Biography Writing

Outlining

Another key to writing a biography is to know how to collect the information that you are going to include. Generally, it is best to start with an outline so you will know what details are going to be included in the biography. Do you want to focus on a person's whole life, or do you want to focus on a significant or specific aspect of what that person has done?

Organizing

Biographies should generally be organized chronologically. Since a biography is a non-fictional account of a person's life, starting at the beginning of the life would probably provide details for the rest of the story.

Other ways to consider writing a biography, perhaps if you are more advanced in the field of biography writing, are:

• By topic. Focus on topics that affected the person's life and detail them one by one.
• Through interviews. Ask people what they thought of the individual and any stories that they would like to share. Tell the tale through a series of interviews.
• In media res. A literary term meaning "in the middle of things," stories written in the in media res style will begin in the middle of the tale, and then go backward, work forward to where the story began, and then progress to the end

The key to organizing a biography is to tell the story in a way that makes sense with the details of the person about whom the biography is written. Researching other biographies is an excellent way to get ideas of how to organize the biography that you want to write.

• Birth and Childhood - Providing details about the location where someone was raised and what time period that person was raised in are necessary to give your readers a historical context. For example, if you are writing about a black person living in the south during the Civil War or a Jewish individual in Germany during the Holocaust, your reader needs to know that to set a tone for the type of situation that the person was in.

• Adult Life - The majority of your biography is going to focus on the person's adult life when the significant events started to occur in the subject matter's life. Perhaps it was during college, courtship to a future spouse, or the birth of a first child. In any case, you want to open your first chapter on this person's adult life with some sort of notable event.

• Handling Death - If the subject of your story is deceased, you should mention that somewhere in the biography. If the person was of a particular religious background, you could incorporate those elements as well.

Determining how to divide up your chapters and what points you want the book to discuss will help you determine what information you need to gather. For example, if you plan to write a biography only on someone's service in a war, then you wouldn't necessarily need to spend a lot of time delving into their early career as a car salesman, unless that somehow impacted the way they performed in the war.

Determine the "thesis" or main point of your biography and then outline how each chapter will tell a part of the story to support that thesis. Make sure you don't stray from your main idea too far and then prepare to collect information to fill in the details of each chapter.

Collecting Information

Once you know what the book is going to be about, it is time to collect the information to put into it. You can do this by interviewing your subject, by looking at newspaper headlines and public records, by interviewing other people who knew the subject, and by using any other tools at your disposal to figure out just what was going on.

If you do conduct interviews, your book will likely be much richer since the voice of the person you are writing about will come through. Structure your questions carefully and record the interviews or take careful notes so you make sure to represent your subject accurately.

Writing and Editing

After you have done all the prewriting, it is time to actually sit down and write. Remember both to represent your subject faithfully and to tell an interesting story for the audience. Include relevant details, stick to your thesis, and show the reader just who it is you are writing about and why they should be interested in reading.

note making

		NOTE MAKING   16 MARKS
		Attempting question on Note making and summary:
		Note making is a useful skill which comes in handy not only in attempting questions but also  in preparing  you for life. Notes form an essential part of your academic life & help you in the following ways.
	ž	Notes help you to remember the information you have gathered.
	ž	Notes come in handy for making quick revision before exams
	ž	Lengthy lessons can be condensed in to short relevant pieces by making notes.
	ž	Notes help in understanding the texts better

	How to make notes
	Step 1-			The students are required to read the passage to get a gist of the passage, to know what it  is all about, or what  the theme is.
	Step 2-			The main idea or the central theme of the passage should be found out.
	Step 3-			The important points related to the main theme are noted.
	Step 4-			Add the sub-points which supplement the main points. There is no need to give examples.
	Step 5-			Pay attention to the way you would like to present the notes, There is a proper format for note making you have to follow it & make your notes in the proper format.
	Step 6-			Use abbreviations wherever necessary.
	Step 7-			Use proper indentation to present the notes as shown here (use either or the two given below.)
A	1)	_____________________________________
		[a]			……………………………………….
		[b]			……………………………………….
		[c]			……………………………………….
	2)
		[a]			……………………………………….
		[b]			……………………………………….
		[c]			……………………………………….
B	1)	_____________________________________
		1.1			……………………………………….
		1.2			……………………………………….
		1.3			……………………………………….
	2)
		2.1			……………………………………….
		2.2			……………………………………….
		2.3			……………………………………….
	Note :-
		The pointes are numbered in different ways, but numbering should be consistent. Complete sentences should not be written.
	Abbreviation and symbols used :-
	(a)		Abbreviation helps in writing the information briefly. The following are some of the ways in which you can use abbreviations.
	1)		Capitalized initial  information:-
			E.g.  U.N. for  United Nation M.L.A. B.Sc  M.P. U.S.A.
	2)		Taking the first two letters of the words :-
			Sc.			Science
			Pract			Practical
			Edu			Education
	3)		Takings the first and the last two letters of the word:-
			rdng			Reading
			admn			Administration
			pds			Periods
			rg			Regarding
	4)		Symbol that are universally recognized:-
			E.g :			Therefore
			E.g :			For example
	5)		Arithmetic symbol--
			%                        percentage
			+ ive				positive
			< >				greater than or less than

