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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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Contextual Learning of Biography

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Sentences with Biography

31 examples of biography in a sentence - how to use it 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.  🔊

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Use "biography" in a sentence

Biography example sentences.

1. It contains the biography collection of different

2. 'I've been asked by a representative of the Danvers House Foundation to research Miss Danvers' papers and try to put together a biography

3. Joe like I told you elsewhere in my biography , is a pretty good mechanic and pretty good parts man and he quickly figured out that the timing chain was gone on the car and it needed to be replaced

4. Would you like to reflect with me on what follows, thinking about how your biography might be projected on the big screen? Would it be billed as a drama, or a comedy, or maybe even a horror story? Or perhaps a bit of all of the previous, rolled into one super full-length movie that will surely have sequels to be made in the years ahead?

5. Whatever the case, how about reflecting with me on what follows, thinking about how your biography might be projected on the big screen? Ready or not, here we go…

6. Maybe I have a only few hours left in this body or many more years until I gasp my last breath and my biography then comes to a final conclusion

7. Read any objective biography of Stalin, and at least one unbiased history of the Soviet Union in the thirties

8. (I wish I could recall the title of the biography I found it in

9. A biography to finish with

10. However, according to his biography , he

11. Some information from his biography which I share with you below

12. He did left a cryptic message in his biography the day he left

13. His biography appeared in that year’s edition of “Noteworthy Americans of the Bicentennial Era” and also in “International Register of Profiles - World Edition, 1976”

14. Roger had al ready been cited in “Outstanding Educators of America” (1971), “Dictionary of International Biography ” (1973) and “Men of Achievement” (1974)

15. The list includes "Outstanding Educators of America" 1971, "Dictionary of International Biography " 1973, "Men of Achievement" 1974, "Noteworthy Americans of the Bicentennial Era" and "Who’s Who in the West" 1975, International Register of Profiles World Edition 1976, and "Who’s Who among Hispanic Americans" 1992-93

16. Love, Trip After my father died, one of his television stations put together a videotape biography on him, which did a good job of tracking his life

17. When you were playing Time of the Ages you could just focus your attention on any character and it would bring up complete biography and stats

18. Whenever she faced insurmountable difficulties in her more than thirty years of mission to protect the environment in India, she would turn to his biography for strength and renew her determination to pursue her objectives

19. In his biography , it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him

20. Your biography , as it relates to your expertise

21. It was an afternoon to forget – which I did until twenty-two years later when a lecturer in English literature approached me in the staffroom bearing a recent biography of his hero, Anthony Burgess

22. I finally found what I was searching for, a biography of the Commodore

23. Nakamura’s security file was an interesting read if you enjoyed a biography of one of America’s best and brightest citizens---a Horatio Alger story if there ever was one

24. How could he have given her the true Dracos biography ? The old dear would have gone apoplexic

25. The biography worked its way to her status as a social policy critic and friend to seniors always working hard to improve the lives of seniors and help out their families

26. His biography is in the Dictionary of Literary Biography , and his

27. in the running the Stallman story as a biography

28. ning that O'Reilly intended to publish the biography both as a

29. this is a biography of Richard Stallman, it seemed inappropri-

30. thought of writing a historical biography

31. Allan Nevins wrote a friendly biography of the robber baron from Cleveland, which I haven’t read

32. But even a Potter book or a presidential biography with high sales may not be in the class of one that is struggling to get exposed to the public

33. The book, appropriately enough, is called, The Beatles: The Illustrated And Updated Edition Of The Best-selling Authorized Biography

34. ‘’We are checking on that right now, sir, but she officially is an only child and her parents died in a car accident when she was sixteen, according to her official biography

35. It’s the critical biography of the man who rose to become Speaker of the House – I wouldn’t want him in mine

36. For a delightful and informative read, I recommend Appetite for Life: The Biography of

37. To understand how bad things were, read the biography of a great woman, Mother

38. First, I am what my official biography and military file says 419

39. Speedbumps: Flooring it through Hollywood is the biography of the actress, Teri Garr

40. History, an entertaining, sometimes hysterical biography of the maturing of a journalist, growing up in New Jersey

41. I saw a Ken Burns biography of the development of broadcast radio and (infant) TV last night and how two American engineers, Lee DeForrest and Edwin Howard Armstrong spent 20 years and millions in attorneys fees and court costs (1930s-1950s) to contest patents in court

42. Kevin’s book, My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me about Life, Love and Laughing out Loud, is the biography of a teacher, who was dedicated to follow his dream without a college degree, which he has achieved

43. whose biography is a litany of irresponsibility and grievance about his

44. Your biography is dictated by

45. Ignoring the fact that the authorities in Poland rarely deprived any writer of the freedom of expression, Tsosnik’s magisterial biography of Pilsudski had just emerged after years of internment by the censor

46. Once out of the conference room, Ingrid went to her office, where Senior Airman Denise Bateman was waiting for her, finding her reading with great interest the book on Nancy Laplante that Ingrid had written years ago along with her own biography as a female fighter pilot during World War Two

47. questioned by the masses In Letters from the Earth Mark Twain asserted that the Bible, in describing God, is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists in print anywhere, and that God is a malign thug

48. Could it be that he was no superhero? Or perhaps these moments of indecision were left out of the average superhero biography

49. group: there wil be enough book editors and biography producers interested in their life

50. I remember reading Abbie Hoffman’s biography a long time ago

51. Indeed, it is precisely this apparent lack of a biography that qualifies these leaders to represent and bring about a fantastic and grandiose future

52. It was faith in Christ's "words of eternal life" which made that honourable woman, Catherine Tait, as recorded in a most touching biography , resign five children in five weeks to the grave, in the full assurance that Christ would keep His word, take care of them both in body and soul, and bring them with Him to meet her at the last day

53. According to her biography she met acknowledged genius the famous Albert Einstein

54. material for that biography

55. about me having met Quick or Teef, or about the biography

56. Loyd and Alicia had finished writing their sections of Quick’s biography , but Dale, Jeremy and I still

57. An attempt is made here towards this end that owes the content, and at times the text even, wherever quoted, of “Muhammad – his life based on the earliest sources”, the remarkable biography by Martin Lings published by Inner Traditions International, USA

58. The following episode in Martin Ling’s biography of Muhammad would be illustrative

59. In madrasas that the clergy preside over are attended by the majority of the Muslim children, the topics of study include an introduction to the Muslim faith and practice, worship forms, biography of the Prophet Muhammad, and stories of other heroes of the faith

60. But for now, the Musalmans are ever on the look out for the ways and means to assert their Islamic separateness, which, for the muse of a poet would seem: Oh goddamn faith, how thou divide ‘the God’ from gods and ‘the Musalmans’ from other humans! Why if only the moulanas approach Muhammad’s life, not in awe but with insight, for a solution to their vexatious separatist inhibitions, pointers are aplenty in Martin Ling’s biography of his

61. Can an animal be a “helpful scholar and a consultan?” can an animal have a laboratory to do research and fill the literature with different discoveries? Can an animal prepare his own biography ? Can an animal be NASA swimming in space?

62. this advice which I came across while reading the biography that

63. Then, there are those with genuine prejudices too, and these had much to do with the denunciations of Islam that were carried out in Europe during the Crusades, which passed on from generation to generation, and Karen Armstrong has written on the same in her very balanced biography of Prophet Muhammad, in which she has also critiqued the prophet on some points, and as a reviewer has put it, she has been “respectful but not reverential”

64. That is exactly as we mentioned in the biography of the Meccan

65. is the biography of Muhammad and the Hadith is what Muhammad

66. A Beautiful Mind is a movie based on the dramatic and moving biography by Sylvia Nasar about John Forbes Nash, Jr

67. Your biography , as it relates to your expertise for this book

68. 210,gives a short biography , though the study is in the main apenetrating investigation of

69. We are rankly vegetarian again, Papa leading the way with immense determination, for he has set his heart at this unfortunate juncture on a new biography of Goethe that must needs come out just now, a big thing in two volumes costing a terrible number of marks, very well done, full of the result of original digging among archives; but he dare not buy it, he says, in the present state of our affairs

70. It was the official biography of Michael Wong, showing his personal antecedents and his professional qualifications and experience

71. The details were again scant but they did answer the question as to why his most prominent medical position was not included in the previous biography

72. She too was worried she might he dragged into a mess even though all she had done was provide him with Michael Wong’s biography

73. Then what I found amusing in the biography of

74. They contain logical arguments, poetry, songs and hymns, history, biography , stories, parables, fables, eloquence, law, letters and philosophy

