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How to Use biography in a Sentence

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Biography in a Sentence 🔊

Definition of Biography

a person’s life story as told by another person

Examples of Biography in a sentence

It took me years to shape the president’s life story into an engaging biography. 🔊

Since the actress never asked you to write about her rise to stardom, your book isn’t an authorized biography. 🔊

The popular author will recount the singer’s upbringing in a biography. 🔊

In order for the writer to pen my biography, he’ll need to ask me numerous questions about my life. 🔊

Using my grandmother’s diaries, I was able to mesh her stories into a biography. 🔊

Voracious: In a Sentence

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Apprehensive: In a Sentence

Obdurate: In a Sentence

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	in a sentence ? Here are some examples. which breaks no new ground but is a good summary of current knowledge.
But the picture drawn by Volkmar Braunbehrens's 1989 is of a serious, steady, occasionally irascible man.
The library also has a wide range of titles on gardening, cookery, history, computers, and travel.
It exposes the paradox that Plath's texts cannot be read through and cannot be read apart from it.
Over the centuries, Laozi's life took on elements of the mythological hero's .
Goodrich limned some of her into her last known self-portrait, where she fashioned herself as an artist at work at her easel.
His , written by St Gregory of Nyssa, describes the crowning moment of divine theophany.
The political is preceded by a fine chapter on his cricketing career.
Although soberly written, this of the dictator bristles with moral indignation.
As in his of Macarthur, the Aborigines are incidental, minor problems for his hero to overcome.
The next chapter in Zorn's musical is also one of the most surprising.
It combines numerous illustrations with a , an artistic appreciation and a complete catalogue of his works.
The author, like so many writers of popular , is guilty of being fashionably irreverent toward her subject.
A booklet containing the of Mr. Nayanar, poems on Nayanar and photographic vignettes from his life, is also supplied along with it.
But as is revealed in a startling new , he fathered illegitimate children and had numerous affairs.
Tolstoy set out to write a personal memoir of O'Brian, but it turned into a full .
Yet we are still waiting for a compact, scholarly of his entire life in a single volume.
His is eminently sensible on a subject about which much high-flown transcendental nonsense has been written.
In the postbag was also a handwritten note and a few words of on Peter Seward.
A typical note card would provide a of an author or a review of a book.

What political written last or this century has included every last detail.
Alexandra Lapierre, award-winning French novelist and biographer, has produced a book that combines , fiction and scholarship.
Her written requirements were pared down to writing half an essay, half a , and half of everything they initially required.
For example, Hawass said, on show along with the mummy of Ramses II would be models of his Nubian temples, statues, reliefs and a .
Even European history of the period was an official or semi-official of the state.
It has been suggested that his Pitt is part of a grand publicity plan to jockey back into position as a future leader.
It's a good starter for younger viewers who might go on to familiarize themselves with the writings of this great author.
According to a new , he narrowly escaped being expelled and, at 17, was beaten by his housemaster for flouting the rules.
However hard we try to concentrate on the paintings, the sad facts of Solomon's insist on obtruding themselves.
Miss Eisner's book, while not replacing Zamoyski's , does not seek to do so, and provides a lively and readable supplement.
So, does the beautiful title of the evoke the man, his work or the Aranda culture that was his subject?
This is of general importance chiefly because it is, surprisingly, the first comprehensive of the artist.
In a , one expects to be told that so-and-so first met his best friend at such-and-such a place.
Because some people have come forward with an interest in writing my , I thought it might be no harm to have a crack at it myself.
There was the case of Dr James Mackay, widely touted in the early 1990s as the leading authority on Burns and author of a capacious .
Johnson's is an engrossing portrait of a brilliant physicist who happens to be a complex and, at times, troubled character.
In the New York Times I read religiously each capsule of a World Trade Center victim.
You can almost feel the bitter cold and biting Antarctic wind in this excellent of a polar hero.
Thus this will be of interest to any student of the mid-twentieth century South.
The tone of Nicholls' is dispassionately respectful, admiring even.

A of Elvire O'Connor, the ostensible writer of this piece, is included in the program and is a tiny work of art in its own right.
The volume begins with the editors' contributions, a short of Gegenbaur and a history of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena.
He presents a celebratory of an African-American woman removed from her culture and family.
As one would expect from his highly efficient of Ted Heath, he shows a masterly command of the politics of the period.
The of William Blake warmly portrays the visionary poet's wife Katherine as the helpmate who made Blake's work possible.
An award-winning writer of 11 previous books of history, travel and , Nicholl retranslates many of da Vinci's mirrorscript writings.
To see how this description of the series fits with Gregory's series for arctan see the of Madhava.
One of last century's most potent literary and political figures is put under the microscope in this prize-winning .
Hill's is a thematic , moving emotionally as much as argumentatively.
It is a pity that there exists no serious of Archibald Wavell, an intriguing and arresting figure.
There is a very complete of Alec Guinness and the theatrical trailer for the film.
He wrote the bestselling of U2 in 1985, just before the band became rock superstars.
Was it possible to write the bestselling to match the box-office hit?
I'm leaning towards some kind of but I have no particular subject in mind.
But in light of his political there can be no doubt of his preparedness to assume a ministerial office in a Union-led government.
The Wonder edition includes an informative and a discography of his recordings.
At the end of this marvellously observed , it's the drunken rants, financial embarrassments and the sexual misadventures I remember.
Here, with a short artist's , is the concert programme listed in full.
It would have been easy for him to write a rousingly romantic which glossed over the enormous contradictions of Ryan's career.
For individual , the cataloger lists the name of the biographee as the first subject heading.

This rich, authoritative is written by an American Russophile who knew him personally.
A good is weakened by not giving the major biographical facts due prominence.
My brother Marvin and I once wrote a of the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
He wrote a worthy of Red Smith and edited a book of columns by Smith.
I think I may write a non-linear starting from now and going in both directions at once.
This might suggest the difficulty of writing the of someone who spent so much of his life recreating his life in fiction.
I can't help but feel that if you could write a of Pepys with only side references to the diary it'd work a lot better.
When I went on to write the of Charles, true to his character, he gave me complete freedom of access to friends and documents.
She once toyed with writing a of Margaret Thatcher, the first time she's ever been interested in writing about a living person.
Responding to criticism that his attacks on Elton and Madonna in his new are unfair, he has decided to set the record straight.
Drummund, who was also a biographer for Billy Graham, wrote an excellent on Finney which deals with this.
He was also responsible for publishing Dorothy Wordsworth's diaries and wrote a ground-breaking of her.
Her of Nietzsche is a double hagiography, comic and almost sad in its reflection of her own will to power.
This is what is said to have prompted Asan to write a of Achutha Menon, drawing on his close relationship with him.
In The Name is not a Pilger but an account of Pilger's television work with which the journalist himself co-operated.
If there is a slippage between fiction and in this text then how does this apply to the image?
Volume 2 of Roy Foster's magisterial of W. B. Yeats opens in 1915, when Yeats was in his fiftieth year and at a crossroads in his life.
One of the essays deals with the interesting question why is a genre that has been rarely well practised even in modern India.
Over half a century she published more than 20 novels, alongside works of poetry, criticism and .
By taking on these sympathetic forms, literary can supply parallel narratives to those of novels.

Literary theory has recently held to be a literary construct, rather than a factual enterprise.
Ireland, in short, has no monopoly on the use of memoir, fiction, or autobiography as a political tool.
Yet men dominate in this field also, even in fiction, poetry, literary .
Who has ever said such connections are not the stuff of literary ?
Greenblatt instead wants to write, and most consumers of literary want to read, a story extraordinary and uplifting.
He is the sort of phenomenon literary in its present form can only flatten.
There is now a considerable body of theoretical and discursive work on as an artistic form.
It also has, for the first time, little essays on subjects such as , short stories, detective fiction and so on.
It is closer to literary Criticism, than but without ever being boring.
To that end, Harlan concludes that Up From Slavery was more a work of fiction than .
As a work of literary and analysis American Sympathy is compelling.
Some knowledge of Shapiro's is open to any reader in the dedication.
There is also a text and a complete discography included to complete the bonus features.
Less gripping are those swaths of the book that are essentially a of Salk, who simply wasn't a colorful character.
The comments I earlier made concerning the of the subject ladder are equally apposite to the present circumstances.
In his strange digressive and allusive of Christ he presents him as the incarnation of the overwhelming mystery of God.
First, Wood reviews the extant literature in order to present a short .
For each name, dates of birth and death are given, followed by a potted of 20-30 words.
It takes a bold writer to attempt a of one of the most recognized and cited of Restoration Englishmen.
His daughter Margaret is writing a book about her unusual childhood and a by Paul Alexander is seeping unannounced into bookstores.

A would bore her, she says, preferring to fill in the gaps left by earlier writers and to give them a fresh, contemporary perspective.
Her professional career spanned literary and theatrical criticism, broadcasting for the BBC, fiction, and an uncompleted memoir.
There is a complete for virtually every artist, and each section is preceded by an introductory essay.
Next to this , Phillips describes his own therapeutic dialogue with an anonymous patient.
The trailer actually undersells the film, while the storyboards and make for intriguing viewing.
The major events of Woodman's have clearly marked her artistic growth.
With an affectionate and admiring smile on his own face, he has written an unaffected of an unaffected great man.
Indeed, at times I wasn't sure if I was reading a or a hagiography.
Find out more about this multi-talented creationist by reading her on our site.
For all his undeniable artistic significance, the feels too close to the bone to be in good taste.
Despite the crises unfolding around him, he has continued a whirlwind tour to promote his , a 900-page doorstopper.
This might be recorded on their tombstone as an epitaph or in an obituary, commemoration portrait, or in some cases a .
I always thought that you had to finish your career and be in the happy twilight of retirement before releasing a compilation or .
To help him play Trevor with conviction, Ferns invented a fictional for the troubled man.
Ross McMullin's short works, like Watson himself, both unostentatiously and effectively to achieve results.
This is noted by the author's listed at the bottom of the article in small print.
He has become steadily more aware of the usefulness of that unprivileged .
While going through such varied sources, it is a great joy when one finds an autobiography or a or an unpublished piece of writing.
But one thing about now, as opposed to then, has been the rise of graphic novels, and comics and autobiography.
It makes one wonder how much of the speech is true and how much is false, based on Stalin's tendency toward revisionism of his revolutionary .

