Essay Submission Form

Introduction

Please Note: This form should be used only to submit essays to This I Believe, Inc. If you wish to contact This I Believe, Inc. for any other reason, please visit the Contact Page.

Before submitting your essay, we recommend that you read the Submission Agreement. You will be asked to agree to these terms before we are able to accept your essay.

When you write your essay, we encourage you to:

  • Please limit your essay to approximately 500 words.
  • Tell a story that illustrates how your personal belief was shaped.
  • Please refrain from writing an opinion piece about a public issue. We want the story of your belief, not an editorial about a current event.
  • Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe.
  • Read our essay-writing guidelines.
  • Proofread your essay before you submit it, as we do not accept corrections or changes after we receive your essay.
About You

Please complete all of the fields below.


Tell us about yourself! Please limit your response to no more than 100 words. (Optional)


Male Female


Parent/Guardian Information


At This I Believe, we ask that parents or guardians participate in the essay submission process for anyone under the age of 18. This I Believe is committed to complying fully with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.

It is the policy of This I Believe, Inc., to create website content that requires minimum collection of information from youth. Generally, This I Believe limits the display of personally identifiable information of youth on our Web site to include only the first name, city, state, and country of residence.

As the parent or guardian submitting an essay on behalf of a child under the age of 18, you agree and consent to the collection of that child's limited personal information. No personally identifiable information (e.g., last name, address, email address, telephone number) will be made public on our Web site or shared with third parties—ever.

All other personally identifiable information collected by This I Believe shall be for contact purposes only in the event that an employee or representative of This I Believe wishes to be in contact regarding the essay submitted (for possible broadcast or publication).

Please use the fields above to submit contact information for the parent or guardian of the youth essayist.

Contact Information





Your Essay

Please type your essay below or cut and paste the text from your word processing program. (You may wish to save your essay first as a .txt file before copying and pasting here.)


About Your Essay

Please suggest what your essay is about by selecting a theme listed below. You may choose up to three themes to describe your essay. You can select multiple themes by holding down the control (Ctrl) key (Apple key for Macs) while selecting each theme.

Please tell us what it was like to write your essay. Was it an easy or a challenging experience? Please limit your response to no more than 250 words. (Optional)

Additional Information

I am interested in receiving occasional emails from This I Believe to let me know about This I Believe-related news and activities:

Yes No

To prove you're a real person, please enter the sum of these two numbers: 2 + 0 =

Acceptance
Please check this box to indicate that you have read and agree to the terms of the This I Believe, Inc., Submission Agreement. If this box is not checked, we will not receive your essay.

I am age 18 or older -or- I am the parent/guardian of the above-named youth, and I have read and accept the terms of the Submission Agreement :
View Submission Agreement

* These are required fields