There are various forms of writing which are used for different purposes. One of such form of writing is autobiography essay. So, what’s an autobiography? The form of providing a description of one’s own life is known as an autobiography. Different types of autobiographies have different purposes. 

The 4 major type of an autobiography are:

Memoir: A memoir is a type of autobiography which focuses on a particular event in the author’s life. A memoir could be about a particular event, a particular place or even a relationship that the author might have shared with someone and which left a huge impact on the life of the author. Memoir is that part of an author’s life which the author deems fit for the whole world to read about.

Autobiography: An autobiography is a detailed description of the author’s life. An autobiography could serve different purposes. A person can write an autobiography for his own personal usage or he or she could write it and get is published for the whole world to read and get inspired.

Personal essay: A personal essay is usually an emotional and very personal narration of one’s life. It could be about an event which had a great emotional impact on the author’s life. This type of essays is highly intimate in nature. 

Every autobiography generally has two aspects to it. One, the personal description which the author provides and the second and most important is the impact it had on the author’s life and point of views. 

Now let us focus on how to write an autobiography essay. The general format of an autobiography essay broadly consists of an introduction, the main body and the conclusion.

Introduction: Just like any usual piece of writing, be it a debate topic or a research paper, the most common and logical way of starting an autobiography essay is to write an introduction. In an introduction, the author provides the reader with an idea as to what to expect from the piece of writing. Introduction basically “introduces” the topic to the reader. The introductory paragraph should be interesting so as to keep the reader rooted to their seats. It should not be too long neither should it be too short. The main purpose is to provide the reader with vivid details of yourself. It could be your age, hobby or appearance.

Main body: This is the part of the autobiography where the detailed story is written. It includes all the information and material pertaining to the story's interest. The writing in the main body could be further done in sub paragraphs in order to increase the readability. The framing of logical sentences which connect with the readers but at the same time preserves the integrity of the write up, is the main idea. So if the main body consists of several other sub paragraphs then there a rational connection should be maintained between those paragraphs.

Conclusion: Conclusion is a very important part of any autobiography. It is the end paragraph which, after the introduction, has the capability to leave a desirable impact on the readers. The conclusion should be captive. It should compel the reader to think about your story. Conclusion should be written in such a way so that it resonates in the mind of whoever reads it, even after reading it for a while. It could include the changes that you inculcated after the described incident took place. It could be about the lessons learnt.

Before writing an autobiography, there are several things to keep in mind. They are:

Read before you write: In order to write something good you need to first read something good. In order to write a good autobiography, you need to read a good autobiography. Reading before writing can provide you with an idea of an autobiography should be written. It can give you an idea as to the simple do’s and don’t. Read the autobiography of the person who inspires you and whose story you can relate with.

Introspect and think about your life: Think about that incident or the person who left a huge impact on your life. Try to remember the little details regarding that person or the event. Now analyze how that incident or person affected your life. How did it shape your shape and molded you into what you are? The changes that arose after that incident took place.  

Organize your ideas: For this, making a list will be helpful. You could make a list of all the important memories and people. The events could be organized based on the date they took place on. The list could resemble a timeline of all the important things that happened in your life.

Brainstorming: Brainstorming refers to the act of pouring out all of your ideas that you could think about a certain topic at that moment. If you are an old school then grab a paper and pen, sit down and think about the incident. Without any editing and filter, write whatever words come to your mind. It doesn’t matter how random those words are, or even if they are wrong, just write them down. If you prefer typing, then you could use your phone or any other device to jot down those ideas. 

Proofread your write up: Proofreading refers to the act of correcting the errors, if any, present in the write up. It is a very important part of any form of writing. The errors could be a grammatical error or a simple spelling mistake. A good structured sentence always leaves a good impression on the reader and in fact increases the chances of getting a publisher to publish your write up.

Honest feedback: After you think you are done with your write up, it is always advantageous to let someone else read it and provide you with feedback. If the feedback is negative, then don’t get disheartened and fret over it. Ask for the person’s honest opinion and then proceed to make the required changes that is if you want to bring those changes in your autobiography.