16 March,2024
Table of Contents
A hook or attention-grabbing sentence is usually an opening sentence aimed to grab the readers’ attention. This can create a point of attraction for them and grow their interest to read the writing (Esu.edu, 2023). There can be different types of hook or attention-grabbing strategies such as question hook where the readers are allowed to think by a question. This question is asked by the author. Whereas, a quotation hook is something where a quote is used from a trusted or credible source and helps to generate significance of a certain topic (Svašek and Domecka, 2020). Another type of hook is an anecdotal hook which is used at first by the author to relate the writing through an example of a story. It helps to gain the reader’s attention metaphorically (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). Also, there has another type of hook not used frequently but exists which is the Statistic hook. This hook is generally used in an informational type of writing and includes statistical and numerical values.
An autobiography is known as a life story which is self-written by an author (Marcus, 2018). In comparison with a biography which is written by someone else, auto-biography is written by an author to describe their life stories (Literaryterms.net, 2016). Auto-biography elements can be of many forms such as it can be letters or diaries which are written by the author. These are known as intimate sources whereas formal sources are a book that contains the entire story of the author. Usually, formal autobiographies represent a unique type of biographical facts and truth (Clein, 2017). There are types of autobiographies such as thematic, religious, personal etc. the main purpose of writing an autobiography is to represent the challenges or struggles faced by the author to readers (Clarke et al. 2015). The journey of life to influence others towards a positive approach (Rüggemeier, 2019). Autobiography is designed in such a way that it can deeply influence others and the success of an autobiography lies in it.
Self-reflection and storytelling are the two most important factors of autobiographical writing (Doecke, 2013). A self-reflection is something that serves the readers with the personal encounter of the author (Griffin, 2021). As autobiographical writings are written by the author hence it is important to perform a self-reflection before writing it as self-reflection provides the author with a deep understanding of their own emotions, feelings, thoughts, and experiences (Clein, 2017). They can efficiently represent their thoughts and understand their growth which will help the readers to get motivated. Moreover, self-reflection can help the autobiography with an authentic and credible piece of information (Crane et al. 2019). It depicts the honesty and loyalty of the author to readers. In an autobiography, the authors generally describe their life history and stories of struggle so a proper representation of those needs a good way of storytelling as well (Doecke, 2015). This representation connects the readers and author with an emotional bonding and a spark of motivation. Writing an autobiography after performing a self-reflection provides the writer with a bird-eye view of the author’s life. The author can share their life lessons and experiences with the readers more efficiently (Crane et al. 2019).
A thesis statement highlights the central idea of writing (Purdue.edu, 2018). Usually in an autobiography, a thesis statement is a reference to the type or pattern of behavioural gestures that is frequently followed by the author in his or her life. To develop a thesis statement in an autobiography, one should go through the prompts very carefully as autobiographical writings are usually straightforward (Oliver, 2013). The thesis statement should be captivating or brain-storming which will create a lasting impression in the reader’s mind. This statement should be depicting the life history, struggles, experiences, and lessons of an author prominently (Marcus, 2018). This statement is usually placed at the end of an introduction.
An autobiography deals with the personal life experience of the author and generates a proper story by properly arranging those. hence, a self-reflection of events is required to construct a well-defined, approaching autobiography (Esu.edu, 2023). Self-reflection on some specific life events allows the authors to find out the significance of those in their life. It can drive them to narrate their autobiography properly. Self-reflection works as a roadmap to the personal growth of the author and influences from any significant events that happened to them (Crane et al. 2019). The story of overcoming those adverse events and experiences helps the readers to gain motivation and positive energy as well. Self-reflection also helps the author to prominently establish the milestones they have achieved throughout their life, the learnings gathered and the impact of those in shaping their life (Svašek and Domecka, 2020). It can inspire the readers and enthuse them to commence various positive activities. Also, this helps to establish a strong emotional bonding between the authors and the readers. This way the journey of autobiographical writing becomes more information-driven and credible as well (Formenti and Castiglioni, 2013).
The key themes of an autobiography are that the author tells the story of their own life so the entire writing is performed using the first person (Clein, 2017). Identification of the key themes is important to develop an autobiography because it helps to reflect the author about their life experiences. Several key themes can be identified while writing an autobiography such as the influence of family members or any particular person, the significance of education, the impacts of relationships, the varieties of challenges faced and the selection of a career (Canagarajah, 2019). Mentioning all of these in the writing enhances its quality and literary value as a proper autobiography. Moreover, the lessons learned by an individual help to shape the autobiography properly and it conveys the underlying message to the readers as well (Formenti and Castiglioni, 2013). Through self-reflection authors can understand their persona growth more effectively and describe those in the writing so readers can understand the narrative approach that will influence them to a positive extent (Mäkelä, 2020).
