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Tell a story:
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Be brief:
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Name your belief:
◦ Be specific.
◦ 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.
◦ Your statement should be between 450 and 600 words.
That’s about two to three minutes when read aloud at your
natural pace.
◦ If you can’t 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, because three minutes is a very short time.

Be positive:
◦ Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t
believe.
◦ Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.”
◦ Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.

Be personal:
◦ 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.

Anecdote:
◦ Tell a story. Relate your belief to a specific event in
your life that helped you realize what you believe
and/or how you can apply your belief to your own life.

Analogy/Metaphor:
◦ Make a comparison. Compare your belief to
something that you are passionate about. Relate the
two and show how your passion helps your belief exist
in your daily life.

General Thoughts:
◦ Tie your belief to multiple aspects of your life. Show
how it weaves itself throughout the way you live and
think on a daily basis.


Edward R. Murrow hosted “This I Believe”
from 1951 to 1955. The newsman gained
acclaimed for his CBS Radio broadcasts from
London during World War II.
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/16844/
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http://thisibelieve.org/essay/16872/
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/27/
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/16820/
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kFhU
Zml6qcO81CWyzXuGVBdBUeK83DF99QydU8t
F5NU/edit?overridemobile=true
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Fs7
daOI2bBgNxu9DFQ_bDThIqbqJLa92OiuyVBsjlI
/edit?overridemobile=true