Final Assignment: This I Believe Essay and Recording

Goal: Create a 200-400 word essay that addresses an issue, value, or idea that is important to you. The essay should use a story from your life, an old fable, or any sort of narrative to illustrate your belief to your audience or that explains how you came to believe as you do. Be sure to exactly state your value very clearly and explain why you believe as you do very thoroughly.

Step 1: Read each of the three very famous examples of this type of essay below.

Chief Seattle "Letter to All"

Malcolm X "My First Conk"

David Foster Wallace "This is Water"

Step 2: Read any five of the following essays. (You can search by subject matter or age group of author!) These essays are much more straightforward and written by everyday people like you and I. They are also very clear examples of what your essay should look like. Be sure to listen to each essay also.

This I Believe

Step 3: For each of these essays, answer the following questions:

What issue does each author address?
What exactly does each other believe in? What do they want?
What is the purpose of their essay (and their belief)?
What events, stories, situations, or examples does each story use?
What happens in each event?
How does what happens illustrate the author's belief?

Step 4: After you have listened to the essays on the "This I Believe" website, answer the following:

Discuss in general how these authors use their voices effectively (or ineffectively) to attempt to communicate the message of their essay more powerfully?

Step 5: Write, edit, post (on your blog), and submit (to me) your essay.

Step 6: Record your essay in my sound booth.

Step 7: Answer these survey questions.

(This is your final.)