How to Write an Autobiography

Every person lives just once, and there are countless memories that make us unique from one another. According to human nature the only thing people will truly remember about you is the autobiography you write at some point in your life.

If you are among those who want their personality and character to shine even after leaving this planet, follow our guide on how to write an autobiography with examples.

So, without further ado, pick your favourite autobiography titles and prompts from the list below and start writing today!

Define Autobiography in simple words.

An autobiography is a narration of a person’s past, present and future goals, written by that person in first person form. Many autobiography synonym are used in different languages, such as memoirs, life stories, accounts of one’s life, personal history, diaries, journals, etc. But the purpose remains the same, and that is to narrate your whole life events in your own words.

What Purpose an Autobiography Serves

The purpose of an autobiography is to write down life achievements and experiences from the author’s point of view. Unlike a biography, which is written by another person, an autobiography is written in the first person, allowing the author to share their thoughts, memories, and insights. It also serves as a memorable book that your family members may read and feel themselves connected to you after you leave.

When is the Right Time to Write an Autobiography

To learn how to write an autobiography, an author should have enough life experience to discuss. If you decide to write under 40, chances are you may have fewer experiences to narrate, and if you are under 30, the real-life experiences go more less. In that case, you may not effectively engage the reader. That’s why professional essay writers recommend writing it in the late 60s and 70s when you have retired from your work and feel like you have done enough in your life.

What About School and College Autobiography?

A school and college autobiography is a personal written experience about your primary, secondary, and high school, as well as college life. Your school and college autobiography should include your academic achievements, failures, and lessons learned.

Your academic autobiography will shine even more if you share key moments with your friends, classmates and favourite instructors. But remember to write it in chronological order, and the story may rhyme and sound like you write it personally.

A teacher may assign you an assignment to write an autobiography to strengthen your writing skills during school and college, but usually, these are written in old age.

Autobiography Vs Biography Vs Memoir: What’s the Difference

An autobiography is different from a biography and memoir in a variety of aspects. In the below section, we show the difference between autobiography and biography and memoir vs autobiography.

Autobiography Vs Biography

Autobiography and biography are both types of literary nonfiction but there is a lot of difference between biography and autobiography in format, content delivery, and presentation. Here is the table showing the autobiography vs biography differences.

Autobiography	Biography
The life story of a person written by that person	The life story of a person written by someone else.
Written in first person form.	Written in third person form.
Share the writer’s own thoughts and feelings.	Gives a more factual, outside view of the person’s life.
Autobiographies are generally more personal.	Biographies provide a more objective view of a person’s life.
Usually written later in life.	It can be written at any stage of life.
Quite easy to write and short in length	Hard to write and more lengthy, it can go up to pages of a book.

Autobiography vs memoir

The basic difference between memoir and autobiography is in tone, approach and purpose of the writing. The table below provides an in-depth difference between both.

Autobiography	Memoir
It provides a comprehensive experience of a person’s life	It focuses on a specific period of a person’s life
The tone of an autobiography is more factual and objective	Memoirs, on the other hand, tend to be more subjective and emotional
A historical approach that follows step by step process from childhood to present	Follows a narrative, storytelling approach
Autobiographies might not have a single general theme	It explores a central idea or theme of a person’s experience.
Autobiography Example: A book showing a politician’s entire life and career journey	Memoir Example: A book telling a person’s experience overcoming serious illness

What Should You Include in a Good Autobiography?

A good autobiography consists of several key elements, and these can’t be neglected at any cost. Here’s the breakdown of each element.

Early Life:

The first step toward knowing how to write an autobiography is to provide initial information about birthplace, date of birth, family history, and childhood memories.

Education Life:

Talk about schools you attended throughout your academic career, favourite teachers, key achievements in academics and lastly, some special memories with friends.

Highlights of career:

Speak about the significant professional achievement, major shifts in your career, challenges faced and what lesson you learned in your line of work.

Relationship:

Describe the important personal relations such as a bond with your children, shared love moments with your wife, and some friends that stand beside you at every stage of your life.

Life-changing events:

Important incidents that change your life either through positive or negative experiences.

Personal values and beliefs:

Tell the reader about your priorities in life, what values and beliefs set you apart from others, and how your personal philosophy has benefited you.

Perspectives for the present and future

At the end of the autobiography, provide the reader with the knowledge about your current state. Give them a brief description of where you are now, your current life situation, and finally, what are your future goals.

7 Steps To Write an Autobiography

Here is the step-by-step process that tells you how to write an autobiography in an easy yet effective manner.

Begin by Brainstorming

Here is the trick: lay down in your bed at night and start thinking about important events and experiences of your life. Starting from your childhood memorize and ending with your current state.

The first time you recall a memory, you won’t remember everything, but as you repeat the process, you’ll surely retain more and more. And don’t forget to write all those memorizes on a piece of paper that will later help you make an outline.

Create an Effective Outline

Once you have all the important memories in your hand, now start making your autobiography outline.

An autobiography starts with an introduction, but it differs from normal essay starters. Below are the key elements to add.

A hook to grab the reader’s attention→, humorous sentences to set the reader on track→, a thesis statement to tell the reader what will be discussed further.

