Biographies

1. Biographies A biography is an account of a person’s life written, composed or produced by another. It is a genre, so therefore it possess its own features of form.

2. Features of biographies: • They are written in 3rd person - point of view. • Includes things that person has gone through and what makes the person noteworthy. • Important dates in that person's life and often includes a timeline. • Facts are gathered through research, including interviews if possible. • Has text features (chapters, photos, captions, index, glossary).

3. The biography is usually structured in chronological (time) order and therefore begins with the subject’s birth, childhood and family background and then explores the subject’s experiences and achievements. The conclusion offers an opinion or reflection on the person’s life. • The information and detail presented in the biography supports a particular point of view about the person who it is written on. • Biographers use a combination of fact and opinion to offer a particular view of their subject. Biographers may subtly disguise their opinion as facts. This feature is called assertion. • The biographer’s choice of language can influence the way we view the person in a biography. Through the use of connotations and subliminal use of lexis. • The writer’s point of view on the subject reflects their own values, attitudes or what they believe to be important.

4. Different types of biographies PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY • OmololáIjeomaÒgúnyemí is a medical informatics researcher based in Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up in Nigeria, she was captivated by the works of Nwapa, Emecheta, Ba, Ekwensi, Austen, Ulasi, El Sadaawi, Thorpe and other authors of the then ubiquitous Pacesetters series targetted at young Nigerians. She draws her inspiration from the experiences of Nigerians and other Africans in the diaspora, and has run a mailing list for Nigerian and African women's issues since 1994. Her work has appeared in OdidereOrunmila Gazette and the South Boston Literary Gazette. TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHY • KwameSenu Neville Dawes was born in Ghana in 1962 but grew up in Jamaica where he attended Jamaica College and the University of the west Indies at Mona. He studied and taught in New Brunswick on a Commonwealth Scholarship to Canada. Since 1992 he has been teaching at the University of South Carolina. He is as an Associate Professor in English on the Columbia campus of that institution. He is also a critic, actor, playwright, storyteller, and a poet-reggae singer. Dawes has published six collections of poetry, Progeny of Air (Peepal Tree 1994--Winner of the Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection, UK) Resisting the Anomie (Goose Lane 1995), Prophets (Peepal Tree 1995). JackoJacobus, (Peepal Tree 1996), Requiem, (Peepal Tree 1996) a suite of poems inspired by the illustrations of African American artist, Tom Feelings in his landmark book The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo, and Shook Foil (Peepal Tree 1998) a collection of Reggae-inspired poems.

5. CHRONOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY • Tony was born on the 7th of August 1969 in South London. This upcoming poet, playwright and novelist started creative writing at the age of nine, a habit he expressed with keen enthusiasm. Tony attended the Federal Government College in Azare, Northern Nigeria, and later went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language and Literature at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Much later he went on to complete a programme in Teaching English as a foreign Language at the Frances King International Training Institute in South Kensington. His writing later then began to become a fusion of Poetry, Graphics, Sounds, Spectacles, Animations and Music. Tony then went on to study Web design and Programming at the City University in the Heart of London UK. He is currently working on his next novel called The Secrets in the Wind. Tony is also online producer of Africa Awakening, an African Arts production. Tony's works are mostly inspired by a spiritual vision to acclaim and overcome the torment of a bedevilled concept. CREATIVE BIOGRAPHY • Ebele Jane Uche-Nwakile is an old soul who reincarnated in this lifetime as the granddaughter of the late Chief Peter NwakileNwanolude "IchieEzenwaka" of Eastern Nigeria. Born in the age of Disco, Afros and Bellbottoms, she grew up with the works of Achebe, Nwapa, Okigbo, Senghor, Brutus, Tagore, Shakespeare, Neruda, Yeats and Gibran. Her poems have been published in such books and magazines as The Rustling Leaves, A Celebration of Poets, Uhuru and Pigs 'n Poets. As she journeys through this life, eagerly anticipating the future and the publication of her collection of poems and short stories, she is a student at Kent State University, Ohio.

6. Analysing biographical texts: In the following extract, we are asked to discuss the way the writer shows his attitudes, values and beliefs through the use of language structure and form: • Step 1: Identifying the features Semantic field (Drugs) Subordinate clause (parenthesis) Alcohol isn’t a simple chemical, or if a scientist tells you it is, then he would have to confess that its effect on the human brain is bewilderingly complex. Peter never yielded to the dark side, never once turned aggressive or rude or loud or bullying or vain. His voice often became slurred, but then it was slurred when he was sober, so that didn’t mean much. He sweated a touch and one wouldn’t necessarily trust him to remember lines on a stage, so there’s no avoiding the opinion that it was a pity that he used alcohol as much as he did. And of course, in the end, his liver didn’t take kindly to it either. These are all facts that can’t be shirked. But, so far as I can judge, alcohol never made him less pleasant person to be with. Everyone dies. And while it was a terrible thing that Peter Cook left the party early, those of us remaining will all be gone in the twinkling of an eye, and who is to say that , in the end, it is better to stay long and sober than to leave early and merry? Choice of lexis (formality) Complex sentence Negative connotations Modifiers (contrast) Enumeration Colloquialism Tone/possessive pronouns (familiarity) Italics (prosodic feature) Assertion Discourse marker Opinion. (Comparative adjective contrasts with “pleasant”) Parenthesis Short simple clause Metaphor (life) Conjunction as sentence starter (informal) Rhetoric Question Hyperbole