75. In Heredia's biography two factsshould be stressed: that

76. From Verdi’s biography derives that his first bad season ended in 1825, while a

77. Picasso’s biography shows that a bad season started for him in 1892, which was

78. biography I had already studied

79. For this purpose, I took the biography of Napoléon I, who was almost an exact contemporary of Beethoven

80. From Napoléon’s biography derives that his good and bad seasons alternated at

81. * I have based all Hugo’s biography in this chapter on Cesare Giardini’s Hugo,

82. From Hugo’s biography derives that his seasons alternated every 16-17 years in

83. * My main source for Churchill’s biography of this chapter is Sebastian Haffner’s

84. produced a colossal work, the four-volume biography of his ancestor, Marlborough

85. From Columbus biography is revealed, therefore, that the lives of the persons

86. see in his detailed biography in another chapter– that the good and bad seasons in

87. I’s biography reveals –as her biography cited later shows– that her life’s seasons

88. Thus, Onassis’s biography reveals that the

89. As we’ll see, for example, in Christopher Columbus’s biography later, he

90. biography , though the majority of the British cabinet’s members was against

91. at the age of 50, as we’ll see in his biography , but later he became world’s

92. biography later), and many others had seen their works being rejected during their

93. As we’ll see later in Queen Elizabeth I of England’s biography , when she was three, she legally became a bastard, she was deprived of her title of

94. Gorbachev’s biography shows that his seasonal alternations occurred at the dates

95. But his biography also shows how Gorbachev’s life was radically influenced

96. biography , you’ll also see how the alternations of his good and bad seasons we’ve

97. From Mandela’s biography is confirmed that his seasonal alternations occurred at

Synonyms for "biography"

"biography" definitions.

an account of the series of events making up a person's life

EditorNinja

How to write a strong one-line biography (with examples!)

As a blogger or content marketer, you’re spreading your content across the internet to build your name as a thought leader and to drive traffic back to your (or your client’s) website.

One of the best ways to do this is via a strong biography, where sites will often allow you to also link back to somewhere. But you need to get their interest to learn more, so you need a strong one-line biography as most sites will only allow a short biography.

Here’s how you write a strong one-line biography for your blog author page:

Write in 3rd person

Highlight your role/profession.

  • Keep it short

Include a call to action

Biographies should be written in third person. Instead of “I am a serial entrepreneur…” you should write “John is a serial entrepreneur…”

Some publications may have different guidelines, in which case you should follow them, but as a general guideline always write your bio in 3rd person.

Your bio should tell readers who you are and what you do, so be sure to highlight your role or profession.

“John is a serial entrepreneur and digital marketing veteran who…”

This gives people more information about you, why you are qualified to be talking about the topic you are bylined on, and helps them decide if they want to click your link to learn more.

Don’t be afraid to brag a little bit! In our world of fake humility, finding someone who is willing to state what they’ve done can be refreshing and encourage them to click to learn more about you.

Don’t overdo it though. A quick interesting fact is usually more than enough to get them interested.

For example:

“John is a serial entrepreneur and digital marketing leader who via his company Credo has generated over a quarter billion dollars in leads for agencies since 2015.”

The lead value number is a brag, but it’s also true and lets people know that John knows what he’s doing.

Have some fun!

In today’s social media world, people want to connect with the person behind the account.

So don’t be afraid to use emojis or a bit of humor.

This advice does not carry over to a professional website like LinkedIn where people are more professional and you should present your best face to the world.

Keep it short, but readable

If you’re required to keep your biography to just one sentence, you have just 15 to 20 words on average to get your point across. You need to be succinct and make every word count.

As such, remove superlatives and flowery language that could make it harder to read. This is not the place to be cute or show off – it’s the place to communicate effectively.

Include a backlink/hyperlink

Most websites where you publish will allow you to link back to a site of your choice from your biography. Don’t be spammy and try to link back to multiple places – link to a place where people can find out more about you or your company easily.

Finally, include a call to action (CTA) if you have enough space and can work it in. At minimum, make sure you follow the above advice and include a hyperlink back to your main website where people can learn more about you or your business.

Some examples

Here are some examples of great bios.

Dan Martell (Instagram)

Dan Martell is a coach to software founders, an entrepreneur with 3 business exits, an award-winning angel investor, and a proud dad and husband.

How do we know this? Because he says so in his Instagram bio. Short and effective.

biography sentence using

Kimberly Bryant

Kimberly Bryant is the founder of Black Girls Code , a company that “build[s] pathways for young women of color to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.” Here is her Twitter biography, which clearly states what she does and gives insight into who she is.

biography sentence using

Chris Ducker

Chris Ducker is a UK-based entrepreneur who “helps midlife leaders and entrepreneurs build future proof businesses around their expertise” with his Youpreneur coaching program.

biography sentence using

Pat Flynn is a serial entrepreneur, dad, and husband who also has a physical product and a Pokemon card side hustle with over 100,000 YouTube subscribers. Here’s his Instagram profile:

biography sentence using

Rand Fishkin

Rand is also a serial entrepreneur and currently the CEO of Sparktoro, an audience insight software tool. He’s formerly the cofounder and CEO of Moz, an SEO software suite. His LinkedIn bio says succinctly what he does, and also adds a bit of personality to let you know what he believes.

biography sentence using

John Doherty

John is the founder and CEO of Credo and EditorNinja. (Hi, I’m John writing this!). His bio tells you what he cares about (his family and Colorado), what he does and the various projects he works on as well as his accomplishments.

biography sentence using

Publishing on the internet?

Are you publishing on the internet and care about the correctness and quality of your content?

Click here to schedule a free editorial assesssment  to learn about how EditorNinja can solve your copy editing and proofreading problems.

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How to Write a Biography

Last Updated: May 28, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,875,733 times.

Writing a biography can be a fun challenge, where you are sharing the story of someone’s life with readers. You may need to write a biography for a class or decide to write one as a personal project. Once you have identified the subject of the biography, do your research so you know as much about them as possible. Then, dive into the writing of the biography and revising it until it is at its finest.

Researching Your Subject

Step 1 Ask the subject for permission to write the biography.

  • If the subject does not give you permission to write the biography, you may want to choose a different subject. If you decide to publish the biography without the subject’s permission, you may be susceptible to legal action by the subject.
  • If the subject is no longer alive, you obviously do not need to ask permission to write about them.

Step 2 Look for primary sources about the subject.

  • You may create research questions to help focus your research of the subject, such as, What do I find interesting about the subject? Why is this subject important to readers? What can I say that is new about the subject? What would I like to learn more about?

Step 3 Conduct interviews with the subject and those close to them.

  • For in person interviews, record them with a tape recorder or a voice recorder on your computer or phone.
  • You may need to interview the subject and others several times to get the material you need.

Step 4 Visit locations that are important to the subject.

  • You may also want to visit areas where the subject made a major decision or breakthrough in their life. Being physically in the area can give you a sense of how the subject might have felt and help you write their experiences more effectively.

Step 5 Study the time and place of the subject’s life.

  • When researching the time period ask yourself: What were the social norms of that time? What was going on economically and politically? How did the social and political climate affect the subject?

Step 6 Make a timeline...

  • You may also include historical events or moments that affected the subject on the timeline. For example, maybe there was a conflict or civil war that happened during the person’s life that affected their life.

Writing the Biography

Step 1 Go for a chronological structure.

  • You may end up focusing on particular areas of the person’s life. If you do this, work through a particular period in the person’s life chronologically.

Step 2 Create a thesis for the biography.

  • For example, you may have a thesis statement about focusing on how the person impacted the civil rights movement in America in the 1970s. You can then make sure all your content relates back to this thesis.

Step 3 Use flashbacks....

  • Flashbacks should feel as detailed and real as present day scenes. Use your research notes and interviews with the subject to get a good sense of their past for the flashbacks.
  • For example, you may jump from the person’s death in the present to a flashback to their favorite childhood memory.

Step 4 Focus on major events and milestones.

  • For example, you may focus on the person’s accomplishments in the civil rights movement. You may write a whole section about their contributions and participation in major civil rights marches in their hometown.

Step 5 Identify a major theme or pattern in the person’s life.

  • For example, you may notice that the person’s life is patterned with moments of adversity, where the person worked hard and fought against larger forces. You can then use the theme of overcoming adversity in the biography.

Step 6 Include your own opinions and thoughts about the person.

  • For example, you may note how you see parallels in the person’s life during the civil rights movement with your own interests in social justice. You may also commend the person for their hard work and positive impact on society.

Polishing the Biography

Step 1 Show the biography to others for feedback.

  • Revise the biography based on feedback from others. Do not be afraid to cut or edit down the biography to suit the needs of your readers.

Step 2 Proofread the biography.

  • Having a biography riddled with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors can turn off your readers and result in a poor grade if you are handing in the text for a class.

Step 3 Cite all sources...

  • If the biography is for a class, use MLA , APA , or Chicago Style citations based on the preferences of your instructor.