He produced the feature-length documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, and is at work on a of Sam Wagstaff.
He is producing a feature-length documentary on Bill Cunningham of the Times, and working on a of Sam Wagstaff.
Sandrart's story of Caravaggio's death is easily interpreted as an apologue rather than as because there is so little ground to confuse moral and factual truths.
Mr. Ziegler's is an elegant, sympathetic, and extremely readable , which really does breathe the breath of roistering life back into the vanished knight of letters.
Longtime press baron and Murdoch frenemy Conrad Black on what Michael Wolff got wrong in his new of the media titan.
Possibly only Professor Peter Groenewegen, the author of a magisterial of the English economist Alfred Marshall, could surpass him in this.
Larkin had his diaries destroyed, Hardy burnt all his personal papers, then got his second wife to put her name to the he had actually written himself.
A new of famed British author Somerset Maugham explores his complicated love life and defends his literary genius.
A double of Rommel and Montgomery, foes in North Africa in World War II, splendidly brings both military men to life.
Equal parts , sociology text, and mash note, it is the most complete account yet of his influence on pop music and a fervent memoir of fandom.
This is the of a great Canadian scientist, whose discoveries were all the more extraordinary because he was largely self-educated in science.
The also includes the memoirs of people she taught dance to in the 1960s, but does not mention anything about the circumstances of her death.
Her book is a mesh of and a wider history of the geisha.
Unfortunately, J. Michael Lennon tries something in the same vein in the last quarter of his sprawling .
At Slate, tanner Colby does the experiment with Woodward's of John Belushi.
Schmid first learned the art of mezzotinting in the Czech Republic, she notes in her , and developed this skill in Slovakia, where she was a Fulbright fellow.
The intellectual of the curator has to be on shaky ground.
After it was published in January, some said it read more like a love letter to the general than a .
There's already more than one shamelessly indiscreet .
Other special features include a brief of profiler Pat Brown, as well as cast bios that seem directly lifted from the Season One release.

If we want to read , however, we will decide which one to read on the basis of the specific biographee not on the basis of the genre itself.
It is not easy to write a about a person who is known to be reticent and the problem gets compounded when the attempt is not authorised.
Lee said it wasn't his decision to sack Bell and if anything is written otherwise in the , which is due out in the autumn, he will take legal action.
The result is a written wholly in the spirit of its subject.
Much of the debate swung around definitions of and memoir.
The contains several misspellings and occasional factual errors.
In moving towards you must have felt that journalism was insufficiently rewarded to provide a living and also that its bittiness was in itself too limiting?
A new captures the unflinching life of war photographer Tim Hetherington.
A new by A. Scott Berg makes the case for Woodrow Wilson as an unrecognized great American president.
Though he is often celebrated as the American father of Protestant liberalism, Horace Bushnell's and writing defy the categories of theological typology.
Ironically, it is only possible to write a cultural of this horse, insofar as it is possible, because of his multiply commodified status.
She's probably already boning up on the of Nelson Mandela.
A shocking new reveals a brutal truth behind the fiction of v.s. Naipaul.
The packaging features comprehensive sleeve notes and from US music writer Rich Kienzle and exclusive photographs from throughout Cash's career.
But none of this comes close to making up for what is a standard made-for-television eviscerated by massive, inexcusable bowdlerization.
Going even further, there are two 1930s movie newsreels that were filmed with the actual Grey Owl, a text , and a screen of web links to Grey Owl sites.
From a season spent embedded with the New York Jets to a of a self-mythologizing Pinkerton detective.
No of Jack Nicholson could long skirt the issue of his prodigious appetites.
Thompson's nearly 50 published pieces include essays, book and film reviews, short stories, a novelization, and a young-adult of the writer Charles Chesnutt.
But only a political could illuminate the personal, human dimension of Khrushchev's decision to follow the risky path of de-Stalinization.

A straight would have been a more obvious project to undertake.
The author of this new, third of the poet notes that Cummings signed his name in capitals in his personal correspondence, dealings with publishers and his diaries.
A jumbled curiosity of a film, Charlie isn't sure whether it wants to be a hard-boiled gangster thriller, a thoughtful , or a legal drama.
Vasari's confirms that Leonardo began to draw the cartoon in the Sala del Papa of the monumental Dominican building complex of Santa Maria Novella.
Composing a Borgesian alternative for those forfeited years would make for the perfect parlour game if parlours, like Scottish writers of genius, still survived.
And if you're a longtime fan, the helps explain the inner workings of the band and offers factoids you can use to, ahem, impress your friends.
Most of his cabinet colleagues spoke to him before he left to offer sympathy, including many whom he criticised in remarks made public in the ill-starred .
Well, even if you happen to be fixated on one life in particular, be it Einstein or Frank Sinatra, you can find a coffee-table book with a pictorial of your hero.
In fact, according to a recent of Jackson, Churchill actually fagged for two England captains, having earlier served Archie MacLaren as well.
This highly condensed allows little room for analysis.
Consociates are mutually involved in one another's .
There are and filmography profiles for Nicholas Lyndhurst and Clive Francis, and a short history of the MI5 counter-intelligence service.
Brenda Maddox, who had written a of Thatcher to accompany the programme, credits Dennis Thatcher with liberating his wife from her repressive background.
Regarding his and psychology, four years ago Kelly converted to the Baha'i religion, a pacifist faith that strongly condemns suicide.
It is a work of and criticism with the drama and sweep of a historical novel.
Adolf Eichmann is not an obvious candidate for a full-length , and before his capture in 1960 and trial the following year no one would have thought of writing one.
Turning in a 500 word , written painstakingly in the past tense, I sighed as my class was assigned another essay, this time in the future tense, due the next day.
Linda Lear is author of the definitive of Rachel Carson.
Lying somewhere between an academic treatise, a of an eco-activist, and a guidebook for Green campaigners, it is a truly remarkable book.
Such information is catalogued in his website's , a curious document that, through its endearing use of Eeyoreish negatives, gives you a flavour of the man.

The one major error I have detected in Perkins' is the confident assertion that she would not have tried to expurgate every unflattering reference.
There are no music examples, but, as in Professor Todd's , a number of plates that illustrate Mendelssohn's talent as a draughtsman and water-colourist.
On the debit side, a number of discrepancies detract from an otherwise riveting .
In some ways, this should be applauded for its total absence of the prurient interest so common to most of its peers.
On the downside, this dependency on and history means that sometimes the tales do not stand in their own right.
Sylvia Plath and the Theatre of Mourning continues this tense push-pull struggle with throughout its pages.
It is neither a full-scale nor a comprehensive history of the Korean War.
The artist was drawn to Ludwig's life after seeing a on the eccentric king's behaviour.
This massive describes the rise to power of the last great English churchman to preside over the King's government.
With regard to literary genre, Mark's gospel is a , similar to other lives of famous people written in the ancient Greco-Roman world.
Both deeper and wider than a , the book documents and vivifies events that still affect us today.
Neil McKenna's 2003 , The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde, offers an exploration of Wilde's sexuality.
William Roper's of More was one of the first biographies in Modern English.
Tilley is the author of a of the Australian performer Leigh Bowery titled Leigh Bowery, The Life and Times of an Icon.
An early of Sidney was written by his friend and schoolfellow, Fulke Greville.
He is also the subject of perhaps the most famous in English literature, namely The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell.
His early works include the Life of Mr Richard Savage, the poems London and The Vanity of Human Wishes, and the play Irene.
When it came to , Johnson disagreed with Plutarch's use of biography to praise and to teach morality.
Johnson's thoughts on and on poetry coalesced in his understanding of what would make a good critic.
These early writings coloured all subsequent and have become embedded in a body of Keats legend.

Inspired by the 1997 Keats penned by Andrew Motion, it stars Ben Whishaw as Keats and Abbie Cornish as Fanny.
Sir Timothy threatened to stop the allowance if any of the poet were published.
Also in 1845, Percy Bysshe Shelley's cousin Thomas Medwin approached her claiming to have written a damaging of Percy Shelley.
Soon after Percy Shelley's death, Mary Shelley determined to write his .
Anthony Powell mentions in his review of that contains that in his view Belloc was thoroughly antisemitic, at all but a personal level.
The situation was compounded as successive generations of the family expunged and sanitized the already opaque details of Austen's .
In 1991, Michael Shelden, an American professor of literature, published a .
Hermione Lee's 1996 Virginia Woolf provides a thorough and authoritative examination of Woolf's life and work.
Wilson's was not the first to address the question of Lewis's relationship with Moore.
Each interview begins with a short of the interviewee, including their major publications.
Listings include a of each inductee and an explanation of his or her achievements in the accounting field.
And no, there's no truth El Tigre's will be called Great Expectorations.
In the of cancer, retinoblastoma is a lead character.
The festival is taking in tartan noir, erotica, horror, and poetry with some music and film thrown in too.
Thanks largely to the research of John Harley, knowledge of Byrd's has expanded in recent years.
In Eisenhower Jean Edward Smith has produced what may well be the best one-volume on this figure.
According to articles, reports and a , Turpin couldn't deal with the obscurity resulting from the loss of his crown.
American seaman Haskell Wexler later won two Academy Awards, the latter for a of his shipmate Woody Guthrie.
As her shouts, Ewa Mataya Laurance is one of the most visible superstars in the history of pocket billiards.
Roberts ends this detailed with appendixes on Coxeter groups and diagrams as well as Fibonacci numbers and phyllotaxis.

