how do i write a biographical essay

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15 Tips to Help You Write a Stellar Essay

Essay-writing can be easier than you might think if you have a grasp of the basics and a willingness to engage with the subject matter. Here are 15 top tips for writing a stellar essay.

Do Your Research

This is one of the most important tips you’ll ever receive. Research thoroughly, even if it means you have too many notes. It’s better to have to leave stuff out than not have enough to write about.

Make an Outline

Without a properly structured outline (with an intro, a four- to five-point body and a conclusion), your essay may be hard to write and to follow.

Hook Attention

While you might just be writing your essay for a teacher or professor that is paid to read it, it still pays to grab their attention. A “hook” like a quote or surprising statistic in your intro can make your reader want to read on.

Lay Out Your Thesis

The intro isn’t all about flair and grabbing attention. It’s also about laying out your thesis. Make your main argument clear in the first few sentences, setting up a question to answer or statement to prove.

Avoid Passive Voice

If you want your writing to be persuasive, passive voice should be avoided. (That sentence was full of it, by the way. For example, “You should avoid passive voice” is a more convincing way to say “passive voice should be avoided.”)

Avoid First-Person Voice

If you’re writing an academic essay, you should almost certainly avoid first-person voice. In other words, avoid saying “I” or “my.” Also restrict your use of the second-person voice (e.g., don’t use “you” unless it’s necessary).

Start With Your Strongest Point

In general, it’s a good idea to start with your strongest argument in your first body paragraph. This sets the scene nicely. However, this might not be appropriate if you are structuring your essay points chronologically.

Relate All Points Back to Your Thesis

Make it clear to your reader how each point you make relates back to your thesis (i.e., the question or statement in your introduction, and probably your title too). This helps them to follow your argument.

Contextualize Without Losing Focus

Add contextualizing information for a richer presentation of your topic. For example, it’s fine (or even desirable) to discuss the historical background for certain events. Just don’t get bogged down by irrelevant details.

Use Transition Phrases

Transition phrases, such as “furthermore,” “by contrast” and “on the other hand,” can also help your reader to follow your argument. But don’t overuse them at the cost of clarity. Read your essay aloud to gauge how it flows.

Conclude With a Return to Your Thesis

A conclusion can do many things, but it’s useful to think of it as an answer to the question or statement in your intro. It’s sensible to summarize your key points, but always relate back to your thesis.

Make Your Conclusion Seem Obvious

Restating your thesis in your conclusion (after having made all of your points and arguments in the body) can be persuasive. Aim to make your conclusion feel irrefutable (at least if it’s a persuasive essay).

Check Spelling

If your spelling is sloppy, it’s natural for your reader to assume your approach to writing the essay was too. This could harm the strength of an otherwise persuasive essay.

Check Grammar

Grammar is also important, for the same reason. It’s usually easy to pick up on dodgy grammar if you read your essay aloud. If you’re not a native English speaker, however, you might want to ask someone who is to check your essay.

Check Vocabulary

To avoid harming your persuasiveness and authority, it’s fundamentally important to use the right words. Overly obscure language can detract from the clarity of your argument, but if you feel you have to use it, then you better know what it means.

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How to Write a Biography Essay

Biography essay writing guide.

A biography essay is an essay where you tell the story of a person's life. It's a chance for you to do research and learn interesting facts and opinions about someone. That person could be a historical figure, a famous actor, politician, artist, writer or inventor. The point of the biographical essay is to reveal who that person was and what contribution they have made to the world.

In order to write a great biography essay, you'll need to develop a thesis statement about them and write supporting paragraphs with information about their life and work. Finally, a conclusion will help show the lasting impact they've had.

Let's take it step by step:

• Step 1 - Choose Your Subject The person you choose to write about should be someone famous. Since you'll need to do research about them, they need to be someone who you can find articles and books about. It would be best if the person is someone you're interested in. That way it will make it easier for you to get excited about doing the research.
• Step 2 - Do Research The more you read about your subject, the clearer a picture you'll have of who they are, what they accomplished and why they're famous. Different writers will have varying opinions and information about your chosen person, so it's best to read a wide range of sources. As you do your research, take notes of interesting facts, dates, events, names. Take note as well of particularly strong opinions, especially if they are opposing or contradictory of your subject.
• Step 3 - Write an Outline Make an outline of your essay. Your essay should follow the standard five paragraph format (Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion) unless otherwise instructed by your teacher. Your outline will help you organize the information you gathered during your research while you consider which ideas to include in each paragraph.
• Start with a quote either by or about your subject. Something that really reveals the essence of who they were/are.
• Include a fascinating story or anecdote about them.
• Describe an incredible accomplishment they achieved.
• Though Marilyn Monroe had fame and fortune, she was a troubled woman whose self-destructive habits may have ultimately led to her tragic early death.
• Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez invented a new genre of writing called magical realism which had a powerful impact on the literary world and influenced many writers who came after him.
• Step 6 - Body Paragraphs This is where you'll get to include the information you gathered in your research. Make sure you stick close to the theme you introduced in your thesis. For example, if you're writing about Marilyn Monroe, you may want to include facts about her troubled childhood and marriages as well as her substance and prescription pill abuse. You'll also want to let readers know about her films, interests and lifestyle. Who were the people that were close to her? What did they have to say? What kind of different opinions did authors have about her? Include contradictory information to provide a more complete and complex picture of your subject.
• How is their work relevant today?
• What is their legacy? How are they remembered?
• What or who did they have a major influence on?