	Summary writing:-
	ž		These notes should be linked with each other in a proper sequence to form a summary
	ž		Use third person indirect speech and the past tense wherever possible.
	ž		It should be short/brief and to the point. Write the summary with the help of the notes you have already made.
	Marking Scheme of Note making
	Notes					08 [Marks]
	Title					02[Marks]
	Summary					06[Marks]
	Note:- If notes are not given, then no separate marks for summary will be given.
A2	Example:-
	Read the following passage carefully:-
1	The work of the heart can never be interrupted The heart’s job is to keep oxygen rich blood flowing through the body. All the body’s cells need a constant supply of Oxygen, especially those in the brain. The brain cells like only four to five minutes after their oxygen is cut off, and death comes to th entire body.
2	The heart is a specialized muscle that serves as a pump. This pump is divided into four chambers connected by tiny doors called valves. The chambers work to keep the blood flowing round the body in a circle.
3	At the end of each circuit, veins carry the blood to the right atrium, the first of the four chambers 2/5 oxygen by then is used up and it is on its way back to the lung to pick up a fresh supply and to give up the carbon dioxide it has accumulated. From the right atrium the blood flow through the tricuspid valve into the second chamber, the right ventricle. The right ventricle contracts when it is filled, pushing the blood through the pulmonary artery, which leads to the lungs – in the lungs the blood gives up its carbon dioxide and picks up fresh oxygen. Then it travels to the third chamber the left atrium. When this chamber is filled it forces the blood through the a valve to the left ventricle. From here it is pushed into a big blood vessel called aorta and sent round the body by way of arteries.
4	Heart disease can result from any  damage to the heart muscle, the valves or the pacemaker. If the muscle is damaged, the heart is unable to pump properly. If the valves are damaged blood cannot flow normally and easily from one chamber to another, and if the pacemaker is defective, the contractions of the chambers will become un-coordinated.
5	Until the twentieth century, few doctors dared to touch the heart. In 1953 all this changed after twenty years of work, Dr. John Gibbon in the USA had developed a machine that could take over temporarily from the heart and lungs. Blood could be routed through the machine bypassing the heart so that surgeons could work inside it and see what they were doing. The era of open heart surgery had began.
6	In the operating theatre, it gives surgeons the chance to repair or replace a defective heart. Many parties have had plastic valves inserted in their hearts when their own was faulty. Many people are being kept alive with tiny battery operated pacemakers; none of these repairs could have been made without the heart – lung machine. But valuable as it is to the surgeons, the heart lung machine has certain limitations. It can be used only for a few hours at a time because its pumping gradually damages the bloods cells.
Q	On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it, using headings & Sub headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary (minimum 4). Use a format you consider suitable. Supply an appropriate title to it.
	Solution / Hints
	Title:- Heart
	Notes:-
	i)	Function of Heart
		a)		Vital for living (i) never stop wrkg.
		b)		Supplies oxygen rich blood to diff. Parts of the body.
	ii)	Structure of the heart
		a)		div. 4 chambers connected by valves
		b)		Blood purified in the lungs.
e)		c)		Arteries carry pure blood to diff. Part of the body.
f)	iii)	Heart disease – cause
		a)		Weak muscles
		b)		Defective valves
		c)		Defective pace maker
	iv)	History of open heart Surgery.
		a)		1953 – Dr. Gibbon inv. Heart lung machine
		b)		Blood could pass through the machine
		c)		Enabled open heart surgery
		d)		Limitation
				(i) can be used only for a few hrs. at a time.
				(ii damages flood cells.
	Abbreviation used
	Diff.				Different
	inv.				Invented
	div.				Division
	chamb.				Chambers
	hist.				History
	hrs.				Hours
	Summary:-
	The heart is a vital organ of the body, which never stop working. It supplies oxygen rich blood to all parts of the body. It is divided into four chambers inter connected by valves. Blood is purified in the lungs and arteries carry it to different parts of the body. Heart disease has various cause such as weak muscles defective valves or a defective pace maker. The era of open-heart surgery began in 1953 when Dr. Gibbon developed the heart lung machine. Replacement of valves and other areas of a  damaged heart is now possible.
	Passage II
	Read the following passage carefully.
	The great wall of china is said to be the one structure built on the earth by man on earth, which could be visible to observe on the moon. It covers a distance of 1500 miles. From the Liaotung Peninsula Westward to the last fortress in Central Asia, it crosses the northern province of china.
	In the eastern section its height varies from 15 to 30 feet, and its width from about 25 feet at the bottom to 15 feet at the top, where there is a pathway wide enough for six horse– men to ride side by side protected by parapets. When the wall was first built it had about 25000 towers each 40 feet square and 40 feet high projecting from it every few hundred yards, with holes from which the defenders could shoot at attackers. There were also many watch-towers on the enemy side, outside the wall on hilltops or passes. These and the towers of the wall were used for signalling with smoke or flags by day & with fire by night.
	The great Emperor Shih Huang Li joined these earlier frontier walls to form a great wall to act as boundary between China & the north and keep out the feared nomads of The Mangolian steppes. The wall was designed to strengthen the nation’s defences. Later it became in Ming times, a substitute for a strong army and state.
	Construction was started in about 221 B.C. and the structure was practically completed when Shih Huang Li died in 210 B.C. The man who did most in carrying out the emperors plans was general Meng Ledn who in 221 B.C. led an expedition against the Tartars and drove them back from the Yellow River into the Steppes, and set his men to work on building the wall. They were later joined by thousands of Convicts. Year in and year out in icy winds and snow storms in winter, and in dust stroms in summer, the work went on and so many men died. The wall therefore was sometimes called the Longest Cemetery in the world. The core of the wall is earth and stone, faced with bricks and set in a stone foundation. In hilly place the design was altered; two parallel ditches were dug out of the rake, 25 feet apart and great blocks of stone were laid in the benches to a height of several feet. Along each said of these stones, baked bricks about 2 feet long were laid at right angles to the face of the wall, joined together with a white mortal so hard that no nail could be driven in to it.
	Emperor Wu Ti (140-86 B.C.) resumed work on the wall and extended it to its greatest length The Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1386-1644) carried out work on the wall repairing its whole length and establishing new wall west of the yellow river. The wing dynasty, which now exists dates from the Ming. But many of the foundation are nearly 2000 years old

