A Note to Students

Note: Speak to your teacher before taking the advice that follows. While we believe adding biographical material to papers is a good idea, your teacher may have a different opinion.

How can you get a better grade on your next paper? Here’s a tip: Make it more intersting by including biographical information connected to your topic. It will make your paper stand out. Who are the key people connected to your subject? Who influenced them? Did they have any famous teachers or mentors?

For instance, if you’re working on a paper for an English class, you could read about the author of a book or play. For a science class, you could research a leading biologist, chemist, geneticist, etc. Why? Your teacher is probably going to grade a whole bunch of papers at once. If your paper is more interesting it’s likely to stand out and show extra effort. And extra effort usually translates into a higher grade.