Peavy and Smith have collaborated on 10 books on women's history and .
There has only been one , written by Paul Allen, and this primarily covers his career in the theatre.
He also wrote his first book there, a of Giacomo Meyerbeer, an opera composer.
Cleo McNelly Kearns notes in her that Eliot was deeply influenced by Indic traditions, notably the Upanishads.
In 1984, he wrote his first book, a of the band Duran Duran, as well as Ghastly Beyond Belief, a book of quotations, with Kim Newman.
Alan Llwyd's 2011 of Roberts used diaries and letters to shed fresh light on her private life and her relationship with Morris.
But who needs one more perfectly excellent Mozart ?
A newspaper review of a Conrad suggested that the book could have been subtitled Thirty Years of Debt, Gout, Depression and Angst.
Aymer Vallance was commissioned to produce the first of Morris, published in 1897, after Morris' death, as per the latter's wishes.
In 1973 Burton agreed to play Josip Broz Tito in a film , since he admired the Yugoslav leader.
In his of his father, Francis Deng deals frankly and in detail with Deng Majok's prodigious uxoriousness.
The cultural of urnfields and the long-term history of a mythical landscape.
In Updike, literary critic Adam Begley offers the first full-length on a larger-than-life American writer.
An experiment in , rather less successful than Symons' Corvine, on a par perhaps with Ackroyd's Dickensian direct address strategems.
In his , Ploughman of the Moon, Service recalled that his second effort, The Ballads of a Cheechako, also caused the House some anxiety.
Foran is the author most recently of the of Mordecai Richler, another iconic Montrealer.
The 1988 by Melvyn Bragg provides a detailed description of the many health issues that plagued Burton throughout his life.
He was stunned by the backlash from some of the sleazier revelations in Tom Bower's recent tell-all , Sweet Revenge.
Science historian Daniel Lewis set out to write a of Robert Ridgway, the Smithsonian's first curator of birds.
In The Puppetmaster, the life of Li Tien-lu the Taiwanese puppeteer is the subject of Hou's hybrid fictional and documentary film.

This year's Costa book award shortlists in five categories, novel, first novel, poetry, and children's book, have been announced.
In the of Helen Keller, for example, one chapter has definition boxes for Emanuel Swendenborg and the Braillewriter.
Another stereotyped feature of the criminal was the portrayal of the biographee in the role of criminal-as-sinner.
But Jim Steinmeyer's efficient though vexing new makes it clear why we all live today in Charles Fort's benightedly bizarre world.
The locus classicus for this modern-sounding concept occurs in a contemporary by Wipo, a member of the royal chapel.
Heinlein, In Dialogue With His Century, William Patterson has given us a scholarly doorstop that's smoothly readable.
Happenstance opened the book for me to the of Margaret Leeson, listed only as Brothel-keeper.
Her recent book provides us with a new paradigm for modern .
The includes conjectures about the writer's earliest ambitions.
Alfred commissioned Bishop Asser to write his , which inevitably emphasised Alfred's positive aspects.
Gruffudd ap Cynan's was first written in Latin and intended for a wider audience outside Wales.
However, Hibbert notes in his that the letter can be found among the Duke's papers, with nothing written on it.
Rolt, in his of the Stephensons, describes the event in some detail.
His was first written by Cardinal Boso in his extension to the Liber Pontificalis.
Written by their daughter-in-law, this joint defly interlaces the personal and political to tell a human story behind the national struggle.
David Harris Willson's 1956 continued much of this hostility.
Evading Sir Timothy's ban on a , Mary Shelley often included in these editions her own annotations and reflections on her husband's life and work.
It's about a young man who tries to distill the true of his dying father by looking for the kernels of truth in the many tall tales he has told.
Hardy is a key character, played by Jeremy Irons, in the 2015 movie The Man Who Knew Infinity, based on the of Ramanujan with the same title.
Rolt in his of Stephenson suggests that a faction on the Board continued to ask Stephenson for second opinions, and Rennie took umbrage at this.

Writing his , Funny Peculiar, also had an influence.
Very few knew the details of his early life until six years after his death, when John Forster published a on which Dickens had collaborated.
The first version appeared in about 715 followed by a later revision in the 730s, the first written by a contemporary to appear in England.
The Color of Law spares no detail in its intimate portrayal of a real-life hero of the courtroom, and is a worthy addition to college and public library shelves.
In the Eighteenth Century Shakespeare's image was in the ascendant, beginning with Nicholas Rowe's in 1709, the primary source of the Stratfordian story.
Hamid's own reflects these trifurcated notions of origin and questions the ease with which the native, the immigrant, or the cosmopolitan is defined.
The History is a Renaissance , remarkable more for its literary skill and adherence to classical precepts than for its historical accuracy.
As related in the book The Life and Times of Private Eye, Moss was the subject of a less than respectful cartoon in the magazine Private Eye.
One of Orwell accused him of having had an authoritarian streak.
The most obvious flaw of this is its relentless tendentiousness.
The term hagiography may be used to refer to the of a saint or highly developed spiritual being in any of the world's spiritual traditions.
In the chapter of Pisa three years later Bonaventure's Legenda maior was approved as the only of Francis and all previous biographies were ordered to be destroyed.
Rick Dodgson had filled the gap by offering the first academic of the best-selling author and inspirational figure amongst psychedelic enthusiasts.
The Victorian age witnessed a continuation of Milton's influence, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy being particularly inspired by Milton's poetry and .
Though at least one of Virginia Woolf appeared in her lifetime, the first authoritative study of her life was published in 1972 by her nephew Quentin Bell.
And I would gladly swap the BBC's mean-spirited drama for the far more even-handed approach in Barbara Stoney's excellent of Enid Blyton.
A new musical by Wirral songwriter Dean Johnson, called Ice Picks And Violets, aims to shed some light on what might have happened in their last moments.
But the Sunday Mirror can reveal Arrival Films has bought the rights for a six-figure sum from Lenny's widow Val and the ghostwriter of his , Pete Gerrard.
The stage play Being Sellers premiered in Australia in 1998, three years after the release of the by Roger Lewis, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
Huxley was commissioned by Walt Disney in 1945 to write a script based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the of the story's author, Lewis Carroll.

Like his wonderful book on Cannonball Adderley, Walk Tall, this new of flutist Herbie Mann treats us to an album-by-album chronicle of the musician's life.
Crawford published a of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family.
The first full was published in 1848 by Richard Monckton Milnes.
Capua, author of many Hollywood film star biographies and correspondent for an Italian film magazine, provides a of American film legend Janet Leigh.
Several costumes and banners featured images of pigs following claims in a new that Mr Cameron took part in a bizarre initiation ceremony at Oxford.
The proposals were first published in 1970 in a of de Valera.
Barrow, in his on Robert the Bruce, accused Edward of ruthlessly exploiting the leaderless state of Scotland to obtain a feudal superiority over the kingdom.
FitzGibbon's 1965 ignores Thomas's heavy drinking and skims over his death, giving just two pages in his detailed book to Thomas's demise.

Chapter 2 summarizes Dominici's and his activities as a preacher, writer, diplomat, and pedagogue.
This is Mr. Van Doren at his worst and hack at normal.
Suzanne then slipped away to her new victim, whose must here be given.
A handful of inset black-and-white photographs illustrate this respectful of a true believer.
And if his were written from his childhood to his death, it would be not only an ensample, but confusion to the world.
Judge Driscoll had generously left the law feature out of Wilson's which he had furnished to the twins.
Readers may remember the first chapter of my of Watkin Tench about my work in tracing his family in Chester, England.
Why does Boswell yet wear the crown of indivisible supremacy in ?
This act, a bar-sinister in the of Gorges, sullies his escutcheon at the outset.
Neil Clark, author of a brief of john deere, states that the diamond-shaped piece was cut out of a circular saw.
With the opening installment of the first serial the Free Press published a photograph of the author over a stickful of .
Mr. Bingley also, in his animal , says that eels are viviparous.











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某某 2016-01-13 联网相关的政策
replay (139+4)
paisley (58)
exemption (166+6)
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outside (267+88)
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noun as in account of person's life

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autobiography

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confessions
experiences

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life history
personal account
personal anecdote
personal narrative
personal record

Example Sentences

Barrett didn’t say anything on Tuesday to contradict our understanding of her ideological leanings based on her past rulings, past statements and biography.

Republicans, meanwhile, focused mostly on her biography — including her role as a working mother of seven and her Catholic faith — and her credentials, while offering few specifics about her record as a law professor and judge.

She delivered an inspiring biography at one point, reflecting on the sacrifice her mother made to emigrate to the United States.

As Walter Isaacson pointed out in his biography of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin proposed the postal system as a vital network to bond together the 13 disparate colonies.

Serving that end, the book is not an in-depth biography as much as a summary of Galileo’s life and science, plus a thorough recounting of the events leading up to his famous trial.

The Amazon biography for an author named Papa Faal mentions both Gambia and lists a military record that matches the FBI report.

For those unfamiliar with Michals, an annotated biography and useful essays are included.

Did you envision your Pryor biography as extending your previous investigation—aesthetically and historically?

But Stephen Kotkin's new biography reveals a learned despot who acted cunningly to take advantage of the times.

Watching novelists insult one another is one of the primary pleasures of his biography.

He also published two volumes of American Biography, a work which his death abridged.

Mme. de Chaulieu gave her husband the three children designated in the duc's biography.

The biography of great men always has been, and always will be read with interest and profit.

I like biography far better than fiction myself: fiction is too free.

The Bookman: "A more entertaining narrative whether in biography or fiction has not appeared in recent years."

Related Words

Words related to biography are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word biography . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in written account of one's own life

personal history
reminiscences
self-portrayal

noun as in chronicle of events

recapitulation

noun as in the story of one's life

curriculum vitae

noun as in written matter, both fictional and nonfictional

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How to Write a Biography: A Step-by-Step Guide

By Hannah Yang

What is a biography, a step-by-step guide to writing a biography, tips for how to write a great biography, conclusion on how to write a biography.

Writing a biography can be a rewarding endeavor, but it can also feel a bit daunting if you’ve never written one before.

Whether you’re capturing the life story of a famous person, a family member, or even yourself, creating a compelling biography involves a mix of thorough research, narrative skill, and a personal touch.

So, how exactly do you write a successful biography?

In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials to help you craft a biography that’s both informative and engaging, as well as our top tips for how to make it truly shine.

A biography is a detailed account of someone’s life.

A well-written biography needs to be objective and accurate. At the same time, it needs to depict more than just the basic facts like birth, education, work, relationships, and death—it should also portray the subject’s personal experience of those events.

So, in addition to being a good researcher, a good biographer also needs to be a good storyteller. You should provide insights into the subject’s personality, motivations, and impact on the world around them.

What’s the Difference Between a Biography, a Memoir, and an Autobiography?

