When it comes to writing an essay about a famous person for history, there are many things to keep in mind. Your teacher may assign you this task with precise instructions on how to write and what kind of information to include, or maybe just ask you to write about someone in history that you admire without telling you exactly what data to include. When it comes to writing an essay, take some time and base yourself on good information that you gather from books and reliable internet sources. Don't underestimate the time it will take to edit your essay and have a final product that you can be proud of.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare to write the essay
Step 1. Read the slogan well
If your teacher provides you with a document detailing what they are looking for from you, read it carefully. You will probably include all the information you need to get a good grade. If your teacher just says there is an essay to do during class, hopefully you have made a note of what to do. If you haven't taken any notes, talk to your teacher and ask them questions about the assignment in a polite way so you have all the necessary instructions.
- Should you pick a person or has he been assigned?
- Does your teacher want you to use a dating style? For example, you might want you to use the MLA or Chicago format. If he says you find it indistinct, there is nothing to worry about, but be sure to include a "References" page at the end of the essay. On this page, include all the web pages, books, and magazines that you used to write the essay.
- Is there a word limit? Does your teacher require a specific font or type size? Should you use double spacing? If you have questions, talk to your teacher.
Step 2. Choose a person who has done a lot in his life
If you can choose who to write about, take some time to think carefully. Don't pick the first person to cross your mind. Pick someone who interests you personally. This will make learning more about her and writing the essay more fun.
- Think about the things that you know this person has done. Have you lived a fairly normal life, but have you done just one amazing thing? Writing about a person who has been more or less "normal" could be more difficult if your teacher wants you to do a ten-page essay. For example, while Adolf Hitler was by no means an admirable human being, writing a historical essay about his life could be fairly straightforward, since he did so many different things.
- On the other hand, if there is a historical figure that really interests you, you will have fun searching for information and writing about her, whether she has had a hectic life or not. The most important thing is that you choose someone who is fascinating to you. Make a list of your hobbies and interests, and do a Google search to find famous people who have also had these hobbies and interests.
Step 3. Brainstorm a list of questions
Write down all the questions you want to answer from this person. If your teacher indicates which questions to answer, use them. If it doesn't, it will be up to you. Be sure to talk about when and where they were born, if they had a good childhood or not, what makes this person special and interesting, what they have accomplished (whether they have been good or bad), and why they are interesting to you.
Step 4. Research the questions you want to answer in the essay
Now that you have a few questions, you can start looking for the information you need to know to write the essay. This is called research. Start by looking for information on the internet about the person. Be sure to check the school library for more information.
- Write anything that you find interesting and want to include. As you do this, write down the source of the information. For example, you can write the name and author of the book or the address of the website.
- If you have trouble finding information about the person in the library, ask the librarian for help. This person is there to help you, and they might have ways to find information that you may not have thought of. Also, if you find the information in the library, there is a greater chance that you will find good quality information.
- Make sure you understand what your teacher considers an acceptable source of information. For example, some teachers might find it okay to use web pages like Wikipedia, while others might not. If you have doubts, ask him.
- Include at least one main source written by the person you are researching, such as a letter, journal entry, or speech. This will help you get to know her better than if you only used secondary sources, such as articles and textbooks.
Step 5. Make a draft of the essay
Sometimes knowing how to start a trial can be difficult. Writing a draft will help you get started and have a clear idea of what information you want to include. Include in the draft the questions developed in the brainstorming exercise and the answers to the questions that you have found through the investigation.
Write your draft so that the information is in the same order it will be in the essay. For example, don't ask questions about how the person died before questions about where they were born and who their parents were
Step 6. Review other essays
Ask the teacher if they have a sample essay that you can review. Many teachers keep an essay or two very well written by their former students.
However, be careful not to plagiarize! If you copy someone else's work without giving them credit, this is called plagiarism. If you find something interesting that you want to include, be sure to give the person credit. Plagiarism is serious, so it is best to know early that it is not worth the risk
Part 2 of 3: Writing the Essay
Step 1. Start with the body of the essay
In most cases, essays are made up of three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. In the introduction, you will introduce the person and briefly discuss the topic you will be writing about. You may already have an idea of what you want to include in your introduction based on your draft, or it may be easier for you to write it if you write the body first.
- On the body, write all the information you found during the investigation. This is the part of the essay where you will answer all the questions that you have developed.
- The essay will be clearer if you separate the different parts of the person's life into paragraphs. For example, the first paragraph may begin by explaining when and where you were born, and who your parents are. Here, you can talk about your childhood and if you have had important experiences that have made you the person you were.
- In subsequent paragraphs, you can talk about the things that made the person famous. You can also include interesting things that you have discovered about his personal life. For example, you can write about whether or not he is married, if he has suffered from mental disorders, etc.
Step 2. Write the conclusion
The conclusion of the essay is the place where you will summarize everything that you have written about the person on the body. You won't mention anything new about her. If you want to include something, find another place in the body of the essay.
- Do not write more than a paragraph or two for the conclusion. You should simply go over what you have written on the body about who this person was and why they were interesting and important.
- For example, you can write, "In summary, Martin Luther King Jr. was a determined man who, despite his tragically short life, accomplished wonderful things in his life. While his upbringing presented many challenges, he managed to become a great man who was not afraid to defend his beliefs ".