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How To Write A Biography Essay And Get An A+

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As a high school or college student, you have probably written dozens, if not hundreds, of essays of all types. However, a biographical essay is nothing like you have written before. In fact, despite seeming relatively easy, the task of writing a biography essay can get very confusing to inexperienced students.

Instead of your ideas, a biography essay utilizes facts, but it takes a lot of research and writing skills to write a biography essay that will impress both your peers and your professor. Our   essay writing service has prepared a detailed guide on how to write a good biography essay, and here is everything you need to know.

What Is a Biographical Essay?

Before you can find out how to write a biography essay, you need to learn the answer to the essential question: what is a biography essay? A biographical essay is a type of academic paper where the author tells the story of someone’s life.

In some ways, biographical essays are similar to other types of essays, especially narrative papers. They both tell a story that should captivate and inform the readers. However, a biographical essay focuses solely on the story of one person and often includes an analysis of the person’s personality, not just a list of significant events from the subject’s life story.

Typically, the biography essay format deals with the life story of another person. In some cases, you may be tasked with writing a biography about yourself. In that case, your paper will be called an autobiography essay, and it’s a common assignment in high school and during the college application process.

At first glance, a biography essay may seem like just another type of written assignments that you simply have to do for a good grade. However, a bibliography essay is actually a very important piece of writing that allows you to tell a story of another person’s greatness, significance, or vulnerability through his life events.

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Biography Essay Outline

Even though a biographical essay is a unique form of writing, it still requires you to follow a specific format and structure. The biography essay outline helps you keep your thoughts in order and never miss a single significant fact or quote.

So, how to write a biography essay outline? Unless otherwise specified by your professor, you should follow the standard five-paragraph essay structure. It means that your biography essay outline will include the following chapters:

Introduction

• Body paragraph #1
• Body paragraph #2
• Body paragraph #3

Now that you know what is biography essay and how to create a good biography essay outline, it is time to finally find out how to write a biography essay. In this part of our guide, we will focus on a personal biography essay, or autobiography.

Students are often wondering: how to start off a biography essay to make a good impression on the readers? The introduction is the first part of your paper the readers will encounter, and you should pay extra attention to what you write in this chapter.

How to write an introduction for a biography essay? Start with a hook — an attention-grabbing sentence that sets the tone for the paper. It can be a personal anecdote, a fact, or a quote from someone else describing you.

In the rest of the introduction, write a little about yourself without giving up any important facts —  save those for the upcoming chapters of the essay. Finish the introduction with a thesis statement, where you should describe the essence of your biography essay.

Body paragraphs

If you went for the classic five-paragraph structure with your biography, you will have three body paragraphs. There is no standard way to distribute your biography between those three paragraphs, but since you are writing about yourself — a young person whose later years are still ahead of them — you can use the following structure:

• Body paragraph #1: Childhood
• Body paragraph #2: School years
• Body paragraph #3: Current situation

Since it’s a personal essay, you probably won’t use too much research to support your claims, which will be based on your own life. However, you should carefully choose the wording, not to exaggerate your achievements. Be as close to your own life events as possible.

Are you ready to get things finally done?

A conclusion is an essential part of any essay, and it’s equally true for a biography essay. Since you are retelling your own life story, and it’s difficult to assess your contribution to the society simply because you are only at the beginning of your own career, you should write about the way your life until this point impacted your development as a person.

How to Write a Biography Essay About Someone Else?

Our essay service has already covered how to write a personal biography essay, but in most cases, you will be tasked with writing a biography essay about a different person — usually, someone famous and significant in their own field. This person can be dead or alive, but they will likely have a rich biography that is relatively easy to write about.

The key to writing a strong biography essay is to rely strictly on facts, not on fiction. It doesn’t mean that you should simply list the facts from the person’s life story without any opinions of your own, but those opinions and assumptions must always be based on the official statements from the person’s biography.

Additional Tips on Writing a Biography

Wondering how to write a biography essay to make it absolutely flawless? Check out these extra writing tips from our expert team of authors that specialize in essay writing in the United States:

• Even though that might seem obvious, you should always use a chronological order when listing the events in a biography essay. There are a few situations where a reverse chronological order also works, but a standard chronological order is easier for the readers to comprehend.
• Not every event from the person’s life is worth mentioning in a biography essay. Before beginning to writing your essay, you need to study the person’s biography in detail. Then, write down the events and experiences that influenced their life and achievements, leaving behind the more insignificant facts.
• When you are writing a biography essay, your job is to give an impartial insight into the life of your subject and assess their contribution to the world. Your readers don’t want to see any generalizations or your own opinions, especially if they are negative — there are other genres of writing where you can do that.
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How to write a biography essay

The complete guide on biographical storytelling

Anyone can learn how to write a perfect biography essay about someone else’s life by making sure to focus on true, objective facts about a specific person. First, determine the scope of the person’s life (years), pick a central theme, and write out the biography using the classic narrative arc.