What's the difference between biography, memoir and autobiography?

Understanding the distinctions between different genres of life writing is crucial for both writers and readers. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key differences between a biography and other related genres.

Biography: a detailed account of a person’s life, usually written in the third-person POV and supported by extensive research

Autobiography: a self-written account of the author’s own life, usually written in the first person POV and following a chronological order

Memoir: a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events that took place in their life, usually in the first person POV and in an introspective and personal way

Narrative nonfiction: a book that tells true stories using the techniques of fiction writing, such as character development, narrative arc, and detailed settings

Best Biography Examples to Study

The best way to learn how to write well is to read other successful books within the genre you’re writing.

Here are five great biographies to add to your reading list. For a longer list, check out our article on the 20 best biographies to read .

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand: the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian and World War II hero.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: a comprehensive and engaging account of the Apple co-founder’s life.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow: the biography that inspired the hit musical, providing a deep dive into Hamilton ’ s life and legacy.

Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford: a nuanced story that uncovers the family connection between the three Millay sisters and their mother.

Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston: the story of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last-known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade.

As with writing any book, writing a biography is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s easier to think of it as a series of smaller steps than as one big challenge to tackle.

Let’s break down the process step by step.

1. Choose Your Subject

Decide who you want to write about. It could be a well-known celebrity, a historical figure, or someone close to you.

In addition to figuring out who you’re writing about, this is also the step where you figure out why you want to write about them. Why is this a story worth telling, and what makes you interested in it?

Maybe the subject of your biography overcame major hardships in life to achieve success, and that story will inspire others facing similar struggles. Or maybe they made a really unique contribution to the world that not enough people know about, and you want to shine a bigger spotlight on that impact.

Knowing why you’re telling this story will help you make the right decisions about how to research, outline, draft, and edit your biography.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is a crucial step in writing a good biography. You should tailor your biography to the interests and knowledge level of your audience.

A biography for a general audience will differ from one written for experts in a particular field. For example, two biographies about Emily Dickinson would be vastly different if one is written for young children and the other is written for adult poets.

3. Conduct Research

Dive deep into your research. Use a variety of sources to get a well-rounded view of your subject’s life. Take detailed notes and organize your findings.

Gather as much information as you can about your subject. This includes primary sources like interviews, letters, and diaries, as well as secondary sources such as books, articles, and documentaries.

Here are some primary sources to look for:

Letters and diaries: These provide intimate insights into the subject’s thoughts, feelings, and daily life, and can often be found in family archives, libraries, and historical societies.

Birth, marriage, and death certificates: These documents can provide crucial dates and familial relationships.

Census data: Census records can provide demographic information and track changes over time.

Property records: These can reveal where the subject lived and owned property.

Employment and school records: These records offer formalized insights into the subject’s education and career.

Military records: If applicable, military records can provide information on service, ranks, and honors.

Photos and videos: Look for photographs and videos in public libraries, historical societies, online databases like the Library of Congress, and family photo albums.

Historical newspapers: Access archives of local and national newspapers for articles, interviews, and obituaries related to the subject.

Digital archives: Use online resources like ProQuest, Chronicling America, and newspaper databases available through public libraries.

You can also look for secondary sources, which provide more context and perspective, such as:

Existing biographies: Search for existing biographies and books about the subject or their era. How does your project stand out from the crowd?

Academic articles and papers: Access journals through university libraries, which often have extensive collections of scholarly articles.

Documentaries and biographical films: You can often find these on streaming services or public television archives.

Websites and blogs: Look for reputable websites and blogs dedicated to the subject or related fields.

Social media platforms: The things people say on social media can offer insights into public perception about your subject.

Finally, you can also conduct your own interviews. Talk to the subject if they’re still alive, as well as their friends, family, and colleagues. You can ask them for personal anecdotes to add more color to your book, or more information to fill in any gaps in your knowledge.

4. Ask Engaging Questions

Great biographers start from a place of curiosity. Before you start writing, you should know the answers to the following questions:

What makes your subject’s story worth telling?

What was your subject’s childhood like?

What were your subject’s early interests and hobbies?

What level of education did your subject achieve and where did they study?

What was your subject’s personality like?

What were their beliefs and values?

How did your subject’s personality and beliefs change over time?

What were the major turning points in your subject’s life?

How was your subject affected by the major political, cultural, and societal events that occurred throughout their life?

What did their career path look like?

What were their major accomplishments?

What were their major failures?

How did they contribute to their field, their country, or their community?

Were they involved in any major controversies or scandals?

Who were the most important people in the subject’s life, such as friends, partners, or mentors?

If the subject is no longer living, how did they pass away?

What lasting impact did the subject leave behind?

5. Create an Outline

An outline helps you structure your biography. You can write an extensive outline that includes every scene you need to write, or you can keep it simple and just make a list of high-level bullet points—whatever works best for your writing process.

The best structure to use will depend on the shape of the story you’re trying to tell. Think about what your subject’s life looked like and what core messages you’re trying to leave the reader with.

If you want to keep things simple, you can simply go in chronological order. Tell the story from the birth of your subject to the death of your subject, or to the present day if this person is still living.

You can also use a more thematically organized structure, similar to what you would find on a Wikipedia page. You could break your book down into sections such as major life events, personal relationships, core accomplishments, challenges, and legacy.

Or, if you want to be more creative, you can use a nonlinear story structure, jumping between recent events and older flashbacks based on which events feel thematically tied together.

6. Write Your First Draft

Now that you have an outline, it’s time to sit down and write your first draft.

Your opening chapters should hook the reader and give a preview of what’s to come. Highlight a compelling aspect of the subject’s life to draw readers in.

In your middle chapters, cover all the key events you need to include about your subject’s life and weave in themes and anecdotes that reveal their personality and impact.

In your final chapters, wrap up your biography by summarizing the subject’s legacy and reflecting on their overall significance. This provides closure and leaves the reader with a lasting impression.

Remember that it’s okay if your first draft isn’t perfect. Your goal is simply to get words down on the page so you have something to edit.

7. Make Developmental Revisions

Now that you’re done with your first draft, it’s time to make big-picture revisions.

Review your biography for coherence and organization. Does the overall structure make sense? Are there any arcs or themes that aren’t given enough attention? Are there scenes or chapters that don’t need to be included?

8. Make Line Edits

Once you’ve completed your developmental edits, it’s time to make smaller line edits. This is your time to edit for grammar, punctuation, and style.

Make sure you keep a consistent voice throughout the book. Some biographies feel more conversational and humorous, while others are serious and sophisticated.

To get through your editing faster, you can run your manuscript through ProWritingAid , which will automatically catch errors, point out stylistic inconsistencies, and help you rephrase confusing sentences.

Don’t be afraid to ask others for feedback. No good book is written in a vacuum, and you can ask critique partners and beta readers to help you improve your work.

What makes a great biography stand out from the rest? Here are our best tips for how to take your manuscript to the next level.

Tip 1: Focus on Key Themes

Identify the central themes or patterns in the subject’s life—the ones that will really make readers keep thinking about your book. These could be related to the subject’s struggles, achievements, relationships, or values.

Tip 2: Balance Facts and Narrative

A good biography should read like a story, not a list of facts.

Use narrative techniques like imagery, character development, and dialogue to create a compelling and coherent story.

Tip 3: Add Your Own Perspective

Biographies need to be objective, but that doesn’t mean the author has to be entirely invisible. Including your own perspective can make the biography relatable and engaging.

Letting your voice shine can help illustrate the subject ’ s character and bring their story to life. It will also help make your biography stand out from the crowd.

Tip 4: Create a Timeline

Organize the key events of the subject’s life in chronological order. This will help you see the bigger picture and ensure you cover all important aspects.

Tip 5: Be Considerate

Because biographies are about real people, you should be mindful of who will be impacted by the story you’re telling, especially if your subject is still alive or still has living family members.

If the subject is still alive, ask them for permission to tell their story before you start writing. This also helps ensure that you don’t get sued.

Writing a biography is a journey of discovery, not just about the subject, but also about the craft of storytelling.

By combining thorough research, a clear structure, and engaging narrative techniques, you can create a biography that not only informs but also inspires and captivates your readers.

Don’t forget to run your manuscript through ProWritingAid so you can make sure your prose is as polished as possible.

Now, pick your subject, gather your resources, and start writing—there’s a fascinating story waiting to be told.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Write like a bestselling author

Love writing? ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of your stories.

Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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27 of the Best Professional Bio Examples I've Ever Seen [+ Templates]

Published: December 20, 2023

As a writer, I have to let readers and potential clients know my expertise, my skills, and why they should work with me or be interested in what I say. So, a professional bio is a must in my industry.

Though I'm definitely familiar with professional bios, I can admit they can be challenging. What do I include? What do readers need to know?

As daunting as writing a professional bio can be, professional bios are crucial when applying for jobs, seeking new clients, or networking. A professional bio also gives the world a brief snapshot of you and your professional ideals.

If you‘re at a loss for how to write a professional bio that packs a punch, I’ve got you covered. In this journey, tools like HubSpot’s user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder can be instrumental in showcasing your professional bio online with ease and style.

I will walk you through how to write a professional bio that you can proudly publish, provide professional bio templates, and show you the best professional bio examples you can get inspiration from.

What is a professional bio?

Professional bio templates, how to write a professional bio, best professional bio examples, how to write a short bio.

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A professional bio or biography is a short overview of your experience. Professional bios usually include details about education, employment, achievements, and relevant skills.

Purpose of Professional Bios

A bio tells an audience about who you are, what you've done, and what you can do. It can help potential employers, fans, or customers understand your personality and what you stand for.

Writing a bio without a clear starting point is challenging — believe me, I've tried. To ease the process, here are some templates I put together to get you started.

I‘ve found it’s best to keep your professional bio honest and to the point. Too long of a bio, and you risk losing your audience's attention. After all, audiences will only read a web page for less than a minute before clicking elsewhere.

And honesty is key because most consumers and clients won‘t invest in someone or something if it doesn’t seem trustworthy. In fact, 67% of consumers say they must trust a brand before investing in its products or services.

Download free, editable short and long professional bio templates.

What should a professional bio say?

No one wants to work with a clone — your professional bio should be as unique as you.

