Biographical Narrative Essay - Rowland High School

Biographical
Narrative Essay
Ms. Wellmeyer

Step 1:
Pre-Writing
Select a Person

First, Select a person…
Think of someone important to you
Someone you have known for a
long time
Write their name on the top of your
paper
You may use their actual name (Mary)
or a title (Mom) or nick name (Bugs)

Think about the person
Think about the following:
What does the person look like
Why is this person important to
you
What have you experienced
together

Now write…
Write in detail at least one specific
incident that characterizes your
chosen person
characterizes means: an incident
that is an example of what this
person is like, or what this person
means to you

Ms. W’s W s Example
Dad…
We went camping and I made him
blow up my air mattress because I
refused to sleep on the ground
He got so light-headed headed because we
were way up high in the mountains
And I ended up sleeping in the car
because I was cold and it rained

More to write…
Write down physical
characteristics about the person
Especially ones that contribute to
the person being unique or different
Examples: type of clothes, a
particular hat, friendly eyes, big
nose, etc

Ms. W’s W s example
My dad…
Big belly
Always wears golf shirts
And weird golf hats from the
“shark” guy
Prickly beard
Strong
Funny laugh…
almost like a snicker

More writing…
List a few more things that makes
the person important to you
Example: ability to listen, ability to
make you laugh, always there for you
What has this person done to
affect you

Ms. W’s W s example
Always caring
Tries to help me out
Stayed up all night to wash paint off
my car…let me go to sleep
Took me out to a “business lunch” so I
could see what he did for a living
Helped me with all of my science
projects in elementary school

Must-Haves
Haves…
The following are things you MUST
write in your essay in order to get a
passing grade
(make sure to write them down)

1. well-described incident (one or more)
showing the personality or character of
the person
a. Describe the setting of the incidents
Example: It was so cold that evening that I
could see the air flow from my lips. I
pressed my cold hand into the open
pocket of my dad’s s feather jacket.

2. dialogue (if possible) to make the
character “alive” and “talking”
Example: “Are you cold” he had asked.
“No” I whispered from my half-frozen
frozen
lips.

3. Specific names of people, places,
objects, and actions
Example: His name was Ed, or Eddie,
according to my grandmother.

4. A clear indication of the significance
of the person
a. in other words, do not hide the
reasons why this person is
important to youtell it directly
Example: I admire my father because he
is selfless and put my feelings before
his own.

5. Let the reader know how you feel
about the person.and directly write
it.
Example: I love my dad; he is the
greatest person in my world. He is
intelligent, caring, and honest. He is
the reason I am the person I am today.

6. Use transitions to let the reader know
you are changing subjects, continuing
on with the story, concluding an idea,
etc
First, Second, Next, Furthermore,
Moreover, However, One time, In fact,
Like I said, Although, Another,
Nowadays, Eventually, etc

Student Example…
I admire my cousin David because he is
very funny, and it seems like nothing can get
him down. He doesn’t t care what others think
about him, and when I asked him why, he said,
“That’s s just the bottom line, ‘cause I said so!”
Because of that attitude, someone could walk
up and give him the worst insult ever and he
would make a joke out of it. In fact even though
he does not remember it, he made up his first
joke when he was five.

David, a.k.a ‘Bro’ He has brown eyes and
dark brown hair, and he dreams of becoming a
comic. He even made up his own super hero
and sidekick. He is always trying to come up
with good, new material. Sometimes he
amuses me and others with funny little routines
he has made. My favorite one is about killing
cockroaches.
Besides that, his style of dressing is all his
own. He buys his clothes at discount stores
and his shirts are always striped with weird
colors. “He looks like a comic I guess, he
could be one” says my friend Anne.

David and I bonded when he started
going to the same school as me. He
entered when I was in the fifth grade and
he was in sixth. We started hanging out
together. He always came up to my house
after school and would teach me stuff
about his favorite cartoons, and he would
tell me jokes. I started referring to his as
my big brother in the seventh grade,
because he is like the big brother I never
had. Now I just call him ‘bro. bro.’

Moreover, David is very important to
me. Without him I would not have all the
friends that I do.
David spends his spare time playing his
Game Boy Color and acting aloof. That
gives the impression he doesn’t t care,
though, if he tried, he is quite intelligent
and he helps me out a lot. He teaches me
how to work my Game Boy and how to
play and win the games.

In addition, he is teaching me how to work
my cell phone. When I call him on the phone,
he always answers it with “Hey, hey, hey, oh.”
The way he says it seems to get a smile out of
me. When he calls me sometimes he tries to
make me think he is someone else, so he will
not say the usual things. But I always know it
is him because of his voice.
Like me, David loves animals, and every
few years he changes his favorite animal.
First it was bears. Then it was eagles. And
now he likes tigers.

I hope this is enough to prove to you
that David is the greatest cousin ever and
that people understand what a great cousin
I have. I think I am very lucky. I hope I
never lose him. I know that he and I will be
friends forever.

Step 2:
Begin Outlining
and Planning for
your Essay

Tips to remember…
You are having a conversation with
the person reading your essay.
Use first person…
I think that,
My dad and I,
I feel that,
Now you see what
I mean when I say…

Paragraphs
This is a more informal way of
writing, so your paragraphs DO
NOT have to be exactly 4-54
sentences long
Each paragraph should have ONE
topic or idea
Paragraphs can be long or short

However,
Avoid the following things when
writing your biographical
narrative:
Do not use only long or short
paragraphsuse a mixture of both
If your paragraph reached 8
sentences, it is too long. Break it
into 2 paragraphs

Intro. Paragraph
This paragraph should introduce the
person you are writing about
Something to show the reader that this
person is interesting or important
Examples:
When my dad was in high school
I admire my cousin David
My brother is a great person
Right across the street from me lives Sue...

Body Paragraphs
These paragraphs get into the story and
are about the person
Have at least ONE big, important story
AND many little ones and smaller facts
Think about how you would explain this
person to a friendand write that way
Have a conversation with the reader

Final Paragraph
Remind the reader what you really
think and feel about the person you
wrote about
Restate the traits, qualities,
personality, interesting facts, etc.
about your person

A final note…
Even though this writing should be
informal, try to tell a story from
beginning to end. Do not randomly say
things. If you are describing an event,
describe it in one paragraph then move
on. Do not remember something you
forgot to mention earlier and just write it
in—the comment should “fit” in your
essay.

Create some type of outline where you
decide where and when you are going to
write
Ms. W’s W s example
Example Outline
Paragraph 1: introduce my dad
Paragraph 2: talk about his weird clothes & car
Paragraph 3: camping trip
Paragraph 4: how I felt after the trip
Paragraph 5: the ice cream incident
Paragraph 6: why he is special, conclude

Step Three:
Write your essay

Writing Steps
1. Write
2. Read
3. Re-read
4. 2 others read
5. Revise