Format of Writing a Biography | Biography Writing format

The biography writing format is essentially putting together a chronological narrative of your subject’s life; this may be of an actual person or for fiction. 

Creating a fantastic biography is to write a story that captures the interviewer’s imagination and is interesting enough to pull a reader in. Writing a good biography can be achieved by following some of these rules. 

A well-written biography is a terrific way to promote yourself and your work online. Biographies can be written for personal websites, online portfolios, business websites, etc. If you feel like writing one – but don’t know where to start, this article is for you.

What is a Biography?

The word “Biography” is derived from Greek words, “Bios” meaning ‘Life’ and “Graphia” meaning ‘Writing’. Biography is a non-fiction tale of an individual’s life. Biography definition is based on real life of an individual who is alive, or died centuries ago, someone who is globally famous or an unsung hero. Biography works in a chronological style, i.e., arranging life events in an orderly manner like from birth till present. Biography meaning is more like a fictional tale except that it is based on a real person and their accomplishments. 

Biographies usually consume an ample amount of time. While some of the information about the individual can be derived easily by setting up an interview with them. But, when an individual is writing a biography about an individual who has already died, one might find it hard. But, with the help of information available on the internet, interviews, photos, articles, achievements and close relatives can help in the making of biography.

Biography vs Autobiography

While many people use the term biography and autobiography interchangeably, they both mean different things. They are grouped together in the same category, meaning different things. Given below in the tabular form is the difference between biography and autobiography: 

How to Write a Biography

Below is a step-by-step guide provided for individuals who are new to this niche. With the help of these steps, you can enhance and cover all the aspects of your biography: 

1. Choosing a Subject: Whether one wants to write a biography on themselves or an unsung hero or a famous personality, you need to be sure. Try to take the subject which you are well aware of and whose life story is worth mentioning. 

2. Do Through Research: When you have finally landed on your subject, the next step is to dive deep into the research arena. Researching, even for a biography, is a lengthy process and can take more time. Make sure to collect information from credible sources. It is important to cross-check the information that you are collecting as your entire biography could be problematic because of one error. 

3. Creating a Timeline: The next step is to create a timeline from birth to the present age. This could help you in segregation of the data in an easier manner.  

4. Making an Outline: Briefly divide the headers which could further help with the data. The headers could include Introduction, Early Life and Background, Education and Career, Personal Life, Major Achievements and Awards and lastly Legacy and Conclusion. 

5. Format: Once you have started forming the data. Make sure to include an attractive introduction which would make the readers curious. Make sure to paraphrase it properly. Along with that, to add a touch of fiction, one can include stories and memories of instances that completely transformed the subject’s life.  

6. Revise and Edit: Once you have finished writing the biography, make sure to revise it before submitting it further. It is important to revise and look for grammatical errors and plagiarism.  

7. Cite your Sources: If you are writing a formal biography, make sure to cite all your sources. This will help you to save yourself from plagiarism.

Features of a perfect format on how to write the perfect biography

Writing a Biography – The Opener

1. A good biography serves as an introduction while inviting the readers to grasp more about the individual for whom the biography is written about. In this sense, the opening of a biography needs to be intense and captivating. It should hook the readers from the beginning. 
2. To set the tone for your biography, you could begin with a question that immediately captures your reader’s attention. For instance, “Did you know that Michael Jackson’s pet chimp was named Bubbles? Or that he slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber?”  
3. The first paragraph of your biography should cover the basics, such as your name, your position, and a summary of your accomplishments.  For example, “Jane Doe has been the CEO of ABC Company for 12 years. By successfully leading two different departments at ABC, she increased profits by 150 percent.”  
4. Don’t get too discursive in the opening paragraph. Your aim should be to engage the readers and draw their attention rather than diminishing their excitement by providing a lot of information upfront.

The Body

The body is the heart of your biography since you will be utilizing it to prove your thesis statement. With every new scenario or a different scene that you are explaining, a different paragraph should be used. Each paragraph should consist of at least 8-9 sentences. You can do more if you want, but not less.

