This I Believe…
9th Literature and Composition
Fall 2013
I believe in dancing.
– Robert Fulghum, “Dancing all the dances”
I believe that what we receive we must share.
– Elie Wiesel, “God is God because He
remembers”
I believe in my duty to heal, […] that I must
try to care for everyone.
- Pius Kamau, “A Duty to Heal”
I believe that I have to do the right thing
even when I really, really don’t feel like it.
– Deidre Sullivan, “Always go to the funeral”
I believe in my mother.
– Benjamin Carson, “There is no job more
important than parenting”
I believe our capacity to tolerate both
religious and personal difference is what
will ultimately give us true liberty.
– Joel Engardio, “Learning True Tolerance”
I believe I must guard against my own
potential for brutality and the mutation of
my own humanity.
– Yinong Young-Xu, “A Potential for
Brutality”
I believe in telling children the truth.
– Martha Leathe, “Telling Kids the Whole
Truth”
I believe that to love, and to bare the
boundless depth of our love, we must
have the courage to reshape what we
inherit. –
Priya Chandrasekaran,
“Cutting Our
Grandmothers’ Saris”
I believe that those sound waves carry the
borning cry of the cosmos. That a whisper
from God’s lips created all that is and all that
was and all that will be, and that that whisper
set it into motion in a cataclysm so great that
14-billion years later those sound waves still
echoes through a world without end. Kimberly Woodbury ,
“We are All Stardust”
I believe that…
How has your belief been
created, shaped, or tested
by your experiences?
Creed
• A statement of belief
Creed
• What does “cred” mean before a word?
Creeds – Types and examples
• Apostle’s Creed (Christian tradition)
– I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth...
Creeds – Types and examples
• Shema (Jewish tradition)
– Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God,
the LORD is one
Creeds – Types and examples
• Shahada (Muslim tradition)
– I bear witness that there is no god but God,
and that Muhammad is His messenger
Personal Essay
• Differs from memoir and narrative essay
• Narrative tells a story
• Memoir tells of a relationship
This I Believe – Essay Tips
• You will need powerful lead-in’s /hooks to
get your reader’s attention.
• Your lead in is the doorway in which you
welcome the reader to your idea.
• Avoid starting with: “This I Believe”
• Try various strategies that will make an
impact on your writing
Types of Leads:
• Question: “When was the last time you went without a meal?”
• Quotation: (from someone famous or significant in your life)- “Be
careful,” were the last words my father said to me each time I
left the house.
• Strong statement: (that your essay will either support or dispute)
“If you eat enough cabbage, you’ll never get cancer.”
• Metaphor: “The crows in the back garden are the small boys in
the playground, impressing each other with their new-found
swear words. These crows all belong to the same biker gang.
You need to know their secret sign to join the club.”
• Description: (of a person, setting, or situation): “Michael once
mowed the lawns around the court halls wearing a frilly apron,
high heels and nylons, with a pillow stuffed under his sweater so
he looked pregnant. And it wasn’t even Halloween.”
Supporting Your Personal
Philosophy:
• Here are some simple writing techniques you can use to
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support your personal beliefs:
D-Dialogue- “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say
anything at all,” my mother told me throughout my
childhood.
R-Rhetorical Question-”When you are eighty years
old, what will you regret that you didn’t do?”
A-Anecdote-a brief tale that narrates an interesting or
amusing incident-they are based on real life stories.
P-Personal Experience
E-Example
S-Statistic
(Taken from This I Believe educator guide)
Adding Audience Appeal
• Be sure your essay is about something you truly care about or believe
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enough to elaborate and be passionate about.
While the idea of the essay is personal, make the context big enough so
that your reader can find parallels between your experience and theirs.
Give the reader a “A ha!” moment. An effective writer must draw in the
audience to show a more universal implication of that personal belief.
If you write about a personal occurrence, put your idea into a context that
gives the reader insight to both the small moment and wider perspective.
Shift focus. Think of your essay as a camera lens.
Use details to draw the reader in. Be specific-show, don’t tell. Avoid using
abstract expressions and phrases, cliches, etc. Make the emotions real
and immediate by noting specifics and details that draw the reader into
your experience.
Employ all of the senses to convey your ideas.
Make sure beyond everything you can do for idea development, that the
main idea you pose is ONE YOU TRULY BELIEVE. You must aim to leave
your reader feeling clear and satisfied-whether they agree with you or not.
A brief echo of the opening is a satisfying clincher to bring your personal
essay full circle-DON”T SAY-”What I’m trying to say is” or “What I mean
is.”
This I Believe
http://thisibelieve.org/