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24 Biography Templates and Examples (Word | PDF | Google Docs)

Biographies serve as a fascinating lens into the lives of individuals, ranging from influential family members and historical figures to renowned personalities. Whether you’re a student, an aspiring writer, or someone captivated by the art of telling a life story , grasping the essential elements of a biography is vital. Writing a biography goes beyond compiling facts; it involves crafting a narrative that educates and inspires your readers. This guide provides you with practical steps, style advice, and, importantly, biography templates to assist you in structuring your work effectively. With these resources, you can start to create biographies that not only inform but also captivate your audience. Are you ready to capture the essence of a life story in words? Let’s delve into the fundamentals of crafting a compelling and memorable biography.

Biography Templates & Examples

Aesthetic Biography Template

An Aesthetic Biography Template is a carefully designed layout that allows individuals to present their personal and professional information in an organized and visually appealing manner. The template provided in the previous response offers a structured format for users to showcase their educational background, work experience, skills, and personal interests. This format is particularly useful for creating a compelling narrative of one's life and achievements, making it ideal for applications, personal websites, or professional profiles. The inclusion of sample data guides users on how to effectively fill out each section, ensuring clarity and coherence in presenting their unique story.

Short Biography Template

A Short Biography template is a structured format for summarizing an individual's personal, educational, and professional background. It offers a concise yet informative way to present one's achievements, skills, and experiences. The template provided above is designed to capture a wide range of details, from basic personal information to career highlights and skills. It is versatile and can be tailored to suit different situations, whether for a professional profile, a speaker introduction, or a personal website. The inclusion of sample data in the brackets makes it user-friendly, allowing for easy customization. This template serves as a useful starting point for anyone looking to create a clear and engaging biography.

Professional Biography Template

A Professional Bio Template is a structured format designed to aid individuals in crafting a succinct and engaging biography that highlights their career achievements, skills, and personal qualities. This template helps users efficiently organize and present their professional story, ensuring that key elements like career milestones, skills, and personal interests are effectively communicated. This assists in creating a compelling bio that resonates with various audiences, such as potential employers or networking contacts, enhancing their professional presence and impact.

Personal Biography Template

A personal biography template is a structured outline designed to guide individuals in documenting their life stories, achievements, and experiences. It provides a framework to organize personal details in a coherent and engaging manner. This template, created in our prior response, can assist users by simplifying the process of writing their biography. It offers a clear structure, ensuring that key aspects of one's life are highlighted effectively. This can be particularly useful for creating professional bios, personal introductions, or for preserving personal history.

You can explore more free biography templates and examples in the collection at Highfile . This resource offers a diverse range of templates suitable for various needs, whether for professional, personal, or academic purposes.

What Is a Biography?

A biography is an in-depth narrative of someone’s life, written by another person. It encompasses more than just basic facts like birthplace and education. A biography delves into the subject’s personal experiences, significant life events, and the influences that shaped their character and achievements. It’s not just a timeline of events; a biography weaves these details into a compelling story, offering insights into the individual’s motivations and impacts. The aim is to present a well-rounded portrait that is both informative and engaging, allowing readers to understand and empathize with the subject’s journey. A biography, in essence, is a vivid window into another person’s life experience, capturing their unique contributions and the essence of their existence.

Fun Fact: Did you know that one of the earliest biographies ever recorded was about an ancient Egyptian official named Ptahhotep around 2400 BC? This ancient biography was not written in a book but carved on the walls of his tomb, depicting his life and achievements. This highlights how the art of biography writing has been significant throughout human history, evolving from ancient carvings to modern digital formats!

Essential Elements of a Biography Template

Crafting a professional biography involves creating a concise yet comprehensive summary of your career objectives, current position, and notable achievements. This type of bio is ideally suited for professional networking platforms like LinkedIn or AngelList, where a more detailed and career-focused narrative is expected compared to the brief bios often seen on other social media sites.

Key Components to Include in Your Professional Biography:

• Your Name : Clearly state your full name at the beginning.
• Personal Brand or Company Affiliation : Mention your business or the brand you represent.
• Professional Tagline or Current Role : Include your current job title or a tagline that encapsulates your professional essence.
• Career Aspirations : Briefly outline your career goals or what you aim to achieve professionally.
• Unique Personal Fact : Share an interesting personal detail that sets you apart.
• Top Achievements : Highlight two or three significant accomplishments relevant to your professional trajectory.

While primarily professional in tone, don’t hesitate to weave in personal elements like a favorite book or hobby. This adds a human touch, making your bio more relatable and engaging. Remember, a well-rounded biography balances professional accomplishments with personal insights, creating a holistic view of you as both a professional and an individual.

How to Write a Biography

Writing a compelling biography requires a structured approach. Follow these steps to create an engaging and informative biography:

• Choose a Subject : Select a person whose life story is interesting and impactful. Consider whether their contributions or experiences have the potential to inspire or connect with your audience.
• Obtain Permission : If your subject is alive, obtaining their consent is crucial, as it involves discussing personal details. For deceased or public figures, ensure all information is factual to avoid legal issues.
• Conduct Thorough Research : Gather information from primary sources like interviews, letters, and personal accounts for an authentic portrayal. Complement these with secondary sources like documentaries and articles for additional context.
• Formulate a Thesis : In the opening section, clearly state what the reader will learn from the biography. This thesis sets the stage for the narrative to unfold.
• Organize Chronologically : Structure the biography in a timeline format, presenting events in the order they occurred. This helps in maintaining a clear narrative flow.
• Incorporate Flashbacks : Skillfully use flashbacks to provide context or highlight significant past events, enriching the narrative without overloading it with background details.
• Inject Personal Insight : While sticking to factual information, don’t shy away from adding your own perspective on the subject’s achievements and their societal impact. This adds depth and personal touch to the biography.

A good biography balances factual accuracy with narrative flair, bringing the subject’s story to life in a way that resonates with the readers.

Tips on Writing a Biography

Crafting a biography requires a blend of accuracy, creativity, and attention to detail. Here are some essential tips to guide you in writing an effective biography:

• Write in Third Person : Use the third person perspective for a professional and objective tone.
• Inject Humor Appropriately : While maintaining professionalism, subtle humor can make the biography more engaging and relatable.
• Be Mindful of Length : Keep an eye on the word count. A biography should be comprehensive yet concise enough to hold the reader’s interest.
• Narrate a Story, Not Just Facts : Instead of listing events, weave them into a compelling narrative to make the biography more interesting and readable.
• Include Relevant Links : Provide links to your work, projects, or publications to offer readers additional context and evidence of your achievements.
• Provide Contact Information : Make it easy for readers to reach you by including up-to-date contact details.
• Edit Thoroughly : Ensure your biography is free of errors and well-polished. Comprehensive editing enhances readability and professionalism.
• Keep it Concise : Aim for brevity while ensuring all critical information is included. A succinct biography is often more impactful and memorable.

