Sunday, March 9, 2008

How to Write a Biography ?


A biography is simply the story of a life. Biographies can be just a few sentences long, or they can fill an entire book—or two.
Very short biographies tell the basic facts of some one's life and importance.
Longer biographies include that basic information of course, with a lot more detail, but they also tell a good story.
Biographies analyze and interpret the events in a person's life. They try to find connections, explain the meaning of unexpected actions or mysteries, and make arguments about the significance of the person's accomplishments or life activities. Biographies are usually about famous, or
infamous people, but a biography of an ordinary person can tell us a lot about a particular time and place. They are often about historical figures, but they can also be about people still living.
Many biographies are written in
chronological order. Some group time periods around a major theme (such as "early adversity" or "ambition and achievement" ). Still others focus on specific topics or accomplishments.
Biographers use primary and secondary sources:
Primary sources are things like letters, diaries, or newspaper accounts.
Secondary sources include other biographies, reference books, or histories that provide information about the subject of the biography.
To write a biography you should:
Select a person you are interested in
Find out the basic facts of the person's life. Start with the encyclopedia and almanac.
Think about what else you would like to know about the person, and what parts of the life you want to write most about. Some questions you might want to think about include:
What makes this person special or interesting?
What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? other people?
What are the adjectives you would most use to describe the person?
What examples from their life illustrate those qualities?
What events shaped or changed this person's life?
Did he or she overcome obstacles? Take risks? Get lucky?
Would the world be better or worse if this person hadn't lived? How and why?
Do additional research at your library or on the Internet to find information that helps you answer these questions and tell an interesting story.
Write your biography. See the
Tips on Writing Essays and How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay for suggestions.

How To Write An Autobiography ?


When writing an autobiography, you focus on three major things: who you are in life, what life means to you and what your outlook on the future is.
"Autobiographies have been written since A.D. 400 when an early Christian leader, Saint Augustine, wrote his." An autobiography is information about one's own life written by that one person. In it, it tells what that person's life is all about. When writing your own autobiography, use interesting facts to explain as much about yourself as you can.
The first thing you do when writing an autobiography is start off with a lot of facts about your life; for example, when and where you were born, where you live (city and state), where you go to school and who you live with. You have to give a lot of information so your reader can clearly understand what is going on. Once you have written this introduction, you are ready to start your first paragraph of the autobiography.
Who you are in life?
The best way to start an autobiography is to state your name. When you are writing this paragraph, you usually explain the type of person you are; use facts about yourself such as: have you won any awards? What types of awards have you won? Did you finish school? Do you plan on going to college?
What life means to you?
This is now your second paragraph. In this paragraph you should state how you see life--what does life mean to you. Are you happy or sad? Do you have a lot of friends or just a few? How do you make your school days go by? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? What are your favorite places to go on dates? How long have you been dating? If you are involved in a relationship, do you think it will last forever?
What is your outlook on the future?
In this paragraph you should explain what you think the future will be like. Pick a year and explain how it will be but explain it through your eyes. Where will you be? How will you be living? Will you be married? Will there be any kids? Who will you be married to? What is he/she like? How long will you have been together?
Conclusion
The conclusion is the last paragraph of your autobiography and an important one, too. In the conclusion you usually try to re-word the introduction and add some type of closure to bring the whole autobiography together.