introduction to family history essay

How to Write an Essay About My Family History

A family comprises of people living together that form a social group within a community. The people creating this group are subject to relationships either by birth or blood, and it comprises at least two adults as parents and grandparents, together with young children. The family members have a mutual connection between them. Therefore, an essay about family history is a synopsis of an individual's social identity and the reciprocal relationship(s) he/she shares with the people living together. Learning family history is vital to understand our social status, humanity, and diversity. History keeps our memories for generations to understand who they are and their geographic origin. Having a good knowledge of family background lets you appreciate the things or sacrifices made before by grandparents to experience better things in life. An individual's roots and origin bring a sense of self-discovery. Also, writing about your family history is one way of preserving its heritage for future generations.

How to Start A Family History Essay

Outline writing, tips concerning writing a family history essay introduction, how to write body paragraphs, how to write a conclusion for a family history essay, essay revision, essay proofreading, make citations, catchy titles for an essay about family history, short example of a college essay about family history.

• How to Get the Best Family History Essay

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When writing an essay, there is a logical structure you must follow in giving out your arguments. A proper outline will produce an exciting presentation of every section, and it will fascinate the reader. The standard structure of an essay has an introduction, body, and conclusion. Here is an excellent example of an outline for a family history essay:

• Introduction
• Short family background information
• Importance of writing about the family
• Body (paragraphs)
• Family members; grandparents, parents, and children
• The community in which family resides
• Form of livelihood
• Conclusion (a summarizing paragraph)
• Restating your contention
• Summarize your key ideas
• Provide a final comment or reflection about the essay

When writing a presentation about family history, you need to provide a hook to the readers, to make them interested to know much about the family. You can start with facts or anecdotes about grandparents; for example, how they met on the first date and opted to make a family together, you can as well describe the circumstances. You can also provide an insight into a situation by your ancestors that impacted your life experience—the other thing to include in the short background information about your family. Remember to provide a clear and debatable thesis statement that will serve as the roadmap for your discussion in the paper.

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The body paragraphs contain the arguments one needs to discuss the subject topic. Every section includes the main idea or explanatory statement as the first sentence; the primary purpose is a debatable point that you need to prove. The length of a paragraph depends on the accurate measurement of ideas. In most cases, a section has about five sentences; but it can be as short or long as you want, depending on what you discuss. A paragraph has the main statement, supporting sentence(s) with evidence, and concluding sentences. When crafting the body, ensure a clear flow of ideas, connecting from one argument to the other. Transitional words, when used accordingly, can provide a nice transition and flow of ideas from one paragraph to the other. The commonly used transitional words or phrases include moreover, also, therefore, consequently, hence, thus, finally, etc.

A conclusion is as crucial as the introduction; it is the final recap of what your essay entails. The ending paragraph contains three main parts that form a full section. First, remind the audience of your thesis statement and show its relation to the essay topic. Second, provide a summary of the key arguments that you discussed in the body paragraphs. Third, it is advisable to add a final comment or general reflection about the essay. It's important to state that you should use different wording in the conclusion when restating statements and arguments. Also, remember to use signal words at the start of concluding paragraphs like in conclusion, finish, etc.

Revision is an opportunity for a student to review the content in his/her paper and identify parts that need improvement. Some students start revising as they begin drafting their essays. During revision, you need to restructure and rearrange sentences to enhance your work quality and ensure the message reaches your audience well. Revising gives you a chance to recheck whether the essay has a short main idea and a thesis statement, a specific purpose, whether the introduction is strong enough to hook the audience and organization of the article. Also, you check if there is a clear transition from one paragraph to another and ascertain if the conclusion is competent enough to emphasize the purpose of the paper.

Nothing is more frustrating than submitting an essay to earn dismal grade due to silly common mistakes. Proofreading is an essential stage in the editing process. It is an opportunity for reviewing the paper, identifying and correcting common mistakes such as typos, punctuation, grammatical errors, etc. Since proofreading is the final part of the editing, proofread only after finishing the other editing stages like revision. It is advisable to get help from another pair of eyes; you can send the paper to your friend to help you in the same process. There are online proofreading tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway, which you can use to proofread, but you should not only rely on grammar checkers. Remember to proofread the document at least three times.

