Biographical narrative essay

Writing a biography

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Writing a Biographical
Narrative Essay

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3. Writing a biography
Biography:astoryaboutaperson'slife.
ShortVs.Longbiographies.
Biographiescanrangeinsizeanddetailfromjustthebasicdetails
aboutaperson,theirbirthanddeathandwhattheyaccomplished
ordidalltheway.
Itisawrittenaccountoftheseriesofeventsthatmakeupa
person’slife.
Biographiesanalyzeandinterprettheeventsinaperson'slife.
Theytrytofindconnections,explainthemeaningofactions,and
makeargumentsaboutthesignificanceoftheperson's
accomplishmentsorlifeactivities.
Theyareoftenabouthistoricalfigures,buttheycanalsobeabout
peoplestillliving.
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4. Whileresearchingthesubject,youshouldcollectall
thebasicfactsofyoursubject’slifeexperience.
Theseinclude:
Dateandplaceofbirthanddeath
Familyinformation
Lifetimeaccomplishments
Majoreventsoflife
Effects/impactonsociety,historicalsignificance
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5. Inresearchingsimplytofindanindividualtocreateabiography,
youshouldfirstlooktofindanindividualthatisinterestingtoyou.
Themoreyouareinterestedintheindividualthemoreaptyouwill
betorecreatethisindividual'slifeinamannerwhichisengagingto
thereaderonceyourbiographyiscomplete.
Besuretolookintonotonlytheobviouslyimportantfacts.
Dependingontheamountofinformationyouhaveyoumay
displayyourfindingssimplyinchronologicalorderofthe
individual'slife,oryoumaychoosetotraveloutofchronological
orderandexplaineventsinapiecemealfashiontobackuplogicor
reasoningastowhyothereventsoccurredwithintheperson'slife.
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6. Youwillchooseyourpersonbecauseyouthinkheorsheisinteresting,
soyoucertainlydonotwanttoburdenyourpaperwithaninventoryof
boringfacts.Thelastthingyouwanttodoisboreyourteacher.Your
goalistoimpressyourreader.
Asalways,youwillwantstartoffwithabangandcaptivateyourreader.
Itisagoodideatobeginwithareallyinterestingstatement,alittle
knownfact,orreallyintriguingevent.
Afterall,yourteacherhasprobablyreadotherbiographiesconcerning
yoursubject.
Youshouldavoidstartingoutwithastandardbutboringlinelike:
"MeriwetherLewiswasborninVirginiain1774."
Itispossibletostartlikethis:
LateoneafternooninOctober,1809,MeriwetherLewisarrivedata
smalllogcabinnestleddeepintheTennesseeMountains.Bysunriseonthe
followingday,hewasdead,havingsufferedgunshotwoundstotheheadand
chest.Hisbodywasalsoslashedseveraltimeswithashavingrazor.
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7. Thefollowingquestionsshouldbeconsideredin
yourbiography:
Wastheresomethinginyoursubject’s
childhoodthatshapedhis/herpersonality?
Wasthereapersonalitytraitthatdrovehim/her
tosucceedorimpededhisprogress?
Whatadjectiveswouldyouusetodescribe
him/her?
Whatweresometurningpointsinthislife?
Whatwashis/herimpactonhistory?
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9. Writing guidlines
Inabiographicalessay,youwriteaboutthelifeand
personalityofapersonwhoactuallylived.
Abiographicalessayshouldhavethefollowing
characteristics:
areal-lifesubject,
athesisstatementthatstatesaspecificideaaboutthat
person’slifeandachievements,
anaccountofoneormoremajoreventsinthe
subject’slife,
adescriptionofthesubject’skeycharactertraits.
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10. Prewriting
Chooseyoursubject:
Chooseapersonwhoselifeseemsespeciallyappealing
toyou.
Onceyouhavedecidedonasubject,takenotesabout
whatyoualreadyknow-abouthisorherlifeand
personality.
