BIOGRAPHY

Objectives
1. Students are able to understand definition, generic structure, language features, and the function
of Biography well
2. Students are able to arrange a Biography appropriately
Definition
A biography or simply bio is a detailed description of a person’s life. It entails more than basic facts
like education, work, relationships, and death. A biography also portrays a subject’s experience of these
events. Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae (resume), a biography presents a subject’s life story, highlighting
various aspects of the person’s life.

Function
- To know the person’s life story including the accomplishments
- To give information and educate the readers

Common Characteristics:
- Biography is not written by the subject
- It is always written in third person
- It is based on research, not imagination
- Describes the person’s surroundings (where, when, and how the person lived)
- Shows how the person affected other people’s life through their behavior, discoveries, social reform,
etc.
- Provides examples that demonstrate the person’s behavior, their accomplishments, goal, etc.
- Supplies details that illustrate the person’s individuality
- Uses vivid language to narrate events

Format of a Biography:
A biography is a form of recount, so the structure resembles a recount structure:
a. Introduction
Opening statement introduces the subject, and explains why he/she is known. It gives the
reader the background information as two why this person is Noteworthy and should have a
biography written about the.
b. Important events in chronological order and interpretation
It presents a series of events, usually told in chronological order. Here the writer might refer
to a certain time on line.
c. Closing remarks
It explains how this person will be remembered, and sometimes gives the writer’s opinion. It
consists of a type of conclusion with a comment on the contributions this person has made or a
summary and evaluation of the person’s achievement.

Language Features
- A biographical recount uses specific names of the people involved in the biography.
- It is mainly written in simple past tense (the final paragraph could also include the present
tense)
- Use of connectives to do with time (last year, then, at the same time, next, on Tuesday 24
May, later, before, meanwhile, at age 12, during adolescence, etc).
- Use of action verbs (painted, wrote, invented, discovered).
Example