When writing your bio, include important professional roles and achievements. Add your passions, interests, and how you bring your values to your work. Finally, your bio should let readers know you and reflect your personality.

Here are the elements I recommend including when writing a professional bio:

Professional Roles and Achievements

It's essential to highlight your career roles and achievements in your bio. This can include your current position, previous roles, and notable accomplishments. It will help establish your expertise and credibility and start your bio on the right note.

Passions and Interests

This might be less essential, but it will help humanize you. Remember: Bios are shared via an impersonal medium, like a screen, and can sometimes feel distant if we don't take the proper steps.

Share your passions and interests, whether or not they relate to your work or industry. That way, you can show enthusiasm and dedication outside your professional life.

Plus, you could find common ground with readers — which is always beneficial.

Take a look at this short bio by HubSpot staff writer Erica Santiago.

"Plus," she adds, "I'm always happy to talk about my cats at any given moment. You never know when a fellow cat mom could be reading."

Values and Work Approach

Your values can sometimes show your work ethic more effectively than your career path. It can also help you endear yourself to employers and colleagues who want to work with people with similar values.

So don‘t be shy: Share how you incorporate your values into your work. Whether it’s a commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, or ethical decision-making, explain what drives you and be enthusiastic about it.

Your Personality

Remember: Your bio should always include a taste of your personality! Your sense of humor, creativity, or collaborative nature could all give readers a sense of who you are. This helps readers connect with you on a more personal level.

Remember to tailor your bio for different platforms and audiences. Also, keep it concise and impactful while highlighting the most relevant information in each context.

First-Person Bio vs. Third-Person Bio

While first-person bios are common, third-person bios can be more effective in formal situations.

Your decision to write your professional bio in the first or third person depends on your desire to leave a more personable or assertive impression.

Both approaches work, provided you tailor them to your goals and audience. What’s important is to be clear and tell your story in a way that connects with your reader.

How to Write a First-Person Bio

Writing in the first person can be a great way to connect with your audience when building a personal brand. When you write a first-person bio, use "I" or "me" to make yourself relatable and approachable.

Here's one way I’d write a first-person bio:

"I'm a freelance writer specializing in small business content. I've worked with companies in a variety of industries like home care to fine leather goods."

Speaking in the first person here connects you with a client or brand based on your experience and opinions. Put another way, writing a first-person bio is like telling your story to your audience.

Here are a few tips to make your first-person bio great:

Don’t start every sentence with "I."

Showing instead of telling is a great approach.

Let’s say you’re a writer who wants to create a short professional bio. Instead of saying, "I love to write," you can say, "Writer. Bad but enthusiastic dancer."

This portrays your writing skill, shows your personality outside of writing as a dancer, and includes a little sense of humor, which is essential for a writer.

Remember, you know yourself better than anyone.

Adding a back story to your bio helps create context for the roles and successes you write about. Think of it like a case study about who you were, what you are now, and the process that got you to your current position.

Focus on valuable details.

Quick facts about you can showcase your identity and values. For example, if you're writing a bio for LinkedIn, think about how to tie your hobby into what you do.

Let's say Animal Crossing is your hobby. Does it align with your career aspirations? It can be a great addition to your bio if you want to pursue a video game career.

However, if your interests lie elsewhere, including a more relevant hobby is better.

How to Write a Third-Person Bio

Third-person bios sound more authoritative and objective. So, if you’re job searching in a formal industry, applying for grants, or trying to get published, you may want to stick to the third person.

For instance, when you write a third-person bio, you may start with:

"Jasmine Montgomery is a Senior Hiring Manager at L’Oreal based in New York. She recruits across several business units to connect with the brightest talent from around the globe."

By only using your name and pronouns to speak about yourself here, you are letting your title and skill set speak for themselves.

These bios create distance between the subject of the bio (you) and the reader through a third person. This person could be anyone, but they usually speak in a tone emphasizing their expertise.

This makes third-person bios feel aloof or overly formal sometimes.

Ideally, your third-person bio should sound friendly but polished, like a message from a close colleague at work. Here are a few tips on how to write a great third-person bio.

Write from the perspective of someone you know and trust.

It can be challenging to write about yourself, so try to see yourself from the perspective of your favorite person at work or a mentor you trust. This can help you write from a position of authority without feeling self-conscious.

Show the reader why they should trust your opinion.

A professional bio often reflects a specific industry or niche. With this in mind, your text should include relevant details that professionals in your industry know. Avoid jargon whenever you can.

Remember, you're telling a story.

If you want a third-person bio, but you're used to writing in first-person, it may help to write it the most comfortable way for you.

Your professional bio is an essential piece of writing, so edit it carefully. Edit your writing from both points of view and see which works best for your target audience.

Here's how to write a professional bio, step by step.

Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.
Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.
Mention any associated brand name you might use.
State your current position and what you do.
Include at least one professional accomplishment.
Describe your values and how they inform your career.
Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.
Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

If you’re anything like me, you probably don't think about your professional bio until you’re asked to "send one over via email."

You have one afternoon to come up with it, so you scramble together a bio that ends up reading like this:

"Rodney Erickson is a content marketing professional at HubSpot, a CRM platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.

Previously, Rodney worked as a marketing manager for a tech software startup. He graduated with honors from Columbia University with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing."

To be fair, in certain contexts, your professional bio needs to be more formal, like Mr. Erickson's up there. But there are also cases where writing a personable and conversational bio is good.

Whether you choose the formal or casual route, use the following steps to create a perfect bio.

1. Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.

You need an online space to keep your professional bio. Here are a few to consider (some of these you might already have in place):

Facebook Business page .
Industry blog byline .
Instagram account .
Personal website .
LinkedIn profile .
Industry website .
Personal blog .

As you'll see in the professional bio examples below, the length and tone of your bio will differ depending on the platforms you use.

Instagram, for example, allows only 150 characters of bio space, whereas you can write as much as you want on your website or Facebook Business page.

2. Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.

If your readers remember nothing else about your bio, they should remember your name. Therefore, it's a good idea for your first and last name to be the first two words of your professional bio.

Even if your name is printed above this bio (hint: it should), this is a rare moment where it's okay to be redundant.

For example, if I were writing my bio, I might start it like this:

Lindsay Kolowich

Lindsay Kolowich is a Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot.

3. Mention any associated brand name you might use.

Will your professional bio represent you or a business you work for? Ensure you mention the brand you associate with in your bio. If you're a freelancer, you may have a personal business name or pseudonym you advertise to your clients.

Here are a few examples:

Lindsay Kolowich Marketing.
SEO Lindsay.
Kolowich Consulting.
Content by Kolowich (what do you think ... too cheesy?).

Maybe you founded your own company and want its name to be separate from your real name. Keep it simple like this: "Lindsay Kolowich is the founder and CEO of Kolowich Consulting."

4. State your current position and what you do.

Whether you're the author of a novel or a mid-level specialist, use the following few lines of your bio to describe what you do in that position. Refrain from assuming your audience knows what your job title entails.

Make your primary responsibilities known so readers can know you and understand what you offer to your industry.

5. Include at least one professional accomplishment.

Just as a business touts its client successes through case studies, your professional bio should let your audience know what you've achieved.

What have you done for yourself — as well as for others — that makes you a valuable player in your industry?

6. Describe your values and how they inform your career.

Why do you do what you do? What might make your contribution to the market different from your colleagues? What are the values that make your business a worthwhile investment to others?

Create a professional bio that answers these questions.

7. Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.

Transition from describing your values in work to defining who you are outside of work. This may include:

Your family.
Your hometown.
Sports you play.
Hobbies and interests.
Favorite music and travel destinations.
Side hustles you're working on.

People like connecting with other people. The more transparent you are about who you are personally, the more likable you'll be to people reading about you.

8. Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

End your professional bio on a good or, more specifically, a funny note. By leaving your audience with something quirky or unique, you can ensure they'll leave your website with a pleasant impression of you.

Following the steps above when writing your bio is important, but take your time with one section. People consume lots of information daily. So ensure your bio hooks 'em in the first line, and you won’t lose them.

(P.S. Want to boost your professional brand? Take one of HubSpot Academy's free certification courses . In just one weekend, you can add a line to your resume and bio that over 60,000 marketers covet.)

Why Good Bios Are Important for a Professional

You may think, "How many people read professional bios, anyway?"

The answer: A lot. Though there's no way to tell who is reading it, you want it catchy. Your professional bio will delight the right people coming across it on multiple platforms.

Professional bios can live on your LinkedIn profile , company website, guest posts, speaker profiles, Twitter bio , Instagram bio , and many other places.

And most importantly, it‘s the tool you can leverage most when you’re networking.

Bottom line? People will read your professional bio. Whether they remember it or it makes them care about you is a matter of how well you present yourself to your intended audience.

So, what does a top-notch professional bio look like? Let‘s review a few sample bios for professionals like you and me. Then, we’ll cover bio examples from some of the best people in the industry.

Short Sample Bios

Your bio doesn't have to be complicated. Here are five samples to glean inspiration from.

Example 1: Friendly Sample Bio

"Hey! My name is Ryan, and I'm a marketing specialist passionate about digital advertising. I have five years of experience managing various online campaigns and improving brand visibility for clients across multiple verticals. I love analyzing consumer behavior and leveraging data-driven strategies to maximize ROI. Outside work, I enjoy traveling, taking funny photos, and exploring new hiking trails."

Example 2: Mid-Career Sample Bio

"Jennifer Patel is a versatile graphic designer known for her creative approach and attention to detail. With a background in visual arts and eight years of experience, Jennifer has worked on diverse projects ranging from logo designs to website layouts. Her ability to understand and translate client needs into visually striking designs sets her apart. Jennifer finds inspiration in nature, music, and pop culture."

Example 3: Sales Sample Bio

"I'm a seasoned sales executive with a track record of exceeding targets and building strong client relationships. With a background in B2B sales, I've built a natural ability to understand customer needs and consistently exceed quota every month. I pride myself in my communication skills and strategic approaches, which have helped me thrive in highly competitive markets such as SaaS sales. Outside work, I enjoy playing basketball and volunteering at local charities."

