about and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. They share these statements in weekly broadcasts on NPRs Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

The series is based on the 1950s radio program This I Believe, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, some 39-million Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists and secretaries anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. Their words brought comfort and inspiration to a country worried about the Cold War, McCarthyism and racial division.

Eventually, the radio series became a cultural phenomenon. Eighty-five leading newspapers printed a weekly column based on This I Believe. A collection of essays published in 1952 sold 300,000 copies second only to the Bible that year. The series was translated and broadcast around the globe on the Voice of America. A book of essays translated into Arabic sold 30,000 copies in just three days.

As a college student in 2024, you are faced with turbulent politics, socioeconomic issues, and ethical dilemmas that will challenge you to take a stand and contribute to the local, national, and global conversation around you. The purpose of this writing task is not to persuade you to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, it is to encourage you to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from your own as well as writing about a belief that is important to you in a way that can help you connect with other people.

Task:

Write a This I Believe Essay about a belief and/or life philosophy that guides your life and that you feel comfortable discussing with your peers. Select a clear belief statement and use narrative techniques such as stories and anecdotes to explain and analyze the belief and how it influences your life. Consider the following guidance as you compose your essay:

1. While the mentor texts we’ve examined can serve as models, it is essential that you write about a personal belief or philosophy that you feel strongly about.

2. Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenchingit can even be funny but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

3. Be concise: Avoid repetition. This essay should be between 500-650 words. When read aloud, it should take roughly four minutes when read at a natural pace.

4. Name your belief: It is essential that you can name your belief in a sentence or two. If you cant name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Focus on one belief only; rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because 500-650 words is very short!

5. Be positive: Avoid preaching or persuading. You arent trying to change the way others think or act. Write about what you believe, not what you dont believe.

6. Use the first person. Speak for yourself. Avoid using we or you.

7. Let your voice shine. Use language that sounds like you. Read it aloud as your revise. Keep making changes until your essay sounds like you and captures the essence of your belief.

Audience:

Your classmates and myself are your audience for this piece. You will potentially be able to submit this piece for publication to a more public audience as well.

PART 2: WRRESS DEAR READER LETTER

After you have composed and revised your This I Believe Essay, you will reflect on your writing process and the TIBE essay product you created. I strongly suggest you use the WRRESS Dear Reader Template in the resources section below to guide you in composing your reflection letter. Your letter should be at least 300-400 words. It should include the following:

• a description of your writing process in composing your essay
• what did you do?
• what might you do differently if you were completing this assignment again in the future?
• an evaluation and analysis of the writing strategies you used to compose your essay
• what strategies did you use?
• how did they help you compose your essay?
• how might you adapt them the next time you use them?
• an evaluation of your TIBE essay
• what in your essay is working well? what are you most proud of?
• what in your essay is not working well? what are you still not sure about?
• a description of what you learned about yourself as a writer
• how did you grow as a writer from completing this assignment?
• what changes might you make in the future?
• a description of how you might adjust your writing process and/or strategy use for future writing assignments

To remind you of the strategies we practiced throughout the Nearpod Modules and Process Assignments, please refer to the list below.

Strategies

Strategies for Developing & Organizing Ideas:

• 1-minute speed list of words
• Value associations based on one word
• Developing a personal mantra
• Investigating mentor texts using 6-traits questioning
• Have AI support you in creating a must have/could have list

Strategies for Generating Text:

• Exploding ideas from brainstorming
• Flash draft
• Get-it-down draft

Development draft Strategies for Revision:

• Fat drafting: center of gravity sentence
• Fat drafting: expand mindfully
• Fat drafting: add physical voices
• Fat drafting: enjoy the company of others
• Fat drafting: make use of expert strategies
• Ask for suggestions from AI to improve writing techniques
• Writing center feedback

Please refer to the WRRESS Dear Reader Letter Annotated Example to see how this portion of the assignment is formatted. (Though you do not need to color code your letter.)

Submission Guidelines:

Submit a link to your google document in which you have composed and revised your This I Believe Essay. Be sure you update the sharing settings to “All with the link can edit.”

At the top of your essay, compose a WRRESS Dear Reader letter that reflects on the essay that tells me a bit about how you see this paper and what it means to you in its finished state.