So you’ve signed up for the Made in Millersville Conference and the Made in Millersville Journal, and now you’ve received an email asking for a professional picture and short bio about yourself. You may be thinking “why do they need me to write the bio” or “what should I even include in the bio”? Which are completely valid questions that will be answered in this post as well as in the workshop we will be hosting 2/19 during common hour and 2/20 from 5-6:30 pm.
Let’s begin with the first question of why you, the author, need to write a bio about yourself to go with your publication.
There’s a good chance that some of the audience that ends up reading your article from the Made in Millersville Journal didn’t see you present at the conference, don’t know you, or don’t even go to Millersville University. Having a biography to accompany your article gives readers the chance to get to know a little more about who you are as well as what prompted you to present your research.
While having to prepare a bio and picture for the journal might feel like an extra task to add to your list among homework and other assignments, I can assure you that if you take the time to write it up and send it in before the due date, you’ll feel a lot less stressed and won’t forget (plus you’ll be entered into a raffle when you meet our deadlines!).
Your bio should fall roughly between 100-250 words and should be written in third person, i.e. “[your name] is a [your major] in their [class status] year at Millersville University”. If you turn to the end of a book where the “about the author” section is location, you’ll notice that author bios in books follow this style as well. You’ll want to begin with your name, major, minor (if you have one), and what year you currently are in at Millersville. Then you can get into the project you’re submitting:
What led you to create/present this project?
What was most interesting to you about your project?
What are your plans for the future?
Will any aspect of your project help you pursue your desired career/path in the future?
Still feeling stumped on what to write for your bio? Feel free to check out past student bios in the archives on the MiMJ website for inspirations in terms of how to model your bio. If you’re still struggling or just want to work on it with in-person help, I invite you to attend the Thursday (2/20) workshop session at 5:00 in room 210 of the McNairy Library where we’ll be specifically working on author bios. During this time we’ll also be providing a chance for you to have your picture taken by us to use as your bio picture (so that’s one step taken care of for you).
If you’d like to help us out and provide useful feedback, click here!
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