7. Analysing biographical texts: • Step 2: Classifying the features • Choice of lexis (connotations, modifiers, etc…) • Semantic fields • High/low frequency vocabulary • Figurative language (metaphors, etc…) • Colloquialisms & Taboo • Contrast in use of lexis • Terms of address LANGUAGE • Sentence structure (compound, simple, etc…) • Sentence types (informative, declarative, interrogative, etc…) • Openings and endings • Discourse markers • Paragraphing • Conjunctions and subordinate clauses • Contrast of sentence structures • Verb tenses STRUCTURE • Features used specifically in biographies: • Register/terms of address (familiarity with person written about) • Particular tone • Prosodic features • Formality • Audience aim (Rhetoric questions) • Use of personal pronoun “I” (shows personal opinions) • Assertion FORM

8. Analysing biographical texts: • Step 2: Classifying the features Therefore this ends up in the following way… Semantic field (Drugs) Subordinate clause (parenthesis) Alcohol isn’t a simple chemical, or if a scientist tells you it is, then he would have to confess that its effect on the human brain is bewilderingly complex. Peter never yielded to the dark side, never once turned aggressive or rude or loud or bullying or vain. His voice often became slurred, but then it was slurred when he was sober, so that didn’t mean much. He sweated a touch and one wouldn’t necessarily trust him to remember lines on a stage, so there’s no avoiding the opinion that it was a pity that he used alcohol as much as he did. And of course, in the end, his liver didn’t take kindly to it either. These are all facts that can’t be shirked. But, so far as I can judge, alcohol never made him less pleasant person to be with. Everyone dies. And while it was a terrible thing that Peter Cook left the party early, those of us remaining will all be gone in the twinkling of an eye, and who is to say that , in the end, it is better to stay long and sober than to leave early and merry? Choice of lexis (formality) Complex sentence Negative connotations Modifiers (contrast) Enumeration Colloquialism Tone/possessive pronouns (familiarity) Italics (prosodic feature) Assertion Discourse marker Opinion. (Comparative adjective contrasts with “pleasant”) Parenthesis Short simple clause Metaphor (life) Conjunction as sentence starter (informal) Rhetoric Question Hyperbole

9. Analysing biographical texts: • Step 3: Analysing each point • The writer uses words derived from the semantic field of drugs, such as “alcohol”, “chemical” and “effect” to underline the importance of drug abuse, in this case, alcoholism in Peter Cook’s life. His use of contrast in “simple chemical” and “bewilderingly complex” enhances my point. It also reveals the writer’s aware and careful attitude towards alcohol, as suggested by the low-frequency modifier “bewilderingly”. This shows that the writer believes that alcohol and Peter Cook were very linked together, and that to understand his friend’s behaviour, the audience must understand that the effects of alcohol are powerful and mysterious. The use of complex sentence to describe this emphasizes/symbolises the complexity of alcohol’s effect on Peter: “never once turned aggressive or rude or loud or bullying or vain”. The use of enumeration portrays the writer’s feelings towards his friend. He depicts him as being calm, and relaxed, in juxtaposition to the connotations of “rude”, “loud”, etc… Therefore, the writer implies that Peter was different from everybody else, he values his capability of evading “the dark side” of alcohol. • The writer satirises Peter’s alcohol drinking through the subordinate clause, “but then it was slurred when he was sober, so that didn’t mean much.” and the colloquialism “He sweated a touch…” This shows that the writer was really close to Peter. The level of informality the writer approaches emulates the informality he had in his relationship with Peter, thus showing that he valued his relationship as being funny and humorous.