Many college courses include an essay writing component, and a biography essay is one of the types of essays that you may encounter, especially if you are taking courses in liberal arts disciplines such as history or cultural studies. This guide from Ultius will provide you with a thorough overview of how to write an effective biography essay. The guide will include the following sections:

• purpose of a biography essay
• biography and culture
• elements of a good biography essay
• how to write a great biography essay
• samples/examples
• additional information

After reading this guide, you should feel confident in your ability to write a strong biography essay, or at least in your ability to find the right kind of help to write such an essay.

Purpose of a biography essay

"Biography" literally means the story of a life. So, when you write a biography essay, what you are trying to do is to write the story of someone's life. ( Autobiography is a related concept that refers to the story of your own life.) If your biography essay is successful, then by the end of reading it, the reader should have a clear idea of what your subject did in his/her life and why his/her life was interesting and/or important enough to be the subject of a biography essay.

According to the Ultius glossary, a biography is a detailed descriptions of a famous person’s life and accomplishments (as a genre). Biographies typically contain intricate details of the subject’s personal life and sometimes include an analysis of the person’s personality and attributes.

A biography essay is similar to other forms of essays, such as the narrative essay, insofar as it involves telling a story. A biography essay, however, is supposed to be rooted in historical fact, and it should describe your subject using objective tone and language.

Narrative essay how-to guide. Click here is you are interested in learning how to write a narrative essay instead.

There are two important things to remember about a biography essay.

1. It is a true story that describes the life of your subject. You are not allowed to just make things up, and there should be scholarly documentation confirming that what you are writing is valid.

2. It is a story about someone else, generally a famous historical figure . If you were writing about yourself, that would be a memoir, which for present purposes should be considered as different from a biographical essay.

Only use details and facts that can be verified through documents or existing sources. An important hallmark of biography essays is that they are true.

The importance of biography essays

The English writer Samuel Johnson had this to say about biographies:

"No species of writing seems more worthy of cultivation than biography, since none can be more delightful or more useful, none can more certainly enchain the heart by irresistible interest, or more widely diffuse instruction to every diversity of condition.”

The main idea here is that my reading biographies, people can gain insight into the lives of other people who have done amazing things. This can be enchanting in its own right, and it can also provide the reader with inspiration for his own life and help the reader look at his own life with fresh eyes.

Stuck with writing? Essay services from Ultius can help with biography writing.

For example, are you interested in doing philosophy? If so, you may find it inspiring to read biographies such as:

• Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius , by Ray Monk
• Albert Camus: A Life , by Olivier Todd
• Søren Kierkegaard: A Biography , by Joakim Garff

A nice thing about the genre of biography is also that biographies are written about a huge range of different figures in different disciplines, meaning that you can find biographical subject that may specifically interest you or move your heart.

Biography and culture

Biographies play an important role in preserving human cultural memory: it is like history, except focused on the life of one person. People have been telling stories about heroes and other admirable figures since the beginning of the human species.

Modern biography, though, is somewhat different from the old heroic stories, in that modern biography is supposed to be objective and scholarly, and it is generally rooted in a secular view of time and history. In other words, modern biographies are based in reason more than imagination, and they are not supposed to include magical and/or irrational events.

Biography vs. legend

Biography is a modern scholarly discipline that has some similarities to the much older genre of the legend, but it is also different in some important ways.

So, the genre of biography carries on the old tradition of telling stories about the lives of admirable figures. But whereas the old legends were more imaginative and quasi-fictional in their tellings, modern biography is supposed to be based on reason and objective, verifiable facts about the life of the subject.

Elements of a good biography essay

In order to write a compelling biography essay, there are certain elements that you will have to include. Here are some of them.

Linear narrative arc

This may seem somewhat obvious, but a human life naturally resembles a story, starting with birth and ending in death, with various drama and events happening in between. This is the natural arc that you should follow when writing your biography essay. In general, you should begin your essay with the birth of your historical figure and then follow him/her through the events of his/her life until death.

Some biography essays might be able to get with innovations such as non-linear structure, but unless you really know what you are doing, that can get very confusing, and your biography essay would be difficult to follow. So, for all intent and purpose, we can say that following a linear narrative arc is a best practice for writing a biography essay.

Different types of narrative structures

These are some of the possible types of narrative structure. When writing a biography essay, you are strongly advised to stick to the linear structure.

The linear structure is the standard for most biographies; it starts at a specific point in the protagonist's life and moves forward in chronological order. Nonlinear structure is more complex as this style moves between time periods with time skips and flashbacks. Thematic structure strategically conveys given and new information to frame and insert specific themes.

Choose a compelling biography essay subject

For your biography essay, your subject will be the person whose life story you will be writing. In order for your biography essay to be effective, you will have to pick a subject who is interesting, important, or otherwise qualified to be the subject of a biography essay. You should ask yourself the question: why choose your subject, and what has your subject done that deserves to be recorded and remembered?

