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I need to know how to start off my autobiography and how to structure it.

2006-10-07 10:06:49 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference Primary & Secondary Education

6 answers

They basically want to know a little about you, your background, your interests, what you hope to achieve in college, and your eventual career goals. And of course they're interested in you scholastically, your grade average, what you expect to major in, what you excelled in at school.

To make your autobiography stand out from all the rest, you must sound sincere, but you can also spark it up with a bit of humor. For example:

"When I was born, my parents had no idea what they were getting into, but it was too late for second thoughts. Whenever they heard a loud crash or saw the dog running through the house, they knew I was up to something. But mercifully, I grew up, went to school, got good grades in English, and eventually made them proud of me. I finally got off the hook."

Do you get the idea? Be serious, of course, but a little injected humor will keep them awake while they're plowing through all the admission autobios. They'll think, now here's a person who will fit into our student body just fine.

Be sure and let them know how much you want to attend their school, and how you will be an asset to them at the same time they are helping you to achieve your goals. Of course if you play the game and if they're impressed with your application, just be sure you follow through on all your promises. Good luck! Hope you make the dean's list some day.

2006-10-07 10:38:57 · answer #1 · answered by gldjns 7 · 0 0

College Autobiography Example

2017-01-03 14:08:16 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

Autobiography Example For College

2016-10-18 12:43:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

If it were me, I would focus on several accomplishments, and experiences in your life that have changed you and what you learned from that. It can be a person that influenced you, like a family member or a teacher. The experience can also be a negative one, as long the outcome was eventually positive for you learned something about yourself from it. Avoid anything chronilogical, i.e. "I was born in (blank) and when I was (blank) years old, I did this." Then in (blank) we moved to (blank). I would avoid the conventional format at all costs. That is not what they are looking for. What they want to see is an example of your writing, and if you are able to make ordinary events in your life seem interesting and inspirational. They aren't interested in a chronilogical outline of your life.

Young people have the disadvantage of not having enough life experience to draw from, so you must be creative. Think of this, for example as a thesis for your autobiography: "the people and events that have shaped me." Now that is rather a broad thesis, but you can be very creative with it. Just relate an interesting anecdote from your past that you remember, but try and embellish it and make it sound exciting and interesting. Or you could begin by discussing an ancestor or family member, then shift the focus to yourself. Discuss a goal and how you will try and achieve that goal. Don't be afraid to discuss your deepest fears or even failures! As long as you show how it shaped you or changed you.

But how do you start an autobiography designed to be no more than several pages? You could start it with a big event which changed your life, but it doesn't have to be big. It could be something small that somehow altered your perspective on life.[See the example below] You could even start out with a failure or negative event and how that resulted in a positive outcome for you. Remember that an autobiography is just another word for someone's memoirs, a collection of remembrances and anecdotes.

Here are some examples:

"My grandmother (blank) was always a great influence on me. She used to say (blank). I always took her advice to heart. This was especially true when (blank). She was a (blank) and she always (blank). Her wisdom and (blank) was an example for me to follow, especially when (blank)."



Gary Soto--"A Summer Life"--starts off his memoirs like this:

"I killed ants here, and pulled puncture vine there. There (italics) was a small rise of earth and oily weeds at the junkyard at Van Ness and Braly. At the young age of five, I couldn't go far, maybe to the side of the house where I looked down the long throat of the alley, to Mr. Drake's palm tree where pigeons warbled at the top of a leafy world, or to the front steps where Iplayed with the ceramic Buddha my uncle had brought back from the war. The Buddha was happiness, a great smile and large belly, soft colors, and a robe splotched with gold. The Buddha was the most beautiful thing inourhouse, that and a Japanese garden sculpted in a seashell. When my mother was away, I took the Buddha out to the front steps andplayed a game in which he "Ho-Hoed" a belly laugh and walked on the lines of ants".[Gary Soto,'A Summer Life]

So be creative and get writing! I can't tell you how to structure your essay, but I hope this inspires you and gives you some ideas of how to start.

2006-10-07 12:41:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

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I think it would be an interesting approach, if I were an admissions officer, I would enjoy reading something unique from every other essay. Just make sure you don't get too objective when using third person. Good luck!

2016-04-08 21:18:57 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

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2017-02-18 03:59:01 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

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