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PHILIPPIANS (10:45-11:45)  You can use the classic five-paragraph structure

for your autobiographical essay if your ideas fit it.


ACTIVITY:  Anyway, you have to divide your writing into
Continue making your autobiography in big notebook. separated paragraphs to increase the readability
of your essay.
COPY in your catleya notebook.  You should also create a logical connection
between paragraphs. In this manner, readers will
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND BIOGRAPHY easily follow your thoughts.

Autobiography - is one type of biography, which tells a life story C. Conclusion


of its author, meaning it is a written record of the author’s life.  Now, it’s time to think on how to conclude an
- Rather than being written by somebody else, an autobiography. Your conclusion has to be strong
autobiography comes through the person’s own pen, and impressive.
in his own words.  Mention what lessons you’ve learned and what
- Some autobiographies are written in the form of a changes in your life you’ve witnessed thanks to
fictional tale; as novels or stories that closely mirror the described episode of your life.
events from the author’s real life.  Even if this event has had negative
consequences, you shouldn’t hide anything.
Characteristics of Autobiography  Bad experiences are also useful for personal
 As already mentioned, the autobiography is the story development.
of one's life, written by that person.  As Theodore Roosevelt once said: “The only man
 Mostly, autobiographies are written in first-person who never makes a mistake is the man who
point of view. never does anything.”
 This means that the narrator, or person telling the
story, is also in the story. How to Write an Autobiography Step by Step
 You can tell if a story is written in first-person if the If you need a simple and brief instruction on how to
narrator uses the personal pronouns I, me, and my. write an autobiography, you’ve already found it! The next time
 Autobiographies are usually book-length, since the you get such an assignment in your English class, don’t worry
author usually covers the events of his or her entire – just check out this step-by-step guideline.
life.
 Some examples of book length autobiography: 1. Read a well-known autobiography.
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya  You are not the first person who wants to write
Angelou about his or her life.
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller  Many famous writers, artists, politicians, and
My Biography by Benjamin Franklin businessmen create autobiographies to share
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm their wisdom and experience with a wide
X audience.
LongLong Walk to Freedom by Nelson
Mandela  Find the autobiography that belongs to the author
How to Structure an Autobiography whose personality inspires you and read it in
order to get a basic understanding of
How to Structure an Autobiography autobiographical writing.
The structure of your autobiographical writing
depends on the type you’ve chosen to create. In our guide on  2. Think over your life.
how to write an autobiography, we’ll focus on the basic  Remember every significant event, unusual
principles of structuring the autobiographical essay. experience, or important person in your life.
A. Introduction  That might take a considerable amount of time,
 You may wonder how to start an autobiography as we think that your life has been interesting
introduction. enough, and you have many worthy moments.
 The answer is simple: the same way you start  If you want to write about your childhood, you’d
other essays’ introductions. better apply to the “experts” – your parents.
 The main purpose of the introductory paragraph  Perhaps you did something outstanding and
is to grab the reader’s attention and present the awesome when you were a child.
idea and theme of your writing.
 Don’t make the first paragraph too long: between 3. Make a list.
one and three sentences are enough to compose  This is the most satisfying part of writing an
a regular introduction. autobiography if you like making lists.
 Try to provide readers with a general portrait of  On the other hand, it can be quite boring for
yourself, so they will know more about the main those who hate lists.
“hero.”  Everything depends on your personal tastes.
 Mention your age, significant personal qualities,  We highly recommend you to divide all memories
and principles of worldview. into categories.
 You can also add some details about your  You will be able to structure your thoughts in a
appearance in order to make your story more more logical manner.
vivid.
4. Pick one point from your list.
B. Main body  Remember that you should not write your full
 The main body includes the biggest amount of autobiography.
information. It is 80-90% of the whole text.  You have to choose one event, one place, or one
 There are no strict requirements, but you should person you’d like to write about.
not forget to use a logical sequence and correct  This can be quite challenging, especially if you
wording. are an adult who has an active social life.
 Try to be objective and choose a theme that will  After you proofread your essay and get feedback,
be interesting for readers, not only for you. you’ll be able to create the final draft of your
writing.
 Take into account all recommendations that you
5. Brainstorm ideas. have received from your proofreaders, and bring
 When you have a particular topic, it is the right your essay to perfection!
moment to think over a few amazing ideas for  You work is accomplished!
your autobiography.  We are sure that you will succeed on the first try
 Here is a list of questions that will help you to if you use the list of helpful tips for autobiography
focus on certain aspects: writing provided by our experienced writers.
 We’ve gathered tips that will turn your writing into
 What was the best (or the worst) thing a real masterpiece.
about an event or person you want to
tell about? How to Write a Good Autobiography: Helpful Tips
 What details are worth readers’
attention?  Catch attention from the very beginning.
 What mood do you want to share?  Don’t expand your resume.
 What feelings do you want to awaken?  Add sensory details.
 What has changed after this event or  Make your characters feel alive.
meeting?  Create a connection with a general idea.
 What lessons have you learned?  Choose one verb tense.
 Why was this moment important for
you? Biography
 What general idea can be related to this A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of
particular case? a person's life.
 Why have you decided to choose this It involves more than just the basic facts like
event to share with your readers? education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a
 Why have you decided to write your person's experience of these life events.
autobiography now, at this moment of Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a
your life? biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting
various aspects of his or her life, including intimate
6. Provide an outline (above). details of experience, and may include an analysis of
 Planning is a crucial part of any writing process. the subject's personality.
 If you need a detailed instruction on how to write Biographical works are usually non-fiction, but fiction
an autobiography outline, you should read the can also be used to portray a person's life. One in-
section about autobiographical essay structure depth form of biographical coverage is called legacy
above if you haven’t yet. writing. Works in diverse media, from literature to film,
 There, we explained what you should include in form the genre known as biography.
each part of your essay. An authorized biography is written with the
 You can make your outline in the form of a list, permission, cooperation, and at times, participation of
scheme, table, or pyramid. a subject or a subject's heirs. An autobiography is
written by the person himself or herself, sometimes
7. Create a draft. with the assistance of a collaborator or ghostwriter.
 Make your first draft as perfect as possible. The story of a real person's life
 There is no reason to correct mistakes later if you written by someone other than that person.
can avoid them in the first place. A usually written history of a person's life.
 On the other hand, this is just your first attempt, Biographical writings as a whole
so don’t be too demanding.
 Good ideas will come sooner or later.
 Take your time and enjoy the process of writing! CORINTHIANS (2:30-3:30)

8. Proofread your writing. Reporting Autobiography


 You should check your autobiographical essay Then copy this handouts in catleya notebook.
for mistakes in spelling, grammar, verb tense,
style, punctuation, word forms, etc.
 No matter how emotional or exciting your writing
is, your readers will stop reading as soon as they
notice the first grammatical mistake.
 An illiterate author cannot win the trust of the
audience, so you should take this step very
seriously.

9. Get feedback.
 Before you present your writing to the public, ask
your parents, siblings, or friends to give you
feedback.
 Maybe, they’ll notice a few mistakes that you
missed or give you advice on how to improve the
content.
 A fresh perspective never hurts.

10. Write the final copy.

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