How to Write a 400 Word Obituary

An obituary is an announcement of someone's death. It honor the person's life by stating his accomplishments and listing surviving family members. When writing an obituary, it is important to be tasteful and use a serious tone. A 400-word obituary can include a good deal of information about the deceased.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Consult the family of the deceased. Find out what information the family would like to include (or not include) in the obituary.

2. Begin the obit by stating the person's full name and age at the time of death. Include a married woman's maiden name. If the person was more commonly known by a nickname, mention this as well.

3. Use a tasteful expression or euphemism to state that the person died. It is better to write that someone "passed away" rather than the person "died."

4. Mention the person's hometown. Also include where he or she was born and grew up.

5. List the names of close family members. Obituaries often list spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings and others. With 400 words, you should be able to list many family members as well as where they live.

6. Write some sentences about the person's life. Include information about his or her profession, educational degrees, contributions to society, organizations that he or she belonged to and other accomplishments. You can also mention the person's hobbies. Avoid mentioning negative characteristics or events from the person's life.

7. Include the cause of death if the family is comfortable with it being disclosed. Many obituaries omit the cause of death.

8. Provide funeral arrangement information. Include the name and location of the funeral home, church or other location for the funeral. Be sure to include the time of the funeral as well.

9. Note donation or memorial fund information. Often family members ask that people donate money to a specific organization in lieu of sending flowers. If this is the case, provide information about where donations should be made.