Example 4: HR Sample Bio

"I am a dedicated human resources professional with a passion for fostering a positive workplace culture and facilitating employee development. With eight years of experience in talent acquisition and HR operations, I've played a key role in building high-performing teams. I'm known for my strong interpersonal skills and ability to create inclusive and supportive work environments. In my free time, I enjoy practicing yoga and exploring new culinary experiences."

Example 5: Software Engineer Sample Bio

"David Chang is a senior software engineer specializing in backend development. With a strong background in computer science and six years of experience, David has successfully built scalable and efficient solutions for complex technical challenges. He is well-versed in various programming languages and frameworks like C++, Java, and Ruby on Rails. In his spare time, David enjoys reading science fiction novels and playing the guitar."

Below, we've curated some of the best professional bio examples we've ever seen on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the various places you might describe yourself.

Check 'em out and use them as inspiration when crafting your own.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Author
Chima Mmeje: SEO Content Writer
DJ Nexus: DJ
Lena Axelsson: Marriage & Family Therapist
Mark Levy: Branding Firm Founder
Audra Simpson: Political Anthropologist
Marie Mikhail: Professional Recruiter
Wonbo Woo: Executive Producer
Chris Burkard: Freelance Photographer
Lisa Quine: Creative Consultant
Nancy Twine: Hair Care Founder
Trinity Mouzon: Wellness Brand Founder
Alberto Perez: Co-Founder of Zumba Fitness
Ann Handley: Writer and Marketer

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie : Author

Bio platform: personal website.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie begins her professional bio with an invitation to her roots.

In a few paragraphs, she describes when and where she was born, her family, her education, her honorary degrees, and the depth of her work, which has been translated into 30 languages and several publications.

She can keep readers engaged by leading with a powerful hook that aligns with her target audience’s marketing needs.

There’s clarity about who Chima serves.
The hook is bold, catchy, and compels anyone to read further.
Including client results makes clients visualize what they can expect.

3. DJ Nexus : DJ

Bio platform: facebook.

This New England-based DJ has single-handedly captured the Likes of over 2,000 people in and beyond Boston, MA. And even if you don‘t listen to the type of music he produces, it’s hard not to read his compelling Facebook bio.

For instance, consider his tagline, under "About" — " Quiet during the day. QUITE LOUD at night! " DJ Nexus tells you when he works awesomely. I got goosebumps just imagining a dance club where he might play music.

The second is the "long version," which is even more interesting than the first. Why? It reads like a story — a compelling one, at that. In fact, it gets hilarious in some parts.

The second sentence of the bio reads: "He was frightened of public school, loved playing baseball and football, ran home to watch ape films on the 4:30 Movie, listened to The Jam and The Buzzcocks, and read magic trick books."

Here's another excerpt from the middle:

It's a well-put value proposition that sets her apart from the rest of the HR industry.

Marie concludes her bio with a smooth mix of professional skills, like her Spanish fluency, and personal interests, such as podcasting and Star Wars (she mentions the latter with just the right amount of humor).

Straight off the bat, Marie uses a story to share her experiences of how she began as a recruiter.
It provides a subtle pitch for readers to check out her podcast.
The bio exudes Maries approachable, fun, and playful personality.

8. Wonbo Woo : Executive Producer

Wonbo Woo is the executive producer of WIRED's video content and has several impressive credits to his name. What does this mean for his professional bio? He has to prioritize.

With this in mind, Wonbo opens his bio with the most eye-catching details first (if the image below is hard to read, click it to see the full copy ).

I wouldn‘t necessarily be inclined to follow Chris if his bio had simply read, "I post beautiful images." But images that inspire me to travel? Now that’s something I can get behind.

Last, he ends on a humble, sweet note: "He is happiest with his wife Breanne raising their two sons." So inject personal information into your bio — it makes you seem approachable.

It highlights Chris’s achievement without bragging.
The last sentence portrays Chris as a responsible man who loves his family.
The well-written bio speaks to nature lovers who like the outdoors, surfing, and more. This gives them reasons to follow Chris.

10. Lisa Quine : Creative Consultant

Bio platform: portfolio website.

Creative professionals who specialize in visual art may find it challenging to balance the writing of their bio and displaying of their portfolio. Not Lisa Quine. Lisa has an exceptional balance of her professional bio and creative work.

Throughout her bio, you'll notice the number of murals she's completed and a brief timeline of her career. This helps her paint the picture of who she is as a professional.

11. Nancy Twine : Hair Care Founder

Bio platform: company website.

As Founder and CEO of Briogeo — a popular natural hair care line that's received rave reviews in publications such as Allure and InStyle — there are undoubtedly plenty of accolades Twine could boast about.

But she starts her bio from a humbler place, stating: "Nancy Twine is no newcomer to the beauty-sphere — in fact, she made her first foray into the world of natural product formulation at the ripe age of five."

The rest of her bio similarly focuses on Twine's strengths as someone who’s able to take hair care "back to basics."

Mouzon effectively grips the reader's attention with this introduction and then dives into some of her impressive accomplishments — including a brand now sold at Urban Outfitters and Target.

The language used throughout Mouzon's bio is authentic, real, and honest.

For instance, in the second paragraph, she admits:

"While building a brand may have looked effortless from the outside, starting a business at age 23 with no resources or funding quickly forced me to realize that early-stage entrepreneurship was anything but transparent."

As an avid Zumba fan, I was excited to include this one. Perez styles his LinkedIn bio as a short story, starting with his background as a hard-working teen who held three jobs by age 14.

His bio tells the fun and fascinating origin story of Zumba, in which Perez, an aerobics teacher in Florida at the time, forgot his music for class and used a Latin music cassette tape instead ... "And it was an instant hit!"

His bio continues:

"Shortly after he was connected to Alberto Periman and Alberto Aghion, and Zumba was officially created ... What started as a dream now has 15 million people in more than 200,000 locations in 186 countries who take Zumba classes every week."

There's something in there for everyone.

The last section of the bio shows Ann’s warm personality — "Ann lives in Boston, where she is Mom to creatures two- and four-legged."
Written in the third person, this bio has lots of proof (like followers), which shows Ann is a terrific marketing leader.

If you're posting a bio on a social media account or sending a quick blurb to a client, you want to keep it short and sweet while showcasing your accomplishments.

To get started, use these best practices for writing your short professional bio:

Introduce yourself.
State what you do.
Add key skills or areas of expertise.
Include a personal mission statement
Celebrate your wins.
Provide your contact information.
Show them your personality.

1. Introduce yourself.

Your introduction is your first impression, so always begin by telling people who you are. You may start with a greeting like, "Hello, my name is" or "Hi! Let me first introduce myself …" when sending your bio as a message.

If you’re writing a bio for an online platform, stating your name at the beginning works as well.

Leading with your name — even as a question — is important for recognition and building relationships.

2. State what you do.

Give people an idea of what you do daily and where you work. Your job title is how the people put you into context and consider whether your profession relates to their industry.

So detail your most relevant work in your short bios, like CEO, professor, and author.

Take a cue from Angela Duckworth , who specifies what she does in her LinkedIn bio:

3. Add key skills or areas of expertise.

If you send a bio to a client or potential employer, highlight your most valuable skills. For instance, if your expertise is in social media marketing and content creation, like Ivanka Dekoning , list these skills.

A joke. "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. At least that’s what I learned when I created…"
Mention a hobby. "I’ll be honest: for me, tennis is life — Go Nadal!"
A fun fact. "Every year, I watch 100 new films! I’m a cinephile and love every movie genre."
A few emojis related to your interests. "🎶🤖🎾🎬🎭"

Whichever way you choose to get personal, give people a glimpse into who you are as an individual.

When writing a short bio, it can be tempting to pack in as much relevant information about yourself as possible — but this isn’t the most effective approach.

Instead, focus on including the details that you and your audience care about most and leave out the fluff.

Let's dive into a few examples of short professional bios.

Short Professional Bio Examples

Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager
Lianna Patch: Copywriter
Precious Oboidhe: Content Strategist and Writer
Rebecca Bollwitt: Writer
Megan Gilmore: Cookbook Author
Bea Dixon: Feminine Care Founder
Tammy Hembrow: Instagram Influencer
Dr. Cody: Chiropractor
Larry Kim: Founder
Dharmesh Shah: Founder and CTO
Lily Ugbaja: Content Strategist
Ian Anderson Gray: Marketer
Van Jones: Political Commentator, Author, and Lawyer

1. Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager

Bio platform: blog byline.

Tristen Taylor is a Marketing Manager here at HubSpot. She's written content for HubSpot's Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service blogs; her blog author bio is one of my favorites.

What I love most about Tristen's bio is that it’s a great example of how to deliver information about yourself that is relevant to your work while also sharing fun details that audiences will find relatable.

Her bio reads:

"Building from her experience with GoCo.io and Southwest Airlines, Tristen's work has been recognized by Marketing Brew and BLACK@INBOUND. She lives in Washington, DC, attending anime conventions and painting in her free time."

Gilmore further includes a CTA link within her Instagram bio that leads followers to free, ready-to-use recipes. You might think, " Why would she do that since it discourages people from buying her book?"

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

By giving her followers the chance to try out her recipes, she's slowly turning leads into customers. After I tried a few of her Instagram recipes and loved them, I bought her book, knowing I'd like more of what she offered.

The bio is short and direct.
The CTA link includes an invitation for people to join her newsletter. Meaning, she can build her email list.

6. Bea Dixon : Feminine Care Founder

Bea Dixon, Founder and CEO of The Honey Pot Company, efficiently uses the space on her Instagram profile to highlight who she is as a well-rounded human — not just a businesswoman.

For instance, while she highlights her girl boss attitude with a tiara emoji, she equally calls attention to her fashion interests (Free People), her pets, Boss and Sadie, and her love for ramen noodles.

What more do you need to know?

Ian doesn't take his bio too seriously but uses every character to highlight everything about him.

He includes his skills as a marketer and podcast host, who he is outside work as a dad, and what he can help you do. His smiles also give the bio a sense of humor and realness.

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Create a compelling professional narrative for your summary, bio, or introduction.

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How to Write a Biography

Biographies are big business. Whether in book form or Hollywood biopics, the lives of the famous and sometimes not-so-famous fascinate us.

