“This I Believe” Assignment and Rubric English 10 - Love
“This I Believe” Overview
We all have personal beliefs, whether we recognize them or can even articulate them. These beliefs are born out of our experiences and they can have a profound influence on our lives. In the 1950s, National Public Radio (NPR) began the “This I Believe” project, which invited listeners to write down and speak their personal beliefs on air. Your assignment is to try to articulate ONE of your personal beliefs in a short narrative that includes how this semester has affected your belief, whatever it is. Be personal, be real and really think about what YOU believe.
“This I Believe” Personal Essay Assignment Details and Deadlines:
•300-500 words (about 3 min reading out loud)
•1st rough draft due: _____10th/11th______
•2nd rough draft (typed and printed for in-class peer edits) due: _____14th______
•Final draft (typed, formatted, and 2 copies printed)– due: ______16th______
•Present your “This I Believe” statement out loud in class on: _____17th – 23rd______
Techniques for your introductory sentence:
Aska question that gets to the point of your paragraph:
“When was the last time you saw someone do the right thing?”
Make a list:
“The next time you go to a museum, make sure you have the right clothes, supplies, and fellow travelers with you!”
In this case, each of these list items would be turned into a separate detail sentence.
Share a story:
“I will never forget the last time I had to make a difficult choice.”
You would then go on to explain what happened.
Use a quote related to your topic. There are wonderful websites online that provide thousands of quotes for you to use. Make sure you credit the original author!
Tupac said it best, “I know it seems hard sometimes but remember one thing.
Through every dark night, there’s a bright day after that.
So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out, keep ya head up.... and handle it.”
Personal Narrative Plan
The following is the format and plan that this personal narrative will be written:
I. Intro-Paragraph 1
(This paragraph can be 2-4 sentences.)
a. hook & topic
b. basic idea of the lesson you learned
II. The Event-Paragraphs 2-5
(Describe the event with as much detail as possible. Use figurative language. You are going to tell your story. Make us see it!)
Bad example: It was a hot day.
Good Example: I felt sweat dripping down my back and the car felt like and oven.
a. What happened?
b. Who was involved?
c. When did this happen?
d. Where did it happen?
e. Why did it happen?
III. The Lesson-Paragraphs 6-7
(This is where you will explain what you have learned, and how it has changed you.
a. What was the lesson you learned?
b. What were you like before?
c. How has this changed you?
d. Conclusion-This I believe….
Name:______Period_____
Grading Rubric
4: 100% A+ / 3: 85% B / 2: 70% C- / 1: 55% F / Comments and GradeContent
30 pts / 350-500 word essay has a creative and original belief with clear personal examples to support your purpose / 350-500 word essay has a clearly stated core belief and presents personal examples to support purpose / Less than required word count. Essay does not clearly state its purpose and/or provide necessary examples. / Essay is unfocused or does not seem to have a clear core belief; and/or no meaningful examples given as support
Organization
20 pts / Essay is clearly organized and well-planned with transitions between intro, support, and conclusion / Essay has an introduction, a body of content and a summary. / Essay has little flow from one topic to the next, although intro, body and conclusion are evident. / Essay is not organized; unclear introduction or conclusion or connection between support.
Language
10 pts / Essay includes several examples of imagery that help to illustrate the event, emotions, and values of the essay. / Essay includes some examples of imagery that help to illustrate the event, emotions, and values of the essay. / There are very few examples of figurative language in the essay. / There are no examples of figurative language
Conventions/Editing
20 pts / Essay was edited and includes an editing form. It has minimal errors / Essay includes editing form, but there are still several errors. / Essay was not edited and errors are distracting / Essay was not edited and there are so many errors it is difficult to understand ideas.
Speech
20 pts / The speaker reads in a calm voice, enunciation is clear, and the flow of narration is uninterrupted. The presentation is professional sounding. / The speaker reads in a calm voice, enunciation is mostly clear, and the narration may have pauses or slight interruption, but they are not distracting. / The speaker reads in a rushed or broken-up style. Some words are difficult to understand; the narration has distracting elements (background noise, long pauses, occasionally too quiet). / The speaker does not clearly enunciate; words are rushed or interrupted with coughing, giggling, long pauses, background noise, etc.
Further Comments:
TOTAL: 100 GRADE EARNED: ______