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Biography Body Paragraphs

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Biography Body Paragraphs

Talia is preparing a short biography for the surf lifesaving club’s community display. Use the fact file to help her organise events, choose useful details and draft strong body paragraphs. Keep events in time order, write about events that have already happened and link ideas clearly.

Fact file: Sir Edmund Hillary

Use these verified facts as your source. A biography explains a real person’s life using accurate details.

1919 — Born in Auckland, New Zealand.

As a child — Enjoyed reading and exploring the outdoors.

After leaving school — Worked as a beekeeper with his father.

1953 — Reached the summit of Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay.

Later years — Supported schools and health projects in Nepal through the Himalayan Trust.

2008 — Died in Auckland, aged 88.

Read like a biographer

A body paragraph develops one main part of a person’s life. It starts with a topic sentence, adds specific evidence and uses linking phrases to guide the reader. Chronological order means events are arranged by when they happened.

1.Which sentence would make the strongest topic sentence for a body paragraph about Hillary’s early life?

Edmund Hillary’s early experiences helped shape his adventurous nature.
Edmund Hillary was a very good person.
Mount Everest is extremely tall.
He was born in 1919.

2.Put these events in chronological order by writing the letters in the correct sequence: A. Worked as a beekeeper; B. Reached Mount Everest’s summit; C. Was born in Auckland; D. Supported projects in Nepal.

3.Choose the best linking phrase to complete the sentence: “_____ leaving school, Hillary worked as a beekeeper with his father.”

Before
After
At the same time as
In conclusion

4.Rewrite this note as a complete past-tense sentence with a linking phrase: “1953 / Hillary and Tenzing Norgay / summit / Mount Everest”.

5.Which detail best supports the idea that Hillary’s childhood included outdoor interests?

He was born in Auckland.
As a child, he enjoyed reading and exploring the outdoors.
He died in Auckland in 2008.
He worked with the Himalayan Trust.

6.The sentence “Hillary was born in Auckland in 1919 and reached Everest’s summit in 1953” is written mainly in which tense?

Past tense
Present tense
Future tense
Present continuous tense

7.Improve this weak paragraph by adding a topic sentence and one specific detail from the fact file: “He liked adventures. Then he climbed a mountain.” Write two or three connected sentences.

Plan and draft

Choose a paragraph focus: Hillary’s early life, the Everest achievement, or his later work in Nepal. Keep each paragraph focused on one main part of his life.

8.Plan a body paragraph. Name its focus, write a topic sentence, and list two supporting facts from the fact file.

9.Draft one biography body paragraph of four to six sentences about one focus from question 8. Include a topic sentence, at least two accurate details, a chronological linking phrase and past-tense verbs.

10.Edit this sentence by correcting the capital letters and punctuation: “in 1953 hillary and tenzing norgay reached the summit of mount everest”

11.Self-check your paragraph from question 9. Name one feature you included and one specific improvement you would make before publishing it.