1. Each paragraph should begin with a new idea. This way, you will be able to show that you are capable of moving from one point to another throughout the biography.  
2. Try not to repeat what you have already said before in the same paragraph or previous ones. Each paragraph and sentence should bring out a new meaning to look at. If you re-write a lot, it will become uninteresting for the readers, disbarring your biography.   
3. The second half of your author bio should be the longer, more detailed section. This will help the readers acknowledge what you do and how you can help them.  
4. The is, perhaps, the right time to use “how I help” statement. You can use it to explain what your work is and how to help people with your work. This could inspire them.  
5. If you’re writing for a general audience, it might not be practical for you to mention specific groups of people in this section. In that case, think about the overall goals or intentions of your readers.  
6. For example, if I were writing a biography for a business blog, I might write something like this. “Robby is a content marketing consultant who helps SaaS companies attract qualified leads and close more deals using content marketing. He also hosts The Sales Engagement Podcast and is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Outbound Sales Prospecting.”

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Writing a Biography – The Background

For the categorization of an individual’s biography, one needs to answer certain questions. Some of them are mentioned below. You can note these questions down and add more, to get a better overview of the individual.

Basic Background of the Subject 

1. Who are they? 
2. Where are they from? 
3. What kind of family did they grow up in?   
4. When did they start developing an interest in the mentioned field?   
5. What struggles did they endure that led them to being a famous personality now?   
6. What were their early successes and failures like?  

Note: To get the answers, you will have to pay a great deal of attention to the individual who is being interviewed for the same. You can interview his/her family members, colleagues, or friends to collect information.

Personal Life

The next step is to learn about an individual’s personal life – from their childhood, teenage years to adulthood. Everything should be mentioned in the biography which was like a ladder for them to reach new heights: 

1. It is always good to start with the early years of the subject – childhood and adolescence – as these have a great impact on the person’s future life. 
2. Think of what has shaped his or her personality and try to find out if there were any significant events in their younger years that would eventually affect their adult life. 
3. The later years are often easier because there are more documents and records available for research purposes.  
4. You pay attention to the person’s childhood days, when and if they were closer to the family, and how they behaved as a kid. 
5. The details you mention may include their interests or hobbies that he developed during childhood or anything related, which is worth mentioning in the biography.   
6. You can also mention any events, positive or negative, that impacted them during their childhood or teenage years. 
7. You should write about what kind of person they were before reaching adulthood and what changes occurred after that, making them who they are today.   
8. It has been psychologically proved how experiences help an individual achieve their dreams or goals. One can understand a subject’s personality better with a hold of their memories.

Significant Events/Achievements

The best format will be a chronological listing of significant events and/or achievements.   

1.  The events can either be listed in order of occurrence or importance. 
2. Teachers in the school usually assign this type of biography when the student is asked to write about someone who has influenced him or her in some way.
3. An alternative to a chronological listing of events is to focus on a single event that changed the person’s life and write about it in greater depth.   
4. This type of biography is often written as part of a job application when the applicant wants to highlight one accomplishment that sets him apart from others applying for the same position.

Biography Writing Example

Written below is a sample from Ambedkar: Towards an Enlightened India by Gail Omvedt: 

“There are undoubtedly more statues of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in India than of any other historical person of the last millennium. They have been raised in every village, on crossroads, in every Dalit urban residential area and in front of educational and governmental institutions throughout the country. They show a stocky man, usually dressed in a western suit and tie, holding a book under his arm. The book represents the Constitution of India. Following the overthrow of the socialist regime in Russia, which brought with it the upsetting of statues of Lenin, and the downgrading of Mao in China, the number of these statues throughout India and elsewhere represents the major monumental memorial today to a leader of the downtrodden.” 

The introductory paragraph is from one of the biographies about BR Ambedkar. Almost everyone knows who BR Ambedkar knows and how he impacted the India through his teaching. But it is to give a sense to the readers about where the biographer’s interest lies and what the book will be about. The paragraph mentions and talks about the statues of Ambedkar and what value they hold. It is to provide an account of who and how big of a changemaker he was. The introduction creates an impact while also letting the audience be curious about what this particular biography will present.

Famous Biographies

Below is a list of some of the famous biographies:  

• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson 

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 

• Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow 

• Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston 

• Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

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Conclusion

In the end, writing a biography comes down to telling your subject’s life history. The order of their life experiences is not as important as long as the most important facts are included. It is more creative than the analytical process. It is more about capturing someone’s essence than compiling a dry list of their accomplishments. One learns to be better with only efficient practice.

Frequently Asked Questions