How to Do a Biography Research Paper
Writing a biography is like making a new friend. When you study someone's life you begin to feel that you know her as a person, and her secrets become yours. Deciding what you want to focus on in your biography says almost as much about you as it does about your subject. Ask yourself why this person is important and warrants having a biography written about him. Reading good biographies introduces you not only to the person, but also to her time and place, making it a wonderful way to study history.
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Instructions
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Do your research. Find out everything you can about your biography subject. Read books and magazine articles, listen to broadcasts, do an Internet search or interview the individual's friends and family, if that's an option.
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Arrange to do an interview, if the person you are writing your biography about is alive and lives near you. Try to arrange it by telephone or email if he isn't in the same town. Prepare your questions ahead of time.
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Take notes of topics you want to cover about the individual's life and contribution. Jot down anything that may be on interest later, as you can always discard the information you don't want to include in your biography.
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Pick an angle. Try to present an innovative insight into someone's life that nobody else has developed. Now that Michael Jackson is dead, there will be a multitude of biographies about him, so look for something like the name of his pet hamster when he was a child and describe how it led to his love of animals.
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Draft your biography. Sit down and start writing. Pretend you are telling a friend about the story of this individual's life. Develop a confidential tone and remember you are telling the story, so you want to keep your reader interested.
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Leave your biography for a day or so and then correct the grammar and spelling mistakes. Read it aloud to yourself and evaluate it for tone.
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Ask a parent or friend with good editing skills to review your biography. Invite comments and suggestions about how you could improve your biography.
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Tips & Warnings
Get in the habit of having a second reader look at your work, so if you haven't started doing that yet, begin with your biography.
References
Resources
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