In writing an autobiography, not only the self-experiences of the authors are enough, but also there has ample influence on their family members, education, career, and relationships. Family members efficiently impact the self-esteem and development of an individual (Peck and Grealey, 2020). The mental and physical development of a person is hugely dependent on the atmosphere they have born and brought up. Describing the impact of the family will help the readers to understand where the author started his or her journey (Svašek and Domecka, 2020). It will influence many readers who also belong to the same background. Education is also a valid part of autobiographical writing as it helps to reflect the skills, and knowledge of the author. It gives an overall idea about their perspectives that how they think, and how they observe or analyze a particular situation. On the other hand, relationships also have a huge effect on someone’s life hence it can affect their autobiography as well (Grossmann et al. 2021). It can be romantic or professional that can influence the journey of the author. Readers can understand the significance of another person in affecting the author’s journey. Friends, colleagues, and life partners influence the journey in both positive and negative ways. Moreover, the career of an individual establishes their goals and identities properly.
Generating a timeline or outline is important for any type of writing because it provides the writer with a proper shape and arrangement (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). It helps to organize the thoughts and events chronologically so that the readers can generate a logical understanding after going through the entire autobiography. Also, it allows the author to pay attention to the key points of the autobiography.
A narrative structure is the ordering or organization of writing is the order of writing in which the events, thoughts and points are organized in the introduction, body and conclusion (Eakin, 2020). The structure of any writing is important because it establishes the tone of the writing effectively and properly drags the characters or situations to the readers (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). A packed-up narrative structure in writing helps the readers to understand the author’s situation and answers all the queries. Through a narrative structure, the author can properly balance and establish the two concepts of writing which are things that are happening and things that will matter to the readers (Mäkelä, 2020). In short, the proper narrative structure will help the author to properly incorporate the aim. Few narrative structures like chronological structure where the author describes their story in chronological order (Eakin, 2020). The thematic structure is where the author follows the key theme and structures the entire writing according to it. In the Reflective structure, the author derives the findings of self-reflection and uses them to create the autobiography (Crane et al. 2019).
There are different genres of autobiography and it completely depends upon the author’s choice that which perspective they want to highlight through their writing. Autobiographies can be religious, political, dramatic and many more (Clein, 2017). Depending on the genre, the author selects the best narrative structure that can present their life story properly to the readers. This narrative structure plays the role of a framework that efficiently organizes the events and highlights the themes to be discussed in the writing (Mäkelä, 2020). It establishes a proper flow and helps the readers to understand the underlying message easily (Canagarajah, 2019). It gives the writing an accurate transition while jumping from one incident to another. As an example, if the content of the autobiography is of a cinema person, then a chronological structure will be the best to follow as it helps to establish the relation between the series of events faced by the author (Formenti and Castiglioni, 2013). Hence, the selection of a proper narrative structure will be needed for developing a proper autobiography.
Selection of the proper structure for autobiographical writing is an important step because it provides the writing with its specific organized structure according to the content and helps to engage the readers more with it. As discussed earlier, a proper narrative structure effectively sequences the storyline and events that occurred (Eakin, 2020). Autobiographical writing depicts the story of an individual, so it deserves proper sequencing of events and flow which helps to establish the narrative accurately (Mäkelä, 2020). As an example, a chronological structure helps in arranging the events relating to the time and the representation looks better as it gradually shows the rise or fall of the story with time (Canagarajah, 2019). The growth of an author, their journey and the occurrence of life-changing events can be established more efficiently with the help of a chronological structure. Also, incorporating some old moments can add context to the development of the story. It helps in removing any confusion that readers may face while going through the writing (Grossmann et al. 2021). The properly chosen structure will help the readers to understand the significance of a key moment in the author’s life. Hence, the structure of autobiographic writing will help to establish its flow, narrative, and context to the readers properly.
Autobiographical writing usually follows a chronological structure as the series of events can be arranged with time in this. Based on this structure, the outline of the story is designed in such a way that it can value the time and chapters are divided following the occurrence of events that happened sequentially. By doing this, readers can relate to the story and understand the context that the author has tried to establish.
