Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Writing a Professional Curriculum Vitae
• Method 2 of 3: Writing a Biography for College Admission
• Method 3 of 3: Writing a Personal Biography
• Tips

Writing a personal bio is a great way to present yourself in the best possible light and change the way people think about themselves. It doesn't matter if you want to write a professional biography or a biography for college admission, the whole process doesn't take a lot of your time.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Writing a Professional Curriculum Vitae

1. 1 Define your goals and target audience. Before you start writing a biography, you need to understand who it is for. Your bio is your introduction to your audience. With it, you must clearly and clearly communicate who you are and what you do.
   • A biography for a personal site is different from a biography for college admission. Your bio should be consistent with your goals and should be formal, professionally written, interesting, or aimed at describing you as a person.
2. 2 Search for examples of biographies based on your target audience. One of the best ways to understand what readers expect from your bio is by reading the biographies of other people in your industry. For example, if you're writing a professional bio for your personal website to promote yourself or your skills, look for sites created by others in your industry. Pay attention to how they present themselves, and mark the moments that work best for you.
   • When looking for professional biographies, you can use professional sites such as personal Twitter or Linkedln pages.
3. 3 Concentrate on a specific aspect of your bio. Here you have to be careful - even the most interesting of the jokes are sometimes out of place. For example, a cover author biography usually consists of past writing accomplishments, while an athlete biography on a team website includes height and weight. While you can always add extraordinary details, they shouldn't take up the lion's share of your bio.
   • Remember, objectivity plays a big role. Even if you enjoy going to the bar with friends on weekends, this is not something you should list in your bio when looking for a job. Your bio details should be consistent with your goals and be informative.
4. 4 Write in the third person. Writing a biography in the third person will help convey the facts more objectively, as if someone else wrote it, which will be very useful to you in a formal setting. Experts recommend that you always write professional biographies in a third person.
   • For example, you might start your bio by saying "Joanne Smith works as a graphic designer in Boston," rather than "I work as a graphic designer in Boston."
5. 5 Start by specifying a name. This is the first thing you should do. Imagine that the people reading your biography know nothing about you. Please enter your full name, but do not use a nickname.
   • For example: Dan Keller
6. 6 Describe your accomplishments. What are you famous for? What do you do for a living? What experience and qualifications do you have? Don't put this information off until later and don't make your readers guess - they just won't do it and will quickly lose interest. Your merit should be clearly stated in the first or second sentence. The easiest way to do this is in combination with a name.
   • Dan Keller is a journalist for the Boulder Times.
7. 7 Mention your most important accomplishments, if any. If you have special merits or certificates, mention them in your biography, although this has its own difficulties and in some situations it is unacceptable. Remember, a curriculum vitae is different from a resume. Don't just list your achievements; describe them. It should not be forgotten that your readers may not know what these or those merits are good for, so it is necessary to be specific.
   • Dan Keller is a journalist for the Boulder Times. Thanks to his 2011 "All that and More" series, the Boulder Times received the prestigious "Up-and-Comer" award for his innovative contributions.
8. 8 Mention personal qualities. This is a great way to get the reader interested and a great opportunity to prove yourself as a person. But don't self-disclose and include too intimate or slightly intimidating details. Ideally, your personality traits will help you strike up a conversation with a potential audience in person.
   • Dan Keller is a journalist for the Boulder Times. Thanks to his 2011 series "All that and More", the Boulder Times received the prestigious "Up-and-Comer." In his spare time, he is gardening, learning French and trying not to be the worst player in the Rockies.
9. 9 Complete your bio by adding information about any projects you are working on. For example, if you are a writer, include the title of your new book. One or two sentences are enough for this.
   • Dan Keller is a journalist for the Boulder Times.Thanks to his 2011 series "All that and More", the Boulder Times received the prestigious "Up-and-Comer." In his spare time, he is gardening, learning French and trying not to be the worst player in the Rockies. He is now working on his memoirs.
10. 10 Enter your contact details. Contact information is usually included in the last sentence. If you are going to post your bio on the Internet, be careful about mentioning your email address so that you do not receive spam later. Many people add email addresses online, for example greg (at) fizzlemail (dot) com. If space allows, provide several ways to contact you, for example, your Twitter profile or Linkedln page.
    • Dan Keller is a journalist for the Boulder Times. Thanks to his 2011 "All That and More" series, the Boulder Times won the prestigious "Up-and-Comer." In his spare time, he is gardening, learning French and trying not to be the worst player in the Rockies. He is now working on his memoirs. You can reach him by e-mail: dkeller (at) email (dot) com or on Twitter: @TheFakeDKeller.
11. 11 Try to keep within 250 words. For self-promotion on the Internet, this is enough to give the reader an idea of ​​your life and personality without getting too bored with unnecessary details. The biography should be no longer than 500 words.
12. 12 Check and edit. What we write is rarely perfect the first time. Since personal biographies are a small essay about a person's life, after reading it again, you will probably notice that something is missing.
    • Have a friend read the biography and give you their opinion. This is very important because the other person will be able to tell you if you wrote your bio correctly.
13. 13 Update your bio regularly. Reread your biography from time to time and update the information. With a little effort updating your bio, you will save a lot of time and effort if you need to use it again.

