Putting up the DRAPESWriting the first draft of your

“This I Believe” personal essay

You wrote the lead, now what?

Hang up the DRAPES:• Dialogue• Rhetorical Questions• Anecdote• Personal Experiences• Examples• Statistics

Dialogue Adding dialogue to your personal

essay adds personality.

You don’t need to be exact with the dialogue. Just keep the meaning.

Feel free to write the dialogue any way which makes your piece work.

Rhetorical Questions A rhetorical question is not written to

be answered, but to make you think. Examples:

• Do we have enough troops to win the war?• Sometimes I wonder, “Why didn’t I just give

up?”• How much longer must our people endure

this injustice? Warning:

• Rhetorical questions can be difficult.• Make sure they are not “yes/no” questions.

Anecdotes/Personal Experiences

Anecdotes are short stories, amusing and/or interesting stories. They can be about you, or about someone you know, but they should be related to your topic.

You should also include personal experiences that show how you developed the “I believe” statement

Examples/Statistics You must include examples of how

you developed your belief statement, and examples of your belief statement in action.

Statistics can help, if you find some that are useful.