LESSON
WRITING
Write a biographical statement
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GET READY
The university staff newsletter includes a “Meet the Newest Staff Member”
article—a short biography of that person. What kind of information do you
expect to find in a biography?
STUDY THE MODEL
A
Read the biographical statement. What did the writer choose to highlight about
the person?
Meet the Newest Staff Member!
Miguel Lopez was born in a small town in Mexico in 1987. He is the son of a
farmer and an elementary school teacher and has three younger sisters— Sara,
Ana, and Rosa. His family still lives in Mexico. It was hard for him to leave, but
Miguel moved to southern California in December of 2005 because he wanted
to try new things.
Miguel’s first goal was to find a job, and in January of 2006, he got a job at a
construction company. At first, he worked as a crew member, but he learned very
quickly. In 2008, he got a promotion and became the foreman of a crew. His
other goal was to study English. He started studying English at night at Sundale
Community Education in 2008. At that time, he knew a little English. He finished
all six levels of English in only four years. While studying at Sundale Community
Education, Miguel met his wife, Luz, and they got married in 2011. Then, he
finished his last English class in 2012. Miguel continued working for the
construction company until the end of 2013 when he saw a job opening in the
Office of Campus Development at Sundale State University. At that time, he
thought his experience in construction could be helpful as the university
prepares to grow over the next ten years. The director agreed, and Miguel will
manage the scheduling of construction teams to improve our campus buildings
and build new ones.
When he isn’t working, Miguel likes spending time at the beach and going
dancing with Luz. He is also learning to surf. Luz works in education, too; she is a
secretary for a local high school. They love living in Sundale. They enjoy traveling
and are saving their money to take a vacation to New York City next year.
Writers use
time words and phrases
in biographical statements.
These time words make the writing easier to understand.
Writing Tip
B
Read the Writing Tip. Read Miguel’s biographical statement again.
Underline the time words and phrases.
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UNIT 1
