EN 104: This I Believe Essay

Essay 1: This I Believe

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to use personal writing to understand complex ideas and beliefs more clearly. In this essay, you will also focus on how to concisely communicate those ideas and beliefs with others.

Assignment

Below are the instructions from the This I Believe website ( www.thisibelieve.org ):

We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires intense self-examination, and many find it difficult to begin. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

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-wrenching—it 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.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace. The shorter length forces you to focus on the belief that is central to your life.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, focus on one core belief.

Be positive: Say what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.

Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the first person. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

For this project, we are also guided by the original This I Believe series and the producers’ invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s. Their advice holds up well and we are abiding by it. Please consider it carefully in writing your piece.

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, “Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent.” We would argue that the need is as great now as it was 50 years ago. We are eager for your contribution.

Evaluation

Your This I Believe Essay must meet the following criteria:

· The essay is personal, brief, and tells a story

· The essay is organized logically with strong topic sentences and transitions between ideas

· The essay has an effective title, introduction, and conclusion

· There is a clear thesis that expresses the main point and structure of the essay

· There is adequate support (stories, descriptions, details, examples) for the thesis

· The essay has been edited for grammar, spelling, and concision

Due Dates

Review your syllabus and note the following due dates:

Prewriting and planning (30 points): Sunday Unit 1

First draft (in the discussion forum): Wednesday of Unit 2

Second draft (80 points): Sunday of Unit 2

Final draft (100 points): Sunday of Unit 3