One means of sharing your opinion in a broadcast is through the personal essay. In the personal statement or essay, the speaker writes a fairly short 200-300 word essay which states their opinion and is backed up for reasons why. For years Andy Rooney has provided his opinions as the closing segment on CBS Sixty minutes.
You can visit the sixty minutes site and watch samples of his programs: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/rooney/main3419.shtml
text can be found at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/05/60minutes/rooney/main2652991.shtml
Andy Rooney is clearly stating his opinion, not so much facts pretending to be opinions. He tends to be humorous and backs up his statements with pictures or video. However, his essays hold up on their own on radio (in fact, “Sixty Minutes” is also broadcast on radio and it’s just as easy to get the point). While his essays often speak to politics or world events, he sometimes gets a bit silly. But he is always entertaining. Check out this one on neckties: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/rooney/main3419.shtml
Another personal essay format can be found on a long running program on National Public Radio called “This I Believe”. Check out this sample: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12643378
or you can browse through dozens of “This I Believe” essays.
For this assignment you can either write your own “This I Believe Essay” or follow the format that Andy Rooney uses. In both cases you will be writing about personal observations or beliefs. If you choose to write in the style of Andy Rooney, you can pick a lighter topic--such as what you think about tatoos, doo-rags, hats, fashion, etc. If you choose to write in the “This I Believe” format, you will be writing about something more deeply personal, for example, what it’s like to have a disability, or to be a woman or man in today’s society, the pressures of life and school, what it’s like to be from a certain race or minority.
If you choose the Andy Rooney format, your essay should be approximately 250-300 words. If you choose the “This I Believe” format, your essay should be between 300 and 500 words.
To help you write a “This I Believe” essay go to this webpage for tips on writing a good essay: http://thisibelieve.org/essaywritingtips.html
You will be working alone for this assignment. To complete this assignment follow these steps:
1. Select a topic. Is it deeply personal or a more casual observation? If it is very personal, you’ll be using the “This I Believe” approach and you can follow the guidelines provided at the link above. If it’s an essay
2. create a word processing document and type your essay. This will serve as your first draft, which you will print and hand in for a grade.
3. When I return your draft, it will be marked up with suggested changes, corrections, and/or a request that you provide more material. The draft will be graded.
4. Re-write. Make improvements on your essay and submit the FINAL COPY as a hard copy print out that you will read. The final copy will be graded and the lower grade of the draft will be tossed out.
5. Use GarageBand to record your essay. Export to iTunes. Place your recorded essay in my drop box.
Final Grading: You will recieve two grades. One will be for the written essay. The other will be for the quality of your recorded essay.