Of course, there's a sense in which every single human life is interesting and important. But for the purposes of your biography essay, you will want to dig deeper and consider why your subject is worthy of being remembered in the collective cultural memory.

An effective biography usually focuses on someone who has affected history, or someone who has achieved a high level of excellence within his/her discipline or field.

Søren Kierkegaard: A very important philosopher

Kierkegaard would be an example a good subject for a biography essay, because his works are generally considered a turning point in modern philosophy.

The subject of your biography essay does not necessarily need to be well-known. In fact, it can be a lot of fun to dig into the life of someone is not well known but should be. The important thing is that your subject must be compelling, and there must be a solid reason why his/her story should be told.

Also, when picking a subject, you may want to make sure that you actually like your subject. That can make writing a biography essay more fun, and your respect for the subject (or lack thereof) will also probably come across in your writing. If you want to convince others that your subject is compelling, then it would help if you find him/her compelling.

Choose biographical (life) events wisely

A lot can happen in a life, and it would probably be impossible for you to include everything there is to know about your subject within a single biography essay. So, you should choose the high point, or the most important points, and then focus on those.

Events in the life of Kierkegaard

These are key events that could be the focus of a biography essay on Kierkegaard.

Garff, Joakim. Søren Kierkegaard: A Biography. Princeton: Princeton U P, 2007.

How to write a great biography essay

Now that you know about the elements of a biography essay, you can follow these steps in order to ensure that your biography essay turns out to be a success.

Next, integrate the specific biography related aspects listed below.

Determine the scope of your biographical essay

Again, your biography essay won't be able to include everything there is to know about your subject. So, you will want to map out the scope of your biography essay before you get started. The birth and death of your subject are the logical starting and ending points for your essay. Then, you will want to select a few events or accomplishments in the life of your subject that are worthy of remembrance.

You can develop a full-fledged outline, or you can use a table like the one developed above. Either way, though, you will have to have a clear idea of where you will begin, where you will end, and the path that you will take from the beginning to the end.

Compile credible sources

Your biography essay has to be rooted in verifiable facts about the life of your subject. This means that it is important that you identify and document the sources of your information. The essay sources should generally be scholarly in nature, and you should avoid using websites to the greatest extent possible. This is because it is often difficult to tell whether the content on websites have been drawn from credible sources.

Questions to ask when compiling sources

If there are references listed on a website about your subject, then you should trace those references back to the original academic sources. Those are the sources you should use for your biography essay.

Write in a clear and compelling style

Remember: with your biography essay, you are at least partly trying to show your reader why your subject is interesting and why he/she deserves to have an essay written about him/her.

Your interest in your subject should come across in your writing style. After all, if you feel bored with your subject, then why should anyone else pay attention?

The language you use should be scholarly (but still filled with imagery ), but you should also focus on varying sentence structure, using excellent word choice, and other writing techniques that tell the life story of your subject in a compelling way that does justice to the importance of your subject.

Samples/examples

See the example biographical essay below for a clear example of how it needs to be written.

As the sample shows, it’s very important to be focused on true details. Please see the list of blog posts below for more examples of biography essays:

• Biography essay on Hillary Clinton
• Biography essay on Frank Rosolino
• Short essay on Edgar Allan Poe

If you need more help or would like something written for your own needs, consider buying custom essays from Ultius . Our talented writes can help you get something done in as fast as three hours.

Additional information

That brings us to the close of this guide on the biography essay. Here is a recapitulation of some of the best practices that have been covered here.

Develop a focused arc

You should use a linear narrative structure, starting with the birth of your subject, ending with their death, and focusing on selected key events and accomplishments in the subject's life.

Write in the scholarly mode

Although a biography essay is a kind of "story," it should still be written in a rational, scholarly way, and referencing in MLA or Chicago style is usually required for this kind of essay.

Love your subject

If you get to choose your subject, then you should pick a subject that you personally admire. This will make the writing process more fun, and your interest will also show in your writing and make the biography essay more enjoyable for the reader.

Find help if you need it

Finally, Ultius has plenty of resources that can help you write a successful biography essay and hone your skills as a writer. Please feel free to lean on us.

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The Full Guide on How to Write a Biography Essay

You are probably familiar with a handful of biography examples. You’ve seen biopics like Invictus about Nelson Mandela, or documentaries like King in the Wilderness about Martin Luther King or Marley about Bob Marley. Maybe when you had a free minute to spend, you browsed through the Biographies section in the bookstore with novelized lives of politicians and pop stars. However, can you write a good biography in a 5 paragraph essay? After all, aren’t biographies supposed to be long and detailed? The answer is: it depends on what you are trying to say with this biography.

You’ve seen short biographies in your textbooks, for example, William Shakespeare biography put in a couple of sentences in your English Literature course book or a few words about the life of Isaac Newton when you studied Newton's law of universal gravitation in your Science class. These short bylines were biographies too! Therefore, an essay format is quite suitable. Let’s look at it in detail.

