International Student & Scholar Center
Pine Dale Hall, Suite 7123
285 Old Westport Road
North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Phone: 508.910.6633
Fax: 508.910.6588
Email: INTL_OFFICE@umassd.edu
Summer 2016 Reading and Writing Assignment
Welcome to the class of 2020! We are looking forward to meeting you when you arrive on campus
Tuesday, August 30, for International Student Orientation.
Each summer, incoming first-year students are given a reading-and-writing assignment to
introduce them to the demands of college-level writing. This summer you will read selections from
Thisibelieve.org. and our own Tumblr website, This We Believe/UMassD 2016, and compose your own
500 word “This I Believe” essay describing the core values that guide your daily lives. For information
on how to write an essay, please see Write an Essay.
In college you will be writing more than you ever have before.
You will be writing for classes

in and out of your major

your English classes
The writing assignments will be

more complex

require more advance preparation

require more thought from you than writing assignments thus far in your studies
This Summer's Assignment
The written essay you prepare after reading selections from This I Believe will be reviewed by your
English professor and will become a way for your English 101 instructors to evaluate your skills as a
student-writer. It is a chance for them to get to know you and your writing on the very first day of classes.
The This I Believe program is called “a public dialogue about belief - one essay at a time." Over
125,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, have been archived here on the website,
heard on public radio and featured in weekly podcasts.
So whether you are reading this from Boston, Massachusetts or Mumbai, India – please
watch the introductory video we have posted for you on the Tumblr website—seeing and hearing
Orientation leaders will help you get your own project underway. Please also check out the essays and
podcasts and to start considering your own personal beliefs. On anything. After hearing about and
reading up on the beliefs of others, it will be your turn to write an essay.
Here’s how it works. Your own past experiences, both good and bad, have formed the person you are as
well as your beliefs. “This We Believe—UMass Dartmouth” will be a chance for you to put your
thoughts to paper and create something lasting--something that stands for a piece of who you are.
How do I get started?

Watch the video and read a selection of essays and posts from the This We Believe/UMassD and
the This I Believe websites listed above.

Consider the experiences and values that shape you.

Consider your own personal beliefs--are there statements or values that you live by?

If so, can you explain how those values were shaped for you? Some suggestions below:

o
by family
o
by friends
o
by education
o
by personal struggles you’ve overcome,
o
by travel.
Compose a brief 500-word length essay that describes both your experience and the values you
gained from it. Or, if you prefer, with Tumblr your work can be presented as video, podcast,
or images, instead of written form.

Post your This I Believe essay on our Tumblr website for your fellow incoming classmates to
read or listen to and share throughout the summer. Follow the Tumblr directions for posting an
essay or using another format.
Remember, your audience is your incoming class and the UMass Dartmouth Community at large,
so you will need to be thoughtful, personal and descriptive.
Deadlines - When is the assignment due?
For consideration in the Provost’s Essay Contest, essays must be submitted by July 31, 2016, and should
be 500 words in length. See the Provost’s Essay Contest tab on the Tumblr site for submission
instructions. Essays completed after that date should be ready by August 31, 2016, and will be collected
the first day of class.
Questions? Please email Prof. Anicca Cox, First-Year Writing Program, at Acox1@umassd.edu