Important Note: Before diving into our FAQs, it’s crucial to remember that while a biography aims to be factual and accurate, it also requires a respectful approach, especially when dealing with sensitive aspects of a person’s life. As a biographer, your responsibility extends beyond mere storytelling; it involves ethical considerations, such as respecting privacy and presenting information in a manner that is fair and considerate to the subject and their family. Keep this in mind as you explore the frequently asked questions and embark on your journey of writing a biography.

For online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter, a three-sentence bio should be concise yet informative. It should briefly introduce you, focusing on key aspects: Your Name : Start with your full name. Your Current Role : Mention your profession or the role you’re known for. A Notable Achievement or Personal Touch : Include a significant accomplishment or a unique personal detail (like a hobby or goal). This format ensures your bio is succinct but covers essential details.

A personal biography is a brief narrative focusing on your professional life, used for job searches or on professional platforms like LinkedIn. It’s slightly more detailed than a social media bio and should include: Your Name Personal Brand or Company : If applicable. Professional Tagline or Current Role Two or Three Key Achievements : Choose the most relevant and impressive ones. While primarily professional, feel free to add a personal detail like a hobby or favorite book to give a glimpse of your personality.

In a work-related bio, focus on aspects directly relevant to your professional life. This might be more detailed, including your career journey, key skills, and notable projects or roles you’ve held. Personal anecdotes or interests can be included if they relate to your professional persona or add value to your professional story. Remember, the context dictates the bio’s content and tone. Tailor it to suit the platform and the audience you are addressing.

When choosing a subject, consider individuals whose life stories are not only interesting but also have the potential to inspire or educate others. Look for unique experiences, significant achievements, or challenges they’ve overcome. Public figures, historical personalities, or even unsung heroes in your community can make excellent subjects.

Begin with an engaging opening that captures the essence of your subject’s life. This could be a pivotal moment, a significant achievement, or an anecdote that reflects their character. Starting with something compelling draws readers in and sets the tone for the biography.

Effective research methods include conducting interviews with people who know the subject well, reviewing primary documents like letters or diaries, and consulting reputable secondary sources for historical context. Online archives, libraries, and specialized databases are also valuable resources.

To maintain objectivity, present facts without bias, and avoid letting personal opinions color the narrative. Acknowledge different perspectives on the subject’s life, especially in controversial or unclear aspects. Being fair and balanced is key to a trustworthy biography.

Yes, you can write a biography about a family member. However, it’s important to balance personal insights with objective storytelling. Ensure you have enough distance to present their story truthfully and respect their privacy and perspective.

Approach sensitive topics with care and respect. Verify the accuracy of such information and consider its relevance to the overall story. Be mindful of the impact this could have on the subject and their family, especially if they are still living.

The length of a biography depends on the depth of the subject’s life story and the intended audience. Some biographies are short, focusing on key events, while others are comprehensive, covering the subject’s life in detail. Tailor the length to suit the story’s complexity and readers’ expectations.

Final Thoughts

Crafting a biography requires a thoughtful blend of accuracy and creativity to captivate and engage your readers. By focusing on these essential elements and following the outlined steps, you can transform a simple life story into a compelling narrative that holds the reader’s interest from start to finish. Whether you’ve always wanted to write a biography or are just beginning to explore this genre, this guide provides a solid foundation to embark on your biographical writing journey. Remember, a well-written biography not only informs but also inspires, offering a deeper understanding of the subject’s life and legacy.

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47 Biography Templates & Examples (Personal, Professional)

A biography is simply an account of someone’s life written by another person. A biography can be short in the case of few sentences biography, and it can also be long enough to fill an entire book. The short biographies explain a person’s basic life facts and their importance, but the long biographies would go an extra mile and include more details to make an interesting read. You may find yourself in a situation which requires you to write a biography of a famous person, a close friend or a relative. For this reason, it pays to know how to come up with a biography and the important details that you should include in it. The lives of many people have interesting bits of information, but you ought to know what to capture in the biography and what to leave out.

Table of Contents

• 1 Biography Examples
• 2 What to include in a biography
• 3 How to write a good Biography
• 4 Steps in writing a biography;
• 5 Biography templates
• 6 A professional Biography Template
• 7 Personal Biography Template

Biography Examples

What to include in a biography

The length of a biography depends on the type of information that should be included. The length will determine the nature of information and how extensively it will explain the life of a person. For instance, if you are to write a short paragraph about a person it will mostly capture the important details that identify the person compared to a pages-long biography that may even include the person’s childhood experiences and achievements shaping their life.

For a short biography, maybe a paragraph or two long, the following details should be captured:

• A person’s date and place of birth, at times with the date and place of death as may be applicable
• The person’s major achievements in life
• Their educational background and notable awards
• Work facts of a person and their contribution to that field if any
• A brief account of the significance of an individual in the community

A lengthy biography will bring out more details of a person’s life making it a bit more complex. His/her history will be brought out more clearly especially the details that shaped them to be the persons they turned out to be.

The target audience will also dictate the nature of the information that is to be included. The relation of the audience to an individual will have an impact on how the information is presented and the important details that they could be interested in. In a case where the audience is unknown, more details will have to be included. This mostly happens in the case of a several paged biography. You will have to scrutinize the person in a more detailed way and establish more people relating to the person. Focusing on the uniqueness of an individual can do wonders in this case and this might turn out to be inspirational to many people. The field that the person has majored in or had majored in ought to influence the direction that the biography will take as this will help to bring out the contribution of the individual to their field of study.

How to write a good Biography

A biography is meant to analyze a person’s life and interpret it as well. A good biographer will try to join the dots and explain certain actions and events that a certain figure was involved in. This will help in clearly bringing out the significance of a person’s life through their accomplishments or remarkable deeds.

Biographies are usually written in a chronological order. Some biographers could also draft them in a themed order that is early life, educational background, a person’s achievements or accomplishments. But some especially the short ones will focus on one area in a person’s life.

There are several sources of information that could aid one in writing an astounding biography. These sources of information can be grouped into either primary sources or secondary sources. The primary sources of information include materials like letters, newspaper accounts or diaries. A biographer can also make an arrangement to interview an individual they want to write about. This is also considered as a primary source of information. The secondary sources are reference books, other biographies or historical records that are related to the subject being written about.