Biography Help

biography sentence using

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • Be careful when publishing private or embarrassing information, especially if the person is not a celebrity. You may violate their "Right of Privacy" or equivalent. Thanks Helpful 31 Not Helpful 5
  • Have the sources to back up your statements about the subject's life. Untruthful written statements can lead to litigation. If it is your opinion, be clear that it is such and not fact (although you can support your opinion with facts). Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 15

biography sentence using

You Might Also Like

Write an Autobiography

  • ↑ https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/writing/how-to-write-a-biography.html
  • ↑ https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-bio
  • ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/3-tips-for-writing-successful-flashbacks
  • ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-bio/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
  • ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources

About This Article

Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA

Before you write a biography, gather as much information about the subject that you can from sources like newspaper articles, interviews, photos, existing biographies, and anything else you can find. Write the story of that person’s life, including as much supporting detail as you can, including information about the place and time where the person lived. Focus on major events and milestones in their life, including historical events, marriage, children, and events which would shape their path later in life. For tips from our reviewer on proofreading the biography and citing your sources, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Literacy Ideas

How to Write a Biography

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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.

Visual Writing

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.

how to write a biography | Biography Autobiography 2022 | How to Write a Biography | literacyideas.com

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.

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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

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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.

Biography Graphic Organizer

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

writing checklists

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (92 Reviews)

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 a Biography in 8 Steps (The Non-Boring Way!)

Compelling biographies help us better connect with others while fostering empathy and understanding. Discover the steps to write one that captivates your audience!

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Have you ever been captivated by someone’s life story? From the ancient tales of great conquerors to the modern accounts of influential figures, biographies have enchanted readers and viewers for centuries. 

The stories of real people’s lives not only entertain and educate but also provide a unique window into the human experience. In fact, according to research 1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8796048/ , human stories like biographies can help us better connect with others while fostering empathy and understanding.

In this article, let’s dive into how to write a compelling biography, from the research phase to delivery.

What Are the Key Elements of a Biography?

The key elements of a well-written biography bring characters to life. They include thorough research, relevant interviews, clear structure, captivating prose, compelling themes, and a balance between objectivity and empathy. 

  • Thorough research: Helps create an accurate portrayal of your subject
  • Relevant interviews: Insights help provide a deeper understanding of your subject
  • Clear structure: Helps you outline your ideas for a compelling narrative
  • Captivating prose: Provides descriptive language to paint a picture of your subject
  • Compelling themes: Showcases the motivations and desires behind your subject
  • A balance between objectivity and empathy: Keeps biases in check and allows your subject to shine for who they are

As you develop your biography, remember that these stories hold an enduring appeal because they offer people an opportunity to explore the depths of the human psyche, unravel extraordinary accomplishments, and discover the vulnerabilities and triumphs of individuals who have left their mark on the world. 

Here are the topics a biography typically covers:

  • Early life and background : Provide context about the subject’s upbringing, family, and cultural influences.
  • Achievements and milestones: Highlight notable accomplishments, contributions, and significant events throughout their life.
  • Challenges and struggles: Explore the obstacles they faced, the lessons learned, and how they overcame adversity.
  • Personal characteristics: Describe their personality traits, values, beliefs, and motivations that shaped their actions and decisions.
  • Impact and legacy: Discuss the lasting influence and contributions of the subject, both during their lifetime and beyond.

Ready to start crafting your biography? Find greater success with this helpful goal-setting resource!

How To Set Better Goals Using Science

Do you set the same goals over and over again? If you’re not achieving your goals – it’s not your fault! Let me show you the science-based goal-setting framework to help you achieve your biggest goals.

Let’s look at the six key elements of a well-written biography more closely and the steps you can follow to develop your own.

How to Write a Biography in 8 Steps Using Key Elements

Choose your presentation format.

Presenting your biography can take on various forms, the most traditional being written form. The basis for this article assumes you’re writing a conventional biography; however, this foundation can also help you create a multimedia presentation or website as well. 

Consider these various formats to present your biography:

  • Traditional Written Biographies: This classic approach provides a comprehensive account of a person’s life through the written word. Traditional biographies can be published in print or ebooks , allowing readers to engage deeply with the subject’s story.
  • Multimedia Presentations: In the digital age, multimedia presentations offer a dynamic way to present biographies. Incorporate audio, video, photographs, and interactive elements to enhance the audience’s experience.
  • Online Platforms: Online platforms, such as blogs or dedicated biography websites, provide accessible avenues for sharing biographies. They allow for easy updates, reader engagement, and the incorporation of multimedia elements. 

Choose your subject and conduct research

To create a vivid and accurate portrayal of a person’s life, conduct extensive research. Dive into archives, read letters, examine diaries, explore photographs, and immerse yourself in the historical and cultural context surrounding your subject. This will help you unearth the small details that breathe life into your biography. 

Whether you’re writing a biography about a historical figure, contemporary icon, or everyday individual, you’ll want to consider the different factors to focus on. Here are some examples of three types of individuals and the kind of research that will be most helpful.

  • Historical Figures: When writing about historical figures, immerse yourself in their era. Understand the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped their lives. I recommend visiting your local library and connecting with a research librarian for support. Otherwise, other tools for historical research include Google Scholar. Analyze primary sources and multiple perspectives to present a well-rounded account.
  • Contemporary Icons: Biographies of modern icons offer a chance to delve into their ongoing impact. Conduct interviews or gather insights from their close associates to understand their present-day influence. Stay current with the latest developments, and be prepared to update your work as the subject’s story unfolds.
  • Everyday Individuals: Biographies need not be reserved for the famous. Every day individuals possess stories that can be just as compelling. Uncover the extraordinary within the ordinary, highlighting the struggles, triumphs, and personal growth of individuals who might otherwise remain unsung.
  • Yourself! Want to write a biography on yourself? Autobiographies are a great way to explore who you are. Get ready to do some serious self-reflection with the steps below.

Pro Tip: Compile your research digitally using helpful cloud filings systems like Google Drive , OneDrive , or Dropbox . Organize your files by category, including information about their youth, family, achievements, and life lessons. You may also choose to write down research references or collect paper clippings on note cards, categorizing your physical files of research along the way.

Develop compelling themes and motifs 

Identify overarching themes or motifs that emerge from the subject’s life. These could be resilience, ambition, love, or societal change. Weave these elements into the narrative, highlighting their significance and impact on the person’s journey. Here are some examples:

  • Overcoming Adversity: These biographies feature perseverance, resilience, and determination. Examples include Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, and Malala Yousafzai.
  • Pursuit of Excellence: These biographies highlight people who have worked tirelessly to achieve their goals. Examples include Steve Jobs, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan.
  • Quest for Knowledge: These biographies focus on the curiosity that led to significant contributions to our world. Examples include Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Charles Darwin.
  • Personal Transformation: These biographies explore a change in beliefs, values, or priorities. Examples include Malcolm X, Oprah Winfrey, and Maya Angelou.
  • Legacy and Impact: These biographies examine a body of work that made a lasting contribution to society. Examples include Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Conduct relevant interviews 

Whenever possible, seek firsthand accounts from those who knew or interacted with the subject. Conduct interviews with family members, friends, colleagues, or experts in the field. Their insights and anecdotes can provide a deeper understanding of the person’s character and experiences.

When conducting interviews for a biography, consider the following tips to ensure a productive and insightful conversation:

  • Familiarize yourself with the interviewee’s background and accomplishments.
  • Develop a list of well-thought-out questions that cover key aspects of their lives and experiences, including questions about your subject’s youth, family, achievements, and life transitions or struggles.
  • Begin the interview by establishing a comfortable and friendly atmosphere to put the interviewee at ease.
  • Show genuine interest in their story and listen actively to their responses.
  • Ask open-ended questions encouraging detailed and reflective responses.
  • Avoid yes/no questions and ask for their insights, memories, and personal perspectives.
  • Some topics you might consider for your questions include early life, achievements, challenges, motivations, values, relationships, lessons learned, and advice.
  • Pay close attention to the interviewee’s answers, body language, and tone of voice.
  • Ask follow-up questions to clarify or delve deeper into specific topics.
  • Show empathy and understanding, creating a safe space for the interviewee to share personal or sensitive information.
  • Remain flexible during the interview, allowing the conversation to flow naturally.
  • Be prepared to deviate from your prepared questions if unexpected but relevant topics arise.
  • Respect the interviewee’s boundaries and be mindful of any topics they may not wish to discuss.
  • Take thorough and organized notes during the interview to capture important details.
  • Consider recording the interview (with permission) to ensure accurate quotes and references.
  • Ask for permission to follow up with additional questions or for clarification.
  • Doing a biography on yourself? Ask yourself deep questions to harvest new stories and anecdotes.

