How to Write an Impressive Autobiography - Definition and Examples

Everyone has a story. Your story is what shaped you into who you are and mold your beliefs and perspectives. Autobiography is one of the most influential literary devices that tell your story, personal experiences, and whatever you learned through those experiences. Writing an autobiography is like discovering oneself. You may not be able to include all your expertise in the autobiography. So, capture the most important elements of your life in this piece of work.

You can check out short autobiography examples for students to get an idea of what its structure should be. Now that the definition of an autobiography is clear to you, let’s take a look at the steps for writing one.

Step-by-Step Guidelines For Writing An Strong Autobiography

There are different types of autobiographies. The most common ones are memoir, traditional autobiography, confession, spiritual, etc. Figure out the purpose of writing the autobiography to choose the right type for your paper. And that brings us to the first step of writing an unforgettable autobiography for your semester.

1. Reflect on the purpose of your autobiography

Why do you want to tell the story of your life? You may have exciting or terrible experiences to share with people. But why do you want to do it? Before you sit down to write this piece of work, ask yourself these questions.

• What is the motivation for writing my autobiography?
• Do I want to share my family history?
• Am I recording my personal history?
• Is it my community work?
• What if I want to tell my work history and experiences?
• What shaped my personal values and responsibilities?

These questions will help you discover what you really want to share. Start working on your autobiographical project once you’ve identified your purpose and motivation.

2. Prepare lists depending on your work’s purpose

You need to write a lot of lists once you have decided the purpose of writing your autobiography. The lists depend on what you want to write in your autobiography. For example, let’s say you chose to write your own life story. Thus, here are the lists you need to prepare to get the autobiography started.

Places

• What are the places I have lived in as a child, teenager, adolescent, etc.?
• What were those places like?
• Did those places change you as a person and what did that feel like?
• What was significant about that place?

 Show how places played an essential role in your life. Describe those places in your own words. Try to take your readers to that place through your words.

Example:

I have got ambivalent memories of the place where I grew up. My earliest memories are of a small village called Catbrook, located in the Wye Valley. Though there weren’t any monuments, there were still some old and distinctive buildings in my town. The place wasn't pretty. Still, there was something about it that makes me nostalgic every time I think of my birthplace. The place had a simplicity and mundane practicality that will compel you to develop attachments to its roads, trees and fields.

People

• Who were the significant people in my life?
• What did these people mean to me?
• How were the people like?
• What did I learn from them?
• How did the experiences affect me as I grew up?

The people in an autobiography add interest and colour to the write-up. Your readers will want to know about those characteristics and your interactions with them.

Example:

I met Luna when I shifted to Texas to pursue my PhD degree in English Literature. She was my flatmate. She was a volunteer at an NGO for blind people. We were way different from one another. She preferred bohemian attire with a bandana wrapped around her head. I, on the contrary, felt comfortable in jumpsuits and pyjamas. She liked horror movies while I dreaded them. There were plenty of differences between us. But she was always there when I felt lonely in the new city. She helped me learn how to write a query letter for my big project at the office. She hugged me tight when I got my first promotion and baked me my favourite lasagne on my birthday though she hates it. Luna left the city after two years for her job and I still miss the warmth & affection that I had when she was here with me.

Events and experiences

• It can be an important incident in one of the places you lived in.
• What is it you remember the most about your favourite person?
• You may have travelled a lot. Tell about that.
• A remarkable experience like the birthing of a child

Your life experiences make autobiography interesting. Jot down the experiences in your notebook. Include the ones that work as a ‘memory trigger’ in the autobiography.

Example:

School is where you prepare for the big, not-so-easy world out there. It is this place that teaches you to be strong, confident, and kind. It hurts me when some of my colleagues talk about all the bullying they had faced during their school life. As I grew up, I realised the quality of one’s school life depends on the teachers and the friends you make. For example, my teachers had my back when my parents couldn’t afford the school fees. My friends comforted me in all the ways they could. It is because of this small family that I still appreciate the good people I meet in my life.

3. Organise the lists into a structure

By now, you must have had your lists ready and your memories are flowing. So, you got to organize your lists into a structure and you are good to go! The best thing about writing an autobiography template is that there’s no obligation to do so chronologically. You can tell your story in the order you want.

Pick a specific theme as you prepare the structure of your autobiography. The themes can be anything such as love, lost love, family, friendships, parties, work, travel, achievements, etc. No matter what theme you pick, add a little more depth to your experiences. There are mainly nine types of characters in Literature. You may come across any of these characters at some point in your life. So, describe them precisely throughout the autobiography.

Wrapped Up,

Check out short autobiographies examples to gain inspiration for your own work. Remember that autobiographies are supposed to be real, truthful and 100% original. Identify why you want to write the autobiography. Then prepare the lists that you would like to include in your piece of work. Finally, break down the lists into an appropriate structure and write a perfect autobiography in no time. Good Luck.

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