Steps in writing a biography;

• Select the individual you want to write about
• Search for the basic facts that relate to a person’s life. The encyclopedia or almanac could be handy at this.
• What’s the most interesting bit about the person?
• What is the significance of the individual to the society and the world in general?
• What qualities or adjectives will be best suited for the description of the individual?
• What actions or life events bring out the qualities or adjectives chosen above?
• What life events or world events shaped the individual or brought out the best in them?
• Did they face obstacles or take some risks in life? How did they handle the obstacles and did they happen to be lucky?
• What impact did they have in the world? Did they add value to the way people view certain aspects of life? Did they come up with a thing, idea or way of action that transformed the way things are handled or rather done in their societies or world in general?
• Carry out some additional research on the internet to answer some of the questions mentioned above. Ensure that you find information that will help you tell a story that many will love.
• After getting everything in order, you can proceed to write the biography. We have provided sample biographies in this site that you could check out in order to get the drift.

Biography templates

A biography template is meant to specifically aid a writer come up with an excellent biography. For this purpose to be achieved the writer needs to get his/her hands on a high-quality biography template, just like the ones provided on this site.

The best biography templates should provide clear instructions, and this should be in great detail to avoid the risk of the writer missing out some important facts. The templates available on this site will help you capture all of the details.

The biography templates should also be precise and avoid beating around the bush. Going round one idea or item will make the biography boring to read and it is prudent for the writer to be straight to the point. By doing this it will be easier for the readers to skim through and find the details they might be interested in with lots of easy. The writer will also save his/her time and concentrate on writing other things.

The general sections of any biography as outlined by our sample biographies will have;

• The name of the person
• A picture of the person
• An account of their early life
• The person’s family life
• The major achievements of the person
• The three main interesting qualities or facts about the individual

A professional Biography Template

A professional biography is a statement that could either be short or long that is written about a person, business or company. It should be engaging, informative and interesting for the readers to identify with the person or business entity being talked about. It has a sales pitch that is a little bit different. A professional biography template is meant to ease the process of generating printed professional biographies especially for an individual who wants to reach a lot of people or institutions.

Elements that should be captured in a professional biography are:

• A summary of one’s early life in a sentence or two, make it interesting
• Then information touching on your education, mention any academic awards or the clubs and societies that you were part of. Any work experience while in school.
• Talk about how creative and innovative you are with coming with solutions to the problems that you have faced as an individual, mention any situation that you were self-reliant in coming up with solutions
• Mention qualities that make you stand out for instance, being independent, principled or discerning to increase your trustworthiness.

The following tips will enable you to come up with the best professional biography;

• Be brief and precise to the point. This is to enable the reader to easily and quickly get to know about you.
• Be spontaneous in your writing
• Be as expressive as possible and avoid too much of self-editing while drafting the professional biography in the initial stages to capture as much information as possible
• Be friendly but not too informal
• Be as interesting as you could in order to get the attention of many people out there
• Write it in third person. Talk about your life as if someone else were describing it.

This site offers you a professional biography template that could aid in making the generation of professional biographies an easy and less time consuming task. You can also check out sample bios to figure out how to go about the whole process of coming up with a professional biography.

Personal Biography Template

A personal biography is a short account of who you are, your credentials and your notable accomplishments in life. Personal bios ought to be short, precise and relevant to your target audience. The use of personal statistics such as hobbies or family should be avoided. A personal biography template will help one to easily and conveniently come up with personal bios.

The key elements in a personal biography are;

• Give an introduction of yourself. Remember to write it in third person and include the year that your professional career started to be relevant. You could give a list of any relevant specializations in your field.
• State your educational facts and credentials. Mention the degrees that you have pursued and the respective institutions. Add any relevant experiences you have that are required for your career and mention the name of the society that you are legally a member of.
• Proceed to outline any notable achievements or awards you have earned in your practice. Remember that the information ought to be relevant to the audience being addressed. If you happen to be an author you could mention the magazines or any publishing house that has recognized your works.
• Your conclusion should mention any upcoming projects or works in progress that people should lookout for in the near future. Don’t forget to mention your current place of residence .

As you age, it is good to keep on updating your biography to reflect who you are at present time. You can make use of the personal biography template offered by this site to easily and in a more convenient way generate your own biography without missing out on the important details.

We also provide sample biographies to give you a feel of what your end draft should look like. If you have kids and you want to let them in on famous historical figures, this site offers biographies for kids. These will help them know the notable people who help shape the world to what it has become to be.

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What is a Personal Biography?

How is a personal biography written, what does the outline of a personal biography look like.

• Your name: Include your full name as the first element in the personal biography. This establishes your identity and serves as an introduction.
• Your parent’s details or family details (if any): Optionally, you can include brief information about your parents or family background to provide context or showcase any notable familial connections.
• Your place of birth or living (if that’s something you would want to add in): If relevant, mention your place of birth or current place of residence. This adds a personal touch and helps readers connect with your background.
• Your education early at school: Highlight your educational journey during your early schooling years, including notable schools attended, academic achievements, or any significant experiences during this period.
• Your education later in life: Outline your educational pursuits beyond the early school years, such as higher education, specialized training, certifications, or any notable degrees earned.
• Your childhood interests: Share the interests or hobbies you pursued during your childhood, which might have influenced your personal or professional development.
• Your job titles: List the job titles or roles you have held throughout your career, emphasizing positions of significance or relevance to your field or industry.
• Your interests and hobbies: Highlight your current interests and hobbies, demonstrating a well-rounded personality and providing insight into your passions outside of work or studies.
• Your awards and achievements: Enumerate any notable awards, honors, or achievements you have received in your personal, academic, or professional life. This showcases your accomplishments and areas of excellence.
• Your academic and professional past: Provide an overview of your academic and professional history, including key milestones, notable projects, or experiences that have shaped your journey.
• Your plans for the future: Discuss your aspirations and goals for the future, such as career objectives, educational pursuits, or personal ambitions. This highlights your drive and motivation.
• Your ultimate passion: Identify and describe your ultimate passion, whether it is a specific cause, creative endeavor, or professional pursuit that truly fuels your enthusiasm.
• Things that govern your life: Briefly mention the guiding principles, values, or beliefs that influence your decisions and actions in life, showcasing your personal philosophy or ethics.
• Things you want to achieve in life: Share your broader life goals or aspirations, beyond specific career objectives, expressing the impact you hope to make or the legacy you want to leave.