Setting the scene and properly establishing the context of the writing is a significant requirement in autobiographical writing (Clein, 2017). The first step to meet this requirement is to properly incorporate the period as the autobiographical writing follows chronological order. Then, support every incident with proper location and cultural background. By doing this, readers can understand all the narratives of the author (Mäkelä, 2020). Autobiographical writing always follows a specific time through which the author belongs. It helps the readers to understand the systems of the society at that time, and various cultural and economic factors as well. Moreover, depicting any historic incident can input a huge significance in the author’s autobiography (Grossmann et al. 2021). Mentioning the proper geographical location adds more value to the time mentioned. Such as it will give an understanding of the author’s country, language, lifestyle and cultural norms. The religion to which the author belongs can be understood more deeply by the description as well (Formenti and Castiglioni, 2013). Moreover, all these factors will help to understand the challenges that the author faced in life and strategies to overcome those obstacles.
Based on the author’s life, the autobiographical writing will itself choose its genre either political, historical, religious, or social (Esu.edu, 2023). An individual will have the effect of these factors on their life. Mentioning those factors properly in writing will help the readers to have a deep understanding of the author’s life. It will connect the life story of the author with the social and political contexts (Canagarajah, 2019). If a reader can understand those factors effectively then it will motivate or influence them also which is one of the main purposes to write an autobiography. Describing the social context in an autobiography will allow the readers to understand the condition of the society to which the author belongs. The political background will allow them to understand the influence of political factors on the author (Peck and Grealey, 2020). On the other hand, religious context will help the readers to know various norms and religious practices. It will increase their subjective knowledge as well. Historical context can bridge the author’s life with any historical incident and influence of that event on the author.
Autobiographical writing should be following a proper way of description that can create imagery in the reader’s mind (Peck and Grealey, 2020). To do this effectively an author can use the sensory details of humans that can connect them more with the writings. Sensory details like touch, sound, sight etc. can be used by the writer to generate a picture through their writing (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). A vivid and detailed description of an event or situation will help the readers to understand more accurately. Vivid details can create an impactful visualization of the incidents described in the writing (Rüggemeier, 2019). Using figurative and precise language, the author can demonstrate a situation by painting a picture in the reader’s mind. This will allow them to trigger their emotions and connect to the writing. They can feel the liveliness of those situations and get influenced by them. Detailing the sensory details such as the sounds of the breeze, the taste of a particular dish or the smell of a flower can allow the readers to feel the emotions sewed in the writing.
By establishing the personal background, an author tries to provide the writing with more authenticity and cohesion (Peck and Grealey, 2020). The personal background will be adding more information about the author’s various personal experiences and circumstances. An author can efficiently present the narrative throughout the writing (Eakin, 2020). Challenges faced by the author, and strategies to overcome those challenges, if someone falls in that same situation, will increase the acceptance of the writing and influence the readers to a larger extent. Hence, these detailing are necessary to shape the narrative properly.
The approach of telling a story is important in autobiographical writing (Doecke, 2015). The best the author can represent their life story to the readers, the more it will be accepted by a huge community of readers (Canagarajah, 2019). A captivating or attention-grabbing opening sentence can effectively set the tone of the writing. It will draw the attention of the readers and help them to grow their interest in the writing. As autobiography accounts for the life experiences of the author hence an attention-grabbing opening line will enhance their level of curiosity and interest to progress in reading. Moreover, a compelling opening line will represent the entire writing, and its purpose at the beginning (Weststrate et al. 2018). Capturing the reader’s attention at the beginning will also allow the author to engage them throughout the writing and it will work like a reference to the book itself. The representation with this type of opening will increase the literary value of the writing as well.
Life is all about several ups and downs and an autobiography describes it in detail. All the incidents be they positive or negative, and every situation and experience faced by the author are described in this (Roesler, 2020). The author must filter the key events, experiences and challenges faced properly and arrange them in chronological or thematic order. Most autobiographies are designed in chronological structure because it follows the period and arranges the incidents accordingly (Doecke, 2013). It helps the readers to understand when an incident occurred in the author’s life, how the author overcome those and what experiences they gained after that particular situation. It also helps to understand various social, political, and religious factors associated with the occurrence of those events. On the other hand, a thematic order detects some themes and proceeds with the writing accordingly (Clarke et al. 2015). Hence, a proper narrative structure will help the authors to distribute their stories well among the readers.