	Hints:-
	Title      China wall visible
	Notes :-
1.	Description of the unique wall
	(a) huge wall
	(i) ----------on earth --------
	(b) covers-------------
	(c)  width 25 fit. -------------
	(d) 2500 towers --------------
2.	Reason for building
	(a) bldng.------------
	(b) Ming’s terms------------
3.	Stuct.  of the wall
	(a) foundation in stone
	(b) core-------------
	(c) hilly places
	(i)	Two parallel--------------
	(ii)	Strengthened--------------
4	Hist. of construction & development of the wall.
	a) Began in ----------------------------
	b) Gen. Meng tien helped --------------------
	(i)	used workers & convicts
	c) Emperor -----------------------
	d) Emperor of Meng -------------
5	Abbreviation used/key to abbreviation: -
	Struct.		structure
	Dist.		distance
	Ft.		feet
	Wh.		which
	Notes :-
	1)      Abbreviations (at least 04) must be part of your notes. Other wise 01 mark may be deducted.
	2)     Title must also be written in the beginning. It carries  01 marks
	Summary: -
	The great wall of -------------- from the moon , covers ------------ miles .It had 25000 towards --------------- attackers. It is ----------------- stone faced --------------  The construction ------------------------- completed in 210 B.C. general --------------- workers & convicts --------------- extended by emperor wuti & Ming dynasty
	Note :- Summary should be developed with the help of the  notes .