Biographical sketches essentially tell the lives of others by focusing on one or two defining events in their lives. Writers use biographical sketches to inform readers of the essence and main points of their biographies. Biographical sketches analyze the lives of biographical subjects in the context of significant, life-changing events, situations and milestones.
As with other types of factual writing, writers perform research and gather facts before beginning to write biographical sketches; doing so entails perusing a variety of sources such as newspapers, websites and books to gather information. Although biographical sketches focus on one or two outstanding and significant events, writers should include other relevant basic facts as well, such as the birthplace, hometown and family life of subjects.