Autobiography

Properties of Autobiography

Autobiography is by definition about the life of the author. However, unless you are writing a book, it is impossible to include details from all parts of your life. For this composition, you should select a particular event from your life which tells us someting important about you. The best style when writing autobiography is to write as if you are telling a story.

Autobiography should:

show us something about your personality,
be limited to one important incident or influence in your life,
explain the cause or effect of an influence in your life,
read as if you are telling a good story,
help you to understand more about yourself

Prewriting

1. Brainstorm the topic by writing down questions as ideas for your autobiography. For example:

Why don't I get along with my sister/brother/co-worker, etc.?
Why do I hate summer?
Why can I never finish something I start?
Why do I feel relaxed when I sit near the ocean?
Why is it easy for me to ________?

2. From these possible topics, choose one which you find interesting and which you feel you can develop.

3. Be sure to narrow the topic sufficiently that you can write about it in adequate detail. Do not try to cover too much material in one essay. If you find your question is too narrow, you can expand it as you write, but it is best not to add another question as this will upset the organization and unity of your writing.

Organization

Chronological: Autobiography is usually organized in a chronological order similar to a narrative. Start at the beginning and tell the events in the order in which they happened. Use the events to show the reader something about yourself. A slightly more advanced chronological technique is a flashback, that is, going back in time to introduce something that happened earlier in your life, but which is important to the story you are now telling.

Cause and Effect: A second possible organizational technique for autobiography is cause and effect. With this method of organization, tell how people you have met, situations you have encountered, or events in your life have affected the way you are. You may want to begin with the effect and then go back to the causes or start with the causes and show how they affect you now. For example, a person afraid of dogs, could tell how they were bitten by a dog when young and ever since they've had a great fear of dogs. Conversely, you could start with the person's reaction to a dog and then flashback to why that is so.

Writing

Follow the plan you outlined earlier and write your autobiographical sketch. Be sure to use the techniques of good description to bring the events you are describing to life for your readers.

Revision Checklist

Questions to ask when rereading and rethinking your autobiography:
Have I started with a good, attention-catching opening sentence?
Do I tell the reader early in the passage how I have narrowed the subject of the composition?
Does my composition read like a fiction even though it is true?
Should I add any dialogue to make the writing seem more realistic?
When the reader finishes the sketch will he/she understand how the events of the sketch affected me?
Have I written a good ending, rather than just stopping writing?
The the style of writing reflect my personality?
Have I used a variety of sentences and words?

References:

Chisholm, Alison and Brenda Courtie. How to Write about Yourself.London: Allison & Busby, Ltd. 1999.

Sorenson, Sharon. Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1992.