Method 2 of 3: Writing a Biography for College Admission

1. 1 Write a storytelling biography. The structure outlined above is unlikely to work for most college entrance exams: while its simplicity makes it easy to use and the whole process doesn't take long, the most important thing when going to college is to stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this is to create a biography in the form of a story about yourself, rather than providing individual facts. There are many options to choose from, including the following:
   • Chronological biography: The structure of such a biography is simple: it starts at the beginning and ends at the end. This is the most straightforward way, but it is great if you have lived an interesting life that starts with events A and B and ends in C in an unusual and impressive way (for example, if you succeeded in spite of everything).
   • Circular biography: A biography of such a structure begins with the most important period in life (D), returns to past events (A), and then explains the events that led to this period in life (B, C), forcing the reader to walk your life path in a circle. This is a good way to create tension, especially if Event D is so bizarre and improbable that the reader will be interested in following the development of events.
   • Detailed biography: The biography of such a structure is concentrated around one important event (for example, C) and symbolically tells about the most important moments in life. It can use small insignificant details (a, d), aimed at orienting the reader in the events of your life, while the events themselves should be important enough in themselves.
2. 2 Concentrate on yourself. Colleges require a story about their own life, which helps them understand if you are the right fit for them or not.You must show all your positive aspects, so you should not distract the reader's attention and include a description of the institution itself in the biography.
   • Wrong option: "The University of California at San Francisco is the most prestigious research medical university in the world, and I believe that it will give me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor."
     
     The institution you are applying to is already know what programs and benefits they provide, so don't waste your readers' time. In addition, praising the institution instead of describing your own qualities makes you think that you are not a very suitable candidate.
   • Correct option: “When I was five years old, I watched a trauma surgeon save my brother's life - this is a truly unforgettable moment in my life. From that day on, I always knew unmistakably that I would devote my life to medicine. My brother was lucky that his surgeon studied in one of the best educational institutions in the country. Following in his footsteps, I hope that one day someone else will be as grateful as our family to Dr. Heller. "
     
     The narrator's description should be relevant, personal, and memorable. While, in fact, this case also praises the benefits of studying at the University of California, San Francisco, it does not sound like you are trying to give an ambiguous compliment to this institution.
3. 3 Don't mention what the admissions office wants to hear. Even if you do the job, which is quite difficult to do without being factual, so the best thing that can happen is a situation in which the admissions committee considers you to be the same as hundreds or thousands of other students using similar tactics. It is best to talk about real facts and events that are important to you. Isn't your life the most wonderful? Tell about it, and whatever you do, don't cross the line. Trying to make something more exciting out of a mediocre story will only make you look silly, especially compared to the really worthwhile stories that some applicants will write.
   • Wrong option: "Reading The great gatsby - this is a turning point in my life, forcing me to completely reconsider my views on life in modern America. This assignment made me realize that I want to devote my life to studying American history. "
   • Correct option: "My family has no distinguished service in this country. We did not arrive in the Mayflower, and our last name does not originate in Ellis Island, we also did not receive an amnesty after escaping a foreign dictatorship. What we did was settle in four states on midwest, where we have happily lived for a hundred years. The point is that I lack American roots. This made me choose the specialty "History of America."
4. 4 Don't try too hard to sound smart. This is what the entrance exams are designed for. Although you should not use slang expressions or seem overly silly, the content of your biography should speak for itself; if you worry too much about the correctness of the chosen words, it will only interfere with the perception. Plus, the selection committee reviews a huge number of essays every year, and the last thing they want to see is the other person trying to insert a five-syllable word where they don't belong.
   • Wrong option"Even with my minimalist education, I continue to jealously value hard work and frugality more than anything else."
     
