Employing the Personal

In this task students read and discuss core texts about personal values from literature, examine how this tradition continues in contemporary essays and in radio broadcasts and filmed interviews, and analyze the techniques an author or speaker uses to develop and support his or her personal values throughout the essay, speech, or interview.

Students will then write a critical response to one of the model texts and write, record, or film a compelling personal statement like one of the core texts about a value they hold strongly, using some of the strategies from the model essays.