“This I Believe” Essays as Diagnostic Assignments

by Anna Mercer

What is a This I Believe essay?

I see immense value in starting a semester with a diagnostic assignment or essay. Understanding where our students are, and how they conceptualize and participate in writing, must be the basis for an accessible and productive composition course. Despite my (perhaps obvious) deep belief in this, I don’t always love the classic diagnostic essay prompts when I’m teaching composition students, which is where This I Believe comes in. 

This I Believe originated as a series of radio essays in 1951 by journalist Edward R. Murrow. Intended as a way to bring Americans together, it has since developed into a modern day program from NPR. For more information about the history of This I Believe, see this article from NPR. Essentially, students will identify one thing they believe in. It can be as serious or casual as they want, and you can place more restrictions on available topics, but I encourage you to let students take it wherever they want.

Sample Instructions

On the first day of class, after I introduce myself and the course, I ask students to complete the This I Believe essay. I usually use PowerPoint for this, so here is the information I usually include on the slide:

• • Please compose a This I Believe essay on anything you believe in.
  • This can be as deep or as surface-level as you want. 
  • Don’t worry about grammar, sentence structure, spelling, or editing ⎼ just write what comes to mind. 
  • Write for the whole 20 minutes. If you need more structure than that, aim for two good paragraphs.
  • Here are some topic examples: 
    • I believe in doing kind things 
    • My life mantra is “what is meant to happen will happen” 
    • I believe aliens exist, but they haven’t visited Earth yet 
    • I believe that healthcare is a human right 
    • I believe in trying your best
    • I believe strawberries are the best fruit
  • Submission instructions on Blackboard

I don’t usually go into this level of depth with students, but the original 1950s call for submissions is available here online, and is an interesting read. 

Examples for Students

I always, ALWAYS provide an example before I set the students free to write. My go-to comes straight from NPR, called “Life is Wonderfully Ridiculous” by Claude Knobler. I particularly like this one, as it covers both funny and serious topics while being relatively short. It also includes a 4-minute audio clip of Knobler reading his essay, which is more interesting than having students just read off a screen. 

I’ve also experimented with resources and examples from the website This I Believe. This is a large collection of user-submitted content, so it is less edited than the NPR examples, but I’m sure there’s some good essays. 

Lastly, your other option is to compose your own This I Believe essay as an example. I have also done this in the past, but I tend to prefer the NPR example linked above as it has the audio component and can be easily accessed by students if they need to refer back to it. 

Outcome

I’ve seen a lot of great results from this diagnostic assignment in my first year writing classes. I always look forward to reading them and seeing what my new students believe in, and how they choose to express and support that belief. One thing I think is essential to seeing success in this assignment is a thoughtful (albeit brief) response to each student. I do this in the Blackboard “Feedback to Learner” section, and I try to give just a few sentences of response and encouragement. If they use examples from their own lives to support their belief, I always compliment them on their use of anecdotal evidence. 

Overall, I really love this assignment as a diagnostic. It allows me to start my composition classes out with a low-stakes, creative assignment that students typically enjoy, and they are almost always fun to read. I hope you can find space for it in your own classrooms!