Rhetoric I

G-EN110-A Fall 2011

U NIT 2: T HE P ERSONAL E SSAY

Overview This unit introduces you to the genre of the personal essay and culminates in the production and reading of an essay exploring and explaining a personal belief of yours. The essay assigned is modeled after the This I Believe program, originated in the 1950s by Edward R. Murrow and revived in 2005 by National Public Radio. Bring your Hacker Pocket Style Manual with you to class each day. We will have one or more 10- minute mini-lessons on a matter of style or on a convention of Standard English most days. The Major Assignments 1. Write a 600-750 word personal essay describing an idea or principle you believe in. Obviously, you cant get all you believe into such a short essay. Thats not the idea. Rather, this essay is a way for you to explore more intentionally and to introduce to others some value that guides your attitudes and behavior. The best essays usually dont discuss religious or philosophical beliefs in the abstract. Rather, they focus on a specific value that you apply in a practical way to your everyday behavior. The sample This I Believe essays should help you get a good grasp of what this assignment is encouraging you to do. Also, see the attached This I Believe Essay-Writing Instructions for more guidance. The first draft of this essay for workshop is due on Wednesday, Sept. 25. The revised, polished essay is due Monday, Sept. 30. 2. Edit the original, 600-750 word essay down to 350-500 word script for an audio essay (as illustrated thousands of times on the This I Believe website). A draft of this shorter, tightened version of your essay is also due Monday, Sept. 30. This version of the essay will be uploaded to the This I Believe website. 3. Record the shorter version of your essay for a class website featuring the audio essays of all members of the class. I will need some volunteer help and lots of cooperation from everyone to make this happen! Daily Schedule
All readings and assignments are to be completed before class of the day indicated.

Month Date Sept

Sept

Day Topics, Activities and Assignments M

T-F Activity: Introduction to This I Believe assignment No Class Meetings: Individual conferences for autobiographical collages

9
10-13

Sept

16

Assignment Due Today: (1) Go to www.thisibelieve.org/search and search the database for submissions from your city or state or for essays on a theme of interest to you. (2) Skim through titles and opening paragraphs until you find three essays you like. (3) If there are recordings of the essays you have chosen, listen to them. (4) Print out the three essays you have chosen and bring them to class. Come prepared to discuss the original ways your writers responded to the assignment. Practice reading the one like best aloud, as I may ask you to read one of the essays you brought to the class. Activities: Sharing and discussion of essays; mini-lesson; intro to credo assignment

Sept Sept

18 20

W F

No Class Meeting: Assessment Day Assignment Due Today: Compose a personal credo that distills your unique approach to life into a paragraph of 100-150 words. Activities: Sharing of credos; mini-lesson

Sept Sept

23 25

M W

Assignment Due Today: TBD by class needs Assignment Due Today: Three copies of a complete draft, typed, double-spaced of 600-750 word this-I-believe essay. Activity: Critical reading workshop. See the course syllabus for policies regarding workshop days.

Sept Sept

27 30

F M

Assignment Due Today: Revised copy of your 600-750 This I Believe essay. Assignments Due Today: (1) The draft of the paper you brought to the Sept 25 workshop. (2) The written feedback you received from the Sept 25 workshop and Sept 27 editing and tightening session. (3) The final version of your 600-750 word essay. (4) The edited 350-500 word version of your essay will be the text for your audio essay. No Class Meeting: Individual Conferences

Oct

1-4

T-F

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives.

www.thisibelieve.org

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by the famous and the unknown, have been featured in weekly broadcasts on public radio.

This I Believe: An invitation to people from all walks of life

This I Believe is based a popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, 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 housewivesanyone willing to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. Since 2005, the revival of This I Believe has featured essays by prominent Americans such as Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, Bill Gates, Robert Fulghum, and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as those of everyday citizens, including students, artists, scientists, writers, politicians, and even an astronaut.

Photos Nubar Alexanian

A forum for thoughtful discourse

The This I Believe essay-writing exercise has been used in coffee houses, adult literacy programs, writers groups, hospices, hospitals, diversity training, houses of worship, retirement homes, and prisons. Libraries, colleges, newspapers, and public radio stations have been inspired to create their own local versions of our series. And teachers and students across the world have widely embraced This I Believe as a personal essay writing assignment.

Get involved!
Tens of thousands of people have accepted our invitation to write their own statements of personal belief. Perhaps you, too, will be inspired to set pen to paper and finish the thought, This I believe...

Please see the following page for some tips on how to write your own This I Believe essay.

How to Write Your Own This I Believe Essay

We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this isit 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.Your story need not be  heart-warming or gut-wrenchingit can even be funny but it should be real. Consider moments when your belief was formed, tested, or changed. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and to the shaping of your beliefs. Be brief:  Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words.  The shorter length forces you to focus on the belief that is central to your life. Name your belief:  If you cant name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief. Be positive:  Say what you do believe, not what you dont believe. Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.

Be personal:  Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.  Try reading 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.

 Please submit your completed essay to the This I Believe project, by visiting the website: www.thisibelieve.org.

Copyright 2008, This I Believe, Inc. All rights reserved.