Before You Start Writing a Biography Essay

• Biography comes from Greek words meaning “life description”. However, it’s more than a simple statement of facts about someone in chronological order. A biography should tell a story of its subject, focusing on significant events and experiences and analyzing personality of a subject or their contribution to history and culture.
• Your subject can be a historical figure, a modern-day celebrity, or just a person you know – however, they must be real, not fictional. A biography has a place for sentiment and interpretation, but it doesn’t tolerate fantasies and speculation. Only real facts about a real person.
• When choosing your subject, keep in mind the availability of information. You can hardly write a biography about someone whose life is only represented by two dates.
• Choose someone you find fascinating, whose character or impact you believe to be significant. This way you will enjoy looking for additional information about your subject and will be genuinely enthusiastic while writing, which is always good for the tone and flow of your essay.
• When you have all the facts about your subject, try to find a focus of your essay. Will you concentrate on how childhood experiences shaped their character? Will you show which character trait was essential for their success? Select facts that are most relevant to your narrative.

Writing a Biography Essay Outline

When you’ve done your research and have all the facts, it’s time to lay them out to make them into a coherent story. The simplest way to do it is to follow a chronological order, looking in each rubric at the key points in your subject’s life:

• Parents, place of birth, family background
• Significant childhood experiences
• Education, coming of age
• Key relationships
• Career, achievements
• Death and legacy (if the person no longer lives)
• Your subject’s current situation and impact they had

However, you can get creative with the composition:

• - start with the person’s greatest achievement and then show their way to this triumph
• - use archetypical Hero’s Journey template: your hero ventures out to get something they lack or crave, faces conflict, and ultimately triumphs over adversity
• - show the life of your subject through the conflict (with circumstances, rivals, inner conflict) with classical story arc composition: Exposition -> Rising action -> Climax -> Falling action -> Resolution
• - use parallel stories structure where you compare past with the present; however, keep in mind that if you skip from one time to another, you should make it very clear in the text, so as not to confuse your audience.

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How to Start a Biography Essay

If it’s a biography, it doesn’t mean it must start with “He was born in…” or “Her parents were…” That’s the most common mistake students make and it bodes lackluster experience for the audience. It’s an essay, not an encyclopedia entry – you can start off with a great hook sentence! Use a quote by the person you write about or an interesting fact about them that the audience will find relatable. This is particularly important when you write about great personalities of the past, whom we tend to idealize. A fun fact or an intimate detail that humanizes them can go a long way in winning the attention of your readers.

After that, you can carry on with your usual introduction where you present your topic and make a thesis statement. For a biography, a thesis statement might include a claim about the person’s impact or character trait that wasn’t explored before.

Keep in mind that the outline you’ve put together before should work towards proving this claim: present facts and events of your subject’s life, or testimonies of other people about the subject as arguments in favor of your vision. Be careful not to twist or cherry-pick the facts! It’s still a biography and it must be complete and factual.

In the conclusion, instead of restating your thesis, reflect on the person’s impact or legacy. Think of the impression you want to leave in your reader’s mind. Should they be inspired, enlightened, moved, humbled, outraged?

What if I Have to Write a Biography Essay About Myself?

Autobiography is an account of a person’s life where the author writes about self. Autobiographies present a unique insight into the personal lives of people and are treated as valuable historical documents.

Writing about yourself can feel awkward but don’t let it put you off. You will be required to write a personal biography many times in your life for job applications, research grants, or who knows – you might become famous so people would want to read your memoirs! Who else but you has the experience and understanding of your life to tell about it? Anyway, looking at your own life from a third-person perspective and analyzing it critically is a useful skill.

To write your autobiography you will have to go through all the steps involved in writing a usual essay. Conduct research: look through your old diaries, documents, mementos. You may also want to interview your friends and family – they will remember some interesting things that you forgot or never noticed.

How to Write a Biography Essay about Someone Else

If you are writing about someone who lived long ago, like Clara Barton or Edgar Allan Poe, for example, the whole thing is relatively straightforward – you just stick to the facts you can find in literature, compare opposing opinions, etc. Basically, you do what you would do with any subject of research, only this time your subject is a story of a human’s life.

However, in Social Studies, they often ask students to write about a contemporary. For example, a political figure like Abdul Kalam or Barack Obama biography essay, a famous athlete like LeBron James or Michael Jordan, or a celebrity, like Michael Jackson.

If you are writing about someone who lives or is recently deceased, try to be sensitive not to offend friends and relatives of this person. Write as if you knew that someone close to your subject would be among your readers.

When it comes to writing about someone you know personally, for example, your topic is “My mother: biography”, you might want to interview her and ask for permission to write about her life. Letting her see the text of your essay for approval is another good practice.

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How to write a biography essay

• August 24, 2023

A biography essay is a type of academic writing that tells the story of someone’s life, typically focusing on their achievements, struggles, and impact on the world.

In this article, we’ll provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to write a compelling biography essay that engages readers and tells the story of a person’s life in a meaningful way.