A proper storytelling technique provides more accuracy to the writing as it efficiently presents the story to the readers (Doecke, 2015). In autobiographical writing, it tells the story of the author hence it is essential to present it in a proper way through ideal storytelling. A good and effective storytelling technique can bring more life to the writing, adding depth to the characters and significance to the situations (Canagarajah, 2019). Also, autobiography follows true incidents so the proper way of presentation makes it more approaching to the readers. A proper storytelling technique includes structure, dialogues, scene divisions and characterization. Including dialogues increases the number of conversations between individuals. Readers can relate more easily by reading the dialogues (Grossmann et al. 2021). It can excel the emotions of a conversation, personality, motive and behavioural presence of a character. Through scene division, the author can separate two different situations. It allows the author to establish the situations well and readers to understand that properly. Characterization has also a significant value in building an autobiography because it will feature real-life characters and enhance the authenticity of the writing (Weststrate et al. 2018). Readers can differentiate the positive and negative characters according to their dialogues and impacts on the main character. Hence, proper storytelling can develop a coherent flow in the writing.
Autobiography allows the authors to go through a personal reflection which will portray their emotions and insights throughout the narrative (Mäkelä, 2020). The author can reflect on their personal experiences through autobiography and effectively filter between positive and negative experiences. Incorporating this reflection increases the authenticity of the writing and adds depth to the story as well. Moreover, it evokes the emotions that the author wants to portray throughout the writing (Charissi, 2020). It can engage more readers in the writing. Through performing personal reflection, the author can understand their personal growth and discover themselves more accurately.
An autobiography describes all the minute details of an author. Personal experiences, challenges, adverse situations and many more (Esu.edu, 2023). The author can organize all the lessons experienced throughout life and effectively arrange the key lessons which work as key lessons or insights for them. Identification of those key lessons is an important step to building a successful autobiography. On the other hand, the experiences that authors have gained throughout their life are elaborately presented in their autobiographies (Ropo, 2019). This helps the author to get valuable insights into those experiences and understand what resulted in creating those situations. Learning from those situations works like a life lesson. The readers after going through this in the autobiography, understand those key lessons and insights gained from the experiences (Clein, 2017). It results in generating a motivational outcome or influences them to do better work in future. It also helps them to understand how to deal with similar situations if arise.
Autobiographical writing deals with a particular narrative and aims to establish that throughout the writing. Explanation of personal growth changes in perspectives and shifts in values increase the acceptance of the writing and its literary value as well (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). It creates a deep understanding of the author’s journey and makes it more engaging and relatable to the readers. All the mentioned factors are obvious experiences of any individual. It helps to reflect the challenges and strategies through which the individual has dealt with the situation. In thematic structure, these factors could be the central themes of autobiographic writing (Clarke et al. 2015). Also, these factors can build an emotional resonance throughout the writing that will connect the readers more to the content.
Through reflection, authors can gain a deep knowledge about themselves and then it can be portrayed more artistically in the writing. Challenges and setbacks are part of life that helps to shape the personal development of an individual (Bayat, 2014). Reflection on these helps the individual to create self-awareness for them and distinguish the possible way-outs whenever a challenging situation will occur (Ropo, 2019). Also, it provides them with an idea about their strengths and weaknesses. These factors work similarly to a catalyst in a chemical reaction. It helps in the growth of an individual and enhances their situation management skills, power of adapting to a new situation and decision-making abilities.
Autobiographies are nonfictional presentation which means it represents the true incidents. Supporting these incidents with personal experiences to broader themes or universal lessons will help to relate the life story of the author to the readers (Roesler, 2020). Readers can engage them in the writing when they will see stories similar to their life described in the pages. Hence, it will increase the liveliness of the content as well. Though autobiography is a unique story for everyone certain parameters are similar or universal for everyone (Habermas¸ 2019). Connecting to personal experiences helps to relate the readers with those universal lessons. Hence, these steps are vital to design an autobiography with perfection.
An autobiography is a nonfictional piece of writing that is designed narratively (Esu.edu, 2023). Hence, the stories told here are true and include various characters that have influenced the life of the author. The characters developed in this writing and their contributions should be authentically stated by the author to avoid any further controversies. Moreover, a false or alleged statement or information can cause harm to the trust between the readers and the author. So, maintaining a vice of authenticity is essential to write an autobiography (Clein, 2017). Apart from this, an author must go through a personal reflection that will help them to portray their personal experiences and growth more effectively to the readers. These should be stated in a genuine voice so that it will make the writing more approachable and acceptable to the readers (Habermas¸ 2019). Proper presentation of the personal style and personality is vital to design an autobiography because it will introduce and establish the author in front of the readers and can make them influenced or inspired by the author’s style and personality.