Remember, the goal of the interview is to gather valuable information and personal perspectives that will contribute to the authenticity and depth of your biography. Approach the interview process with sensitivity, respect, and genuine curiosity about the interviewee’s life and experiences.

Develop a clear structure

Outline your biography, ensuring a logical and engaging narrative flow. Consider the chronological order, significant milestones, and turning points in the subject’s life. Organize your gathered information to capture the essence of their journey while maintaining a compelling rhythm throughout. 

A good outline for a biography can vary depending on the specific subject and the desired structure of the narrative. However, here’s a general outline that can serve as a starting point:

A. Introduction

a) Hook or engaging opening to capture the reader’s attention

b) Background information (birthplace, date, family, etc.)

c) A brief overview of the subject’s significance or why they are worth exploring

B. Early Life and Background

a) Childhood and upbringing

b) Influences, such as family, education, or cultural factors

c) Formative experiences or events that shaped the subject’s character or interests

C. Major Achievements and Milestones

a) A chronological exploration of the subject’s notable accomplishments, contributions, or milestones

b) Focus on key moments or achievements that highlight their impact or significance.

c) Provide context and details to paint a vivid picture of their achievements

D. Challenges and Obstacles

a) Discussion of the challenges, setbacks, or adversities the subject encountered

b) How they overcame obstacles or grew through difficult experiences

c) Insights into their resilience, determination, or problem-solving abilities

E. Personal Life and Relationships

a) Exploration of the subject’s relationships, such as family, friends, or romantic partners

b) Insights into their personal joys, struggles, or transformative experiences

c) How their personal life intersected with their professional or public achievements

F. Legacy and Impact

a) Examination of the subject’s lasting influence, contributions, or impact on society

b) Discuss how their work or actions continue to resonate or shape the world today

c) Reflection on their legacy and the lessons we can learn from their life story

G. Conclusion

a) Summarize the key aspects of the subject’s life and their significance

b) Provide a final reflection or insight on their overall journey or impact

c) Leave the reader with a lasting impression or call to action

Pro Tip: Looking for help drafting an outline to get you started? Use free tools like ChatGPT to jumpstart your outline by putting in a prompt request like, “Write an outline for a biography about X, including any relevant details on the subject that should be included.”

Craft captivating prose

Employ descriptive language to transport readers into the subject’s world. Paint vivid portraits of their physical appearance, mannerisms, and surroundings. Use sensory details to evoke emotions and create a strong connection between the reader and the subject. 

Here are some examples:

  • “She was a force of nature, with a fierce determination and an unwavering commitment to justice.” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
  • “His piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through you, and his voice had a commanding presence that demanded attention.” (Winston Churchill)
  • “She moved with a grace and elegance that belied her inner strength and resilience.” (Audrey Hepburn)
  • “His rugged features and piercing gaze made him a natural leading man, but it was his depth and vulnerability that set him apart.” (Marlon Brando)
  • “She had a contagious energy and a magnetic personality that drew people to her like a moth to a flame.” (Princess Diana)
  • “His quiet intensity and unwavering dedication to his craft made him one of the greatest artists of his time.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

Action Step: While writing descriptive prose takes some practice, it’s an art you can master with little creative writing skills. To help you write descriptive prose, practice closing your eyes and imagining your subject. 

  • What expression is on their face? 
  • How are they dressed? 
  • What does their body language express? 
  • How do they smell? 
  • How do they make you feel? 
  • How do they make others feel? 
  • What’s in their surroundings? 
  • What are they doing with their hands? 
  • What do you imagine they’re thinking about? 

With questions like these, you’ll start to use descriptive language to bring your subject to life.

Build a balance of objectivity and empathy

Strive for an objective portrayal while infusing empathy and understanding into your writing. Remain aware of biases and preconceived notions, giving your subject the space to shine in their unique light. 

To check yourself, filter your writing and interviewing with these tips:

  • Verify Information: Cross-reference information from various sources to ensure accuracy. Use tools like Fact Check Explorer to fact-check claims, dates, and events to avoid errors or inaccuracies that could skew the narrative. 
  • Multiple Perspectives: Seek out different viewpoints on the subject. This includes interviewing or reaching out to people with significant interactions or relationships with the subject. Incorporating diverse perspectives can counterbalance biases and provide a broader understanding.
  • Empathetic Listening: During interviews or conversations, practice active listening and empathize with the interviewee’s experiences and emotions. This allows you to understand the subject’s perspective and incorporate their insights and feelings into the narrative.
  • Contextualize Emotions: When sharing the subject’s emotional experiences or personal struggles, provide sufficient context and background. This helps readers understand the motivations and circumstances behind their actions and allows for empathetic understanding without veering into excessive sentimentality.
  • Credible Interpretation: While interpreting the subject’s thoughts, motives, or intentions, be clear about what is factual and what is speculative. Clearly distinguish between evidence-based information and your interpretations to maintain objectivity.
  • Respect Boundaries: Be mindful of the subject’s privacy and any requests they may have regarding sensitive or personal information. Respecting their boundaries shows empathy and allows for a respectful portrayal while maintaining the necessary level of objectivity.
  • Acknowledge Limitations: Recognize that achieving complete objectivity in a biography is challenging. Biases can inadvertently seep into the narrative. However, by being aware of your biases and consciously presenting a fair and balanced account, you can mitigate their influence.

Respect truth, privacy, and sensitivity

Remember, writing biographies carries ethical responsibilities. It’s important to maintain accuracy through credible research and gain consent while being sensitive to controversial or difficult topics. Here are some considerations:

  • Accuracy: Maintain a commitment to truth and accuracy. Verify facts and corroborate information from multiple sources to ensure the reliability of your narrative. Cite your sources and be transparent about any uncertainties or gaps in knowledge.
  • Privacy and Consent: Respect the privacy of living individuals mentioned in your biography. Seek consent when sharing personal details or sensitive information. Balance the subject’s right to privacy with the importance of honesty and transparency.
  • Sensitivity: Approach sensitive or controversial topics with care and empathy. Consider the potential impact of your words on the subject’s loved ones or affected communities—present differing perspectives without sensationalism or bias.

Writing a Biography FAQs

The length of a biography can vary greatly, depending on the subject and the depth of exploration. Some biographies span a few hundred pages, while others extend to multiple volumes. Focus on capturing the subject’s life’s essence rather than strictly adhering to a predetermined length.

Some common mistakes to avoid when writing a biography include the following: Lack of thorough research or reliance on a single source. Inaccurate or misleading information. Excessive personal bias or projection onto the subject. Neglecting to verify facts or failing to cite sources. Poor organization or a disjointed narrative flow. Neglecting to balance objectivity with empathy. Overloading the biography with irrelevant details or digressions. Failing to respect privacy or ethical considerations.

While chronological order is commonly used in biographies, it is not required. Some biographers employ a thematic approach or explore specific periods or events in the subject’s life. Experiment with different structures to find the most engaging way to tell your subject’s story.

The purpose of writing a biography is to capture and share an individual’s life story. Biographies provide insights into a person’s experiences, achievements, and challenges, offering readers inspiration, knowledge, and understanding. They preserve the legacy of individuals, contribute to historical records, and celebrate the diversity of human lives.

When choosing a subject for your biography, consider someone who inspires you, interests you, or has significantly impacted society. It could be a historical figure, a contemporary icon, or even an everyday individual with a remarkable story. Choose a subject with sufficient available information, access to primary sources or interviews, and a narrative that resonates with you and potential readers.

Key elements to include in a biography are: Early life and background: Provide context about the subject’s upbringing, family, and cultural influences. Achievements and milestones: Highlight notable accomplishments, contributions, and significant events throughout their life. Challenges and struggles: Explore the obstacles they faced, the lessons learned, and how they overcame adversity. Personal characteristics: Describe their personality traits, values, beliefs, and motivations that shaped their actions and decisions. Impact and legacy: Discuss the lasting influence and contributions of the subject, both during their lifetime and beyond.

Including personal anecdotes can add depth and humanize the subject of your biography. However, be selective and ensure that the stories are relevant, contribute to understanding the person’s character or experiences, and align with the overall narrative. Balancing personal anecdotes with factual information is critical to maintaining accuracy and credibility.

Conducting research for a biography involves exploring a variety of sources. Start with primary sources such as personal papers, letters, journals, and interviews with the subject or people who knew them. Secondary sources such as books, articles, and academic papers provide additional context and perspectives. Online databases, archives, libraries, and museums are valuable resources for finding relevant information.

Consult a wide range of sources to ensure a comprehensive and accurate biography. Primary sources, such as personal documents, letters, diaries, and interviews, offer firsthand accounts and unique insights. Secondary sources provide broader context and analysis, including books, articles, scholarly works, and historical records. Remember to evaluate the credibility and reliability of your sources critically.

