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Seniors: This I Believe

As discussed in class, your next assignment is to write a "This I Believe" essay. The purpose for this essay is explain some core belief or value, perhaps telling a story about why you hold that conviction dear. The publishers explain their rationale below:

How Youth Can Get Involved with This I Believe

This I Believe encourages thoughtful and respectful sharing of philosophical, spiritual, or civic beliefs by inviting people from all walks of life to write brief essays that discuss the rules they live by. Thousands of young people around the country have embraced This I Believe as a powerful way to explore their beliefs.

Our project’s goal is to encourage people of different beliefs to listen to one another. We encourage you to come together with friends, neighbors, and acquaintances to discuss the essays you’ve written. You can get started by reading the essays written by other young people that have been submitted to This I Believe. Click here to access our Youth Essay Database.

How to Write a This I Believe Essay
To help you examine your own beliefs and then compose a personal essay about them, we invite you to click here to read our essay-writing tips. Remember, this is an essay about yourpersonal beliefs-the things you have found to be the basic values in your life.

I have some prompts that we will discuss in class, but I also invite you to visit the site for examples of essays on a wide range of topics.

A second, equally important, reason for writing this essay is to help you with the college application process: the essay I'm asking you to write can be used as an application essay for most universities! For further advice on writing admissions essays, please see these tips from the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts.

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