Autobiographical writing is a piece of writing that has two main proposes. First, is to present the life story of the author and second is to inspire others from that story (Grossmann et al. 2021). The success of the writing is hugely dependent upon how an author could touch the hearts of the readers and inspire them. To do this, the authors must present their stories with both professional and creative styles. The use of Generic language should be avoided to write an autobiography (Clein, 2017). This language creates a lack of depth in the writing and readers cannot connect with the context and narrative. The use of repetitive language creates a cliches and monotonous structure of the writing. Figurative language and personal experiences should be applied to create impactful autobiographical writing (Canagarajah, 2019). Readers can dip into the deep of the writing and connect themselves. Using ornamentation will increase the literary value of the writing as well.
Autobiographical writing can be incorporated with personal anecdotes. This will help to build a flow and connection with the readers. Anecdotes are usually cited to provide an example as a story (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). In an autobiography, the author chooses to share personal experiences and reflections with the readers. To make it more approachable and understandable sometimes the author can use the help of personal anecdotes, observations and thoughts (Weststrate et al. 2018). It will help to build up an intimate emotional connection of the readers to the writing. Personal observations will reflect the views and mindsets of the author (Habermas¸ 2019). The thoughts will help the readers to get inspired by the piece of writing. Hence, the incorporation of these factors is essential to portray the autobiography effectively.
Everything should have a boundary and it should be maintained while writing autobiography as well. Personal reflection is an important part of designing an autobiography (Roesler, 2020). Sharing personal experiences with the readers can influence them to do certain activities. While the author must balance the self-disclosure and privacy that will not affect either the author or the readers. The author must distinguish between reflecting on personal experiences and disclosing themselves without maintaining privacy (Habermas¸ 2019). It can hamper their security and negatively affect their personal life. Moreover, the author should be aware of the fact that not everyone can be comfortable reading the private or personal experiences of the author. So, proper balancing should be there in the writing to make it acceptable and approachable to the readers (Svašek and Domecka, 2020). The author must value a level of comfort through the writing and it will make the writing more engaging to the readers.
Autobiography aims to present the life experiences and stories of an individual by them (Clein, 2017). A human being is a social creature, they cannot live alone. So, their life story cannot include the details of them only. While writing an autobiography, an author describes the story of his or that automatically involves other individuals who have influenced and changed their lives (Bayat, 2014). The life of an individual can be influenced by many like family, parents, friends, partners, or any role models. “Charity begins at home,” the family has a significant impact on developing the mindset and behavioural attributes of a person. Since childhood, family treatments influence a person to a larger extent. Then it comes to the friends, the friend circle of a person helps to deviate them to a positive or a negative track (Svašek and Domecka, 2020). It has a deep influence in shaping the preferences and attitudes of a person. A person may influence a role model as well. Often a person makes a role model and follows their objectives, paths, and values their opinions. The choice of such a role model can deeply influence the life of an individual (Roesler, 2020). Hence describing all these in autobiographical writing is important to properly bind it.
All these relationships mentioned above are liable to influence a person towards a track. This can be positive or negative but surely it will influence the individual (Eakin, 2020). The personal growth of an individual is depended largely on the effects that are created on them by family members or friends or any other person. The family members can be strict or ignorant towards the development of a child. It can influence them to choose a positive or negative way for them (Bayat, 2014). Moreover, the friends which an individual will make in school or college can influence them positively or negatively as well. But, the choice of selecting between these two ways is completely dependent upon the author. Whereas, a positive role model can positively inspire the author. The author can learn to take challenges, face them, and overcome them (Kosara and Mackinlay, 2013). These experiences will be mentioned in the autobiography that will influence the readers.
Autobiography provides the readers with a comprehensive understanding of the author’s life story. For that acknowledging various factors like cultural, social and historical factors are necessary. Through this, the author can properly establish the contexts through narrative structures (Eakin, 2020). It helps the readers to understand those contexts better. Moreover, incorporation of the social and cultural factors adds supportive authenticity to the writing. It helps to know how those factors are liable to shape the author’s life (Habermas¸ 2019). An author has few commitments to the readers and should maintain loyalty in the writing. Through acknowledging these factors, the author expresses loyalty and responsibility towards writing. Also, acknowledging these factors are an essential step towards performing self-reflection. Authors can engage themself in self-reflection and find out the impacts of those factors on their life (Roesler, 2020). They can create an image to the readers that how cultural and societal norms influence an individual and how those can be challenged. Hence, this step helps to establish the narrative and provides the reader with an advanced understanding.
