1. Commit to writing no more than one or two paragraphs per topic. For instance, you can write a paragraph about siblings one week, a paragraph about parents and siblings another week, and a paragraph about significant events the following week.
2. Begin with an introduction. Briefly tell why are writing an autobiography. Were you assigned it in a class, or are you writing it for your personal reasons? Detail what you hope to get out of writing your life story.

3. Tell about the circumstances of your birth. When and where were you born? Describe any events that were taking place during the time of your birth. Include events within your family, in your town and worldwide. For brevity, include these items in a list, with just a few details.

4. Describe your childhood. Briefly discuss your parents and siblings and where you lived growing up. What was your favorite place as a child? What was your least favorite place? Describe each of the important people in your life at that time.

5. Write about any significant events that happened in your life. These can include relationships, natural disasters, job changes or illnesses. For a brief narrative, keep the description of each of these events to no more than a sentence or two. Choose the most important events–the ones that shaped who you are today–to expound upon in more detail.

6. End your brief autobiography by taking about your dreams for the future. What plans do you have for the next 10 years? What kind of person do you envision being 20 years from now? An autobiography is never complete until you are no longer capable of adding to it. Make a promise to yourself that you will return to add to your autobiography as the years unfold. Your descendants will thank you!

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http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Autobiography

English and Literature teachers use them on a regular basis, but essays are also a test tool used commonly in the social sciences, and even in math and science class.

Of course, essays play a big role in the college application process, as well. In short, there’s just no avoiding essays, as long as you’re in school!

Luckily, you can learn to craft a great essay if you can follow the standard pattern and write in a clear and organized manner.

Introduction

The introduction is the first paragraph in your essay, and it should accomplish a few specific goals.

1. Capture the reader’s interest

It’s a good idea to start your essay with a really interesting statement, in order to pique the reader’s interest.

Avoid starting out with a boring line like

“In this essay I will explain why Rosa Parks was an important figure.”

Instead, try something like

“A Michigan museum recently paid $492,000 for an old, dilapidated bus from Montgomery, Alabama.”

The second sentence sounds much more interesting, doesn’t it? It would encourage most people to keep on reading.

2. Introduce the topic

The next few sentences should explain your first statement, and prepare the reader for your thesis statement.

“The old yellow bus was reported to be the very one that sparked the civil rights movement, when a young woman named Rosa Parks…”

3. Make a claim or express your opinion in a thesis sentence.

Your thesis sentence should provide your specific assertion and convey clearly your point of view.

“In refusing to surrender her seat to a white man, Rosa Parks inspired a courageous freedom movement that lives on, even today.”

Body

The body of the essay will include three paragraphs, each limited to one main idea that supports your thesis. You should state your idea, then back it up with two or three sentences of evidence or examples.

Example of a main idea:

“It took incredible courage for an African American woman to make such a bold stance in 1955 Alabama.”

Offer evidence to support this statement:

“This act took place in an era when African Americans could be arrested and face severe retribution for comitting the most trivial acts of defiance.”

Include a few more supporting statements with further evidence, then use transition words to lead to the following paragraph.

Sample transition words:moreover
in fact
on the whole
furthermore
as a result
simply put
for this reason
similarly
likewise
it follows that
naturally
by comparison
surely
yet

The fifth paragraph will be your conclusion.

Conclusion

The final paragraph will summarize your main points and re-assert your main claim. It should point out your main points, but should not repeat specific examples.

Once you complete the first draft of your essay, it’s a good idea to re-visit the thesis statement in your first paragraph. Read your essay to see if it flows well.

You might find that the supporting paragraphs are strong, but they don’t address the exact focus of your thesis. Simply re-write your thesis sentence to fit your body and summary more exactly.

By doing this, you will ensure that every sentence in your essay supports, proves, or reflects your thesis.

By Grace Fleming, About.com

At some point in your education or your career you will be required to make a presentation about yourself or to write an autobiography as an assignment. Some people will welcome the opportunity to share their own personal experiences, while others will dread it.

Whether you love this assignment or you hate it, you should start with the knowledge that your story is much more interesting than you probably realize. You may as well make the story enjoyable to your audience! An interesting story will get a better response from your audience and a better grade from a professor.

These tips are intended to help you determine (perhaps to your surprise) how interesting your story really is!

Adding Some Spice

Your autobiography should contain the basic framework that any essay should have, like an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement, a body containing several paragraphs, and a conclusion. But the trick is to make your life story an interesting narrative with a theme. So how do you determine your theme?

You’ve probably heard the saying that diversity is the spice of life. While the saying is a little old and tired, the meaning holds true. Your job is to find out what makes your family or your experience spicy and build a narrative around that. In other words, you will research on your own life.

Start your research by taking a close examination of your life and taking notes on the things that make you interesting.

Your Family Background

Just like the biography of a famous person, your biography will include things like the time and place of your birth, an overview of your personality, your likes and dislikes, and the special events that shaped your life. While you might think you’re ordinary and boring, you’ll soon realize that your story is quite unique.

It might be tempting to start your story with “I was born in Dayton, Ohio…” but that is not really where your story begins. It’s better to ask why you were born where you were, and how your family”s experience led to your birth.

Every region of the world has a special story, and every family comes from a region or culture that will seem very different and interesting to others. What do you know about your grandparents? Your great-grandparents? Have you ever asked what your grandparents did for a living, or how they came to settle in a certain part of the world?

Your first step in researching your own autobiography is to gather some background story. Some things to consider:

Introduction

An autobiography is the story of an individual’s own life. It is your chance to tell your story. Whether you are writing one page or 500 pages, the basic principles are the same. You need to gather the facts, organize them into an outline, and write your story.

Step 1: Gather Facts

Start by writing down everything you know about yourself and your history. You may not use it all in your autobiography, but by assembling as much information as you can, you increase the potential for a rich and detailed story.

1. Begin by writing down your own memories.
2. Reminisce through old photos and yearbooks, taking notes as you remember people and events.
3. Talk to your friends and loved ones. They may remember different things, or have a different perspective on events than you do.
4. Go to the library and look up magazines and newspapers from various time periods in your life. What were the major world events that occurred during your life? What were you doing when they happened?

Step 2: Organize Your Information

After you’ve assembled all your data, you’ll need to sort through it and organize it before you begin to write.

1. Layout a chronological timeline, including dates, events, and who was involved at each point.
2. Look at the timeline, and identify any gaps. Is there any source you can use to get more information about periods that seem to have big gaps?
3. Group the events into subcategories.
1. A simple way to group this is by time period.
2. You can also group events by theme.

Step 3: Write Your Story

As with all good writing, you need an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

1. Although the body will probably start at the beginning, the introduction does not need to start with your birth. Select a memorable event, and write about it.
2. If you’re not sure where to start, select an event, and write a memoir of that event. A memoir focuses on just one aspect of your life, and could serve as a chapter in your autobiography.
3. You can conclude with either a look to the future, or a summary of your past.
4. Add anecdotes, quotes, and tie-ins to external events to add interest.

Conclusion

Whether you’re writing for school, for publication, or for personal joy, the act of writing an autobiography can be one of great fulfillment. Take time to prepare your information, create an outline, and then write your story.

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