Making citations is an essential way of keeping references for the sources of content you used. As you are editing, you may make several changes to the document. Do not forget to correctly provide citations for every fact or quote you obtained from other sources. There are different citation formats such as APA, MLA, etc.; therefore, you need to ensure correct usage of quotes depending on the requirement by your professor. The sources you cite present the list of references or bibliography at the end of your essay for easy reference.

• Generation to Generation
• The Origin of My Family
• Our Circle and Family Heritage
• A Lifetime of Love
• Because of Two Lovebirds, I Am Here
• The Family Archives
• The Family Ties
• Branches of The Family Tree
• The Generational Genes
• Forever as a Family
• It All Started with a Date
• Bits of Yesteryears

Would you want to know how it all started until here? My grandpa told me that he met my grandma at a concert where one of the greatest artists was performing during one of the summer holidays in New York City. As he was dancing alone, my grandpa approached a beautiful lady (who would become his soulmate) to ask her to dance together. They later agreed to meet for a dinner date. Our family lives in New York. Undoubtedly, this is the best family, and it's an honor to be part of it.

Every person has two sides within his/her family; my paternal side originates from Canada, while the maternal side is from America. Although my great grandfather comes from Canada, my grandpa and grandma live in New York. My grandfather is Afro-American who worked as a bartender, no wonder he loved concerts! My father works as a conservationist for aquatic fauna while my mother works in the bakery. My mother and father met in a supermarket when they were both doing shopping.

Although we live in the same city, my grandparents have their apartment, a distance from ours. We live as a family of five; dad, mum, and three children. As we all live in the same city, we (me and my two sisters) occasionally visit our grandparents during the weekends to spend some time with them; grandpa and I were doing some gardening while my sisters and grandma do cook and other house chores. The bond between our great parents and ours is very excellent.

At Christmas, all my children, mum, and dad travel to our grandparents for a whole week. During the new year, we get together at our house, my parent's house, to welcome the year as an entire family. Sometimes during the weekends, we usually spend most of our time on the beach swimming, except on church days. As a family, our favorite food is deep-fried fish, rice, and vegetables. However, my grandpa likes chicken hash.

In conclusion, the social co-existence between us is excellent, which has created a robust mutual bond for the family. From visiting each other, spending time on the beach, having to get together meals to usher the new year, and celebrating Christmas as a family, the bond keeps growing. I am privileged to be part of such a great family.

How to Get the Best Family History Essay?

Every student would want to produce the best essay possible to earn a better grade. One way of getting information is through previously written materials such as essay samples. Pre-written essay samples have become popular recently among college students due to the vital information they offer. There are several sites, such as Essay Kitchen, that provide pre-written essays on family history at affordable prices. Students can use the essay samples to obtain enough content and idea about paper outline the professor expect; thus, producing a quality article.

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Knowing your family history is very important. It enables one to self-discover himself within the society and appreciate the lineage. When you learn about your family's past, you will understand the things you see and experience today. Writing an essay on family history requires a lot of understanding and attention to the aspects you need to describe. The critical factor being family background, then understanding how you need to structure and jot down your ideas.

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How to write an introduction for a history essay

Every essay needs to begin with an introductory paragraph. It needs to be the first paragraph the marker reads.

While your introduction paragraph might be the first of the paragraphs you write, this is not the only way to do it.

You can choose to write your introduction after you have written the rest of your essay.

This way, you will know what you have argued, and this might make writing the introduction easier.

Either approach is fine. If you do write your introduction first, ensure that you go back and refine it once you have completed your essay. 

What is an ‘introduction paragraph’?

An introductory paragraph is a single paragraph at the start of your essay that prepares your reader for the argument you are going to make in your body paragraphs .

It should provide all of the necessary historical information about your topic and clearly state your argument so that by the end of the paragraph, the marker knows how you are going to structure the rest of your essay.

In general, you should never use quotes from sources in your introduction.