Organize the information in your biography logically and engagingly. Consider using a chronological structure, starting with the subject’s early life and progressing through significant events and milestones. Alternatively, adopt a thematic approach, grouping related information based on themes or significant aspects of their life. Use clear headings, subheadings, and transitions to guide readers through the narrative flow.

Writing Biographies Key Takeaways

In summary, take note of these ideas and tips before you start writing your biography:

  • Biographies hold enduring appeal, offering a glimpse into the human experience across time.
  • Thorough research, interviews, and captivating prose are essential for crafting compelling biographies.
  • Ethical considerations, such as accuracy, privacy, and sensitivity, are crucial when writing about real people’s lives.
  • Choose subjects that genuinely inspire and resonate with you.
  • Immerse yourself in the subject’s world to understand their motivations and challenges.
  • Develop strong research skills and utilize a wide range of sources.
  • Craft a compelling narrative that engages readers from the very first page.
  • Seek feedback from trusted sources to refine your writing and storytelling abilities.
  • Continuously explore new biographies to broaden your understanding of different styles and approaches.
  • Embrace the unique voice and perspective you bring to the storytelling process.

Writing a biography book? Check out this helpful article, How to Write a Book: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Start Writing !

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Definition of biography

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So You've Been Asked to Submit a Biography

In a library, the word biography refers both to a kind of book and to a section where books of that kind are found. Each biography tells the story of a real person's life. A biography may be about someone who lived long ago, recently, or even someone who is still living, though in the last case it must necessarily be incomplete. The term autobiography refers to a biography written by the person it's about. Autobiographies are of course also necessarily incomplete.

Sometimes biographies are significantly shorter than a book—something anyone who's been asked to submit a biography for, say, a conference or a community newsletter will be glad to know. Often the word in these contexts is shortened to bio , a term that can be both a synonym of biography and a term for what is actually a biographical sketch: a brief description of a person's life. These kinds of biographies—bios—vary, but many times they are only a few sentences long. Looking at bios that have been used in the same context can be a useful guide in determining what to put in your own.

Examples of biography in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Late Greek biographia , from Greek bi- + -graphia -graphy

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Dictionary Entries Near biography

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Cite this Entry

“Biography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biography. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.

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Posted on Jun 30, 2023

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

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About Dario Villirilli

Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

1. Seek permission when possible 

2. research your subject thoroughly, 3. do interviews and visit locations, 4. organize your findings, 5. identify a central thesis, 6. write it using narrative elements, 7. get feedback and polish the text.

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While you technically don’t need permission to write about public figures (or deceased ones), that doesn't guarantee their legal team won't pursue legal action against you. Author Kitty Kelley was sued by Frank Sinatra before she even started to write His Way , a biography that paints Ol Blue Eyes in a controversial light. (Kelley ended up winning the lawsuit, however).  

biography sentence using

Whenever feasible, advise the subject’s representatives of your intentions. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get a green light to proceed, or potentially an offer to collaborate. It's a matter of common sense; if someone were to write a book about you, you would likely want to know about it well prior to publication. So, make a sincere effort to reach out to their PR staff to negotiate an agreement or at least a mutual understanding of the scope of your project. 

At the same time, make sure that you still retain editorial control over the project, and not end up writing a puff piece that treats its protagonist like a saint or hero. No biography can ever be entirely objective, but you should always strive for a portrayal that closely aligns with facts and reality.

If you can’t get an answer from your subject, or you’re asked not to proceed forward, you can still accept the potential repercussions and write an unauthorized biography . The “rebellious act” of publishing without consent indeed makes for great marketing, though it’ll likely bring more headaches with it too. 

✋ Please note that, like other nonfiction books, if you intend to release your biography with a publishing house , you can put together a book proposal to send to them before you even write the book. If they like it enough, they might pay you an advance to write it.  

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Once you’ve settled (or not) the permission part, it’s time to dive deep into your character’s story.  

Deep and thorough research skills are the cornerstone of every biographer worth their salt. To paint a vivid and accurate portrait of someone's life, you’ll have to gather qualitative information from a wide range of reliable sources. 

Start with the information already available, from books on your subject to archival documents, then collect new ones firsthand by interviewing people or traveling to locations. 

Browse the web and library archives

Illustration of a biographer going into research mode.

Put your researcher hat on and start consuming any piece on your subject you can find, from their Wikipedia page to news articles, interviews, TV and radio appearances, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, magazines, and any other media outlets they may have been featured in. 

Establish a system to orderly collect the information you find 一 even seemingly insignificant details can prove valuable during the writing process, so be sure to save them. 

Depending on their era, you may find most of the information readily available online, or you may need to search through university libraries for older references. 

Photo of Alexander Hamilton

For his landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow spent untold hours at Columbia University’s library , reading through the Hamilton family papers, visiting the New York Historical Society, as well as interviewing the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange, and so on. The research process took years, but it certainly paid off. Chernow discovered that Hamilton created the first five securities originally traded on Wall Street. This finding, among others, revealed his significant contributions to shaping the current American financial and political systems, a legacy previously often overshadowed by other founding fathers. Today Alexander Hamilton is one of the best-selling biographies of all time, and it has become a cultural phenomenon with its own dedicated musical. 

Besides reading documents about your subject, research can help you understand the world that your subject lived in. 

Try to understand their time and social environment

Many biographies show how their protagonists have had a profound impact on society through their philosophical, artistic, or scientific contributions. But at the same time, it’s worth it as a biographer to make an effort to understand how their societal and historical context influenced their life’s path and work.

An interesting example is Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World . Finding himself limited by a lack of verified detail surrounding William Shakespeare's personal life, Greenblatt, instead, employs literary interpretation and imaginative reenactments to transport readers back to the Elizabethan era. The result is a vivid (though speculative) depiction of the playwright's life, enriching our understanding of his world.

Painting of William Shakespeare in colors

Many readers enjoy biographies that transport them to a time and place, so exploring a historical period through the lens of a character can be entertaining in its own right. The Diary of Samuel Pepys became a classic not because people were enthralled by his life as an administrator, but rather from his meticulous and vivid documentation of everyday existence during the Restoration period.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on as many secondary sources as you can find, you’ll want to go hunting for stories first-hand from people who are (or were) close to your subject.

With all the material you’ve been through, by now you should already have a pretty good picture of your protagonist. But you’ll surely have some curiosities and missing dots in their character development to figure out, which you can only get by interviewing primary sources.

Interview friends and associates

This part is more relevant if your subject is contemporary, and you can actually meet up or call with relatives, friends, colleagues, business partners, neighbors, or any other person related to them. 

In writing the popular biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson interviewed more than one hundred people, including Jobs’s family, colleagues, former college mates, business rivals, and the man himself.

🔍 Read other biographies to get a sense of what makes a great one. Check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time , or take our 30-second quiz below for tips on which one you should read next. 

Which biography should you read next?

Discover the perfect biography for you. Takes 30 seconds!

When you conduct your interviews, make sure to record them with high quality audio you can revisit later. Then use tools like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe them 一 it’ll save you countless hours. 

You can approach the interview with a specific set of questions, or follow your curiosity blindly, trying to uncover revealing stories and anecdotes about your subject. Whatever your method, author and biography editor Tom Bromley suggests that every interviewer arrives prepared, "Show that you’ve done your work. This will help to put the interviewee at ease, and get their best answers.” 

Bromley also places emphasis on the order in which you conduct interviews. “You may want to interview different members of the family or friends first, to get their perspective on something, and then go directly to the main interviewee. You'll be able to use that knowledge to ask sharper, more specific questions.” 

Finally, consider how much time you have with each interviewee. If you only have a 30-minute phone call with an important person, make it count by asking directly the most pressing questions you have. And, if you find a reliable source who is also particularly willing to help, conduct several interviews and ask them, if appropriate, to write a foreword as part of the book’s front matter .

Sometimes an important part of the process is packing your bags, getting on a plane, and personally visiting significant places in your character’s journey.

Visit significant places in their life

A place, whether that’s a city, a rural house, or a bodhi tree, can carry a particular energy that you can only truly experience by being there. In putting the pieces together about someone’s life, it may be useful to go visit where they grew up, or where other significant events of their lives happened. It will be easier to imagine what they experienced, and better tell their story. 

In researching The Lost City of Z , author David Grann embarked on a trek through the Amazon, retracing the steps of British explorer Percy Fawcett. This led Grann to develop new theories about the circumstances surrounding the explorer's disappearance.

Still from the movie The Lost City of Z in which the explorer is surrounded by an Amazon native tribe

Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with jaguars and anacondas to better understand your subject’s environment, but try to walk into their shoes as much as possible. 

Once you’ve researched your character enough, it’s time to put together all the puzzle pieces you collected so far. 