Choose a person to write a biography

First you need to choose a person to write about. The person should have made significant contributions to his/her respective field. This person should also be well-known as you will need resources to find information.

For this guide, we will be writing our biography essay on French-Algerian philosopher and author Albert Camus . There’re some reasons why Albert Camus is a suitable topic for a biography essay:

• He is an influential person in his field.
• He has many works that we can refer to in our essay .​
• There are many reliable sources where we can find information about him. ​

Gather information on the person

You need some information about your the person you chose. While getting this information, pay attention to two main factors: the credibility of your source and what information you are putting in your essay.

Credibility of your source

• Does this source have any authors and/or editors listed?
• Does this source cite or link to trustworthy sources?​
• Is this source prepared professionally?​

If your sources check all the boxes, they are most likely reliable sources . However, if a source doesn’t have any authors, has no citation, or is poorly written, consider it risky.

Information included in the essay

• Is this information useful in the context of my essay?
• Is this development remarkable in my subject’s life story? ​

You can definitely add the information if they meet these criteria. If not, it’s best to keep them out.

Use of important information on the person

Now, we will be choosing information from Albert Camus’ life story to include in our biography essay. 

• Albert Camus was born on 7 November 1913 in French Algeria. (We choose to include this information because it is reasonable to start with this line for a biography essay.)
• He published his essay The Myth of Sisyphus in the year 1942. (This information is essential because this essay explains his notion of “the absurd,” a philosophy he is widely known for.)​
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. (This event is a significant acknowledgment of his works; therefore, it should be included.)​
• He died on 4 January 1960 in France. (A reasonable ending point for a biography essay.) ​

Create an outline

Preparing an outline is essential for biography essays just like any other essay . You can follow our typical outline preparing process in this step because biography essays also adhere to the traditional essay structure.

Biography Essay Outline Example

Albert Camus Biography Essay

• Open with a curious quote by Albert Camus
• Explain how Camus contributed to his field
• Further explore Albert Camus' stance on the field
• Present your thesis statement
• Topic sentence of your paragraph
• Albert's accomplishments and more personal information
• Closing sentence
• Restate your thesis statement
• Mention the importance of Albert Camus
• Finish your essay with memorable concluding sentences by highlighting Camus' importance

Important reminder

Write an introduction.

The introduction paragraph is crucial. Because you need to grab the reader’s attention at this part. This is where a hook sentence is useful. With a hook sentence , you can start your essay in multiple interesting directions for you reader: 

• Start your introduction with a quote from your subject, especially one that reveals their personality.
• Start with an intriguing story or an interesting anecdote about your subject. ​
• Start by informing the reader about a significant accomplishment of your subject.​

Biography essay introduction example

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” This is a quote by French-Algerian philosopher, writer, and journalist Albert Camus. Camus was born in French Algeria on 7 November 1913. Opening: Intriguing quote that grabs the reader’s attention and summarizes Camus’ philosophy He is one of the most prominent writers of absurdist philosophical thought. Subject: A sentence which explains the subject’s contribution to their field. Through his works, Camus contributed to the rise of the absurdist philosophy, which was essentially a response to nihilism. Stance: Further explanation of the subject’s stance on the field He wrote works that conveyed an abiding faith in the human race’s displaced but still righteous situation. Thesis statement: You highlight your stand and main focus of the essay.

Biography essay body paragraphs

This is the section where the results of your research come in. Like other types of essays, body paragraphs are the central part of your biography essay (see biography essay example ).

Through these paragraphs, you will discuss the milestones in your subject’s life, their accomplishments, and their works.

Biography essay body paragraph example

During his literary career, Camus published his works in three cycles. In each cycle, he published a novel, an essay, and a play. The first cycle of his works was on “the absurd,” and they were published from 1942 to 1944. Topic sentence: Further exploration of the claim presented in the introduction. This cycle’s works were some of his most significant works: The Stranger as the novel, The Myth of Sisyphus as the essay, and Caligula as the play. Camus also explored the concepts “the revolt” and “the love” through the cycle structure. Subject’s accomplishments: Reveal of the subject’s extensive work on the field Through his major works, Camus earned the Nobel Prize for Literature, and he then published his work named Algerian Chronicles. This work revealed his pacifist tendencies. Personal information: Brief introduction into the subject’s personal reflections. After Camus’ death, two more works of his were released. One is his novel titled A Happy Death and an unfinished autobiographical novel named The First Man. Some of the significant themes Camus explores through his literary career are alienation, rebellion, and guilt. Closing sentence: Information on the subject’s identity.

Biography essay conclusion

In your conclusion paragraph , what you need to do is to bring in your final thoughts. Do not make the mistake (see common mistakes ) of only repeating the claims you made throughout the essay.

