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NOTES FROM THE PROFESSOR:
As you already know, the research paper is going to be a biography of a famous person. However, this paper will not be a typical biographical essay that tends to give a chronologicaland boringdescription of the subject from his or her birth to his or her death. Instead, Im going to ask you to focus on one particular part of that persons life that you consider to be a turning point. For example, if the subject of your paper were Barack Obama, you would probably focus on his election as president. If the subject of your paper were Harriet Tubman, you might want to discuss her first successful navigation of the Underground Railroad. A persons turning point, however, may not be the most obvious choice. In your research you may find that the most important instance of a persons life occurred in his or her childhood, and not at the point where he or she achieved the apex of fame and accomplishment. And for certain celebrities, their deaths might be considered the most important turning point. Consider Abraham Lincoln, for example. Certainly, his tragic and unexpected murder could certainly be considered a turning point in our national history.

Now just because I want you to primarily focus on your subjects turning point does not mean that you ignore the basic facts of the persons life, such as where and when he or she was born, lived, died, etc.; you will, of course, need to write about those details. Still, your paper should mostly focus on the turning pointand I want you to tell it like a story.

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