Take the bulk of notes, media, and other documents you’ve collected, and start to give them some order and structure. A simple way to do this is by creating a timeline. 

Create a chronological timeline

It helps to organize your notes chronologically 一 from childhood to the senior years, line up the most significant events of your subject’s life, including dates, places, names and other relevant bits. 

Timeline of Steve Jobs' career

You should be able to divide their life into distinct periods, each with their unique events and significance. Based on that, you can start drafting an outline of the narrative you want to create.  

Draft a story outline 

Since a biography entails writing about a person’s entire life, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can pick where you want to end the story, depending on how consequential the last years of your subject were. But the nature of the work will give you a starting character arc to work with. 

To outline the story then, you could turn to the popular Three-Act Structure , which divides the narrative in three main parts. In a nutshell, you’ll want to make sure to have the following:

  • Act 1. Setup : Introduce the protagonist's background and the turning points that set them on a path to achieve a goal. 
  • Act 2. Confrontation : Describe the challenges they encounter, both internal and external, and how they rise to them. Then..
  • Act 3. Resolution : Reach a climactic point in their story in which they succeed (or fail), showing how they (and the world around them) have changed as a result. 

Only one question remains before you begin writing: what will be the main focus of your biography?

Think about why you’re so drawn to your subject to dedicate years of your life to recounting their own. What aspect of their life do you want to highlight? Is it their evil nature, artistic genius, or visionary mindset? And what evidence have you got to back that up? Find a central thesis or focus to weave as the main thread throughout your narrative. 

Cover of Hitler and Stalin by Alan Bullock

Or find a unique angle

If you don’t have a particular theme to explore, finding a distinct angle on your subject’s story can also help you distinguish your work from other biographies or existing works on the same subject.

Plenty of biographies have been published about The Beatles 一 many of which have different focuses and approaches: 

  • Philip Norman's Shout is sometimes regarded as leaning more towards a pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney stance, offering insights into the band's inner dynamics. 
  • Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head closely examines their music track by track, shifting the focus back to McCartney as a primary creative force. 
  • Craig Brown's One Two Three Four aims to capture their story through anecdotes, fan letters, diary entries, and interviews. 
  • Mark Lewisohn's monumental three-volume biography, Tune In , stands as a testament to over a decade of meticulous research, chronicling every intricate detail of the Beatles' journey.

Group picture of The Beatles

Finally, consider that biographies are often more than recounting the life of a person. Similar to how Dickens’ Great Expectations is not solely about a boy named Pip (but an examination and critique of Britain’s fickle, unforgiving class system), a biography should strive to illuminate a broader truth — be it social, political, or human — beyond the immediate subject of the book. 

Once you’ve identified your main focus or angle, it’s time to write a great story. 

Illustration of a writer mixing storytelling ingredients

While biographies are often highly informative, they do not have to be dry and purely expository in nature . You can play with storytelling elements to make it an engaging read. 

You could do that by thoroughly detailing the setting of the story , depicting the people involved in the story as fully-fledged characters , or using rising action and building to a climax when describing a particularly significant milestone of the subject’s life. 

One common way to make a biography interesting to read is starting on a strong foot…

Hook the reader from the start

Just because you're honoring your character's whole life doesn't mean you have to begin when they said their first word. Starting from the middle or end of their life can be more captivating as it introduces conflicts and stakes that shaped their journey.

When he wrote about Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild , author Jon Krakauer didn’t open his subject’s childhood and abusive family environment. Instead, the book begins with McCandless hitchhiking his way into the wilderness, and subsequently being discovered dead in an abandoned bus. By starting in the middle of the action  in medias res, Krakauer hooks the reader’s interest, before tracing back the causes and motivations that led McCandless to die alone in that bus in the first place.

Chris McCandless self-portrait in front of the now iconic bus

You can bend the timeline to improve the reader’s reading experience throughout the rest of the story too…

Play with flashback 

While biographies tend to follow a chronological narrative, you can use flashbacks to tell brief stories or anecdotes when appropriate. For example, if you were telling the story of footballer Lionel Messi, before the climax of winning the World Cup with Argentina, you could recall when he was just 13 years old, giving an interview to a local newspaper, expressing his lifelong dream of playing for the national team. 

Used sparsely and intentionally, flashbacks can add more context to the story and keep the narrative interesting. Just like including dialogue does…

Reimagine conversations

Recreating conversations that your subject had with people around them is another effective way to color the story. Dialogue helps the reader imagine the story like a movie, providing a deeper sensory experience. 

biography sentence using

One thing is trying to articulate the root of Steve Jobs’ obsession with product design, another would be to quote his father , teaching him how to build a fence when he was young: “You've got to make the back of the fence just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it, you will know. And that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect.”

Unlike memoirs and autobiographies, in which the author tells the story from their personal viewpoint and enjoys greater freedom to recall conversations, biographies require a commitment to facts. So, when recreating dialogue, try to quote directly from reliable sources like personal diaries, emails, and text messages. You could also use your interview scripts as an alternative to dialogue. As Tom Bromley suggests, “If you talk with a good amount of people, you can try to tell the story from their perspective, interweaving different segments and quoting the interviewees directly.”

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These are just some of the story elements you can use to make your biography more compelling. Once you’ve finished your manuscript, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback. 

If you’re going to publish your own  biography, you’ll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and edit your own manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs. 

Illustration of an editor reviewing a manuscript

Then, have a professional editor give you a general assessment. They’ll look at the structure and shape of your manuscript and tell you which parts need to be expanded on or cut. As someone who edited and commissioned several biographies, Tom Bromley points out that a professional “will look at the sources used and assess whether they back up the points made, or if more are needed. They would also look for context, and whether or not more background information is needed for the reader to understand the story fully. And they might check your facts, too.”  

In addition to structural editing, you may want to have someone copy-edit and proofread your work.

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Importantly, make sure to include a bibliography with a list of all the interviews, documents, and sources used in the writing process. You’ll have to compile it according to a manual of style, but you can easily create one by using tools like EasyBib . Once the text is nicely polished and typeset in your writing applications , you can prepare for the publication process.  

In conclusion, by mixing storytelling elements with diligent research, you’ll be able to breathe life into a powerful biography that immerses readers in another individual’s life experience. Whether that’ll spark inspiration or controversy, remember you could have an important role in shaping their legacy 一 and that’s something not to take lightly. 

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Victims of sex crimes deserve mercy even when they kill those who exploited them

To recommend a sentence of time served to the judge would be an act of courage and grace. no public purpose is served by incarcerating kizer any longer..

biography sentence using

Chrystul Kizer will be sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to reckless homicide in the death of her pimp, Randy Volar. She was 16 when Volar first met her through Backpage.com, a site that has been shut down for the sex trafficking of women and girls. Volar was twice her age. The case is extraordinary for many reasons, including that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that Kizer can use a defense at trial that could excuse her for crimes committed that are a direct result of trafficking.

The ruling signifies a new understanding of the trauma associated with being a victim of sex trafficking, and changes the valence of this case. Instead of seeing Kizer as simply a cold-blooded criminal, it requires that the court take into consideration how her victimization at such a young age led her to the act.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court said, “Unlike many crimes, which occur at discrete points in time, human trafficking can trap victims in a cycle of seemingly inescapable abuse that can continue for months or even years.” Kizer's young life was rife with abuse ; she went from being a gifted violin player to an impoverished sophomore in high school who needed money for school supplies.

DA should use discretion to show seriousness of human trafficking

And now she stands to be sentenced. Given the extremely compelling facts of this case, the most just sentence for her is to consider her sentence as time served. The Kenosha County District Attorney, Michael Graveley, can use his prosecutorial discretion to recommend and the judge to sentence her to time served. He has succeeded in securing a guilty plea; recommending time served will show that the State takes seriously the crime of sex trafficking.

Legacy in jeopardy: Harley-Davidson kicks American workers in the teeth by moving some production to Thailand

“The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America,” said Robert Jackson , the Attorney General of the United States in 1940. Prosecutorial discretion is a bedrock value of the American justice system. District Attorney Michael Gravely has the discretion to show some grace to Kizer.

Here's why Kizer’s sentence should be time served. From the time she met Volar when she was 16, she was psychologically imprisoned by him through threats, promises, and sexual exploitation. After his death, she was imprisoned by the State, and has endured six more years of hell and punishment for an act that arguably could have been avoided if police had brought charges against Volar for child sexual exploitation when they could have. 

Kenosha authorities knew about sex trafficking ring

The Kenosha Police Department had extensive evidence that Volar was operating a child sex trafficking ring at the time of his death. A 15-year-old girl had called 911 for help after fleeing Volar’s house, and was found wandering the street drugged and half-naked on a February night. Police searched Volar’s house ten days later and seized a mountain of evidence, including videos of clearly underaged girls, home videos of Volar sexually assaulting them, bikini bottoms, underwear, and women’s pajamas.

