Personal Belief Narrative Essay and Performance
PROMPT AND REQUIREMENTS
Identify a belief you hold which is particularly important to you. Think of an experience (could be two
related experiences) in which this belief became clear or which supports the belief statement.
The belief, the particular experience, and the self-awareness you gained need to be conveyed in a 500650 word essay. (2-2 ½ pages, double spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman or similar)
The essay will be graded on a 4-point scale and be entered into the Writing Assessments grade
category. The final draft will be due on Block, Thursday/Friday, October 20/21. Presentations will
begin that day and will be categorized as Listening/Speaking on a separate 4- point scale.
Assessment Criteria: See scoring guide on the back of this page
CHOOSING A TOPIC: The best experiences are often those that are most unexpected or seemingly
insignificant. Even a small or subtle experience makes for an essay where you can show that in your
daily life, you can find opportunities for growth or insight. Especially impactful are the stories of a
time when you had a change of thinking or attitude or where you now understand something important
in a way that you might not have understood it when you had the experience. In other words, as a result
of the deep reflection that you demonstrate in writing this essay, your audience will see that you are
aware of a time in your life that has shaped you, caused you to mature emotionally and/or
intellectually.
AVOID: 1. “I almost died;” 2. Other topics that are merely attempts to make your audience gasp;
3. Clichéd topics--“taking care of a pet really taught me responsibility,” “my team was down 20 points
at the half and we came back to win the championship;” 4. Giving testament/ preaching—don’t try to
convert the audience; 5. Inauthentic stories designed to entertain—keep it real; 6. Experiences that
span long periods of time—“playing baseball,” “having a sibling”—choose a very specific experience
(or two connected, specific experiences); 7. Impersonal topics (your political beliefs for example).
Note: This assignment can be easily adapted for many college admissions essays, including
questions 1 and 2 of the UC Personal Statement. Have your admissions essay prompt in mind as
you select a topic so that you need only make minimal changes.
SCHEDULE
Tues, 10/4
Date
Focus
Brainstorming/writing in lab
Block, 10/5-6
Writing in lab
Block 10/11
OR 10/13
Mon-Wed
10/17-19
Individual student/teacher
conferences
Individual student/teacher
conferences; speech practice;
writing tips
Speeches begin (continues
through the following block)
Block
10/20-20
Due that day
Bring a laptop (if possible) and
your t-chart brainstorming
@ end of period, show that you
have elements of the belief and
story roughly written out
First full draft to be checked for
on-time completion
Make sure you have your essay
with you for practice and for
your conference
Final draft of speech, scoring
guide, turnitin.com receipt
Note: after you have completed your first draft and brought it to class on 10/11 or 10/13,
continue working on it even before we have our conference. Before you share your story with the
class, be sure that you have practiced a number of times so that you are not stumbling over your
words or having to look down at your paper most of the time.