How do I outline a biographical essay?

What do you think of my comparative essay outline?

• so im comparing hold caulfield(from the catcher in the rye) with willy loman(from death of a saleman) in terms of how they feel/view life and death, so heres my outline, tell me if the structure is right how can i can improve it =) point 1: difference on their views of life point 2: similarity on their views of death paragraph1: intro paragraph 2: holden's purpose in life (non materialistic) paragraph 3: willy's purpose in life (materialistic) paragraph 4: how holden wants to commit suicide paragraph5: how willy wants to commit suicide paragraph 6: conclusion also, how can i make my thesis more interesting instead of just saying that they have contrasting views in life but a common view on death?

• Answer:

  It's good, but maybe it would be helpful to ask yourself some further questions and be more specific in your outline. You're comparing two male characters. What life circumstances may have caused these different views of life? their family background? their current situation / job? Why did you choose to compare these characters in the first place? Are there any minor characters, maybe friends or family members of Willy and Hold that may have influenced them in these views of life and death? You can improve your outline by thinking a little further into exactly what it is that you want to say... Intro: Paragraph 2: You said: Holden's purpose in life (non-materialistic): - What makes him non-materialistic? maybe certain values he holds important in life. Which ones? Paragraph 3: You said: Willy's purpose in life (materialistic). Why do you think he is materialistic? Is it the culture or the place he is from that influences this? Ask yourself, why are money and possessions more important to him than non-materialistic, love and happiness, for example. Paragraph 4 / 5: In these two paragraph you said you were going to talk about both characters similar view of death? But can you find small differences between their views of death? Are the reasons why both want to end their life the same? You should describe both character's life situation and the reasons why they may share this view of death in your essay. Conclusion: Your thesis can be more specific. Here is an example of a clear, sophisticated way to write such a thesis where most importantly you include the -name of the author - the title of the book along with the characters name (and try to be as specific as possible about the work: is it a play, short story, poem, or novel?) : Through a comparison between Hold Caulfield from J. D Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye" and Willy Loman from Arther Miller's play,"Death of a Salesman" the characters' different views on life and similar views of death helps show that while life circumstances may vary, both share the desire for death. A line or two should follow this to clarify. For example something like....Through this comparison it is clear that while situations change, people and the emotions they experience may be similar. To strengthen and add support to your body paragraphs I think you should pick some short quotes out of each work to use in supporting your paragraphs in your essay. If you do this always remember to put the quotes in quotations " " marks followed by the page number in (__). : here is an example from the opening of the book: When asked to describe his childhood, it is clear from Hold Caulfield's description "my lousy childhood" and his answer "but I don't feel like going into it" (Put page number this is found on inside brackets here) that he has experienced hardships in his past. I think you will have a great essay if you put some time and thought into expanding your ideas. It's always great to go to the novel and play you are using and mark pages or quotes where there is a great example you might want to use to support what you are saying in your paragraphs (usually 2 small points or examples to support each paragraph works well). Good Luck with your essay!