A biography is a non-fiction about a person's or a figure's life. Since it is written from the third point of view, a sample biography aims to give you the knowledge and accurate characterization. It is written after a particular person's narration and research materials, such as recordings, journals, interviews, and press conferences. You can find plenty of biography samples online about old and modern heroes in your local library.
While surfing the Internet, it is very common to find a sample of a biography about a famous person. For example, it is common for people to write about athletes, politicians, founders of a country, artists, or even criminals. It is always interesting to see how writers plot their narratives. By going through different examples of biography, you would feel what it was like to be in their position when the main subject does something that is only known to us through history books.
However, when you learn how to write a biography, remember that it is extremely rare to identify a sample of a biography that would express the subject's feelings. Therefore, all biography samples will only go through the steps the subject has taken throughout their life journey but not how they felt at that moment.
What is a Sample of a Biography?
A biography is a detailed third-person of another person or a historical figure. If the biography is about a person, it will contain all the essential information, such as the date of birth, education, and interests. Biography may also discuss that person's relationship with their family members. For example, it can discuss the subject's life in childhood and how the family members influenced their upbringing.
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Biographies include numerous accomplishments and landmarks of a person. However, it is not just about facts and figures like you see in Wikipedia. It is more than that and discusses great stories from the beginning till the end.
What is the Purpose of a Biography?
When you go through a biography sample, your objective is to learn how to share another person's life with a target audience. For example, some authors may write a biography because they feel that the subject's life has themes that can be applied to life today. On the other hand, some authors have the urgency to write about a person because they need more information about them.
Biographical stories are inspirational as they highlight the achievements of a particular person. Moreover, they identify how the subject overcame difficulties, which gives the readers motivation and signs of encouragement. Similarly, if authors write about corrupt people or criminals, they warn the readers on who not to become.
How to Write a Biography Today?
To write a biography about someone's storyline, you must know more than just the basic facts. A quality sample of a biography goes into the exciting aspects of a person's life, which doesn't just include the achievements, the moments of adversity, and the steps taken to turn the corner. The best biography samples interestingly encapsulate a person's life and give basic personal details to give the viewers an intimate look at the subject. If you want to learn how to write a biography, here are the steps you must follow:
1) Take Permission
Once you have chosen the subject of a biography, you must take permission from your subject to write about their life. Although it may not be necessary in some cases (if the subject is deceased or a public figure), getting information will make your research process easier. If the subject wants you to write a biography on them, they will provide important details about their storyline up front, making your writing piece more compelling.
2) Do Your Research
Regardless of how much information you have about your subject, extensive research is always important to create a thorough picture of a particular person. If they are historical figures or ambassadors, you can talk about the period they lived in and how that period affected their way of life. For example, in the biography of Mohandas Gandhi, there was special mention of his time in South Africa, when he saw people suffering from poverty. It changed his life, and he started to look at people in the same boat as his country from a different perspective.
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While doing your research, remember that the authenticity of the sample of a biography depends on two types of sources, i.e., primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are first-hand accounts of your subject's life and tend to be the most reliable. Journal entries, emails, press conferences, and interviews are all examples of primary sources. On the other hand, a primary source can be any authentic information about the subject, such as a personal website, social media account, or professional bio.
On the other hand, secondary information can only be used by the authors if they are proven accurate. In other words, their authenticity needs to be checked before they can be included. Magazines and documentaries are examples of secondary sources.
3) Form Your Thesis
In the sample of a biography, your first paragraph or chapter will inform the target audience about what to learn about the main subject. A thesis will make a declaration, whereas the rest of the biography will provide relevant information to support it.
4) Make a Timeline
When you look at the examples of biography, you will see that they usually structure the main points of a person's life in chronological order. Therefore, you must know the order of key events before writing a biography. It will eventually save you from the desperation of reorganizing your whole story later and achieve peace of mind.
5) Use Flashbacks
When writing the text of your biography, you should create a combination of your subject's school life and professional life. In this case, the best approach is to use flashbacks because it makes your viewers almost feel as if they were with the subject at that moment. In addition, flashbacks make the authors include relevant past information without breaking them down into paragraphs of background exposition.
6) Include Your Thoughts
A biography isn't just about writing facts and figures. It is also about sharing your feelings about the subject's life. For example, if the subject has achieved something unique, you can include content to make viewers understand why that landmark was unique and how it influenced that period. This approach will give you another reason why this subject deserves to be written about.
Biography Examples
There are plenty of biography samples you can find on the Internet. However, in recent years, individual biographies, such as movies or plays, have become an art. Individual biographies converted into a movie include the following:
- The Theory of Everything (Stephen Hawking)
- Ford vs. Ferrari (Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles)
- Moneyball (Michael Lewis)
Interestingly, individual biographies are used for some musical plays. For example, a sample of a biography written in 2004 by Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton, shows the amazing transformation of biography into musical plays.
Write Biography Samples on Strikingly
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Many entrepreneurs have started learning to write a biography about a specific person and post it online. You can provide your readers with quality information by writing quality biographies. Eventually, you can create a name for yourself in the writing world. Strikingly is a high-quality website builder that enables you to establish a home for the sample of a biography. When we talk about biography, Strikingly provides you with the following options:
- Display your biography examples through a simple blog
- Make your sample of a biography the main content of your website
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Here are how you can integrate your biography examples in a simple blog:
- Complete your registration on Strikingly
- Add a new section with the help of our website editor
- Finalize the layout for your Simple Blog
- Manage your blog posts appropriately. You can choose to update your existing content or delete the unwanted blogs from your website
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If you don't want to publish your biography samples in the form of blog posts, you can also display your biography as the main text of your website. Here is how Strikingly can help you make your biography the focal point of your website:
- Complete your registration on Strikingly
- Add a new section through our website editor
- Click on "Plain Text."
- Add a quality title before writing your sample of a biography
Conclusion
Even if you are experienced, you must understand that writing a sample of a biography is not a walk in the park for anyone. Whether you want to write biography samples about a person or a historical figure, you must be aware of all the details that make it attractive.
Some authors write samples of a biography because they feel that the subject line is interesting. On the other hand, some authors write biographies because they want to update information on the existing content of a certain person or a figure.
If you are new to writing biography samples, you can rely on Strikingly. We don't just provide you with an avenue to place yourself and your writing but also give you a platform to showcase the storytelling that you have created with time and mind.
If you cannot use the 'Simple Blog' feature or need to integrate your content properly, you can collaborate with our Happiness Officers immediately. Take advantage of Strikingly's features to add a sample of a biography that the next generation would be going through.
