Biographies
Biography Biographies and autobiographies are not the same type of work. A biography is usually of a well-known figure in history, politics, the arts, the scientific community, entertainment, or a similar field, while an autobiography is the writer writing a personal life history. Biographies tend to be more objective than personal reflections, and are often written by established experts such as historians or scholars.
A biography is a story about a person's life. Biographies can range in size and detail from just the basic details about a person, their birth and death and what they accomplished or did all the way to the in depth details on their childhood, their friends and family and the more particular intricacies of the life.
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. There are five basic steps for writing a biography: 1. Choosing the person to be written about 2. Researching the person’s life 3. Choosing a format for the written biography 4. Doing the actual writing 5. Editing the biography
Choose a Subject
Who to write about is a critical decision when writers decide how to write a biography. Many famous individuals – presidents, actors, and other notable figures – already have multiple published biographies, and it is important to choose someone about whom there is more to say. On the other hand, the subject of the biography can vary greatly depending on the purpose for writing it. A grandparent or eccentric ancestor, for example, may be the perfect subject for a school biography report or local family history.Research
Research is the key to an outstanding biography. There are two type of resource material that can be used: primary documents and secondary sources. Primary documents include: Use primary sources.- Diaries and journals
- School transcripts
- Birth certificates, marriage licenses, and other official documents
- Letters and other works written by the individual
- Pictures of the individual
- Interviews with people who know the subject, including family members, friends, teachers, employers, scholars, clergy, and descendants
- Previous non-biographical articles about the subject
- Visits to significant locations in the subject’s life, such as a home town, birthplace, or burial place
Choose a Format
The easiest and most obvious format for a biography is chronological, but it isn’t always the best choice for every person’s life story. One common way to format a biography is to confine the timeframe to relevant years, rather than encompassing an individual’s entire life. A presidential biography, for example, may best be confined to the former president’s political career. Another option for formatting a biography is a narrative form. This structure may discuss the same years of a person’s life or their significance on others several times, but each time from a unique viewpoint. Together, several viewpoints can give a much richer perspective than a straight chronological outline.Write the Biography
Writing the biography may be the easiest step, once thorough research has been completed. Tips for writing an engaging, useful biography include:- Limit material to what is relevant to the biography
- Use active verbs and descriptive adjectives to create an entertaining picture of the subject
- Break the work into useful sections such as life phases to help organize the writing
- Use quotations and excerpts to provide greater authenticity to the writing
