Helpful Advice on How to Write Biography Essays

One entering into college, students will find a variety of essays they will need to write, one of which is the biography essay. A biography essay is an essay written telling the story of someone's life.

Types of Biographies

• Long Biographies
• Short Biographies

A long biography covers a very large span of someone's life. By taking significant events, you can analyze them and tell a vivid story for those interested. If you are doing a personal biography then you would start as far back as you can remember. Make sure to include details of the event so the reader can imagine what is going on in the essay being written. This can be a challenge if you are writing the biography from memory.

Writing a biography about someone else can prove to be challenging. Many biographies were written from finding journals. Some of the information is nothing more than filler information. Filler information is information inserted into a story to accommodate for gaps within the original story. The information is usually as close to the "truth" as the author can make it.

Short biographies are very brief and to the point. They do not require as much research and certainly are not as long in length. These focus on basic facts rather than a lengthy analysis of the person's life. Only things of importance are included in short biographies.

Tips for a great biography

• Do proper research
• Write in chronological order
• Include what makes this person interesting
• Include any obstacles the person had to overcome

Whether you are aiming for a long or short biography, you will want to make sure and answer a few important questions. To get your facts together, start by researching the person, notate what time period they lived during and what made them a person of interest. Make sure all of the life events that shaped this person is written in chronological order, this allows the biography to flow with ease. Include why the person is interesting and any obstacles that shaped who they turned out to be.

A biography essay does not have to be hard; they can be as simple as pointing out the most important parts of a person's life. Always ensure you have the proper information by researching everything adequately. Write the events down in chronological order to avoid anything that would cause confusion.