Getting your facts and tone right are paramount when writing an essay on a historical figure.
Sir Robert Laird Borden served his fellow Canadians as prime minister in the early 20th century before moving on to become chancellor of prestigious Queen's University. If you've been tasked with writing an essay on this historical figure for a class assignment, there are a few points to consider instead of simply regurgitating his biography and earning a substandard grade.
Instructions
1. Check your local library under Sir Borden's name or perform an online check. Choose more reputable sites like Britannica's online encyclopedia, which is written by more informed authors, versus sites like Wikipedia, which anyone can contribute content to without much restriction or concentration on facts.
2. List biographical information on a note card. Include information such as Sir Borden's full name, his birthplace and date, his date of death and his primary place of residence. Also note other pertinent information, such as the dates of his tenure as prime minister and when he assumed the role of university chancellor. Write other notes to include any wives or children and factoids, such as the fact that as of 2011, Sir Borden is only the third prime minister to hail from Nova Scotia. Write down any historical contributions Sir Borden made as PM or chancellor and how those contributions or changes continue to affect modern Canadian life.
3. Set up your essay on your word-processing program to reflect the specifics given by your teacher or professor, such as spacing and width of margins. Begin your essay with something anecdotal about Sir Borden or a quote that he is remembered by to create interest and to engage readers in the body of the essay.
4. Add biographical details about Sir Borden in the second paragraph, but omit descriptors that aren't relevant to an essay. For instance, when mentioning his birth, simply give the date and place; leave out any colorful additions describing his family home.
5. Include information about Sir Borden that changed Canada at the time according to your notes in the next paragraph. In the final paragraph, write your ideas on why you feel Sir Borden's contributions were important, or be honest if you feel he should have done something differently. Remember, this isn't a research paper, where your job is to be overly detailed about your subject; rather, essays reflect personal feelings that are omitted when writing research or term papers.
6. Proofread your work and make any necessary changes to create a better sentence flow or correct any unclear points or grammatical errors before submitting your essay for a grade.