Things to Avoid in a Personal Biography

• Don’t stretch unimportant details too much, focus on the catchy stuff only (no one is interested in why you shifted from one apartment to another to another unless the details are compelling)
• Don’t stick to the dates so much (did the subject buy his first piano on the fifth of June or on the eighth?! Let us help: No one cares!)
• Never makeup stuff that you are unsure about, do your research well
• Don’t forget to add emotions to your biography. Who would want to read your life’s chronological order of events?! Make it interesting!
• Avoid excessive self-promotion or bragging. Instead, focus on presenting your accomplishments in a humble and genuine manner.
• Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may not be easily understood by the general audience. Keep your language accessible and engaging.
• Don’t overlook proofreading and editing. Ensure your biography is free from grammatical errors, typos, or formatting issues that may distract readers.
• Avoid including irrelevant or outdated information. Keep your biography focused on recent and relevant experiences, skills, and achievements.
• Don’t forget to tailor your biography to the specific audience or purpose. Adapt your content to resonate with the readers and align with the goals of the biography.

Writing an Attention-Grabbing Personal Biography: Examples and Guidance

Infusing your biography with unique qualities and values.

• Embrace Your Uniqueness: Highlight your authentic self. Identify your unique qualities, experiences, and perspectives that set you apart from others. Showcase your individuality and allow it to shine through your writing. Emphasize what makes you special and valuable to your target audience.
• Define Your Personal Values: Clearly articulate your core values and beliefs. By expressing your values in your biography, you demonstrate integrity and establish a connection with like-minded individuals or organizations. Align your values with your desired career path and emphasize them as a guiding force in your life and decision-making.
• Showcase Your Expertise and Strengths: Identify your areas of expertise and strengths, and showcase them in a good way. Highlight specific achievements, projects, or experiences that demonstrate your competence and skills. By presenting yourself as an expert in your field, you differentiate yourself and position yourself as a go-to resource.
• Tell Your Compelling Story: Craft a narrative that tells your unique story. Share personal anecdotes or turning points in your life that have shaped your journey. By sharing your challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned, you create an emotional connection with your readers. This storytelling aspect adds depth and authenticity to your personal brand.
• Consistency Across Platforms: Ensure consistency across your online presence and offline interactions. Align your biography with your social media profiles, personal website, and other professional platforms. Maintain a cohesive brand message and visual identity that reinforces your unique value proposition.
• Cultivate a Professional Image: Consider how you present yourself visually in your personal biography. Use professional photos and design elements that reflect your personal brand. Create a visually appealing layout that resonates with your target audience and reinforces your desired image.

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WTO / Letters and Emails / Introduction / 30 Personal Biography Examples & Free Templates

30 Personal Biography Examples & Free Templates

In today’s competitive job market, understanding the skill and art of writing a personal biography that captures your target audience’s attention is essential. A professionally written and optimised biography defines your brand and creates a great first impression anytime your potential employer, client, or someone at a networking event googles you online.

However, writing a personal biography is probably the most difficult task you will ever have. This is simply because it requires you to have polished and developed writing skills as well as intricate self-analysis skills. Mastering the art of writing a great biography also demands that you have a professional and effective self-analysis presentation.

Nonetheless, this should not scare you much, as this article is specifically written to help you understand the importance of writing an effective personal biography that sells your brand out there without being too self-promotional or too flat. Continue reading to find out more about personal biographies.

What is a Personal Biography?

A personal biography is a concise introduction that provides a summarised version of an individual’s professional accomplishments, educational and professional qualifications, as well as any other additional information that makes them who they are.

Personal bios are often used when seeking employment, on professional websites, and during networking events to give people a clear insight into what you are and what brand you represent.

Personal Biography (Examples & Templates)

Biography Vs. Autobiography

A biography, an autobiography, and a memoir both tell a person’s life story. Distinguishing between these three formats can be challenging as they both have some common similarities. However, there are some distinct differences between these three formats, as is discussed in the section that follows:

A biography is the life history of an individual, authored by someone else.

On the other hand;

An autobiography is the story of an individual’s life, written by themselves.

One major distinguishing factor between a biography and an autobiography is that the author of a biography is not the subject. The biographer writes about the subject’s life history and the events that shaped their lives from various research sources such as reference books, essays, photographs, diaries, letters, interviews, etc. In an autobiography, the author is the subject, and he/she is the main character of the story. Thus, autobiographies tend to be more subjective.

A biography is usually written to inform and establish context. In contrast, an autobiography is written to inform and describe the motivation and thoughts behind the author’s actions and decisions. An autobiography offers access to the personal thoughts and feelings of the author as they are the subject. At the same time, a biography has restricted access to the subject’s thoughts and feelings since the author is not the main character of the story.

A biography is written in the third person format, while an autobiography is written in the first person. The final difference between a biography and an autobiography is that a biography can be written anytime, while in the case of an autobiography, the account is written later in the subject’s life.

6 Steps to Write a Personal Biography

Now that you have already understood what a personal biography is and you are better positioned to distinguish between a biography and an autobiography, the next thing you should understand is how to effectively draft a professional biography. When writing a personal biography, you should have a few important things at the back of your mind. These items are usually standard, and they apply to almost all professional bios.

Follow these simple steps to craft your personal biography as a pro:

• Write a proper self-introduction
• Make your personal biography brief
• Write it in the third person format using third-person pronouns
• Include a well-planned story

Provide your contact information

• Before submitting your biography, review it thoroughly

These points are elaborated below :

Write a proper self introduction

Knowing how to introduce yourself properly is the first step of writing a great personal biography. I know you might be wondering how to introduce yourself properly . It is simple- Write your name first! Your readers need to know who you are before they proceed reading to find out what you do. Remember that your most important details, such as your education, accomplishments, and certifications, should be written in the first sentence.

After writing a nice introductory paragraph that sparks interest, write your passions, values, and general outlook on life professionally and humanly. You can achieve this by highlighting your key skills, the attributes that make you exceptional in whatever you, your personal values that helped shape what you are currently, and the goals that you have in your professional life.

Keep your personal biography brief

Determining the length of the bio before finishing it might seem like a daunting thing. But you must narrow down your information to make the entire biography brief. Depending on your primary focus and purpose of the biography, your word count can vary.

Suppose you are writing your personal bio from an SEO perspective. Then the more the words, the better. If you are writing your personal biography on a resume or job-search site such as LinkedIn, keep your word count between 300-600 words. You should use either a single paragraph or a few short paragraphs to explain precisely who you are. Keeping your bio concise helps you capture your audience’s attention and encourage them to read the rest of your bio.

While writing a bio for your professional website, the total word count should be 1500 -2000 words . In this scenario, include as many details as possible but don’t be too detailed either.

