Biographical reflections


1- Read the syllabus

2- Find people who are interesting and significant
Pay particular attention to people whose careers or educations interest you
3- Begin with
a- Your own ideas
b- Biographical dictionaries
c- Collections of short biographies
d- Names from textbooks
e- Names you stumbled across in the last biography
4- Use
a- Biography user guide
b- Bio-base
c- IRIS (subject searches)
d- Other biographical tools in reference section
e- Browsing near references you have used
f- Internet biography sites
5- Find
a- Magazine articles
b- Short biographies in collections
c- Chapters in longer books. Consider especially chapters on college or career experiences
6- Beware of
a- Dull people
b- Articles that are too long, too short or too complex
7- Include
a- Why this person in interesting
b- Why this person is especially appropriate for you