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13. Gatherinformation:
Onceyouhavereviewedwhatyouknow,thinkabout
whatareasofthisperson’slifeyouwouldliketofocus
on.
Then,writedownsomequestionstohelpyoudirect
yourresearch.
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14. Drawconclusions:
Basedonyourresearch,makesomedecisionsabout
yoursubject’spersonality.
Whatdidheorshevaluemost?Isthereaconnection
betweenyoursubject’scharactertraitsandhisorher
roleinhistory?
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15. Writeathesisstatement:
Youhavelearnedmoreaboutyoursubjectand
reflectedonhisorherlifeandpersonality.
Youarereadytowriteathesisstatement.
GeorgeWashingtonwasnotaveryimaginative
man,buthehadapractical,steadymind—aquality
thatwasnecessarytogivestabilitytoournew
nation.
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16. Drafting
Decidehowtoorganizeyourwriting.
Thesimplestwaytoorganizeabiographicalessayisto
coverthemaineventsofthesubject’slife
chronologically.
Anothertypeoforganizationfocusesonafew
importanteventsintheperson’slife,buildingupto
theonethatyouthinkismostimportant.
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18. Writeanintroduction.
Thefirstparagraphofyouressayintroducesyoursubject.
Theintroductionleadsuptothethesisstatement,whichexpresses
theideayouwilldevelopinyouressay.
Writethebodyparagraphs:
Supportyourthesiswithexamplesanddetails.
Usetheinformationyouhavegatheredtosupportanddevelop
yourideaaboutyoursubject.
Useaninformative,livelytone:
Asyouwriteyourdraft,enlivenyourwritingwithvividlanguage
andcolorfuldetailsthatappealtothesenses.
Writeastrongconclusion:
Inyourfinalparagraph,restateyourviewofthepersonabout
whomyouarewriting.
Tellthereaderwhatthisindividualhascontributedtothecountry.
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19. Revising
Revisetostrengthenyourthesis:
Dotheintroductionandthesisstatementscreateaclear,
unifiedimpressionofthepersonaboutwhomyouarewriting?
Dothebodyparagraphsdevelopthisimpression?
RevisetomeetwrittenEnglish-languageconventions:
Areallsentencescomplete,withasubjectandaverb?
Areallthewordsspelledcorrectly?
Areallpropernounscapitalized,includingnamesofpeople
andplaces?
Didyouuseproperpunctuation?
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20. Rubricfor Self-Assessment
Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4
Organization
Showslacksof
organizationalstrategy
Chooses an
organizationnotsuited
tothetopic
Usesareasonably
clearorganization
whichbut
occasionallyincludes
less relevant
information
Supportsthethesis
withaseriesof
logically
orderedparagraphs
creatingaclear
impressionofareal-
life
person,organized
chronologically,by
orderorimportance,
orbycharactertrait
Presentation
Doesnotprovide
anyfacts,details,or
examplesaboutthe
subject’slifeand
personality
Doesnotdiscussthe
lifeandpersonality
adequatelyinany
detail;doesnotlink
supportinginformation
tothethesis
Discussesthelifeand
personalityadequately
withseveralfacts,
details,orexamples;
linksmostsupporting
informationtothe
thesis
Discussesthelifeand
personalityofthe
subjectinawaythat
developsaclear
impressionofthe
personwithfacts,
details,andanecdotes
fromthesubject’slife;
linksallinformation
tothethesis
Use of Language
Writesincomplete
sentences;uses
languagepoorly;
soundsconfused;
includesmany
mechanicalerrors
Usesthesametypesof
sentenceswithout
varyingthem;repeats
words;includesmany
mechanicalerrors
Usessomevarietyin
sentencestructureand
vocabulary;includes
fewmechanicalerrors
Variessentence
structure and
vocabularysuccessfully;
includesnoorvery
fewmechanicalerrors

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