When writing your personal biography, it is very important that you include your purpose for writing the given bio. You should be able to answer the “ wh y” and “ what ” questions properly to the reader. After providing the reader with the purpose for your writing the bio, talk about the professional goals you have accomplished so far, the kind of awards and accolades you have received, if any, and whether or not you have exceeded your job goals and responsibilities- especially if your reader is a potential employee or client.

The next thing to include in your bio should be your background history. Give a brief but detailed explanation of your history, considering the aspects of your personal background that contributed to who you are today. While writing this section, highlight the events of your personal life that shaped your career line.

After that, talk about your educational background and the credentials that you have. In this section, you can write about where you schooled, what you studied for, and include educational awards or certificates you received from the various schools you attended.

If you have much information that you feel should be part and parcel of your biography, remember to organize this information, starting with the most important to the least important to encourage your reader to keep on reading. While at it, don’t forget to remove any irrelevant information that does not align with your bio’s purpose to guard your credibility.

Write your biography in the third-person format

As seen earlier, biographies are usually written in the third person. This makes them sound more objective and unbiased. While writing in the third person is difficult for most people- I mean, how do you talk about yourself in the third person? It is very beneficial to do so- especially informal settings.

From an SEO perspective, writing in the third person allows you to include your full names. This is very useful as it helps tell the reader that the piece provided is about you. However, avoid overusing your name as it makes the whole thing unnatural. Your name in a bio should come out as a natural inclusion. Only include it when it is appropriate.

Write a well-planned story

When drafting your personal bio, it is easier to find yourself talking more about your accomplishments instead of anything else. In as much as it is important to write about your achievements, avoid over mentioning them. Your bio should go over and beyond your awards and get to the core of who you are and what your brand is about. This might seem challenging, but if you plan your list well, you will achieve this. While writing this part, ask yourself questions like, who is your audience? What lesson do you want to convey? Which life events in your life best illustrate those main points? Convert your biography to a compelling story that engages the reader and draws their attention to want to know you more.

Once you master the art of writing your personal biography as a story, you are allowing yourself the chance to differentiate yourself from others and connect with the reader. Remember to focus only on accomplishments that relate to a variety of professional skills or the ones that relate to your proficiency and competence.

Your contact information should appear in the last sentence of your personal biography and should be easily visible. This is especially true if you are writing a bio that you will later publish on your website. Providing your contact information encourages your readers to communicate with you as it makes you appear like an open-minded and approachable person. You can include your email address, a link to your professional social media pages such as LinkedIn and Twitter, or a link to your contact page. However, you should be aware of online scammers.

Edit thoroughly

Your bio needs to reflect you in the best way possible. Therefore, it should be updated regularly and edited every time you achieve something new. A well-written, regularly updated personal biography is like a well-optimized search engine. As you gain more experience or, rather, whenever you shift your professional focus, you should always update those changes in your bio.

Writing a personal biography is a continuous process. The work is never truly finished. Therefore, after drafting your longer version of the personal bio that you intend to use on your website or for job-searching reasons, keep in mind that you will have to update it later and edit it where necessary.

After writing your bio, make sure to edit it thoroughly to ensure that it is grammatically correct and well-punctuated. This way, you will write a great personal bio that keeps your readers engaged and glued to your story. You can edit your work using online editing software such as Grammarly. You can read your work out loud to identify areas that need grammatical improvement, and you can ask a friend or family member who is objective to go through your piece and provide honest feedback on areas that need to be improved. It is also important that you avoid editing your work as you write. Instead, edit the entire document once it is complete to achieve a smoother flow.

Tips to Appear Professional in Personal Biography

To write a personal biography that will make you different from the rest of the crowd, you must understand how to make an all-important human connection while creatively showcasing your major accomplishments. It would be best if you do not come out as all-boastful to your readers.

Here are some of the best tips to make your personal bio noticeable:

Use humor where it is appropriate

Using humor in your personal biography is a great way of connecting with your audience. While you should maintain a professional tone throughout your piece, it is a good idea to include a humorous note upfront or at the end of your bio. However, you should first understand your target audience and know what type of joke is appropriate. Making your audience laugh as they read your story helps create a lasting impression on them, thus setting you apart from your peers.

Provide a link to your portfolio

The primary goal of writing a personal bio is to showcase yourself out there and to tell your readers what you have done. Nevertheless, you cannot fully achieve this goal if you fail to include links to examples of your best work in that given field. The links that you provide should anchor and illustrate what you’ve already described yourself. They should not contradict the main thrust of your personal narrative or be a distraction to your readers.

If you have a lot of work and accomplishments to choose from, just pick what you feel is most important, impressive, relevant, or one that tells your story in a way that makes you feel proud. While providing the links to your work, ensure that you use relevant anchor text. The words you choose to use should tell your readers what to expect when they click on the links you’ve provided.

Utilize search engine optimization

Your personal biography should be search engine friendly. This means that you have to watch your word count and make it longer. Your content should also be original, and you should write in the third-person format using third-person pronouns. Search engines value diversity. So, if you use the same bio for many sites, the chances are that only one of them will pop up on the first page of your search results, which most readers tend to overlook.

If you use various personal bios across different sites, then it is most likely that several of your bios will appear on your search engine results, meaning that you will end up with a wider online presence.

Other approaches that you can use to improve your SEO include; using relevant keywords that are related to your field or industry, including links to your social media pages such as Twitter and LinkedIn, adding a professional photo of you that is High-Definition quality, and including internal links to your website or outside work where applicable. All these methods are aimed to promote and market your brand to your readers.

Manage your online presence

Personal biographies are essential, but they only form part of your personal brand. The rest of your online presence should connect with your personal biography rather than contradicting it. This means that you have to find ways to manage your online presence.

First, you need to ensure that all the photos and posts posted on your websites, portfolios, and social media sites are professional. Secondly, countercheck the skills and tone across all your channels online to make sure that it is consistent. Lastly, consider googling yourself online to check for inappropriate or incorrect information about you or your brand.

By doing this, you are allowing yourself an opportunity to convey a consistent and compelling message that you want your readers and prospective employers to come away with.

Do not write in list form

A bio is not a resume. Therefore, avoid writing it in list form. You should not just give a list of your jobs and career awards and recognitions. Rather, present your professional life as a story using story-telling techniques.

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the purpose of the biography. If you are writing a bio for your social media page or for a job-searching site, keep it short. Your word count should be somewhere between 200-300 words . From an SEO perspective, the length of your bio should be longer. The word count should be around 1500-2000 words . The same applies to when you are writing a personal biography for your official website. In these scenarios, you should include more details while remaining relevant to the scope of your work.

