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  • From 1951 to 1955, Edward R. Murrow was a notable American broadcast journalist during

  • World War II. One of his most memorable programs that he hosted was the This I Believe daily

  • radio program. It reached 39 million viewers. It aired during a time when Americans needed

  • to express the very freedoms they were fighting for. The 5-minute essays written by ordinary

  • Americans would discuss the personal philosophies of their daily life. Today the public radio

  • network NPR runs the This I Believe program. They call upon ordinary Americansjust like

  • you and meto pause and think about the values that shape our characteristics and

  • lives, just as Edward Murrow did back in the 1950's. So, for this next assignment, we're

  • joining NPR in writing about our beliefs. I want you to begin thinking about what different

  • philosophies, values, and attitudes shape your own life. This essay should not be confused

  • with a nice, light and fluffy journal entry where you ramble about things you believe

  • in. Although this is a personal narrative, and although you're expressing some of your

  • inner-thoughts, this essay does indeed have a concrete foundation. This foundation is

  • the thesis. It is a key part of the essay, and because of the nature of the essay, your

  • thesis will include the words 'I believe'. Now, I want you to notice that the rhetorical

  • situation for this essay involves a personal narrative, so you are allowed to use 1st person

  • pronouns liberally in this essay. Ok, as you will learn in the assignment screens, the

  • general recommended format for this writing assignment is 5-paragraphs, with an introduction,

  • 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The body paragraphs should, as you learned in the last

  • assignment, have one main focus. It also needs solid development. This means you need to

  • give specific examples. Tell them a quick story that has a beginning middle, and end.

  • One way to remember proper development is to ask yourself, "Am I showing, or am I telling?"

  • If you're telling too much and too often, you're probably rambling. If you're showing,

  • you have an engaged reader. Finally, if you have any questions, I'm always just an email

  • away. I do want you to make sure that you've read the assignment screens carefully, and

  • read the example essays that I've left you. I wish you the best of luck. Thanks!

From 1951 to 1955, Edward R. Murrow was a notable American broadcast journalist during

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