While it’s true that most biographies are about people who are in the public eye, sometimes the subject is less well-known. Primarily, though, famous or not, the person who is written about has led an incredible life.

In this article, we will explain biography writing in detail for teachers and students so they can create their own.

While your students will most likely have a basic understanding of a biography, it’s worth taking a little time before they put pen to paper to tease out a crystal-clear definition of one.

What Is a Biography?

how to write a biography | how to start an autobiography | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

A biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else . While there is a genre known as a fictional biography, for the most part, biographies are, by definition, nonfiction.

Generally speaking, biographies provide an account of the subject’s life from the earliest days of childhood to the present day or, if the subject is deceased, their death.

The job of a biography is more than just to outline the bare facts of a person’s life.

Rather than just listing the basic details of their upbringing, hobbies, education, work, relationships, and death, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of the subject’s personality and experience of life.

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Full Biographies

Teaching unit.

Teach your students everything they need to know about writing an AUTOBIOGRAPHY and a BIOGRAPHY.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( 26 reviews )

Features of a Biography

Before students begin writing a biography, they’ll need to have a firm grasp of the main features of a Biography. An excellent way to determine how well they understand these essential elements is to ask them to compile a checklist like the one-blow

Their checklists should contain the items below at a minimum. Be sure to help them fill in any gaps before moving on to the writing process.

The purpose of a biography is to provide an account of someone’s life.

Biography structure.

ORIENTATION (BEGINNING) Open your biography with a strong hook to grab the reader’s attention

SEQUENCING: In most cases, biographies are written in chronological order unless you are a very competent writer consciously trying to break from this trend.

COVER: childhood, upbringing, education, influences, accomplishments, relationships, etc. – everything that helps the reader to understand the person.

CONCLUSION: Wrap your biography up with some details about what the subject is doing now if they are still alive. If they have passed away, make mention of what impact they have made and what their legacy is or will be.

BIOGRAPHY FEATURES

LANGUAGE Use descriptive and figurative language that will paint images inside your audience’s minds as they read. Use time connectives to link events.

PERSPECTIVE Biographies are written from the third person’s perspective.

DETAILS: Give specific details about people, places, events, times, dates, etc. Reflect on how events shaped the subject. You might want to include some relevant photographs with captions. A timeline may also be of use depending upon your subject and what you are trying to convey to your audience.

TENSE Written in the past tense (though ending may shift to the present/future tense)

THE PROCESS OF WRITING A BIOGRAPHY

Like any form of writing, you will find it simple if you have a plan and follow it through. These steps will ensure you cover the essential bases of writing a biography essay.

Firstly, select a subject that inspires you. Someone whose life story resonates with you and whose contribution to society intrigues you. The next step is to conduct thorough research. Engage in extensive reading, explore various sources, watch documentaries, and glean all available information to provide a comprehensive account of the person’s life.

Creating an outline is essential to organize your thoughts and information. The outline should include the person’s early life, education, career, achievements, and any other significant events or contributions. It serves as a map for the writing process, ensuring that all vital information is included.

Your biography should have an engaging introduction that captivates the reader’s attention and provides background information on the person you’re writing about. It should include a thesis statement summarising the biography’s main points.

Writing a biography in chronological order is crucial . You should begin with the person’s early life and move through their career and achievements. This approach clarifies how the person’s life unfolded and how they accomplished their goals.

A biography should be written in a narrative style , capturing the essence of the person’s life through vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and quotes. Avoid dry, factual writing and focus on creating a compelling narrative that engages the reader.

Adding personal insights and opinions can enhance the biography’s overall impact, providing a unique perspective on the person’s achievements, legacy, and impact on society.

Editing and proofreading are vital elements of the writing process. Thoroughly reviewing your biography ensures that the writing is clear, concise, and error-free. You can even request feedback from someone else to ensure that it is engaging and well-written.

Finally, including a bibliography at the end of your biography is essential. It gives credit to the sources that were used during research, such as books, articles, interviews, and websites.

Tips for Writing a Brilliant Biography

Biography writing tip #1: choose your subject wisely.

There are several points for students to reflect on when deciding on a subject for their biography. Let’s take a look at the most essential points to consider when deciding on the subject for a biography:

Interest: To produce a biography will require sustained writing from the student. That’s why students must choose their subject well. After all, a biography is an account of someone’s entire life to date. Students must ensure they choose a subject that will sustain their interest throughout the research, writing, and editing processes.

Merit: Closely related to the previous point, students must consider whether the subject merits the reader’s interest. Aside from pure labors of love, writing should be undertaken with the reader in mind. While producing a biography demands sustained writing from the author, it also demands sustained reading from the reader.

Therefore, students should ask themselves if their chosen subject has had a life worthy of the reader’s interest and the time they’d need to invest in reading their biography.

Information: Is there enough information available on the subject to fuel the writing of an entire biography? While it might be a tempting idea to write about a great-great-grandfather’s experience in the war. There would be enough interest there to sustain the author’s and the reader’s interest, but do you have enough access to information about their early childhood to do the subject justice in the form of a biography?

Biography Writing Tip #2: R esearch ! Research! Research!

While the chances are good that the student already knows quite a bit about the subject they’ve chosen. Chances are 100% that they’ll still need to undertake considerable research to write their biography.

As with many types of writing , research is an essential part of the planning process that shouldn’t be overlooked. If students wish to give as complete an account of their subject’s life as possible, they’ll need to put in the time at the research stage.

An effective way to approach the research process is to:

1. Compile a chronological timeline of the central facts, dates, and events of the subject’s life

2. Compile detailed descriptions of the following personal traits:

Physical looks
Character traits
Values and beliefs

3. Compile some research questions based on different topics to provide a focus for the research:

Childhood : Where and when were they born? Who were their parents? Who were the other family members? What education did they receive?
Obstacles: What challenges did they have to overcome? How did these challenges shape them as individuals?
Legacy: What impact did this person have on the world and/or the people around them?
Dialogue & Quotes: Dialogue and quotations by and about the subject are a great way to bring color and life to a biography. Students should keep an eagle eye out for the gems that hide amid their sources.

As the student gets deeper into their research, new questions will arise that can further fuel the research process and help to shape the direction the biography will ultimately go in.

Likewise, during the research, themes will often begin to suggest themselves. Exploring these themes is essential to bring depth to biography, but we’ll discuss this later in this article.

Research Skills:

Researching for biography writing is an excellent way for students to hone their research skills in general. Developing good research skills is essential for future academic success. Students will have opportunities to learn how to:

Gather relevant information
Evaluate different information sources
Select suitable information
Organize information into a text.

Students will have access to print and online information sources, and, in some cases, they may also have access to people who knew or know the subject (e.g. biography of a family member).

These days, much of the research will likely take place online. It’s crucial, therefore, to provide your students with guidance on how to use the internet safely and evaluate online sources for reliability. This is the era of ‘ fake news ’ and misinformation after all!

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

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Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip #3: Find Your Themes In Biography Writing

Though predominantly a nonfiction genre, the story still plays a significant role in good biography writing. The skills of characterization and plot structuring are transferable here. And, just like in fiction, exploring themes in a biographical work helps connect the personal to the universal. Of course, these shouldn’t be forced; this will make the work seem contrived, and the reader may lose faith in the truthfulness of the account. A biographer needs to gain and maintain the trust of the reader.

Fortunately, themes shouldn’t need to be forced. A life well-lived is full of meaning, and the themes the student writer is looking for will emerge effortlessly from the actions and events of the subject’s life. It’s just a case of learning how to spot them.

One way to identify the themes in a life is to look for recurring events or situations in a person’s life. These should be apparent from the research completed previously. The students should seek to identify these patterns that emerge in the subject’s life. For example, perhaps they’ve had to overcome various obstacles throughout different periods of their life. In that case, the theme of overcoming adversity is present and has been identified.

Usually, a biography has several themes running throughout, so be sure your students work to identify more than one theme in their subject’s life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip: #4 Put Something of Yourself into the Writing

While the defining feature of a biography is that it gives an account of a person’s life, students must understand that this is not all a biography does. Relating the facts and details of a subject’s life is not enough. The student biographer should not be afraid to share their thoughts and feelings with the reader throughout their account of their subject’s life.

The student can weave some of their personality into the fabric of the text by providing commentary and opinion as they relate the events of the person’s life and the wider social context at the time. Unlike the detached and objective approach we’d expect to find in a history textbook, in a biography, student-writers should communicate their enthusiasm for their subject in their writing.

This makes for a more intimate experience for the reader, as they get a sense of getting to know the author and the subject they are writing about.

Biography Examples For Students

Year 5 Example
Year 7 Example
Year 9 Example

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll King: Elvis Presley”

Elvis Aaron Presley, born on January 8, 1935, was an amazing singer and actor known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years, I can’t help but be fascinated by his incredible life!

Elvis grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny house with his parents and twin brother. His family didn’t have much money, but they shared a love for music. Little did they know Elvis would become a music legend!

When he was only 11 years old, Elvis got his first guitar. He taught himself to play and loved singing gospel songs. As he got older, he started combining different music styles like country, blues, and gospel to create a whole new sound – that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!

In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis recorded his first song, “That’s All Right.” People couldn’t believe how unique and exciting his music was. His famous hip-swinging dance moves also made him a sensation!

Elvis didn’t just rock the music scene; he also starred in movies like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.” But fame came with challenges. Despite facing ups and downs, Elvis kept spreading happiness through his music.

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Tragically, Elvis passed away in 1977, but his music and charisma live on. Even today, people worldwide still enjoy his songs like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Elvis Presley’s legacy as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll will live forever.

Long Live the King: I wish I’d seen him.

Elvis Presley, the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend born on January 8, 1935, is a captivating figure that even a modern-day teen like me can’t help but admire. As I delve into his life, I wish I could have experienced the magic of his live performances.

Growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis faced challenges but found solace in music. At 11, he got his first guitar, a symbol of his journey into the world of sound. His fusion of gospel, country, and blues into Rock ‘n’ Roll became a cultural phenomenon.

The thought of being in the audience during his early performances, especially when he recorded “That’s All Right” at 19, sends shivers down my spine. Imagining the crowd’s uproar and feeling the revolutionary energy of that moment is a dream I wish I could have lived.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical prodigy; he was a dynamic performer. His dance moves, the embodiment of rebellion, and his roles in films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock” made him a true icon.