Biographies portray the experiences and events that have occurred in a person’s life. Therefore, they are written chronologically, starting with the person’s early life, educational background, personal achievements, and professional accomplishments. However, shorter bios tend to focus more on one specific area in a person’s life.

A personal biography is a well-written short account of who you are, your academic qualifications and your most notable accomplishments in life. Personal biographies shouldn’t be too wordy. They should focus more on what is most important. Personal biographies should not portray you as being too boastful. Instead, you should use your bio to showcase your achievements creatively and tell your story in a good and compelling way that leaves a lasting impression on your potential employers and readers. This way, you will differentiate yourself from your peers and have a better chance of getting your dream job in today’s competitive job market.

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Free Editable Biography Templates

Design a free creative biography template. engage your students to discover the power of synthesis and learn about the lives of famous authors..

Customize  Biography templates online . Use Edit.org to customize your biographies for schools, bookstores, and libraries. Create biographies about characters from a novel quickly and in a structured way.

Customize professional Bio examples online

At Edit.org, we have created a collection of editable biography templates that can be used by students, writers, journalists, and anyone who needs to create a biography of famous people, whether they are scientists, athletes, politicians, or singers. They contain predefined sections and fields that you can fill in as easily as in a Word document, including:

• Date and place of birth
• Place of residence
• Friends and acquaintances
• Hobbies and interests
• People of reference
• And many more

Get spectacular designs for your biography! Use it in a school, magazine, or website . You can also use it in your bookstore, library, or cultural center .

Using our template library will save you time since you won't have to start from scratch as you will have a predefined structure. Create didactic activities in your classroom and organize biographical information in a clearer and more coherent way. Just select one of the templates we offer in this article or the final cascade, customize it with your educational proposals, and print it in high resolution.

Our biographies can be adapted to your needs . You can also use them as a page for a memory book or a resume .

How to edit free personal Bio examples on Edit.org?

See how easy it is to edit short or long professional biography examples:

• Click on a design you like from this article or choose the template that best suits your activity from the editor's search engine.
• Customize the template with just a few clicks. Edit it to your liking, including colors, typography, and more.
• Save your work in our free cloud in case you want to make changes later (so you won't have to start from scratch).
• Download your biography in JPG, PNG, or PDF format for high-quality printing or digital sharing.

That's it, you're done!

Why is it a good idea to make a Biography as a school activity?

There are many reasons, but here are the 4 main ones:

• Researching someone's life and gathering information about their accomplishments, personal and professional challenges, as well as their contributions, will help students develop research skills and curiosity .
• Working on a biography improves writing skills, organization of ideas, and structuring information in a clear and coherent manner.
• Promotes critical thinking : students will learn to analyze different aspects of a public figure's life and develop their objective thinking about that person, history, and society in general. It also promotes empathy.
• Learn about the lives of influential people in different fields , such as science, politics, or art, and understand how their contributions have affected the world at large.

In short, doing a biography as a school activity is a great idea! It encourages research and understanding towards different life experiences and perspectives.

Download a Biography template for school students in minutes

Using Edit.org's online editor is easy! You don't need any design skills to create the best biographies for chronological, topical, or historical figures .

In just a few seconds, you can have your perfect template ready to share with your students or to help you write your bestseller and create new characters for your crime novel. Each template's visual result is designed to be professional, clear, and, above all, useful .

Create the best biographies with our free and intuitive editor in an easy, fast, and structured way. Use the best editable biography templates to gather information for your journalistic, literary, or research projects.

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How to Write a Biography (Examples & Templates)

A biography is a written account of a person’s life that details their life in chronological order. Another person usually writes this detailed account, and it contains reports of their childhood, career, major life events, relationships, and social impact. It also details their relationships with their family, children, and life accomplishments.

The best way to find out more about a popular figure is through reading their biographies, so you need to make sure you get the correct information. Before writing a biography, you need to do a lot of research and interviews to represent a person’s life accurately.

Types of Biography

A biography is the story of someone’s life as written by another writer. Most biographies of popular figures are written years, or even decades, after their deaths. Authors write biographies of popular figures due to either a lack of information on the subject or personal interest.

A biography aims to share a person’s story or highlight a part of their life.

There are different types of biographies, depending on the story. Some biographies are written true to the story, while some are written as fictional works. Biographies can give you true understanding of a person on an internal as well as external level along with a lot of life lessons.

Autobiography

An autobiography is different from a biography because it is written by the subject of the story, themselves. The author writes in the first-person narrative, and it flows step-by-step like a story of their life. Autobiographies contain personal accounts of the subject’s life, along with their perspectives and opinions on events in their life.

How To Write a Biography

Pick a subject.

Picking a subject is the first step in writing a biography. You can pick an already famous person or a relatively unknown person with a great life story. If you already have a few in mind, you can start by asking yourself some questions such as;

• What has the subject accomplished that makes them a good subject?
• Have they had an impact on society?
• Is the subject a celebrity or a well-known personality?
• Will the biography appeal to a wide audience?

Get Permission

When you pick a subject, the next thing to do is to get permission from them or their family or rights owners. Although, with some historical figures, there may not be any need for permission. Getting permission from your subject makes it easier for you to get stories to put into your book. You can get the chance to obtain additional personal stories and anecdotes that will make your book more interesting by doing so as well.

Do The Research

Research is the most important part of a biography’s process as the entire content of the book is dependent on it. Irrespective of what you know about the subject, you need to carry out as much research as possible to get the story’s facts precisely.

Biography research comes from various sources, depending on the book’s subject. Firsthand reports from family, friends, or personal accounts from the subjects are primary sources. They are usually the most accurate and reliable, and they are crucial for a biography. Secondary sources come from other sources like magazines or documentaries.

Pick a Format

Biographies come in various formats, with each of them having their pros and cons. A typical biography will start at the beginning, usually with the birth and childhood of the subject. Yet, if the biography’s theme involves a different event in their life, the author may want to explore the flashback option or one with concurrent events from different times.

Usually, biographies have a theme or a general life lesson at the center. The author’s role is to tell the subject’s story leading up to the major event.

Which-ever format you choose should place the theme at the center, with the other events detailing the journey.

Create a Timeline Of The Story

Since a biography takes place in chronological order, there needs to be a timeline of the events in the right order. The timeline should contain the key events in the subject’s life, in the order the author plans on revealing them. A great way to declutter the story and keep it interesting is to use flashbacks . This way, the author can introduce past events and explain later events excluding the element of monotony.