- In the next paragraph, you can summarize what you have written about why you find it interesting. For example, you can write, "This great man inspires me every time I read about him. I hope I can also stand up for the right thing if I am in a position to do so, no matter how difficult or scary it is."
Step 3. Write the introduction to finish the first draft
Now that you have written the body and conclusion of the essay, you will have no trouble writing the introduction. In this section, introduce the person you want to write about and state why they have been famous. Then, in a few sentences, summarize what you will talk about.
- For example, you can write "In this essay, I will talk about a man that almost everyone knows. He was a minister who became famous during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s for defending the rights of not just African Americans. but of all human beings. "
- After introducing the person, establish what you will tell the reader about this person. For example, you can write "In this essay, you will talk about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. from his birth in Georgia, his travels through Germany, where he became officially known as 'Martin', until his death in 1968.".
- Don't provide all the information in the introduction. Think of this section as a movie trailer. Provide enough information to pique the interest of the reader, but do not provide so much information that they already know everything that will be written in the essay before reading it.
Step 4. Write a second draft
What you have written is now considered the "first draft" or "rough sketch". In the first draft, there is no reason to worry about spelling, grammar, or sentence structure. The idea is simply to capture all the ideas that you want to include in the essay. After you finish it, you can start with the second draft.
- Don't pretend the second draft is perfect. Its purpose is to correct major spelling and grammar errors, and to see how you feel about the information you have written now that it is there.
- A second draft is what you will give to anyone who offers to review your essay, so make sure it is easy to read. It's best if this version is typed and double-spaced so that it's easy for your helper to take notes on things you could improve on in your final draft.
Part 3 of 3: Edit the essay
Step 1. Ask someone to review your work
You can ask a friend, parent, or other relative for help, but choose someone you know will actually take time to find errors in your essay and who will also pay attention to what you have written. A lazy friend might take a look at it to find misspellings. However, the goal is to choose someone who will evaluate what you have written to indicate things that you can improve.
- For example, a good editor might point out that the paragraph about the person's death would be better if you include it before the paragraph that talks about the legacy he has left.
- Ask a classmate to review your essay. This will be beneficial to both of you, as you can offer to review their work in return. Meet up for a few days after reading to discuss mistakes and ways to improve both of your work.
- If the person does a good job, they might have a lot to contribute about your essay. Don't take anything negative he says personally to you. Remember that they don't want to make you feel bad, they want to help you get a good grade.
- Give him a physical copy of the double-spaced essay. This makes it easier for you to make corrections and write notes.
Step 2. Edit the essay on your own
After making corrections or changes based on feedback from the person who helped you, review and correct your work. Do as if you were reading it for the first time, and as if you were reading someone else's work.
- Take notes as you read with a bright colored pen on a physical copy of the essay.
- Read the essay twice. The first time, focus on what you have written and do not look for spelling or grammar errors. As you read, think about whether it is easy to follow and whether it makes sense or not. This will be the time to consider rearranging your information, adding additional data, or removing anything that seems unimportant.
- Check the article a second time for grammar or spelling errors. Mark misspelled words or typos, and make a note of any odd sentences that you want to pick up and change.
Step 3. Read the essay backwards
It may sound strange, but reading backwards sentence by sentence will help you focus on each sentence. This will make it easier for you to spot the errors.
Also, read it out loud. This will help you detect weird-sounding sentences
Step 4. Write the final draft on the computer
Once you are happy with the work, prepare for the final draft. If you only wrote it by hand, you will have to write it in full on the computer. If you already have a draft on your computer, you don't need to retype it all, but do review it and correct any errors you may have noticed.
- Make sure to follow any instructions your teacher has indicated on the format of the document. For example, consider things like font, font size, and line spacing.
- Now, you can be sure that you have a well-written essay. If you're still unsure, you can ask someone else to read your essay to reassure you that you've caught all the mistakes.
- If your teacher says they don't care about the format, stick with what your word processing program defaults to. In general, it is recommended to use a font size 12 and a standard font such as Times New Roman. To make your essay easy to read, change the line spacing from 1, 5 to 2, unless your teacher said not to.
- The teacher may expect you to provide a computer-written copy of the essay. Unless you've specified that you should write it by hand, be sure to provide a neat, computer-written copy.
Advice
- Don't put off writing the essay. As soon as the teacher assigns the homework, start thinking about who you want to write about and start writing the outline.
- Please note the delivery date. Write it down on your calendar and make sure you turn in the work on time. Your teacher may not accept it out of time, which means that you will have wasted a lot of time and energy for nothing.
- For some people, it helps to write the first draft by hand. If you have a hard time getting started on the computer, use a pen and paper to overcome initial writer's block.
- Be sure to include your name and other identifying information (such as your student ID number). Some teachers will throw away any work if they don't know who it belongs to, so don't risk it.
Warnings
- Never plagiarize or copy someone else's work without giving them credit for what they have written. Plagiarizing someone else's work could get you into big trouble at school. If you find something someone has written that you want to include in your essay, you can, but be sure to cite the sources in the format required by the teacher.
- Don't pay someone to do the essay for you. There are many web pages that supposedly allow you to pay for someone to write your essay in exchange for money. Do not try. You are very likely to be discovered, and the website may or may not be a scam. If it is a scam, you will lose money and you will also have to write the essay.