AUTOBIOGRAPHY "A" EXEMPLAR Style/Format

Introduction: Contains basic details about yourself. Includes when you were born; where you were born; and brief details about your family. You can say something quirky about yourself here (if you like).

The Text I was born Dana Mattas on Thanksgiving Day (November 24) 1986 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. My birth name was "danah michele mattas" (spelled all funky because my mother loved typographical balance). Two years later, my brother Ryan was born. My parents divorced when I was five and my mother, brother and I set off for York, Pennsylvania. My mother re-married when I was in the third grade and we moved to Lancaster. Shortly afterwards, all of us changed our name to "Beard." My mother and step-father divorced when I was in the 9th grade, but we stayed in Lancaster. In college, I changed my last name to "boyd" to honour my grandfather. When doing the legal paperwork, I switched back to a lower-cased style to reflect my mother's original balancing and to satisfy my own political irritation at the importance of capitalization. In high school, I joined the Glee Club and played drums in marching band. I headed up the literary magazine, and did theatre, threw javelin, and edited the school newspaper. I was not particularly well-behaved and I missed far more than my fair share of school days (translation: I was bored out of my mind). I won $1500 in Junior Miss - a talent competition (beauty contest) that my friend made me enter on a dare. I worked at Subway because my mother wanted me to learn why I was getting an education (a decision that I still respect). I attended all sorts of summer school programs, including Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences, Space Academy, and Phillips Exeter Academy. I was at President Bush's first inauguration through a program for smart, politically engaged students. I broke my neck when I was 16, and it forced me to stop playing sports and it ended my childhood dream of going to the California Naval Academy to become an astronaut. My brother introduced me to computers when I was younger and I thought they were lame. When he got a Facebook account and started talking to people, I became curious. Once I got involved, I was utterly amazed at the connections that could be made and I started conversing with friends about all sorts of teenage angst. I created my first webpage in 2006 and it morphed into the Green

Language Features
An autobiography is mostly written in the past tense. Note the use of the past tense of verbs: was, spelled, loved, moved, and changed. You only use the present tense when you talk about who you are today (more on that later). Note the use of the active voice: "I was born ..."; "My birth name ..."; "My parents divorced ..."; "My mother remarried ...".

Paragraph 1: Talk about your first "life-changing event". How did this "event" change the way you looked at life? What effect did it have on you?

Divide your autobiography into neat sections called paragraphs. In each paragraph, you should only talk about one topic. Your first sentence is called the topic sentence, and tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. Most paragraphs are 3-4 sentences in length.

Paragraph 2: What kinds of things did you do at SCHOOL in your past? Year 8 students should talk about things they were involved in during Primary School.

Parentheses (or "brackets") are sometimes used to call out humorous "asides", or to further explain something that might be misunderstood otherwise.

Paragraph 3: What were your achievements during your past school days? Year 8 students should focus on competitions or awards they won during their time in Primary School.

Note the strict use of capital letters on all the Proper Nouns in this paragraph. Numeracy: Note how we write the number "sixteen" here. In essays, we write the full words of any number 12 and lower. Over 12, we write the number.

Paragraph 4-5: Devote a couple of paragraphs to talking about your hobbies and general interests. Discuss how you were introduced to your hobby or sport, and talk about how it still is a part of your life today. How has your hobby or sport helped you to become a better person?

When you start to talk about your hobbies and sports, your language can be less formal (though not informal). You can use hyperbole like "utterly amazed" and phrases like "all sorts of".

Day lyrics page that still exists today. I am obsessed with music! Starting in Grade 8, I was introduced to classic rock. Throughout high school, I listened to ska, "alternative" and some punk rock. My "cousin" (mother's best friend's son) was in a band and he used to take me to various local shows. Two very memorable shows at the Chameleon were "Bad Religion" and "Gwar" (where I was hoisted above the crowd because I was so little). My classic rock interest morphed into an appreciation for bands from the 60s and 70s who were still jamming and this passion led me to see the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd, amongst others.
Paragraph 6-8: What are some of the major challenges you have faced in your life so far? How have you overcome or dealt with these challenges? You might devote a couple of paragraphs to discuss these things. Stay clear of using exclamation marks, except to really make a point. In this case ("I am obsessed with music!") this is the only use in the whole essay. It really stands out, so draws attention to the girl's love of music.