As an alternative, you can choose to tie your subject’s legacy into the current day . You can ask yourself these questions to figure out what to say in your conclusion paragraph:

• What was my subject’s contribution to the ideas/events that are relevant today?
• Are they still remembered? How do people honor their work?​
• Out of the people that are significant today, who did my subject influence?​

Biography essay conclusion example

Camus died on 4 January 1960, when he was only 46 years old. He died in a car crash, and many scholars point out the “absurdity” of his death. Restatement: Connection with the subject’s main works Since Camus himself had previously stated that the most absurd way of dying he could think of would be a car accident, people regard his death as ironic. Today, Albert Camus is still considered to be one of the most significant thinkers of Western philosophy. Importance of the person: The subject’s relevancy today He is acknowledged as one of the most critical contributors of the absurdist philosophy. He is referred to as one of the best literary writers of his genre and one of the best thinkers of his age. Closing statement: Concluding sentences by highlighting the subject’s influence

Now you know all the separate parts of a biography essay and how to create them.  Remember that these steps can be used in all academic essays.

Before closing this article, let’s have a look at an extensive biography essay example on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , you see below. 

5-Paragraph Biography Essay Example

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: The Modernizer of Turkey

Introduction

Body paragraphs, key takeaways.

• A biography essay should tell the story of a person's life, but also focus on their contributions and impact.
• Start by doing thorough research and organizing your information into a chronological outline.
• Use vivid details and anecdotes to bring your subject to life and make the essay engaging for the reader.
• Incorporate analysis and reflection to help the reader understand the significance of the subject's life and work.
• End with a strong conclusion that summarizes the key points and leaves the reader with a lasting impression.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start a biography essay.

Start your biography essay by giving a general information about your subject, such as their profession or importance.

What is biography example?

Biography is a literary work in which a person’s life is narrated. They are based on facts, and the main purpose of them is educating people about well-known individuals.

How do you write an outline for a biography?

A proper biography outline should include details about the information that will be presented in the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

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What Is a Biographical Essay?

A biographical essay is a written composition describing the life and times of a particular individual. In general there are two primary types. The first is an academic report or essay used to paint a picture of a historical figure or person of some importance to the writer. This sort of paper is usually structured somewhat rigidly, often with fixed introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. Colleges, universities, and certain grants associated with higher education also sometimes ask for biographical essays as part of their application materials, and these sorts of compositions are usually a lot different in that schools are usually asking applicants to write about themselves . Furthermore, rather than trying to present a complete composite of their lives to date, most writers in these contexts focus on certain defining moments and experiences. The structure is often looser and less academic.

Core Components

Both types of essay have a few things in common. They’re both focused on a specific person, for instance, and can and often do weave in details that define that person’s context. This can include things like family relationships and geographical settings. Additionally, both usually have a singular point they’re trying to make. Even though the structure varies, organization is important. In academic papers, the writer’s main point is usually captured in what’s known as a “ thesis statement .” This statement makes a specific claim that the rest of the paper will be used to support. Self-portraits and personal statements don’t necessarily need a defined thesis statement, but writers who organize their thoughts around a central argument usually find that their compositions are more coherent and successful as a result.

Analyzing Figures from the Past

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In an academic essay , the thesis might link certain key events in a subject's life to his subsequent actions, and by so doing offer an explanation of his or her motives. It might also simply describe how the subject lived his or her life, and the effects that he or she had on the world. Generally speaking, the thesis of this sort of essay ties the various stories and facts together and places them in a single, meaningful context.

This type of essay is generally no more than a few pages long and cannot, therefore, adequately cover all of the events in a person’s life. By selecting the events to include in an essay, writers usually emphasizes certain aspects of the subject’s life.

The Importance of Context

In nearly all cases, biographical-style essays in academic settings can be seen as written histories of the times in which the subject lived, and this history needs to provide some context for the essay. An essay on the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that failed to at least briefly discuss the history of the Depression, for instance, would be difficult to understand. In the same way, a personal essay should include key historical events or relationships that were important in the author’s life, but this should be done in an objective and balanced way.

Accuracy can be impacted by words as much as implications. For example, a biographical essay of Lenin that focuses on the execution of his brother by the government might read like a tale of revenge, while an essay discussing the life of Winston Churchill that ends before he was replaced as prime minister will read very differently from one that covers his entire life and career.

Goals of a Self-Portrait

One of the most common objectives of an autobiographical essay is to secure admission to a university or to obtain a scholarship . The essay should include elements that speak to an applicant’s character and personality. Personal hardships that have been overcome, admirable life goals, or a discussion of the role played by an inspiring mentor are common subjects for this type of writing. Interests and academics will generally be covered in other parts of the application and as such will not usually be the focus of this type of biographical essay, though this does vary from place to place. It’s important for writers to pay close attention to the instructions provided in order to submit a successful piece.

An autobiographical essay follows many of the same rules as an essay written about another person’s life. This type of essay should still contain a central thesis or theme, an appropriate level of personal detail, and a discussion of any other topics relevant to the specific position or posting. Writers should also be careful to stay on topic. An essay asking for admission to a religious institution, for example, should probably address issues of faith, but one included in an application for a physics grant probably should not.

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Discussion Comments

Based on my experience, I've always felt that the hardest part about writing an essay, whether it be autobiographical or not, is gathering all your sources. In my opinion, that takes the longest time. Not only do you have to make an outline about how you plan to use your sources, but even more so, you have to make sure they're all accurate. While some websites are beneficial, others (such as Wikipedia) can be edited by anyone, often leading to some false information.