Moreover, there were videos where Volar instructed the girls on performing sexual acts in preparation for them to be sold into prostitution. Kizer was identified as one of the girls in the videos. Despite all this evidence, the police arrested Volar but he was released the same day and no bail was posted. In fact, no case was entered into the system.

MPS crisis: Black and Hispanic families in Milwaukee deserve better than status quo in school system

The day of Volar’s death, his bank alerted Kenosha police of suspicious financial activity that triggered an alarm for potential trafficking activity. Volar had around $800,000 in his account that was in cryptocurrency, and transactions involving $1.5 million. Yet as far as the public knows, no investigation of this activity has taken place. Although the evidentiary trail might be cold at this point, the photos, videos, computer evidence and bank transactions may lead to other members of the trafficking ring. Bringing these predators to justice would be a great victory for Wisconsin.

Graveley already has won the case; he has secured a guilty plea. To recommend a sentence of time served to the judge would be an act of courage and grace. No public purpose is served by incarcerating Kizer any longer. She does not pose any threat to society. Instead, the state should offer her resources and support to help her reintegrate into society and recover from this horrific tragedy; one for which she has paid dearly in her short life.

Diane L. Rosenfeld i s the director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard Law School and author of the book The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance.

Man who faked death learns prison sentence

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LONDON, Ky. (WYMT) - Jesse Kipf, 39, was sentenced to 81 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to his plea agreement, Kipf intentionally accessed a computer without authorization and then obtained information from a protected computer for his own private gain and in furtherance of identity theft.

Previous coverage

Kipf accessed the Hawaii Death Registry System in January 2023, using the username and password of a physician living in another state, and created a “case” for his own death.

The Somerset man admitted that he faked his own death, in part, to avoid his outstanding child support obligations.

Kipf also infiltrated other states’ death registry systems, private business networks, and governmental and corporate networks using credentials he stole from real people.

He then tried to sell access to these networks to potential buyers on the dark net, an overlay network within the internet that can only be accessed with specific software, configurations, or authorization and is commonly associated with the sale of illicit goods and services.

“This scheme was a cynical and destructive effort, based in part on the inexcusable goal of avoiding his child support obligations,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This case is a stark reminder of how damaging criminals with computers can be, and how critically important computer and online security is to us all. Fortunately, through the excellent work of our law enforcement partners, this case will serve as a warning to other cyber criminals, and he will face the consequences of his disgraceful conduct.”

Under federal law, Kipf must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.

Following his release from prison, Kipf will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

The damage to governmental and corporate computer systems and his failure to pay his child support obligations amounted to a total of $195,758.65.

Copyright 2024 WYMT. All rights reserved.

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Steven Todd Layne was a senior at East Ridge High School where he graduate with a G.P.A. of 4.05!

A.R.H. Mountain Student Achiever – Steven Todd Layne

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Steven Todd Layne was a senior at East Ridge High School where he graduate with a G.P.A. of 4.05!

Chicago-area school worker who stole chicken wings during pandemic gets 9 years: Reports

Vera liddell, 68, was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings by using her school district's funds during the covid-19 pandemic, prosecutors say..

A former food service director at a school district in the Chicago area has been sentenced to nine years in prison after admitting she stole $1.5 million worth of chicken wings, according to news reports.

Vera Liddell, who served in the director role for Harvey School District 152 near Chicago, is incarcerated at the Cook County Jail for theft and operating a criminal enterprise, WGN , ABC News and CBS News reported. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 to the charges and got a nine-year prison sentence, the outlets said, citing prosecutors.

The 68-year-old Liddell stole the mounds of meat intended to be take-home meals for students learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, WGN reported, citing Cook County prosecutors.

USA TODAY reached out to the Cook County District Attorney's Office but did not immediately hear back Monday afternoon. USA TODAY was also working to identify Liddell's defense attorney.

How did Vera Liddell steal the chicken wings?

Liddell's job involved placing orders with Gordon Food Services, a main supplier for the school district, prosecutors said, according to ABC News. She placed the orders and did the billing but kept the chicken wings between July 2020 and February 2022, prosecutors said.

Between August and November 2021, Liddell ordered more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the food provider and then picked up the orders in a district cargo van, CBS News said, citing prosecutors.

“The massive fraud began at the height of COVID during a time when students were not allowed to be physically present in school,” read a proffer presented at Liddell’s bond hearing in 2023, according to WGN. “Even though the children were learning remotely, the school district continued to provide meals for the students that their families could pick up.”

The chicken theft operation was discovered in 2023 when an audit found that the district's food service department exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 halfway through the school year, prosecutors said, according to ABC News.

The business manager for the district then found the invoices for the chicken wings, which was odd because it is a food item that wouldn't be served to students because they contain bones, the outlet said, citing court records.

USA TODAY contacted Gordon Food Services and the school district but has not received responses.

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biography sentence using

What does demure mean? Why is everyone using it? New TikTok trend explained.

Being described as demure was the traditional way of describing a woman who was quiet, reserved or modest in her manner or persona, certainly the opposite of racy, standout and loud.

TikTok user Jools Lebron has gained some notoriety over her new use of the word "demure."

She used the words demure and mindful to describe ways to behave while at work, on a plane, around others or their looks.

The dictionary definition for the word demure means reserved, modest, serious, shy and the term mindful means to be conscious or aware of something.

Lebron's use of the word would describe demure as classy, put-together, subtle or elegant in a cutesy kind of way. She started the trend with a TikTok video on Aug. 2, "how to be demure at work" she says "see how I come to work, very demure, I do my makeup, I lay my wig, I do a little braid, I flat iron my hair, I do chi-chi bout, I do viral vanilla, very demure, very mindful, lets not forget to be demure divas."

The original TikTok video post got millions of likes and she has since made many other videos in the same vane, describing how she handles daily situations, like how she dresses when going to work, how she dresses on a plane, visiting New York in a demure way, how to have a demure drink, how to behave with hotel staff in a demure way, how to respond to drama in a demure way, how to wear a Kim Kardashian wig in a demure way and many more how-tos.

Lebron's TikTok video about how to be demure and modest and respectful at the work place got over 22 million views.

Lebron started a trend that has since gone viral with other users now making videos and posts about being or behaving "demure" in their daily lives or activities.

In a more recent TikTok video on Tuesday , Lebron posted in tears, how the "demure" trend has changed her life.

"Maybe you should make the videos because one day I was playing cashier and making videos on my break and now I’m flying across the country to host events, and I’m going to be able to finance the rest of my transition."

Besides being a makeup artist and TikTok influencer, Lebron also used the platform to open up about being a "plus-sized trans woman" in a TikTok video last year , "Growing up, I was always into feminine things. I like dolls, I was always into Disney Princesses, Bratz, some things never change,” she reflected. “Obviously my family thought it was a phase … it wasn’t. But growing up I never saw myself as a boy liking other boys. I was always like, ‘I’m the girl.’”

Now Is the Time for Death Penalty Abolitionists to Join the Effort to End Life Without Parole Sentences

Now Is the Time for Death Penalty Abolitionists to Join the Effort to End Life Without Parole Sentences

This fall, state supreme courts in Michigan and Pennsylvania will hear cases challenging their states’ use of life without parole sentences. In Michigan, the court will consider whether to ban automatic life without parole sentences for people who are 19 or 20 years old and who commit murder. The court is being asked to expand its 2022 ruling prohibiting the use of such sentences in cases of 18-year-olds.

In Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from Derek Lee, who claims that mandatory life without parole as a punishment for felony murder constitutes cruel punishment under the Pennsylvania constitution. Lee was convicted of felony murder in 2016 when his accomplice fatally shot someone during a robbery.

These cases represent important developments in an emerging movement to scale back and reconsider America’s use of a draconian punishment that activists insist should rightly be called “death by incarceration.” They offer an opportunity for death penalty abolitionists to join in the work of ending this other kind of death penalty.

That will not be an easy thing for them to do.

The difficulty arises not because they favor harsh punishments but because they have in the past used support for life without parole as a tactic in the struggle to end capital punishment in this country. Doing so has helped death penalty opponents escape the charge that they are soft on crime.

We know that great progress has been made in that struggle. Public opinion has shifted , and now, more people in the United States think that the death penalty is applied unfairly than think it is fairly applied. And support for its use is declining.

Today, according to the Death Penalty Information Center , a majority of Americans say that “life imprisonment is a better approach for punishing murder than is the death penalty…. 60% percent of Americans asked to choose whether the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole ‘is the better penalty for murder’ chose the life-sentencing option. 36% favored the death penalty.”

