How to write a professional bio brief

Prewriting for Your Description

1.Identify your audience:

In order to write to the best of your ability, keep in mind the
person (or people) you are writing for
Your readers may be your professor, colleagues, an academic
committee or members of your local community.
2.Follow the guidelines if you have been given them

• Writing a description of yourself for a class or

for an application
• Applying for a scholarship
• Situation-specific: such as a personal
description for a work environment
 3.Create a list of your academic and
professional achievements.

 Write down your academic accomplishments.

 Review your professional achievements:
Highlight of your professional experience Include your
noteworthy awards, promotions or accomplishments.
 4.Create a list of your characteristics and interests

• Reflect on your personal characteristics: Think about the

adjectives that people have used to describe you in the past.
Pick words that you think will portray you in the best light for
the specific institution you are writing your description for.
• List your interests pertaining to what you are applying for. You
may be known in your community for volunteering or planning
community events.
Part-II: Writing Your Description
 1.Review your list to select the content you
will use in your bio

• Look at all of your lists and choose the

combination of accomplishments,
achievements, characteristics, and interests
that will best create the most complete
picture of who you are while still catering to
the institution you are writing this bio for.
 2.Determine if the brief description must be
written in first or third person

When submitting an application to a school or

scholarship committee, your description will be in
the first person. When writing a brief bio to be read
as your introduction prior to a presentation you are
giving, write it in the third person.
3.Exclude all irrelevant facts and information

• Be brief and to the point – the description about

yourself
• Information about extracurricular activities may be
relevant for applying for a school it should be
excluded from a professional description.
 4.Write your bio and keep it short

• The saying ‘less is more’ applies here--paint as

complete a picture of yourself as briefly as possible.
Generally, a personal description should be limited
to a length of between 100 and 200 words.
 5.Proofread and edit your brief description

• Set it aside for a few hours or days, and read it

again to correct all typos and edit any
awkward sentences. Setting it aside will help
to clear your mind--when you look at it again,
you will be able to read it more objectively
 6.Ask someone who knows you to read it

• Request feedback on the tone and accuracy of your

description to ensure that you are not being too
humble or overstated.
• Ask them, is your bio clear? Does it represent you well?
Is there anything you should add or take out of the bio?
 References
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Brief-
Description-of-Yourself