Introduction paragraph structure

While your introduction paragraph does not have to be as long as your body paragraphs , it does have a specific purpose, which you must fulfil.

A well-written introduction paragraph has the following four-part structure (summarised by the acronym BHES).

B – Background sentences

H – Hypothesis

E – Elaboration sentences

S - Signpost sentence

Each of these elements are explained in further detail, with examples, below:

1. Background sentences

The first two or three sentences of your introduction should provide a general introduction to the historical topic which your essay is about. This is done so that when you state your hypothesis , your reader understands the specific point you are arguing about.

Background sentences explain the important historical period, dates, people, places, events and concepts that will be mentioned later in your essay. This information should be drawn from your background research . 

Example background sentences:

Middle Ages (Year 8 Level)

Castles were an important component of Medieval Britain from the time of the Norman conquest in 1066 until they were phased out in the 15 th and 16 th centuries. Initially introduced as wooden motte and bailey structures on geographical strongpoints, they were rapidly replaced by stone fortresses which incorporated sophisticated defensive designs to improve the defenders’ chances of surviving prolonged sieges.

WWI (Year 9 Level)

The First World War began in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The subsequent declarations of war from most of Europe drew other countries into the conflict, including Australia. The Australian Imperial Force joined the war as part of Britain’s armed forces and were dispatched to locations in the Middle East and Western Europe.

Civil Rights (Year 10 Level)

The 1967 Referendum sought to amend the Australian Constitution in order to change the legal standing of the indigenous people in Australia. The fact that 90% of Australians voted in favour of the proposed amendments has been attributed to a series of significant events and people who were dedicated to the referendum’s success.

Ancient Rome (Year 11/12 Level)  

In the late second century BC, the Roman novus homo Gaius Marius became one of the most influential men in the Roman Republic. Marius gained this authority through his victory in the Jugurthine War, with his defeat of Jugurtha in 106 BC, and his triumph over the invading Germanic tribes in 101 BC, when he crushed the Teutones at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC) and the Cimbri at the Battle of Vercellae (101 BC). Marius also gained great fame through his election to the consulship seven times.

2. Hypothesis

Once you have provided historical context for your essay in your background sentences, you need to state your hypothesis .

A hypothesis is a single sentence that clearly states the argument that your essay will be proving in your body paragraphs .

A good hypothesis contains both the argument and the reasons in support of your argument. 

Example hypotheses:

Medieval castles were designed with features that nullified the superior numbers of besieging armies but were ultimately made obsolete by the development of gunpowder artillery.

Australian soldiers’ opinion of the First World War changed from naïve enthusiasm to pessimistic realism as a result of the harsh realities of modern industrial warfare.

The success of the 1967 Referendum was a direct result of the efforts of First Nations leaders such as Charles Perkins, Faith Bandler and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

Gaius Marius was the most one of the most significant personalities in the 1 st century BC due to his effect on the political, military and social structures of the Roman state.

3. Elaboration sentences

Once you have stated your argument in your hypothesis , you need to provide particular information about how you’re going to prove your argument.

Your elaboration sentences should be one or two sentences that provide specific details about how you’re going to cover the argument in your three body paragraphs.

You might also briefly summarise two or three of your main points.

Finally, explain any important key words, phrases or concepts that you’ve used in your hypothesis, you’ll need to do this in your elaboration sentences.

Example elaboration sentences:

By the height of the Middle Ages, feudal lords were investing significant sums of money by incorporating concentric walls and guard towers to maximise their defensive potential. These developments were so successful that many medieval armies avoided sieges in the late period.

Following Britain's official declaration of war on Germany, young Australian men voluntarily enlisted into the army, which was further encouraged by government propaganda about the moral justifications for the conflict. However, following the initial engagements on the Gallipoli peninsula, enthusiasm declined.

The political activity of key indigenous figures and the formation of activism organisations focused on indigenous resulted in a wider spread of messages to the general Australian public. The generation of powerful images and speeches has been frequently cited by modern historians as crucial to the referendum results.

While Marius is best known for his military reforms, it is the subsequent impacts of this reform on the way other Romans approached the attainment of magistracies and how public expectations of military leaders changed that had the longest impacts on the late republican period.

