Autobiography list of questions

Education

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Because every individual is unique and every interviewer has his or her own special interests and research goals, there is no single set of questions that will fit every situation. The following are some that might help guide an interview with a relative or community member about family folklore and local traditions. Pick and choose among them to suit your own interests, and change the wording as you see fit. Ultimately, the most useful questions will be those that you develop yourself based on your knowledge of your own family and/or community. Remember not to be tied to a formal list of questions; rather use your questions as guideposts for the interview. Be flexible and have fun!

Biographical Questions

What is your name?
Where and when were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Where have you lived?
What jobs have you had?
What do you do for a living now?

Family Folklore

Q: What do you know about your family name? Are there stories about its history or origins? Has it undergone any changes? Are there any stories about those changes? Are there any traditional first names or nicknames in your family? What are they? How did they come about? Are there any naming traditions? What are they?

Q: Do you know any stories about how your family first came to the United States? Where did they first settle? Why? How did they make a living? Did your family stay in one place or move around? How did they come to live in this area?

Q: If your tradition-bearer is a first-generation immigrant, you might ask him or her: Why did you leave to come to the United States? What possessions did you bring with you and why? What was the journey like? Which family members came along or stayed behind? What were some of your first impressions and early experiences in this country? What traditions or customs have you made an effort to preserve? Why? Are there traditions that you have given up or changed? Why?

Q: What languages do you speak

40 Questions to Ask in an Informational Interview

Knowing networking is critical to their search, most job hunters work hard to arrange face-to-face meetings with contacts.

But setting up appointments with all the friends, professional acquaintances and corporate executives you can is just the first step. More important is knowing what to say once you arrive. Wasting contacts' time is unacceptable, so you should prepare an agenda before each meeting. Decide what want to find out and prepare questions to elicit that information.

To simplify the query-writing process, review the following list of questions. Pick those that are most appropriate and tailor them to fit your situation and speaking style. Form some of your own as well, but don't try to squeeze in too many questions. It's better to leave contacts wanting more than to wear out your welcome.

What Work is Like

1. Could you describe one of your typical workdays?
2. What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?
3. What parts of your job do you find most challenging?
4. What do find most enjoyable?
5. Are there any negatives to your job?
6. How many hours do you work in a typical week?
7. Which seasons of the year are toughest in your job?
8. How would you describe the corporate culture?

Use information you know about the company or industry within your questions to show your knowledge base and seriousness.

For example, to make No. 7 more relevant: “As an accountant at a medium-sized local firm, your busiest season probably revolve around your clients’ fiscal-year ends, which can vary. What would you say would be the most demanding times of the year for your firm’s accountants?”

State of the Industry

9. Is this field growing enough so that there's room for someone like me?
10. Are too many or too few people entering this profession?
11. What developments on the horizon could affect future opportunities?
12. This industry

Biography questions pdf

150+ Character Questions: The Ultimate Character Questionnaire

The Ultimate Character Questionnaire and Worksheet (over 150 character questions)

The Character Questionnaire is a list of questions, put into groups, to help prompt writers to add detail and depth to their characters.

The best way to use the Character Questionnaire is in the Novel Factory writing software (which you can try completely free!), but if you don't fancy that, then you can scroll down to view all of the questions below.

Click here to jump straight to the questions

What is a Character Questionnaire?

A character questionnaire is a list of character development questions that can be used by writers to add depth and detail to the characters in their novels.

The questions are usually organised into categories, such as personal details, physical appearance, personality, friends and family and backstory.

More detailed character questionnaires may also include topics such as love, conflict, work, education, hobbies, favourites, possessions, spirituality, values, daily life, and more.

Why use a character questionnaire?

A character questionnaire is a great way to get our brains working in new directions.

It's not intended like an exam, that you must complete for each character in order to get full marks. In fact, you should only consider doing it at all for the major characters. And even then it's most useful as an inspirational tool, not a plodding box ticking exercise.

The questions can help us think about aspects of our characters we might not have considered otherwise. They can prompt us to develop new, unique elements of their personality.

We can use questions to give us ideas about how we can contrast our characters and create conflict between them.

Or they can help us discover details about their home or work life which will enrich our descriptions and make them feel more three dimensional to our readers.

Note - a questionnaire is not a good way to start

The Best Questions To Capture Your Family’s Memories

If you’re inclined to start capturing your family’s history by creating a memoir of your parents or grandparents, we have a list of questions that could be useful for the process. In this post, you can see some easy steps to create this memoir using LifeTales. Use these questions as a guideline. And, of course, it’s helpful to add other personalized questions about stories you vaguely know or have heard before.

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About the person

Early years:

What is your first memory ever?
What is your happiest childhood memory? Your saddest?
What is your favorite children's story?
Do you have sisters or brothers? How did you get along? What were they like?
Do you have a special song that was sung to you by either of your parents? What was it? Can you sing it?
How is life different today compared to when you were a child?
Where did you go to school?
Where did you grow up?
Was learning to read and write a struggle for you?
What's something you were afraid of as a child?
When you were a child, how did you imagine your adult self?

Teen and young adult years

Did you go to High School?
What were you like in high school?
Was school easy or hard? What subjects did you like the most? Which did you dislike?
Did you participate in any extra-curricular activities? Which ones?
Can you remember your first kiss? With whom? Describe what it was like
Who was your first love? Your first heartbreak?
What is your best memory as a teenager with your friends?
Was there a fantastic party you went to when you were a teenager?
Was graduating from high school a big event? Did you have a prom? What was it like?
Did you go to College/University?
Did you work while you were in college/university?
What were some of your summer or part-time jobs?
Did you have a Professor that was important to you?
Who were your friends? Are you still friends?
What do you wish you would have learned more about in school?

Work

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