Add In Your Thoughts

The good thing about biographies is that you don’t have to stick to the hard facts only. As the author, you can share your opinions and emotions in writing. The author has the freedom to do this by commenting on a significant action by the subject in a manner that describes why they feel the subject may have done what they did.

The author can also include commentary on events depicted in the biography – how it was influenced society or its impact on the lives around them. Recounting these events through a different perspective can make the biography more relatable and interesting to read.

FAQ’s

Why is a biography template important.

A biography template has an outline that makes the writing easier for the author. Biography templates usually contain a sample timeline, format, and questions that provide more information about the subject. With a great biography template, you can cut your writing time in half and spend less time coming up with an outline.

How are biographies better in comparison to autobiographies

Since a different person writes biographies, they tend to be more objective and somewhat accurate than autobiographies. An autobiography tells things from the author’s perspective, so their views and perspective cloud it. Thus, a biography will likely tell a more factual story.

These are the important steps you need to take to help you write a great biography. Now, to make things easier for you, we have a free customizable autobiography and biography template that you can use to start your first book. Get the template and start writing today

What are some of the most important elements to keep in consideration while writing a biography?

Any author looking to write a biography must consider the factors below. They aren’t the only important factors, but a biography isn’t complete without them. • Date and place of their birth • Academic background • Professional expertise • Death, if deceased • Facts and anecdotes about the person • Main accomplishments • Detailed accounts of their child and adult life

Biographies tell the untold stories of some incredibly relevant people in the world. But biographies are not always strictly accurate. So, every biographer needs to follow the necessary steps to provide a biography with all the requirements.

Related Documents

30 Professional Biography Examples (& Templates)

A biography is a written depiction of the life of a person that includes factual stories and details from their personal lives along with their successes, trials, and failures. Most of us have read biography examples of famous personalities, especially those we admire.

• 1 Biography Examples
• 2 What is an example of a biography?
• 3 Personal Bio Examples
• 4 How do I write a biography about myself?
• 5 Professional Bio Templates
• 6 How to write a short bio?

Biography Examples

What is an example of a biography.

Biography examples have become so popular these days that we even have a cable network devoted entirely to narrating the stories of the lives of famous people. If you plan to make a biography, you can draw inspiration from various bio samples including:

• “Alexander Hamilton,” written by Ron Chernow
• “Into the Wild,” written by Jon Krakauer
• “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World,” written by Tracy Kidder
• “Steve Jobs,” written by Walter Isaacson
• “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” written by Rebecca Skloot
• “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time,” written by Greg Mortenson
• “Unbroken,” written by Laura Hillenbrand

Personal Bio Examples

How do i write a biography about myself.

Anyone can write their own personal biography. For instance, you may need your own biography examples when seeking employment. Personal bio examples provide a short introduction and a summary of your professional credentials, education, accomplishments, and other relevant information that makes you what you are.

The document provides hiring managers with an idea of why you consider yourself the perfect person for the job. Aside from the employment angle, you can also use a professional bio template on professional websites and networking platforms.

The hardest part when creating biography examples is to get started. Before writing, you should give yourself time to focus, so that you can include all of the information you want to share in an efficient but concise manner. Consider the following tips to create your personal biography:

• Introduce yourself Start with a short introduction that shows the reader who you are. Your first sentence must include your full name, followed by relevant details that you want to emphasize like your certifications, achievements, and education. After this strong first sentence, mention your attributes, skills, personal, and professional values. You can also include other significant details relevant to your goals like your job title, the industry where you work, and the duties of your job. These details are essential for employers looking for employees on various professional platforms.
• Keep things short Remember to keep your personal bio short. Start by having a word count goal although this may vary depending on the focus and purpose of your biography. For a personal bio for employment purposes, it should be at most just one paragraph or a couple of short paragraphs with descriptions of who you are. The most ideal word count will be between 300 – 500 words. Short bios are usually meant to get the attention of the reader and encourage them to continue reading the rest of your CV or resume. Make sure your bio includes your accomplishments, purpose, history, credentials, and education. In case there is a lot of information you would like to include, you need to organize the most relevant information first. Remove any details that have no relevance to your bio’s purpose.
• Use the third person Remember that you’re making a biography, not an autobiography. Although it may sound strange to write about yourself in the third person, there are many advantages to doing so. Writing in the third person allows you to include your complete name. This method works well for search engine optimization as it tells the search engine that the bio is all about you.
• Think strategically while writing There’s nothing wrong with mentioning all of your achievements but you should avoid creating a list that’s too extensive. If you’re finding it difficult to start, ask yourself the following: Who are you writing for? What do you want your readers to learn about you? What life events should you include to show them who you are? If you can compose a compelling story for others to read so that they can learn more about you, you would have differentiated yourself from the competition. You can include narratives that have inspired you to go after your current job or shaped your goals. Using personal anecdotes provides readers with a more profound understanding of your interests. core values, and passions.
• Include your contact details If the biography is the first step for you to communicate with others, the contact details section of your bio encourages your readers to communicate back as it makes you seem more approachable and open. Your contact details should include your email address and links to your professional social media platforms. Generally, you should place your contact details at the end of your bio.
• Edit and revise as needed Remember that your biography is a reflection of you as an editor and a writer. For this, make sure to proofread for spelling and grammatical errors before sending or publishing it. The following are some tips for refining your bio: Avoid editing as you go – just focus on your writing. Edit after writing all of the content. Read your bio out loud to catch any grammatical errors. Also, find areas where you can still improve the structure. Use online editing software to check and grade your bio in terms of readability. Ask friends, co-workers or family members to give you honest feedback on what you can improve. Editing your work is one of the many important steps to ensure that your personal bio is the most professional representation of your accomplishments, character, and background.

Professional Bio Templates

How to write a short bio.

When you talk about online biographies, you can readily come up with a few short biography examples. Social media platforms all have space for a short description of what you do and who you are.

You should take advantage of the 2 to 3 lines you have for short but creative bio examples. If you have limited space, keep your bios short, sweet, and filled with the most significant details strangers should know about you like:

• Your full name
• Your current job title or role
• Your ultimate goal in life
• Your most notable achievement

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25+ Professional Biography Templates & Examples (Word / PDF)

Table of Contents

• 1 How to write a good biography?
• 2 A professional biography:
• 3 Personal biography:
• 4 Conclusion:

A biography template is basically an account of someone’s life that is composed by another person. In the case of few sentences biography, a biography can be short. On the other hand, it can also be long enough just like an entire book. The short biographies demonstrates someone’s basic life facts and their importance, while the long biographies have more details to make an interesting read.