When I was in seventh grade, I remember writing a biographical essay on Martin Luther King. Being the first autobiography I've written, it wasn't an easy task. Not only was there a lot of research involved, but the teacher had some very strict guidelines as well. However, since I already knew much about Martin Luther King, I was able to gather my sources rather easily. I imagine it would have been much more difficult if I picked someone I didn't know beforehand.

When writing an essay, whether it's informative or biographical, it's always helpful to remember who your audience is. Remember, what may work for one essay may not work for others. For example, let's say that you're trying inform someone about a topic that most are unaware of. It would help to make a list of very important facts. However, if it's a biographical essay, you're telling the story of another person's life (though you can't cover all the facts).

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How to Write a Biography Essay and Get an A+

03 July, 2020

7 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

Got a chance to write about your idol but need help with realization? Read our article to know the secrets of effective biography essay writing. Whoever you decide to write a biography essay about, don’t try to include random information at once. The person you describe would not like it. Instead, read our article about how to write a biography essay correctly and, more importantly, take pleasure in composing it. We’ll share some smart tips and tricks that you’ll find particularly useful for your writing.

What is a biographical essay?

Some tend to mistakenly attribute biographical essay to the process of writing about themselves. But actually, biography definition has nothing to do with you. It’s more about telling the engaging story about a person’s life. This individual can be anyone: a famous historical figure, a well-known actor, politician, dancer, musician, artist, writer, inventor – you get the point. Such task sounds intriguing and interesting, and indeed it is. A biographical essay is a great chance to dilute simple academic tasks with a pinch of new article full of interesting facts and opinions.

Biography essay outline

Before writing a biography essay, it’s important to pay attention to essay structure and build up a biography outline. An outline is generally a schematic plan that helps to organize biography essays in accordance with the writer’s preference. In this, the primary task is to create a list of the most significant facts you’ll want to develop in the essay. The easiest way of arranging an outline is to add a numbered list indicating the main points, and a list of sub-points marked with bullets. Also, don’t forget to include a biography thesis statement that’ll sum up the main idea of your essay in one sentence.

How to start a biography essay?

Before writing, you first need to understand what to include in a biography essay. An eloquent biography essay always starts with the introduction of a chosen person. The initial step of writing it involves the inclusion of such information as the person’s name, date of their birth, and the place they were born in. Of course, it’s not a uniform set of data necessary for this part. You can take the situation in your hands and write about some cultural or historical background surrounding one’s birthplace or the day they were born. Adding such information to the introductory part will help to create some context by connecting you and readers closer to the described character and broadening the common knowledge with more absorbing facts.

How to write a biography essay about someone else?

When people ask how to write a biography paper, the only thing they think of is a random flow of ideas about someone’s life. In fact, writing a biography paper is more complicated. The section following the introduction is devoted to life description. Here, you’ll need to feature early life and childhood of a chosen person. This part should cover general information about their parents, and divert readers’ attention to some facts related to their origin, education, and relationship status. Next, focus more on education and place where the person grew up. In this section, include more detailed information about the critical moments of their childhood life, like the name of the school they studied in or the point of moving to another city or town. Perhaps there are more facts worthy of note, such as family problems or health issues that revolved around one’s childhood. If there are such, include them as well.

The second section of your biographical essay will tell readers about someone’s adulthood. Depending on the person, this piece of story can be outlined differently. For example, you can write about their university or college life, or indicate their first job. The point here is to chronologically depict a period of moving from childhood to adult life. Then, talk about the formation of a person’s career path, starting with the first working experience and ending with the remarkable moment of revealing talents and skills that shaped their life. In the next paragraph, mention the person’s relationship during their adulthood. If applicable, describe how someone special helped them to become successful or motivated them throughout their career. Another significant aspect in this section has to do with the person’s success, in which readers could know about their notable accomplishments and achievements.

The final section of a biography essay will touch the person’s current or later life. If they are alive, include the overlook of their place of living and write about their activities. You can also add such information as to their current projects or career plans, along with other meaningful facts about their life.

If the person you’re writing about is no longer living, emphasize on the brightest moments at the sunset of their life. Mention the definitive moments and aspects, and write about the cause of their deaths.

Other tips on writing a biography

If you want your biography essay to leave a great impact on readers, don’t conclude it with a simple explanation of why this or that person died and what their latest works were. This is only factual information which brings no specific value to your essay and, more importantly, doesn’t breathe life into it. To wrap up your essay content with a memorable grabber, include a couple of sentences in which write about the person’s legacy. That is, add the opinion of why this individual’s activity became an exceptional contribution to the world’s history, and why they have changed some aspects of their field.

Biography essay writing is a responsible task that aims at showing a well-acclaimed person from the best light. Therefore, you need to write about one’s life as you would about your mother – with maximum details and showing respect for that person. So follow our advice to compose an A+ biography essay that you and your audience will enjoy reading.

Note that our company provides academic writing help. You can buy a Biography essay written from scratch by our  essay writer .

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