After watching him on YouTube, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I’ll never witness the King’s live performances. The idea of swaying to “Hound Dog” or being enchanted by “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in person is a missed opportunity. Elvis may have left us in 1977, but he was the king of rock n’ roll. Long live the King!

Elvis Presley: A Teen’s Take on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon”

Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935, was a revolutionary force in the music world, earning his title as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Exploring his life, even as a 16-year-old today, I’m captivated by the impact he made.

Hailing from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis grew up in humble beginnings, surrounded by the love of his parents and twin brother. It’s inspiring to think that, despite financial challenges, this young man would redefine the music scene.

At 11, Elvis got his first guitar, sparking a self-taught journey into music. His early gospel influences evolved into a unique fusion of country, blues, and gospel, creating the electrifying genre of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In 1954, at only 19, he recorded “That’s All Right,” marking the birth of a musical legend.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical innovator; he was a cultural phenomenon. His rebellious dance moves and magnetic stage presence challenged the norms. He transitioned seamlessly into acting, starring in iconic films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

how to write a biography | Elvis Presley promoting Jailhouse Rock | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

However, fame came at a cost, and Elvis faced personal struggles. Despite the challenges, his music continued to resonate. Even now, classics like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” transcend generations.

Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is undeniable. He was known for his unique voice, charismatic persona, and electrifying performances. He sold over one billion records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling solo artists in history. He received numerous awards throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elvis’s influence can still be seen in today’s music. Many contemporary artists, such as Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake, have cited Elvis as an inspiration. His music continues to be featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Elvis left us in 1977, but his legacy lives on. I appreciate his breaking barriers and fearlessly embracing his artistic vision. Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is timeless, a testament to the enduring power of his artistry. His music has inspired generations and will continue to do so for many years to come.

how to write a biography | LITERACY IDEAS FRONT PAGE 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING TEACHING IDEAS AND LESSONS

We have compiled a sequence of biography-related lessons or teaching ideas that you can follow as you please. They are straightforward enough for most students to follow without further instruction.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 1:

This session aims to give students a broader understanding of what makes a good biography.

Once your students have compiled a comprehensive checklist of the main features of a biography, allow them to use it to assess some biographies from your school library or on the internet using the feature checklist.

When students have assessed a selection of biographies, take some time as a class to discuss them. You can base the discussion around the following prompts:

Which biographies covered all the criteria from their checklist?
Which biographies didn’t?
Which biography was the most readable in terms of structure?
Which biography do you think was the least well-structured? How would you improve this?

Looking at how other writers have interpreted the form will help students internalize the necessary criteria before attempting to produce a biography. Once students have a clear understanding of the main features of the biography, they’re ready to begin work on writing a biography.

When the time does come to put pen to paper, be sure they’re armed with the following top tips to help ensure they’re as well prepared as possible.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 2:

This session aims to guide students through the process of selecting the perfect biography subject.

Instruct students to draw up a shortlist of three potential subjects for the biography they’ll write.

Using the three criteria mentioned in the writing guide (Interest, Merit, and Information), students award each potential subject a mark out of 5 for each of the criteria. In this manner, students can select the most suitable subject for their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 3:

This session aims to get students into the researching phase, then prioritise and organise events chronologically.

Students begin by making a timeline of their subject’s life, starting with their birth and ending with their death or the present day. If the student has yet to make a final decision on the subject of their biography, a family member will often serve well for this exercise as a practice exercise.

Students should research and gather the key events of the person’s life, covering each period of their life from when they were a baby, through childhood and adolescence, right up to adulthood and old age. They should then organize these onto a timeline. Students can include photographs with captions if they have them.

They can present these to the class when they have finished their timelines.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 4:

Instruct students to look over their timeline, notes, and other research. Challenge them to identify three patterns that repeat throughout the subject’s life and sort all the related events and incidents into specific categories.

Students should then label each category with a single word. This is the thematic concept or the broad general underlying idea. After that, students should write a sentence or two expressing what the subject’s life ‘says’ about that concept.

This is known as the thematic statement . With the thematic concepts and thematic statements identified, the student now has some substantial ideas to explore that will help bring more profound meaning and wider resonance to their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 5:

Instruct students to write a short objective account of an event in their own life. They can write about anyone from their past. It needn’t be more than a couple of paragraphs, but the writing should be strictly factual, focusing only on the objective details of what happened.

Once they have completed this, it’s time to rewrite the paragraph, but they should include some opinion and personal commentary this time.

The student here aims to inject some color and personality into their writing, to transform a detached, factual account into a warm, engaging story.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING BIOGRAPHIES

how to write a biography | biography and autobiography writing unit 1 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

Teach your students to write AMAZING BIOGRAPHIES & AUTOBIOGRAPHIES using proven RESEARCH SKILLS and WRITING STRATEGIES .

Understand the purpose of both forms of biography.
Explore the language and perspective of both.
Prompts and Challenges to engage students in writing a biography.
Dedicated lessons for both forms of biography.
Biographical Projects can expand students’ understanding of reading and writing a biography.
A COMPLETE 82-PAGE UNIT – NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

FREE Biography Writing Graphic Organizer

Use this valuable tool in the research and writing phases to keep your students on track and engaged.

WRITING CHECKLIST & RUBRIC BUNDLE

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To Conclude

By this stage, your students should have an excellent technical overview of a biography’s essential elements.

They should be able to choose their subject in light of how interesting and worthy they are, as well as give consideration to the availability of information out there. They should be able to research effectively and identify emerging themes in their research notes. And finally, they should be able to bring some of their personality and uniqueness into their retelling of the life of another.

Remember that writing a biography is not only a great way to develop a student’s writing skills; it can be used in almost all curriculum areas. For example, to find out more about a historical figure in History, to investigate scientific contributions to Science, or to celebrate a hero from everyday life.

Biography is an excellent genre for students to develop their writing skills and to find inspiration in the lives of others in the world around them.

HOW TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY TUTORIAL VIDEO

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How to write an Autobiography

How to Write a Historical Recount Text

15 Awesome Recount & Personal Narrative Topics

Personal Narrative Writing Guide

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Table Of Contents

biography , form of literature , commonly considered nonfictional, the subject of which is the life of an individual. One of the oldest forms of literary expression, it seeks to re-create in words the life of a human being—as understood from the historical or personal perspective of the author—by drawing upon all available evidence, including that retained in memory as well as written, oral, and pictorial material.

Biography is sometimes regarded as a branch of history , and earlier biographical writings—such as the 15th-century Mémoires of the French councellor of state, Philippe de Commynes , or George Cavendish’s 16th-century life of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey —have often been treated as historical material rather than as literary works in their own right. Some entries in ancient Chinese chronicles included biographical sketches; imbedded in the Roman historian Tacitus ’s Annals is the most famous biography of the emperor Tiberius ; conversely , Sir Winston Churchill ’s magnificent life of his ancestor John Churchill, first duke of Marlborough , can be read as a history (written from a special point of view) of Britain and much of Europe during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). Yet there is general recognition today that history and biography are quite distinct forms of literature. History usually deals in generalizations about a period of time (for example, the Renaissance), about a group of people in time (the English colonies in North America), about an institution (monasticism during the Middle Ages). Biography more typically focuses upon a single human being and deals in the particulars of that person’s life.

Both biography and history, however, are often concerned with the past, and it is in the hunting down, evaluating, and selection of sources that they are akin. In this sense biography can be regarded as a craft rather than an art: techniques of research and general rules for testing evidence can be learned by anyone and thus need involve comparatively little of that personal commitment associated with art.

A biographer in pursuit of an individual long dead is usually hampered by a lack of sources: it is often impossible to check or verify what written evidence there is; there are no witnesses to cross-examine. No method has yet been developed by which to overcome such problems. Each life, however, presents its own opportunities as well as specific difficulties to the biographer: the ingenuity with which the biographer handles gaps in the record—by providing information, for example, about the age that casts light upon the subject—has much to do with the quality of the resulting work. James Boswell knew comparatively little about Samuel Johnson ’s earlier years; it is one of the greatnesses of his Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. (1791) that he succeeded, without inventing matter or deceiving the reader, in giving the sense of a life progressively unfolding. Another masterpiece of reconstruction in the face of little evidence is A.J.A. Symons ’ biography of the English author and eccentric Frederick William Rolfe , The Quest for Corvo (1934). A further difficulty is the unreliability of most collections of papers, letters, and other memorabilia edited before the 20th century. Not only did editors feel free to omit and transpose materials, but sometimes the authors of documents revised their personal writings for the benefit of posterity , often falsifying the record and presenting their biographers with a difficult situation when the originals were no longer extant .

The biographer writing the life of a person recently dead is often faced with the opposite problem: an abundance of living witnesses and a plethora of materials, which include the subject’s papers and letters, sometimes transcriptions of telephone conversations and conferences, as well as the record of interviews granted to the biographer by the subject’s friends and associates. Frank Friedel, for example, in creating a biography of the U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt , had to wrestle with something like 40 tons of paper. But finally, when writing the life of any person, whether long or recently dead, the biographer’s chief responsibility is vigorously to test the authenticity of the collected materials by whatever rules and techniques are available. When the subject of a biography is still alive and a contributor to the work, the biographer’s task is to examine the subject’s perspective against multiple, even contradictory sources.

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English sentences focusing on words and their word families the word "biography" in example sentences each page has up to 50 sentences. sentences with audio are listed first. (total: 7), the sentences.

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[ bahy- og -r uh -fee , bee- ]

the biography of Byron by Marchand.

an account in biographical form of an organization, society, theater, animal, etc.
such writings collectively.
the writing of biography as an occupation or field of endeavor.

/ baɪˈɒɡrəfɪ; ˌbaɪəˈɡræfɪkəl /

an account of a person's life by another
such accounts collectively
The story of someone's life. The Life of Samuel Johnson , by James Boswell , and Abraham Lincoln , by Carl Sandburg , are two noted biographies. The story of the writer's own life is an autobiography .

Derived Forms

biˈographer , noun
biographical , adjective
ˌbioˈgraphically , adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of biography 1