Style Guidelines for Biographies

Guidelines

 Write your biography in third person, as though someone was going to read it while introducing you to a
group. Make sure you include only your professional information. Please do not describe your pets, travels
or grandchildren, no matter how proud you are of them! Most biographies are two to three short
paragraphs. Please do not exceed 200 words.
 Begin by describing your current position and other positions you have held. If you are retired, describe the
positions you have held throughout your career.
 List your degrees and certifications. There is no need to list the dates or details, but you may want to
include information about areas of specialty.
 You may wish to include a description of your other professional experiences. Perhaps you have served as
a member or leader of a professional organization. For example, “Ms. Hendrix served as the president of
the Texas Principals Association (TPA) from 2013 to 2014.”
 Describe any previous Cognia experience you have. If you haven't had Cognia experience, don't worry.
Many of our team members are serving for the first time. “Mr. Childs has served as Lead Evaluator for
three Accreditation Engagement Reviews.”

How to List Your Degrees

 Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Master of Arts or Master of Science

 bachelor’s degree or master’s degree
 Bachelor of Science in education, Doctor of Education in educational leadership
 If you wish to spell your name and degrees, it should read: Dr. Randall Smith, or Randall Smith, Ed.D., but
NOT Dr. Randall Smith, Ed.D.

How to List Subjects You Have Taught and Defining Your Degrees

 The only subjects capitalized are those that are names of languages, a culture, or religion (e.g., English,
Latin, French, Islam, Christian) or those followed by a number, as in Biology 101
 Bachelor of Arts in French, but a Bachelor of Arts in language arts

Abbreviations and Punctuation for Degrees

 B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., Ed.S., or Ph.D. or Ed.D. Please make certain they are punctuated correctly.

Job Titles
 Job titles are only capitalized when they immediately precede a person’s name; otherwise, use lowercase.
For example, “At the meeting, Principal Franklin spoke to the group;” however, “Mr. Kennedy is the
principal of the high school.” The same guideline is used for assistant principal, superintendent, assistant
superintendent for curriculum and instruction, guidance counselor, and other titles.

Do not Include:
 Your company name/consulting firm/website/blog (if you own your own business)
 Hobbies and special interests
 Civic groups or other memberships
 Educational philosophies

How to Upload Your Biography

Upon access to the eProve™ workspace, please complete your biography in a Word document; save the
document with your first and last name; post the document in the Team Only Folder, in the workspace. The Lead
Evaluator will gather all biographies and post the compilation in the Shared Folder, which is accessible by the
institution and by the team. The biographies will also be included in the final Engagement Review Report. If you are
serving on more than one team, please post your biography in each workspace.

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