This document provides guidelines for writing essays for the "This I Believe" public radio series. It explains that the essays should be concise at around 500 words, tell a personal story using "I" to illustrate a core belief, and end with a simple statement of belief such as "I believe in...". It also provides short examples of belief statements from past authors.

1. This I Believe
A Public Dialogue About Belief –
One Essay at a Time

2. History
• Edward R. Murrow created this series in the
1950s.
• Producer Dan Gediman revived the series in
2004.
• “This I Believe” was heard on NPR from 2004-
2009.
“The Core Values that Guide Your Daily Life”

3. Tell a Story
• Be specific.
• Personal anecdotes that illustrate your belief.
• This is not an academic essay. (The pronoun
“I” is okay. Contractions are okay.)
• Be conversational.
• Radio uses short, direct sentences. (Ditch
clauses and adjectives.)

4. “I Believe…”
• You should have at least one sentence that
says “I believe…”
• It doesn’t have to be the only thing you
believe in.
• Be positive. This is not the time to rail against
X, Y or Z.
• About 500 words.

5. Brandy Eason
“I believe in answering a stranger’s call.”

6. Brandy Eason
“I believe in pink.”

7. Rich Coleman
“I believe in reading.”

8. Natalya Stanko

9. Lyndsie Wszola
“I believe in eating my convictions.”

10. Shannon Holzer
“There are some things that I still believe in in this
world, and a pinky promise is one of them. ”

11. Sadie Smiles
“I believe in movies. ”

12. Matt D’Ippolito
“I believe in vinyl. ”

13. Emily Reddy
• (814)863-4233
• ereddy@psu.edu