Additionally, the length of the biography is based on the type of information you want to include. The length will identify the nature of information. A lengthy biography is more complicated as it contains more details.

How to write a good biography?

A biography is written to analyze a person’s life. A good biographer will try to join the dots and demonstrate specific actions and events. This assists in bringing out the importance of a person’s life via their achievements or remarkable deeds.

Chronological order is used to write biographies. Some biographers also write the biographies in themed order like early life, educational background, or a person’s achievements. Furthermore, there are various sources of information that will help you in writing an outstanding biography . These sources of information can be primary or secondary sources. Materials like letters, newspaper accounts or diaries are the primary sources of information. While, reference books, other biographies or historical records are considered as the secondary sources.

A professional biography:

A professional biography should be engaging, informative and interesting for the readers so that they analyze the person or business entity being talked about. Following elements should be included in a professional biography;

• In a sentence or two, provide a summary of one’s early life in order to make it interesting.
• Next, type information regarding your education. You just have to mention any academic awards or the clubs and societies that you were part of as well as any work experience in school.
• Speak about how creative and innovative you are. State that you can come up with solutions to the problems that you have faced as an individual. Indicate any condition that you were self-reliant in coming up with solutions.
• Specify the qualities that make you stand out such as being independent, principled, and more.

Personal biography:

The personal biography should be precise and relevant to your target audience that indicates who you are, your credentials and your notable achievements in life. Include the following key elements in a personal biography;

• Provide an introduction of yourself. Write your personal biography always in third person. Indicate the starting year of your professional career. You can also provide any related specializations in your field.
• Your educational facts and credentials should be included. The degrees that you have pursued, indicate them and their respective institutions. Include any relevant experiences that are required for your career. Specify the name of the society that you are legally a member of.
• Any notable achievements or awards you have earned in your practice, outline them. Keep in mind that the information should be relevant to the audience. You could mention the magazines or any publishing house in case you happen to be an author.
• In the conclusion, write any upcoming projects or works in progress that people should lookout for in the near future. You should also mention your current place of residence.

Moreover, you must keep on updating your biographies in order to indicate who you are at present time. You may also like personal reference letter templates .

Conclusion:

In conclusion, a biography template is a helpful tool that assists the biographer to come up with an excellent biography. The biographies should be brief. It should be written to the point and in an organized way so that reader easily find out the details they might be interested in.

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Posted on Jun 30, 2023

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

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.

FREE RESOURCE

Biography Outline Template

Craft a satisfying story arc for your biography with our free template.

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).  

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.  

Book Proposal Template

Craft a professional pitch for your nonfiction book with our handy template.

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

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. 

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.

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. 

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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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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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Personal Biography Template

About this Template

Contents of the template:.

• Front Page Design Area : Personalize with name, photo, and a signature quote.
• Introduction : Quick snapshot including basic details and an introductory paragraph.
• Early Life Section : Detail out family background, childhood memories, and educational background.
• Career Milestones : List down significant professional achievements, jobs, and current endeavors.
• Personal Interests and Hobbies : Space to share passions, hobbies, and leisure activities.
• Challenges and Overcoming Adversities : Discuss personal and professional setbacks and how they were faced.
• Personal Anecdotes and Stories : Share light-hearted, insightful or transformative moments.
• Quotes and Reflections : List down notable sayings and reflections.
• Photo Gallery : A visual journey through various life stages with captions.
• Legacy and Contact : Concluding section to wrap up the biography.

Why Use This Template:

• Ease of Use : Simply fill in your details, and the structure guides you through every life stage.
• Consistency : It ensures a uniform format for everyone, making it look professional and organized.
• Time-saving : Instead of starting from scratch, this template provides a clear roadmap to follow.
• Versatility : Suitable for a range of biographical needs, from personal to professional.
• Professionals : Creating a detailed account of their career journey for networking or job applications.
• Authors/Writers : Crafting an author bio for book jackets or promotional materials.
• Personal Uses : Documenting family stories, memories, or life achievements, possibly for family archives or personal websites.
• Speakers & Presenters : Sharing their life and achievements with an audience before an event or presentation.
• Academics : Preparing a biography for lectures, courses, or academic profiles.

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PROFESSIONAL & EXECUTIVE BIOGRAPHY TEMPLATES

PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED, MODERN EXECUTIVE BIOGRAPHY TEMPLATES FOR MICROSOFT WORD: CREATE AN IMPECCABLY PROFESSIONAL IMAGE & ESTABLISH AN UNBEATABLE COMPETITIVE EDGE

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Executive biographies are one-page documents written in the third-person perspective using a narrative story format to describe information about your career history and accomplishments, education and other credentials, core values, brand attributes, and more. There may be times when you will be asked for a bio rather than a resume and there are other times when it may feel more appropriate to submit a bio than a full resume.

You may use your biography as a handout at networking events or when submitting a business proposition. Other common uses include submitting a board bio when positioning yourself for board of director seats or using a speaker bio for speaking engagements.

Distinctive executive biography templates have been created specifically for Microsoft Word. They have not been tested with Pages, Google Docs, or other word processors. Each professional bio template comes with a coordinating letterhead / cover letter template . Coordinating resume templates are available separately. Purchase a biography template, download it, and begin using it immediately to build your executive bio . Just replace the “dummy” text in the biography with your own bio text. Some collections also include a coordinating references sheet template and/or resume addendum template .

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5+ Biography templates

Biography template is a readymade document that lets you to write a spotless biography in few minutes instead of hours so choose an appropriate one from our collection of biography templates and make the job easier for yourself. biography is known as a comprehensive account of another person’s life history written by you or any other one. Biography is totally different thing from auto biography because you are not writing about yourself but about another person by covering all important parts of his or her life such as personal bio, family background, accomplishments in life, civil services provided and other information etc.

Read more about biography templates

Biographies can be written for variety of reasons. These can be short or long based on purpose and role of the person in civil society. The short biographies explain a person’s basic and essential life facts and their importance, on another hand the long biographies allows the writer to include more details to make an interesting read about the person. A biography can be written for a national hero, social worker, political person, sportsman or for any other famous person. Writing a biography can also be the vital part of an academic course of study program so one should get help from a biography template to stay away from errors when writing one.

Writing a biography is not much difficult but writer must place all information and details in a correct and easily understandable order. When writing a biography, you are going to write about a person’s life so start with his or her personal bio and then add more details and information to make the biography effective. Use of the biography template can make the biography writing calmer for you so have a glance at following biography templates to pick up an appropriate one for your personal use.

Biography Sample Template in word