Autobiographies are written to provide insights into the personal experience, and reflections of the authors (Roesler, 2020). By acknowledging the reflections on the reciprocal nature of certain relationships and influence of the personal connections, an author can portray the life history and journey in a more adherent way. It means the relationships not only shape the life of an individual but also it unfolds the identity of an author properly (Kosara and Mackinlay, 2013). An author can elaborate more accurately to the readers about the impact of those relationships on their life stories.
The final step of writing autobiographical writing is to develop its conclusion properly (Esu.edu, 2023). A concussion is a step that summarizes all the points that have been discussed in the entire writing. It helps to provide the readers with a summary of the writing by mentioning some key points and highlighting the thesis statement again (Roesler, 2020). In autobiographical writing, the first step to designing a conclusion is to repeat the main steps and strategies that have been adopted to create the autobiography. It will provide the readers with a finishing creative touch that will be liable for a lasting mark in their minds. They can revisit the key points that have been discussed throughout the writing (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). Besides, a conclusion can help those readers who want to gain a narrative idea about the entire writing. Repeating the strategies will allow them to have an overall idea that how the author has portrayed the life story (McAdams and McLean, 2013).
Autobiographical writing deals with the personal reflection of an author (Clein, 2017). So, for structuring a conclusion properly the author must emphasize self-reflection. A properly derived self-reflection will enhance the quality of writing and can focus more on the author’s positive and negative experiences (Bayat, 2014). Readers can easily find out the situations that have been challenging for the author and the strategies followed by the author to overcome those situations effectively (Herbert, Bendig and Rojas, 2019). It can motivate and inspire the readers. On the other hand, the author must refocus on the entire storytelling strategy as it will be highly precise in constructing a well-maintained and impactful autobiography (Doecke, 2013). Proper storytelling will enhance its acceptance, liveliness to the readers and power of creating visualization in the reader’s minds as well (Rüggemeier, 2019). So, in the end, the author must recheck whether the storytelling technique is perfectly constructed or not. Finally, the author should emphasize more on mentioning personal growth and the factors that have contributed to this.
Encouragement to embracer vulnerability, authenticity and loyalty is very crucial in autobiographical writing as it helps to gain the trust of the readers, and increases the acceptance of the writing and the author as well (Aurell and Davis, 2019). Implementing vulnerability in the writing will allow the readers to get emotionally connected with the life story of the author. They can relate more with the writing and the situations faced by the author, and develop empathy towards it. It will increase the eagerness of the readers to turn over the pages (Bayat, 2014). Moreover, mentioning the vulnerabilities of own life can inspire the readers. Authenticity plays an important role in engaging readers in writing. It builds up trust between the author and the readers, making them more willing to read the writing (Canagarajah, 2019). Autobiography has a special characteristic to challenge the ongoing social system. The author can directly challenge society and inspire the readers to fight against the norms and difficulties. Besides, the honesty of the author towards writing will prominently establish the narrative they want to present throughout their writing.
Sharing someone’s life story helps to inspire others. By going through those stories one can motivate themself and change their stories of struggle and facing challenges accordingly (Roesler, 2020). A pen is mightier than a sword and can change society if the application is generous. Autobiography is a burning example of that phrase. To conclude this writing, an author must provide a final thought to the readers that will greatly impact them with a lasting impression in their minds (Eakin, 2020). This should be compact and designed in such a way that readers before closing the book can feel the willpower to change their life. This is the success of the writing and the author as well.
My name is Roger Binny. I am a 60-year-old art teacher at a high school in Australia. This writing will reflect some of my memorable events which I want to convey to my students and those persons who follow me as their ideal. The time was the middle of 1990, I was unemployed and visiting from door-to-door for a job. I was an artist in my initial days but only art was not enough to run my expenses. There were responsibilities of my family as well. My father was an army man who died in 1978. From that time my mother took all the responsibilities of me and my brother. She used to work at a medicine manufacturing company as an accountant. The little salary was not enough for the three of us to maintain properly. I started providing tuition after my school and carried on my higher studies and the expenses of my brother as well. Suddenly my mother was diagnosed with uterus cancer and survived six months. After her death, we two were broken and my brother decided not to continue with his studies and joined work in a hospital as a ward boy. But I completed my degree from a renowned art college and got a placement in a company as a graphic designer with a handsome salary package. Days were going great and my brother again started his studies but suddenly after two years when I was 29, I lost my job and became unemployed again. I decided to start roadside painting and sell them. One day a gentleman noticed me painting and offered to join their organization as a senior art teacher. This step changed my life and after that, I visited various countries and adapted their styles of art. last year I was selected as the fastest artist to draw a big canvas painting in the Guinness Book of world records. I have seen many dark phases, faced many obstacles and gone through many adverse situations but one thing was constant I selected to fight than give up.
