How to Write an Autobiography: Questions, Principles, & What to Include

When you are assigned an autobiography to write, tens, and even hundreds of questions start buzzing in your head. How to write autobiography essay parts? What to include? How to make your autobiography writing flow? Don’t worry about all this and use the following three simple principles and 15 creative questions for writing a life story about yourself that truly deserves a high grade.

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❗ How to Write Autobiography: 3 Main Principles

First and foremost, you should remember that an autobiography (also called a memoir) is a story about your own life. If you write the life story of another person, that is called a biography.

You will quickly write a winning autobiography if you follow these three simple principles:

  • Make it logical. Choose one main idea and express it in a thesis statement to combine all memories into a meaningful whole.
  • Do not be a bore. Reveal some personal details and tell something that nobody but you can tell.
  • Make it easy to read. Include an introduction, main body, and conclusion; do not hesitate to use a new paragraph to develop a new idea; avoid using overly complicated language and constructions.

❓ 50 Questions for Writing an Autobiography

Even when you use the 3 above-discussed principles, you might still stumble in the middle of your autobiography. Your inspiration can betray you after you start writing a memoir. But the following 50 questions won’t let you down. This list will help you generate brilliant ideas for your autobiographies whenever you need them:

  1. What famous quote can describe your life? 
  2. Which 3 adjectives can be used to describe you as a person
  3. Who influenced your personal development
  4. What are your best and worst childhood memories? 
  5. What is your family social and ethnic background
  6. What is your relationship with parents and other relatives? 
  7. What are your main achievements in life? 
  8. What are the weaknesses that you would like to get rid of? 
  9. What are your goals for the future? 
  10. What places would you like to visit and why? 
  11. What skills would you like to develop and why? 
  12. What was the most memorable day in your life? 
  13. What was the most important lesson you have ever learned? 
  14. What are the most important values in life, in your opinion? 
  15. Which fault would you never forgive in others or yourself? 
  16. Does ethnic identity play an important role in your life?  
  17. What leadership skills do you have?  
  18. What is your personal health vision?  
  19. What is your opinion of art?  
  20. What is the role of music in your life? 
  21. What do you think of classical music
  22. Can you describe your first day at college?  
  23. What lessons did you derive from your first semester at school?  
  24. What do you think of epistemology philosophy?  
  25. Have you ever attended logic courses?  
  26. What are your impressions from your last vacation?  
  27. What impact does your emotional intelligence has on your personal relationships?  
  28. What do you think of aging?  
  29. Does your personal happiness depend on household activities?  
  30. Have you ever adopted a pet?  
  31. What did you learn from your first job?  
  32. How was your first date?  
  33. What is your ideal social meeting place?  
  34. What challenges did your friendship face?  
  35. What does being responsible mean to you?  
  36. What steps do you take to improve your interpersonal relations?  
  37. What is your personal vision of a home?  
  38. What is your vision of dystopia?  
  39. What is your favorite superheroine and why?  
  40. What career would you like to choose? 

If you are a student, your life story might not be that long. However, these 15 questions will guide you in writing an autobiography that you can be proud of and the 3 simple principles discussed above will help you make your memoir flawless.

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🤗 What to Include in an Autobiography?

  1. Explore your background. Try to recall how a biography of a prominent person usually starts. It always opens with their parents’ or even grandparents’ achievements or vices. Rather than beginning the autobiography with your date of birth, dedicate a paragraph to your ancestors. Providing background information will put your life into a complete picture. The following questions will help you decide which events prior to your birth are worth attention.
What kind of family do you come from? What did your parents do for a living, and how did it influence their lifestyle?
Are there any prominent achievements of your ancestors you could boast of? How did these accomplishments impact your family?
How did your parents get acquainted?
Where were you born, and what distinctive features of this region could you point out?
Were you the first, second, or third child?
  1. Pick out your childhood memories. This is the most touching paragraph of your piece of writing. Even though your childhood may seem ordinary, the following template questions will guide you in the right direction. Something in your life will always be unique for everybody else.
Where did you live when you were a child (in the country, suburbs, town, or large city)?
Did you spend a lot of time outdoors? Did you gain any skills from playing there?
How did your relatives prepare you for school?
What defines your most important choice in life?
Describe the moments that shaped your personality or made a major change in your perception of life?
Which events influenced your choice of a program for college?
  1. Research your culture. Your family traditions are unique. In the modern world, every family is free to observe or ignore some customs. Special moments are what we recall many years later. Sometimes they are formed spontaneously, but most of them are created by our family, friends, and relatives.
What was the most anticipated holiday for your family?
Who did you invite to your place for the celebration?
What was the most important and valuable gift in your life?
Does your family have any traditions that are not related to holidays?
Is there a particular food you cook and eat only on important days?
Were there any adverse events related to your family traditions?

🔗 References

This article was developed by the editorial team of Custom-Writing.org, a professional writing service with 3-hour delivery.
Comments (35)

Mrs Anonymous
Mrs Anonymous

I appreciate the time and effort you put into this for that!

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Thanks for your kind words! We look forward to seeing you again!

Big daddy D 🍆
Big daddy D 🍆

You really helped me with this paper and fun fact I am still in primary school 🙃😏

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Thanks for stopping by!

Cj Cayamanda
Cj Cayamanda

Thank you so much for this guide questions, this really helps a lot especially to those who really don’t have any idea on how to write an autobiography may God bless you and expand your storehouse..

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

We are grateful for your feedback! It means so much for us!

Traci
Traci

Very interesting. Can your team actually put a rough autobio together for someone using their ideas and answering all the questions….its a bit more involved than I would like it to be. If I could get a rough story on print… is that something your company does & a ballpark cost if you do…thank you

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Kindly send your question to our team filling out the form on this page https://custom-writing.org/contact

Susan
Susan

How many words should there be in an autobiography?

Ramakant Jagat
Ramakant Jagat

I am 77
Plan to write my autobygraphi.very useful tips and guidence .Thanks so much.

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Thank you for your feedback!

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Your essay should not be too long, it’s about 5 paragraphs, but it’s better to double check the requirements with your professor.

Aljun Cabahug
Aljun Cabahug

Thank you so much for sharing.
I highly appreciated.
Maraming Salamat Po.

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Thank you so much for your kind words. It means so much for us!

Veola Baabereyir
Veola Baabereyir

Am very much great full to the tips provided. It has opened my mind wide on how to start and what to include in writing autobiography. Thank you.

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

Thank you, Veola!

Ignatius de Silva
Ignatius de Silva

I have been wanting to write my autobiography for sometime but didn’t have a clear idea how to start and what to include. I am seventy six years old and time is running out. You have inspired me to forge ahead with this project by encouraging and sharing your ideas. This is the impetus I needed to start my life story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Custom Writing
Custom Writing

So glad to hear that! We look forward to seeing you again!

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