After that, follow a chronological order and write the body of your autobiography that includes the events and experiences of your entire life.

Early life memorize→ educational life→ career highlights→ relationships→ life-changing events→ personal values & beliefs→ present status→ future motives.

Lastly, it comes the time to add an autobiography conclusion. Here are the elements to add to the conclusion section.

Summarize all events you discussed→ Provide your current status→ Tell your future plans.

Write your first draft

Create your first draft by following the above-provided outlines. There is no need to correct the errors; they will be handled later. Your first draft may be overly lengthy, but according to professional writers, a long first autobiographical statement draft guarantees you a compelling and flawless final draft.

Take a break

Proofreading requires a fresh mind. Once you write your first draft, you may feel tired and exhausted, so it’s hard to proofread your autobiography at that time. Take a break from writing and indulge in some other activities. You should leave your autobiography untouched for at least one whole day so you can come back with a fresh perspective.

Proofread Your Autobiography

After you get back from a break, get yourself ready to highlight errors such as typos, grammatical errors, sentence structuring, etc. Correct these mistakes by either yourself or get help from the editor.

Write Next Draft

After proofreading your first draft, you will discover that there are many new changes to make your autobiography more compelling. Keep those changes and corrections in mind, and write your next draft. You can even use free online tools to remove grammatical mistakes in your autobiography.After twice or thrice of editing, you will get a final good autobiography, which will be more appealing, and there will be no room left for errors.

Clarify Your Writing

The time has come for you to clarify your writing with some magical tricks once you’ve completed the final draft. To do so, use anecdotes, allusions, quotes and contractions in writing an autobiography.

4 Examples of Autobiography About Yourself Essay

Learning how to write an autobiography is incomplete until you go through the best autobiography examples from real life. Here, we offer the best collection below.

Example Short Autobiography

Not every autobiography needs to be a complete book size. Sometimes, it’s better to write it short, especially when you are not good at writing. Here are the best short autobiography examples that will help you get started.

Biography of Student Example

Autobiography for an academic is the same as a biography of a student example. Here, a student shared an autobiography related to his education from beginning to end. Read the example in detail and clear self-doubts related to how to write an autobiography at school or college.

Motivational Autobiography Example

“Mein Kampf” is a well known autobiography example book that is written by Adolf Hitler. This motivational autobiography, known as the Nazi Bible, describes Hitler’s life, frustrations, ideas, and dreams. Click the link and read the full version to understand how to write an autobiography like a professional.

Comprehensive Autobiography Example

I am Malala is a great book to read if you want a long-end autobiography example. This book is written by a girl named Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for his campaigns for women’s rights. Click the link to read the book.

Autobiographical Essay Sample About Yourself

Here is an easy and attractive sample of autobiography story of my life. You can even follow it as a template and start making your own autobiography today.

Free Writing Prompts for Autobiography

Writing an autobiography is done just once in life, and you should do it with proper understanding. However, if you want to practice how to write an autobiography, practice these prompts as much as you can.

1. Early life: Describe your childhood memories about family, friends, favourite hobbies, and sports and how they shaped your life.
2. Academic Life: Describe what are the key achievements throughout your academic life, what challenges you have faced, and what are your favourite characters throughout your academic life.
3. Career achievements: Describe the step-by-step career growth, achievement, and obstacles in chronological order. Also, tell what you have learnt from your career.
4. Personal Challenges and Growth: What are the key moments in your life when you face significant challenges, and how do you handle them? Also tell how these obstacles provide you an opportunity to grow in life.
5. Social and Family Life: Describe your social life, including family relationships and social interactions. How your family and social circle support you at your worst and what you did for them in return.

Some Most Inspirational and Famous Autobiographies

Want to read an interesting and inspirational autobiography of all time? Here are some famous autobiographies that millions of people have read.

No	Title of autobiography	Author
1	My Experiments with Truth	M K Gandhi
2	Long Walk to Freedom	Nelson Mandela
3	Freedom in Exile	Dalai Lama
4	I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings	Maya Angelou
5	Surely You Are Joking	Mr. Feynman – Richard Feynman
6	Inside the Third Reich	Albert Speer.

Tips to Write An Excellent Autobiography About Yourself

Hire an Editor to Make Your Autobiography Flawless

Do you think you can Write an autobiography? Well, no, it’s not an easy task because it needs a powerful grip on writing and critical thinking skills. Even hiring a writer will not work because it’s only you who has experienced every event of your life, and no one can add emotions and strengths to your autobiography like you can.

However, there is still a solution!

All you can do is hire an expert editor from essay writing services who will edit your mistakes while you write your story on your own. By doing so, your autobiography will sound like yours but in a professional manner.

Concluding Thoughts

This guide is packed with a ton of information which you need to understand how to write an autobiography like a skilled writer. We have shared a step-by-step process to write an autobiography, real-life examples and a practical sample to clear your every little doubt.

Moreover, practice makes perfect, which is why we offer you a variety of prompts and autobiography titles to choose the one that suits your needs. So why wait? Write your autobiography today, and then let our editors polish it for a final look.