Writing a biography, is like penning down an account of some one else’ life. Biographies can be short like an essay or they maybe published as books. Films on a person’s life story come under the banner of a biography too. A biography also tells us about a particular time and place. Biographies can be categorized as follows:
Professional Biography
Personal Biography or Self Biography
Autobiography
Steps to Write a Biography
To write a biography, you should first select a person. Read as much as you can to gather maximum information; personal, profession, private details and facts about the person. Make sure to rely on an authentic source of information to be accurate.
Format and Outline of a Biography: look for an angle that you would like to focus on. For that you will have to think about some questions as in why is that particular person important, how did he effect the world, what events influenced his life, what kind of obstacles did he face and overcome or succumbed to etc. To make it original you can look for or concentrate on the aspects that are still unknown to the masses.
Narrative of the Biography: Once it is clear, what events or qualities you want to highlight, organize the data and start writing a story about the person. The beginning should be motivational or intriguing and it should lead to your thesis statement.
Statement of the Biography: Even though this is a biography, you will still need a thesis statement. The thesis will essentially tell the reader what you are trying to express about your subject.
Body of the Biography would be in the form of paragraphs (or chapters). Follow a certain order and make the transitions very smooth by using transitional phrases and words. Be creative so that the reader doesn’t feel jaded. Illustrate your point of view with examples from the person’s life.
Ending: The final paragraph will summarize your main points and focus on your main claim about the subject. Like always proof read your paper (or book). You can get help from editors as well.
Tracy Parker has written this article. To read more about biography writing, visit writing tips.