     It won't work unless you are the Countess from Dickens's stories or one of Jane Austen's comedic characters, as it sounds very tortured.
   • Correct option"I grew up in a poor family and it taught me to value hard work and be hard at work - sometimes that's all a person can afford."
     
     Do not pile up words and speak to the point, and it is desirable that all words are no longer than two syllables.
5. 5 Give examples, don't just tell. This is one of the most important conditions that will help you make your bio unique. Many students write: "I learned a valuable lesson from my experience" or "I learned a lot from X," but detailed description concrete examples are much more effective.
   • Wrong option: "I learned a lot from my experience as a psychologist in the camp."
     
     This does not say anything about what you actually learned, and this phrase is in all likelihood used. hundreds other students.
   • Correct option"Through my experience as a psychologist in the camp, I realized the importance of empathy and mutual help. Now that I see my sister throwing tantrums, I better understand how to help her be less assertive and assertive."
6. 6 Use active verbs. The "passive voice" is the use of the infinitive form that makes your speech unwieldy and difficult to understand. Using verbs in the active present tense will help you spice up your bio and make it more interesting.
   • Understand the difference between the following sentences: "The window was broken by a zombie" and "The zombie broke the window." In the first case, the situation itself is not completely clear. In the second case, everything is pretty clear: the zombie broke the window, and nothing can be done about it.

Method 3 of 3: Writing a Personal Biography

1. 1 Define the purpose of your bio. Are you writing a biography to meet a specific audience, or is your biography for any reader? A bio written for a Facebook page is very different from a bio written for a website.
2. 2 Determine volume limits. Some social networks, such as Twitter, limit the size of a personal bio in terms of words and characters. It is essential to use this space wisely to make the greatest impression.
3. 3 Think about what events from your life you want to share. This information depends on the target audience. If you are writing a highly personal biography, you can include elements such as hobbies, personal views, and famous sayings. If the type of biography ranges between professional and highly personal, share what you think most reflects your personality, but at the same time your biography should not alienate the reader.
4. 4 Please include your name, profession and achievements. As with a professional biography, your personal biography should give the reader a clear idea of ​​what who you are, what do you do and how good you do it. But you can also make your biography less formal.
   • Joanne Smith is a passionate knitter who also owns her own paper company. She has been in business for over 25 years and has won numerous awards for business innovation (although none of them are related to her knitting hobby). In her free time from work (of which she has a lot), she enjoys drinking wine, whiskey, beer and again wine.
5. 5 Don't use modern jargon. Such words are used so often that for most people they no longer mean anything and carry too general a meaning: innovative, expert, creative etc. Give more examples, don't just talk about yourself.
6. 6 Use humor to express yourself. A personal biography aims to create a definite connection with the audience through humor. It helps to break the ice between you and the reader, and also to tell you about yourself in just a few words.
   • Hillary Clinton's Twitter biography is an excellent example of a very short biography that carries a lot of information in a humorous form: "Wife, mother, lawyer, defender of the rights of women and children, lawyer, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, United States Senator, Secretary of State , a writer, a dog owner, a hairstyle idol, a lover of women's pantsuits, breaking glass ceilings and so on ... "

Tips

• Throughout the entire process, rethink your goals and target audiences that you identified in Method 1. This will help you better lead the process.
• If you write for sites on the Internet, use hyperlinks to the facts you mentioned, for example, the projects in which you worked or your personal blog.