10. Biographical Text and Analysis Steve Jobs Steve Jobs (Steven Paul Jobs) was born in United States in February 1955. He was given up for adoption by his mother Joanne Carole Schieble. Paul and Clara Jobs, a working-class couple living in California, adopted and raised him. After high school he went to Reed College, but dropped out officially after one semester. Nevertheless he stayed and audited some classes. When he returned to California, he applied successfully for a job at Atari. In April 1976 he co founded Apple Computer Inc. with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Gerald Wayne. As Apple Computer went public in December 1980, Jobs shares were worth $ 217 million. In 1985 after an failed coup against the Apple CEO John Sculley, Steve Jobs was stripped of his operating responsibilities. In the same year he founded NeXT Inc. (NeXT Computer Inc.) and in 1986 the Pixar Animations Studios. When Apple Computer bought NeXT Computer in 1997, Steve returned to Apple Computer as advisor. Nevertheless he soon took the helm and reorganized the board of directors. In 1997 he accepted the position of interim CEO (iCEO). In 2000 he dropped the “interim” from his title and became CEO of Apple Computer. He announced this – like nearly all important news about Apple – at a keynote, and was welcomed by an audience; who cheered and chanted “Steve”. When the Walt Disney Company bought Pixar Animations Studios in 2006, Jobs became the largest shareholder of Disney and in the same year he became the Director of the Walt Disney Company.

11. Abilities Steve Jobs is attributed with a wide range of abilities and skills. Those which are crucial for representation, influencing, and public speaking are explained. Large parts of the following information were drawn from two biographies, which mostly deal with the 80ies and 90ies. Yet, newer information usually supports these “facts” or at least does not contradicts them. • The Public Speaker Steve Jobs is one of the best communicators in North American business. He is profiled as one of the role models in the book of the communication coach Carmine Gallo “Steve Jobs is one of the best communicators in North American business. He is profiled as one of the role models in the book of the communication coach Carmine Gallo “ Fire them Up” One of his biographers, the author, Alan Deutschman, goes so far as to write that there is no one in (North) American business that is that charismatic and hypnotizing. Steve Jobs public speaking skills are widely known mostly due his famous keynotes. Yet, a lot of his topics are those which are widely considered as boring, like computers and technology. He manages to talk about them with excitement and passion in such a way that they become enjoyable for the audience.

12. The Seducer, the Charmer, the Persuader Steve Jobs ability to influence individual people is stated in numerous articles. The myth of his reality distortion field was already born in the 1980’s. According to the biographies Steve Jobs was able to successfully convince people during his life of different things – independent of the relationship, circumstances or topic, like getting investment capital for the Apple I, convincing John Sculley to join Apple, staying at Reed College without paying the tuition, and convincing someone to take him on his private plane from Portland to San Diego. 
Jobs uses various techniques to influence and convince people. One known is, repeating the first name of the person to whom he talks often and holding strong eye-contact, which creates familiarity. Such methods combined with his authority and high social status are even more effective, since he draws on sympathy and authority, which are according to Cialdini two of the six major persuasion factors. According to Jim Oliver, Jobs possessed a memory that allowed him to remember a lot of people and the content of their communication. This allows him to (re-)establish closeness and familiarity by relating to known content and also to create rapport faster. • Deutschman Deutschman writes that Steve Jobs used a wide range of approaches to promote perfectionism. He could do it with charm and creativity, but also with critique and intimidation. He also used very indirect methods like a demonstration by Aikido masters to show the employees to take negative energy and transform it into positive energy. One of the latest accounts is that he stared at his team and noted: “We don’t have a product yet.” Instead of throwing a tantrum: “The effect was even more terrifying than one of Jobs’ trademark tantrums. When the Apple chief screamed at his staff, it was scary but familiar.

13. Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values In this section, Steve Jobs’ perceived attitudes, beliefs, and values are described. It should be noted that the “reality” of these factors is of less importance than the projected/perceived elements. Design, Functionality, and Quality Jobs was and is fascinated by good design; some state even that he is obsessive about it: “His obsession with look and feel, this fetishization, is what distinguishes every Jobs product. Design as psychological health and personal creed. But aesthetics is only one part for Steve Jobs the other complementary is functionality. As he explained in an interview in 1996: “Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.” Steve Jobswanted to inject his passion for aesthetics into his NeXT-partners. He added a visit to a building of Frank Lloyd Wright to a business trip in Fall 1985. He wanted convey to his partners the combination of good looks and functionality. • Perfectionism Steve Jobs is portrayed as a perfectionist and obsessed with quality. He demonstrates this in a lot of aspects from food to employees to his products. This attitude resulted sometimes in strange occasions, like buying nothing, because the products were simply not good enough for his standards. For Steve Jobs in the NeXT days, a new computer had to be like a revolution. It appears that this did not change: “Everything had to be just right…no not ‘just right’, it had to be great.” Steve Jobs wanted to inject his passion for aesthetics into his NeXT-partners. He added a visit to a building of Frank Lloyd Wright to a business trip in Fall 1985. He wanted convey to his partners the combination of good looks and functionality.Steve Jobs is portrayed as a perfectionist and obsessed with quality. He demonstrates this in a lot of aspects from food to employees to his products. This attitude resulted sometimes in strange occasions, like buying nothing, because the products were simply not good enough for his standards. For Steve Jobs in the NeXT days, a new computer had to be like a revolution. It appears that this did not change: “Everything had to be just right…no not ‘just right’, it had to be great.”