Before saying more about what death penalty abolitionists should now do about life without parole, let’s look at some of the basic facts about such sentences.

As Human Rights Watch notes , “Life without parole sentences are virtually unheard of in the rest of the world. The United States holds 83 percent of the world’s population serving prison sentences of life without parole….”

While capital punishment has been scaled back across the country, life sentences have increased four-fold over the past two decades, according to The Sentencing Project . LWOP sentences increased by nearly 60% from 2003 to 2016.

Roughly 53,000 people in American prisons are now serving LWOP . It wasn’t always this way.

A 2006 Note in Harvard Law Review makes that clear . “Historically,” it says, “public zeal for longer prison terms has not paralleled public zeal for the death penalty. In fact, the movement to lock people up for longer periods has sometimes inversely tracked support for the death penalty, with advocates promoting in order to decrease the other.”

For much of American history, life sentences were not life sentences.

That is because they involved “the possibility of a shorter term in prison and the presumption of eventual release. In the federal system, for example, as far back as 1913, parole reviews took place after serving 15 years, though remaining incarcerated for the rest of one’s life was still possible. In Louisiana, the so-called ‘10/6 law’ that was in place from 1926 until the 1970s meant that life-sentenced prisoners were typically released after a decade if they demonstrated ‘good behavior.’”

Before the Supreme Court’s 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia , “only seven states had life without parole statutes,” and “even though they were authorized, LWOP was infrequently used.”

Early adopters included an unusual group of states : Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and West Virginia. The Harvard Note explains that “the first such statutes were promoted by prosecutors and enacted by law-and-order legislators who were fearful of facing a punishment scheme without a capital option.”

Texas was the last state to add LWOP to its punishment menu in 2005. Today, Louisiana has the highest proportion of its prison population serving life without parole sentences, at more than 15%.

As a 2023 Sentencing Project report says , “Two in five people sentenced to life without parole were 25 and under at the time of their conviction.” And the racial disparities that are pervasive in the death penalty system are also seen when LWOP is the punishment .

More than half the people serving life without parole are Black, although Black people make up less than 14 percent of the national population.

What role did death penalty abolitionists play in the growth of LWOP? The evidence suggests it was substantial.

For example, the Harvard Note suggests that “Abolitionists…blitzed both legislatures and the media with pleas to adopt life-without-parole statutes in order to reduce executions, arguing that ‘[t]he sentence of life without parole is a stronger, fairer, and more reliable punishment.’”

The result, it argues, “has been a strange pairing of death penalty abolitionists with pro-incarceration activists and legislators, joining to push life without parole statutes through state legislatures. They have been remarkably successful.”

Christopher Seeds, author of Death by Prison: The Emergence of Life Without Parole and Perpetual Confinement , agrees . “Support for life without parole among members of the anti-death penalty movement and capital defense bar,” Seeds writes, “inspired greater use of the sentence while simultaneously curbing left-wing opposition.”

A piece published this year in the Columbia Law Review Forum contends that “The abolitionist focus on the barbarity of the death penalty rendered the harms of LWOP largely ‘invisible’ as a site of concern for human rights activists.” This strategy was “remarkably successful…. It was this concurrence of the anti-death penalty movement with the age of tough-on-crime laws of the 1990s that transformed life sentences into death by incarceration.”

Looking at what has come of the abolitionist community’s advocacy for LWOP, it is not clear that it has produced a real benefit for the abolitionist movement.

The Harvard Note explains that “A state by state analysis confirms that life without parole statutes are relatively minor factor in the reduced number of executions over the past several years…. Although they may play a part in the reduction of death sentences…the patterns of death sentences in different states mirror each other, regardless of whether or when those states passed life without parole statutes.”

In addition, LWOP statutes reach far beyond the group of criminal defendants who are, or would have been, caught up in a capital prosecution. What this means is that abolitionists have endorsed a policy that “holds 25 men in prison until their natural deaths in order to spare one man….”

That is not a trade-off that abolitionists should or need to accept any longer.

The cases in Michigan and Pennsylvania offer a chance to address that trade-off and highlight the “ slow process of annihilation ” that LWOP produces.

Posted in: Constitutional Law , Courts and Procedure , Criminal Law

Tags: capital punishment , Death Penalty , life without the possibility of parole

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Americans Should Not Be Afraid to Reform the Supreme Court

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  1. Biography Sentence Starters by CactusCoffeeTeach

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  2. Sentences with Biography, Biography in a Sentence in English, Sentences

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  6. 40 Autobiography Examples ( + Autobiographical Essay Templates)

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COMMENTS

  1. Examples of 'Biography' in a Sentence

    As his biography notes, he was born to a musical family in Artemisa, Cuba, and was singing and learning how to play the guitar by age 6. —. Randy McMullen, The Mercury News , 8 May 2024. The two had also reportedly butted heads over the making of films such as Black Panther, according to Iger's biography. —.

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    A typical note card would provide a biography of an author or a review of a book. Show More Sentences. What political written last or this century has included every last detail. For example, Hawass said, on show along with the mummy of Ramses II would be models of his Nubian temples, statues, reliefs and a .

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    See why leading organizations rely on MasterClass for learning & development. Biographies are how we learn information about another human being's life. Whether you want to start writing a biography about a famous person, historical figure, or an influential family member, it's important to know all the elements that make a biography worth ...

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    2. Introduce yourself… like a real person. This is one of the most important pieces of understanding how to write a personal biography. Always start with your name. When many people start learning how to write a bio, they skip this important part. People need to know who you are before they learn what you do.

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    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 ...

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    Keep it short, but readable. If you're required to keep your biography to just one sentence, you have just 15 to 20 words on average to get your point across. You need to be succinct and make every word count. As such, remove superlatives and flowery language that could make it harder to read. This is not the place to be cute or show off ...

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    1. Go for a chronological structure. Start chronologically from the subject's birth to their death or later life. Use the timeline of the person's life to structure the biography. Start with birth and childhood. Then, go into young adulthood and adulthood.

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    English Sentences Focusing on Words and Their Word Families The Word "Biography" in Example Sentences Page 1. 539150 I'm an avid reader of biographies . darinmex 2280563 The book contains fifteen biographies . AlanF_US 28289 Great geniuses have the shortest biographies . CK 325864 A good biography is interesting and instructive.

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    Conduct relevant interviews. Whenever possible, seek firsthand accounts from those who knew or interacted with the subject. Conduct interviews with family members, friends, colleagues, or experts in the field. Their insights and anecdotes can provide a deeper understanding of the person's character and experiences.

  18. Biography Definition & Meaning

    biography: [noun] a usually written history of a person's life.

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    High quality sentence examples for BIOGRAPHY from reliable contexts. lengusa is the first machine learning-powered sentence search engine that helps you write better English and feel more confident about it.

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    7. Get feedback and polish the text. If you're going to publish your own biography, you'll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and edit your own manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs.

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  23. Sentence Starters for Biography Writing with Years 3-6

    Support your Year 3-6 students to write a biography! Provide your students with a little bit of inspiration and guidance when writing a biography with these biography themed sentence starters and suggested phrases to get them started. These sentence starters and connectives will help scaffold the writing of biographies from your students that ...

  24. Lincoln 'keyboard warrior' jailed for part in UK disorder

    A man who posted material on social media to stir up racial hatred during recent unrest across the UK has been jailed for three years. Wayne O'Rourke, who had more than 90,000 followers to his X ...

  25. In Wisconsin's Chrystul Kizer case, she deserves her freedom

    Here's why Kizer's sentence should be time served. From the time she met Volar when she was 16, she was psychologically imprisoned by him through threats, promises, and sexual exploitation.

  26. Man who faked death learns prison sentence

    LONDON, Ky. (WYMT) - Jesse Kipf, 39, of Somerset, was sentenced to 81 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to his ...

  27. Fox's Ari Fleischer Predicts Judge Merchan Will Sentence Trump to

    Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer predicted that Judge Juan Merchan will sentence Donald Trump to prison if he does not throw out his guilty ruling. The post Fox's Ari Fleischer Predicts Judge ...

  28. Illinois schools worker who stole chicken wings gets 9 years: Reports

    Vera Liddell, 68, was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings by using her school district's funds, prosecutors say.

  29. What does demure mean? Why is everyone using it? New TikTok trend

    Lebron's use of the word would describe demure as classy, put-together, subtle or elegant in a cutesy kind of way. She started the trend with a TikTok video on Aug. 2, ...

  30. Now Is the Time for Death Penalty Abolitionists to Join the Effort to

    The United States holds 83 percent of the world's population serving prison sentences of life without parole…." While capital punishment has been scaled back across the country, life sentences have increased four-fold over the past two decades, according to The Sentencing Project. LWOP sentences increased by nearly 60% from 2003 to 2016.