Biographical Narrative
Elements
bio = life
graph = writing
narrative = story
Who do you know?
You will choose one person and write
about their:
• background
• personality traits
• significance in your life
Background information questions you need to know how to
answer:
1. When did you first meet or how long have you known this
person?
2. What is your relationship?
3. What are some important facts that will help the reader “get
to know” this person?
age, type of employment, typical activities,
life experiences…..
4. What does this person look like?
How do I write about someone’s personality?
There are two ways to show the character or
personality of a person: directly and indirectly.
Direct characterization: The writer __________
the reader what this person is like.
Create a word bank of adjectives that would
directly describe a person’s personality:
Word bank:
Indirect characterization is the most powerful
way to reveal someone’s personality or the
characteristics you want to present. There are
several ways to do this (remember LATTE …?)
L _____________
A ____________
T ____________
T ____________
E ____________
List the examples of indirect
characterization from this clip
I need to remember an anecdote or two so I can
indirectly characterize my subject.
An anecdote provides a great way to indirectly
characterize someone or “show” him or her to the
reader. But not just any anecdote will do. It has to
have a purpose. Your background information and
your anecdotes should all support and elaborate on
the main points in your thesis.
How do you establish a thesis?
Ask yourself….
Why did I choose this person?
What main points about this person do I want to
focus on?
Analyzing the significance of the subject (the
person you’re writing about)
Complete some of these sentence starters to
help you explore the significance of this person
in your life:
I am grateful for….
I have learned that….
I now know that……
He/she has influenced me by….
I will never forget how he/she ……