My name is Joseph Bale. Today is my 30th birthday and I have received the best gift of my life. During my childhood, I met with an accident in which the tibia bone of my leg was fractured. In the initial phase, I was advised to take a rest but after a few months, I started walking. Gradually I developed an interest towards swimming. The day I first joined my swimming training my father told the trainer to train me professionally for playing water polo. I started my training and after a year I started to play matches. My performances were observed by various professionals and they selected me for various national-level matches. I started winning medals and several trophies for my achievements. Suddenly, the effect of the accident returned to my life. I was then 23 years old and running in the ground. Suddenly, I had a fall and it injured my tibia bone again. I thought this to be a casual accident but after diagnosis doctor told my family that the nerve endings of my right leg had been totally blocked and I could not walk again. It gave me a huge mental trauma and introduced me to a phase of depression. I used to move with the help of a wheelchair. All the opportunities regarding my swimming career were finished. Then one day I consulted with a physician who clinically observed me and suggested to have an operation. This may provide me with the ability to walk again but the possibilities were less than ten percent. I listened to none and decided to face the operation. With all the prayers and blessings, it was successful and I started walking again. Today after 3 years of my operation I have been nominated in the Olympics 100 m freestyle competition category from my country. I did not give up and with all my courage I have overcome all the obstacles. Now, it is my turn to spread my wings and fly high.
Life is so unpredictable, a small incident in my life has given me a lesson and changed me entirely. My name is Nathan Rodriguez. When I was six years old, my nephew first tried to touch me in a different way that made me uncomfortable. He physically assaulted and molested me. After that, he gave me a threat that if I told it to anyone then it might be harmful to me. Being a child, it frightened me too much and the person took advantage of this. Multiple times I had gone through this. As I developed my puberty, many times I resisted him doing this but the result was brutal. When I was 16 my family shifted to a new place and welcomed a new member, Augusta Rodriguez, my sister. She brought a ray of hope into my life and I started living again. The next few years were like a true blessing for me and after going through some personal counselling I almost forgot those memories. Then the darkness came into my life like a cloudy sky appears after a bright day. One day I returned home from my office and saw my sister in an unconscious condition and observed vaginal bleeding. Both of my parents were not there and I was completely blank on how to deal with the situation. My sister told me that the person who molested me multiple times has tried to molest her also. It created a spark inside me and I had a face-off with him. I do not know what was going on in my head but I felt a creature like him does not deserve to be alive. I took a wrong step that day and today I am paying off that. I was given a verdict of life imprisonment but I do not have any regret for this. I have finished the inhuman who did not deserve to live.
Reserving nature reserves us too. I and my husband aimed to build a green atmosphere that will be beneficial for the upcoming generations. At the age of 16, I tied the knot with my husband named Ashok Viswanathan, a farmer in Kerala, India. Agriculture was the only option for our family. We live in a village near Kozhikode. Almost 43 years ago, the village was not so developed and both of us planned to plant seeds of various trees around the village. There was a huge bare land of 40 acres in the village. We selected that place to make a zone of various trees that have several financial and medical benefits. It took us almost 30 years to complete our dream and today this zone is called the largest artificial forest in India. UNESCO has awarded us the name “Green Parents of India.” This short autobiography can influence many of us to plant trees and save mother nature.
Aurell, J. and Davis, R.G., 2019. History and autobiography: The logics of a convergence. Life Writing, 16(4), pp.503-511.
Bayat, N., 2014. The Effect of the Process Writing Approach on Writing Success and Anxiety. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 14(3), pp.1133-1141.
Canagarajah, S., 2019. Transnational literacy autobiographies as translingual writing. Routledge.
Charissi, A., 2020. The educational autobiography as a critical reflection tool towards the personal and professional development of pre-service early years practitioners. European Journal of Education Studies.
Clarke, V., Braun, V. and Hayfield, N., 2015. Thematic analysis. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods, 3, pp.222-248.