Note how "decades" are written in essays. Note there is no use of an apostrophe!

My years in high school were not all rosy, and many of my peers did not make it through as unscathed as I did. I attribute my survival to three things: 1) my mother; 2) the Internet; 3) a challenging classmate. My mother was unbelievably supportive, even when terrible things were happening all around. While we would fight, she was always there to bail me out of trouble, give me necessary advice and keep me grounded. She was amazing at parenting through support rather than through rules (because I always broke any that she set down anyway). The Internet opened the door of possibilities to me. I found other smart kids year round (not just when I went off to "smart kids camp"). I found ideas, colleges. Teachers taught me so much about the world and about myself. And then there was my classmate... In the 9th grade, he told me that girls can't do science and that they didn't let girls in to do engineering science at university. We brawled on many occasions and I still smile when I think of the day that I finally proved him wrong. Yet, his antagonism gave me goals. I was determined to prove him wrong over and over again. I went to Brown University because it seemed like the most liberal place that still had a science program. I intended to study math, but I hated my first math class, mostly due to my teacher's inflexibility after I lost the ability to write (or type) because of my carpal tunnel. I quickly decided that math was not going to be my thing, but I was absolutely in love with computer science. Besides, I figured that I could use California State University to build the online technologies that I loved in high school.

Note how you can list things in essays. Note the use of the semicolon after each list item.

The use of "ellipsis" ( ... ) denotes dreaminess or "hazy memories". You should use it very sparingly and then only in "dreamlike" descriptions.

Paragraph 9: Talk about where you see yourself in the future. What are your dreams? What goals have you set for yourself?

So, here I am. Doing what I love doing most. In the future, I'd like to work at Google or Facebook. But most of all, I'd like to invent the "next big

Put phrases in "inverted commas"

How will you get there? What Habits of Mind will you need to get better at in order to achieve your dreams?

computer thing". I'd pray to God for a bit of luck, but I'm not very religious. I think we all make our own "luck", and shape our own destinies. With the help of my mum, my Facebook friends, and that bothersome classmate in Grade 9 who told me I couldn't do anything - am I am now somebody! I'd like to believe that anything is possible in the future, and that includes eventually becoming an astronaut and going on the first space mission to ... Mars! P.S. Oh... One other thing: about the fuzzy hat. I started wearing strange clothes in high school. First, I wore PJs and slippers and then things got a bit more eccentric. In college, I became obsessed with "fuzzy things" and had all sorts of rave wear. I shaved my head in my freshman year, added all sorts of piercings and later dyed my hair every colour imaginable. In San Francisco, I bought a bunch of clothing to attend the Burning Man concert, including the "white fuzzy hat". In the summer of 2007, it was really cold and I started wearing that hat all the time. It has kind of stuck, particularly since I'm always freezing. When I spoke at the E-Tech Convention in 2010, I was very sick and so I wore the hat while on stage. Since then, it has become a sort of trademark, for better or worse. Below is a picture of me. It was taken just after I got my scholarship to go to California State University. I'm smiling, but I'm annoyed because I had gum stuck in my teeth when this picture was taken, and my teeth were stuck to my bottom lip!

when you want to say something that other people (not you) would say. "The next big computer thing" is something her mum would say (not the author). It is often used for humorous effect.

Note use of ellipsis again: her "dream" is to go to Mars.

Conclusion: You can (though you don't have to) end with a little humorous or quirky Post Script - something funny about yourself that people might know you for. Otherwise, just write a brief conclusion that sums up who you are.

Photo and Caption: Don't forget to add a picture of yourself, and write a little caption.

Note the use of italics when writing your caption. If you are writing by hand, you can write your caption in RED PEN to make it stand out.

Note: A small photo of this size is fine. A face close-up is best (if you have it).