Biography - How To Write Biography Essay For Your Wiki Page

The primary purpose of a biography is to provide information about another person. So whether you are writing a biography of a famous person, an influential member of your family, or a historical figure, it better be worth reading. Remember, IMDP biography is different from a Wikipedia biography even though they share many similarities.

Here are some crucial elements of a Wiki page biography that you need to know.

But First, What is a Biography?

Simply put, it is a written account about some famous or infamous person written by someone else. But, whether famous or not, that person must have lived an incredible life worth writing about.

Biographies provided information on the subject's life from right when they were born to their present life or their death if they are deceased. It talks about the subject's major life events, their accomplishments, and how all of these influenced their life.

A biography's work is more than just laying out an outline of the facts of the subject's life. It also involves portraying the subject's personality.

Here’s an example of a Wiki biography. A biography of Nelson Mandela, who was an anti-apartheid leader in South Africa.

Steps in Writing a Biography

Before you start writing a biography, make sure that you can follow all of these steps below to come up with a worth reading biography;

1. Seek Permission

This step may not apply to celebrities or deceased subjects. However, if you have access to the person you have chosen for your biography, be sure to seek permission. Getting permission will make your writing even easier.

If the subject is willing, they can share some of their life details to make your biography about them stand out. If you don't get permission or you have no access to the subject, make sure that you do not write anything that could ruin a person's reputation. If you do, you may be setting yourself up for a lawsuit.

Within this first step, make sure that you wisely choose your subject. You will need to choose a subject that will merit your readers' interest.

Ask yourself; will my reader take time to read the biography of this person. Is there enough information about this person? If you can answer the two questions in the affirmative, then go ahead and start writing the biography.

2. Research

Regardless of whether you know the subject or not, be sure to research and do it extensively. If they are historical figures, be sure to find information about the period they lived and the life events that contributed to their fame.

The primary sources are the most reliable sources of information for a biography of any subject. These sources can include their memoirs, journals, emails, or interviews. In some cases, you may be lucky to use a website that the subject in question set up. So be sure to check out their website and social accounts like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and many others.

Secondary sources such as magazines or documentaries can also be a great source of research. A good approach to your biography research is;

1. To write down and follow a chronological timeline of the main events of the subject's life.
2. Write down descriptions of the person’s character traits and even their physical traits. Their values and beliefs are also a part of your research.
3. Also, consider asking yourself some questions while researching, like where they grew up? When were they born? Who were their parents? Where did they study? And maybe the challenges they went through while growing up.
4. Research on their legacy: what impact they had in the world or where they lived.
5. Dialogues and quotes are hidden gems about your subject's biography that you can include to make it even more enjoyable.

The more you ask yourself such questions, the deeper you get into the research, and the more you find out about your subject's life.

3. Choose the Format of Your Biography

If there is a famous event that revolves around your subject, your readers may not be interested in reading about your subject a happy but uneventful life. Instead, you can write a story that comes back to the theme of the biography itself.

So you need to ask yourself; what is the theme of the biography? Is it the resilience of the subject? In addition, keep to the theme of the story and what interests the reader the most.

Other than the above, here are a few methods you can use to format your biography.

• By topic - focus on the topics that affected your subject. You should detail each event of their life step by step.
• By theme - a thematic biography focuses on a particular theme and ties the theme to the subject's life.
• In media res, this term means 'in the middle of things.' Stories written in media res start from the middle, moving backward to crucial elements.

4. Have an Outline

Before starting on the biography, be sure to have an outline or timeline that you can follow on the side. First, determine the theme of the biography and divide it into different sections. Make sure each part or section tells a story about the theme of the biography.

Do you want to cover your subject's entire life? A timeline of their life events will help you develop a detailed outline. The outline will help you paint a picture of the subject's life and know what you need to highlight.

A good outline will also help you chronologically arrange your biography by the subject's major events or by the theme of the biography.

5. Start With a Draft

Now that you have everything in order, you know what you need to fill in your biography. You can start with a draft. Write everything that you think is relevant to the theme of the biography.

Within the biography draft, consider its length so that you know how much information or how little you will need to add. Remember to include the basic facts about the person you are writing about. The basics include;

• Date of birth and where they were born
• Date of death if applicable.
• Educational background.
• Their present location if they are still available.
• Professional experience
• Achievements

Of Course, all of the above are not compulsory for every biography, but you need to know the theme of your biography. However, you need to expand the sections in your outline to give a more detailed biography of a person.

For example, when it comes to the birth and childhood of a person, you can expound on the conditions they were born in. If you are writing about civil rights activists, you can expound on their situation when they were born.

If your subject is deceased, it may be a good idea to write about all the events surrounding their death. Also, remember to include a photograph of your subject. If they are deceased, look for the latest photo before their demise. However, If they are still alive, you need to find their latest professional photo.

6. Include Your Thoughts

A biography isn’t just a chronology of facts about a person. Instead, a biographer can also share what they feel about a specific event on the subject person in the biography. Adding your thoughts about a person will show why that person deserves to be written about.