Clein, Z.A. (2017). Autobiography and Authenticity: Writing Are You Sure?: Experiences of a Gay Foster Youth. [online] The Aquila Digital Community. Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/532/ [Accessed 17 Jun. 2023]. (Clein, 2017)
Crane, M.F., Searle, B.J., Kangas, M. and Nwiran, Y., 2019. How resilience is strengthened by exposure to stressors: The systematic self-reflection model of resilience strengthening. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 32(1), pp.1-17.
Doecke, B., 2013. Storytelling and professional learning. English in Australia, 48(2), pp.11-21.
Doecke, B., 2015. Storytelling and professional learning. Changing English, 22(2), pp.142-156.
Eakin, P.J., 2020. Writing Life Writing: Narrative, History, Autobiography. Routledge.
East Stroudsburg University. (2023). How to Write a Hook | Writing Studio | East Stroudsburg University. [online] Available at: https://www.esu.edu/writing-studio/guides/hook.cfm [Accessed 14 Jun. 2023].
Formenti, L. and Castiglioni, M., 2013. Focus on learners: a search for identity and meaning in autobiographical practices. In Challenging the European Area of Lifelong Learning’ A Critical Response (pp. 239-248). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
Griffin, R.A. (2021). Reading Autobiography: Reflective Writing as a Strategy for Online Engagement. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353738509_Reading_Autobiography_Reflective_Writing_as_a_Strategy_for_Online_Engagement [Accessed 14 Jun. 2023].
Grossmann, I., Dorfman, A., Oakes, H., Santos, H.C., Vohs, K.D. and Scholer, A.A., 2021. Training for wisdom: The distanced-self-reflection diary method. Psychological Science, 32(3), pp.381-394.
Habermas, T., 2019. Emotion and narrative: Perspectives in autobiographical storytelling. Cambridge University Press.
Herbert, C., Bendig, E. and Rojas, R., 2019. My sadness–our happiness: writing about positive, negative, and neutral autobiographical life events reveals linguistic markers of self-positivity and individual well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, p.2522.
Kosara, R. and Mackinlay, J., 2013. Storytelling: The next step for visualization. Computer, 46(5), pp.44-50.
Literary Terms. (2016). Autobiography: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms.net. [online] Available at: https://literaryterms.net/autobiography/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2023].
Mäkelä, P., 2020. Emotion and Narrative: Perspectives in Autobiographical Storytelling. Emotions and Society, 2(1), pp.109-111.
Marcus, L., 2018. Autobiography: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
McAdams, D.P. and McLean, K.C., 2013. Narrative identity. Current Directions in psychological science, 22(3), pp.233-238.
Oliver, P., 2013. Writing your thesis. Writing Your Thesis, pp.1-248.
Peck, L.S. and Grealey, P., 2020. Autobiographical significance of meaningful musical experiences: Reflections on youth and identity. Music & Science, 3, p.2059204320974221.
Purdue.edu. (2018). Creating a Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement Tips – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University. [online] Available at: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html#:~:text=Example%20of%20an%20argumentative%20thesis,their%20maturity%20and%20global%20awareness. [Accessed 14 Jun. 2023].
Roesler, U., 2020. Between self-expression and convention: Tibetan reflections on autobiographical writing. Life Writing, 17(2), pp.163-186.
Ropo, E., 2019. Curriculum for identity: Narrative negotiations in autobiography, learning and education. Internationalizing Curriculum Studies: Histories, Environments, and Critiques, pp.139-156.
Rüggemeier, A., 2019. Lists in Life Writing: The List as a Means to Visualize the Trace of the Absent. a/b: Auto/Biography Studies, 34(2), pp.330-342.
Svašek, M. and Domecka, M., 2020. The autobiographical narrative interview: A potential arena of emotional remembering, performance and reflection. In The Interview (pp. 107-126). Routledge.
Weststrate, N.M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M.A. and McLean, K.C., 2018. “It was the best worst day of my life”: Narrative content, structure, and process in wisdom-fostering life event memories. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(8), pp.1359-1373.
Hi, my name is Lucy Wilson. I am 26, a successful digital marketer, lifestyle blogger, and a Literature writing expert based in Melbourne. I have loved social media and writing since my teenage days. I am a certified digital marketer with a Masters degree in Literature. Sounds quite wierd? Well, that’s because I can’t be less or more enthusiastic about either of my passions. Additionally, I work part-time as a writing expert for myassignmenthelp.com. When I am not working, I am probably partying with my friends or listening to my kind of music or simply lazing around.
WhatsApp