4. Signpost sentence

The final sentence of your introduction should prepare the reader for the topic of your first body paragraph. The main purpose of this sentence is to provide cohesion between your introductory paragraph and you first body paragraph .

Therefore, a signpost sentence indicates where you will begin proving the argument that you set out in your hypothesis and usually states the importance of the first point that you’re about to make. 

Example signpost sentences:

The early development of castles is best understood when examining their military purpose.

The naïve attitudes of those who volunteered in 1914 can be clearly seen in the personal letters and diaries that they themselves wrote.

The significance of these people is evident when examining the lack of political representation the indigenous people experience in the early half of the 20 th century.

The origin of Marius’ later achievements was his military reform in 107 BC, which occurred when he was first elected as consul.

Putting it all together

Once you have written all four parts of the BHES structure, you should have a completed introduction paragraph. In the examples above, we have shown each part separately. Below you will see the completed paragraphs so that you can appreciate what an introduction should look like.

Example introduction paragraphs: 

Castles were an important component of Medieval Britain from the time of the Norman conquest in 1066 until they were phased out in the 15th and 16th centuries. Initially introduced as wooden motte and bailey structures on geographical strongpoints, they were rapidly replaced by stone fortresses which incorporated sophisticated defensive designs to improve the defenders’ chances of surviving prolonged sieges. Medieval castles were designed with features that nullified the superior numbers of besieging armies, but were ultimately made obsolete by the development of gunpowder artillery. By the height of the Middle Ages, feudal lords were investing significant sums of money by incorporating concentric walls and guard towers to maximise their defensive potential. These developments were so successful that many medieval armies avoided sieges in the late period. The early development of castles is best understood when examining their military purpose.

The First World War began in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The subsequent declarations of war from most of Europe drew other countries into the conflict, including Australia. The Australian Imperial Force joined the war as part of Britain’s armed forces and were dispatched to locations in the Middle East and Western Europe. Australian soldiers’ opinion of the First World War changed from naïve enthusiasm to pessimistic realism as a result of the harsh realities of modern industrial warfare. Following Britain's official declaration of war on Germany, young Australian men voluntarily enlisted into the army, which was further encouraged by government propaganda about the moral justifications for the conflict. However, following the initial engagements on the Gallipoli peninsula, enthusiasm declined. The naïve attitudes of those who volunteered in 1914 can be clearly seen in the personal letters and diaries that they themselves wrote.

The 1967 Referendum sought to amend the Australian Constitution in order to change the legal standing of the indigenous people in Australia. The fact that 90% of Australians voted in favour of the proposed amendments has been attributed to a series of significant events and people who were dedicated to the referendum’s success. The success of the 1967 Referendum was a direct result of the efforts of First Nations leaders such as Charles Perkins, Faith Bandler and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. The political activity of key indigenous figures and the formation of activism organisations focused on indigenous resulted in a wider spread of messages to the general Australian public. The generation of powerful images and speeches has been frequently cited by modern historians as crucial to the referendum results. The significance of these people is evident when examining the lack of political representation the indigenous people experience in the early half of the 20th century.

In the late second century BC, the Roman novus homo Gaius Marius became one of the most influential men in the Roman Republic. Marius gained this authority through his victory in the Jugurthine War, with his defeat of Jugurtha in 106 BC, and his triumph over the invading Germanic tribes in 101 BC, when he crushed the Teutones at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC) and the Cimbri at the Battle of Vercellae (101 BC). Marius also gained great fame through his election to the consulship seven times. Gaius Marius was the most one of the most significant personalities in the 1st century BC due to his effect on the political, military and social structures of the Roman state. While Marius is best known for his military reforms, it is the subsequent impacts of this reform on the way other Romans approached the attainment of magistracies and how public expectations of military leaders changed that had the longest impacts on the late republican period. The origin of Marius’ later achievements was his military reform in 107 BC, which occurred when he was first elected as consul.

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How to Write Your Family History

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Choose a Format

Define the scope, set realistic deadlines.

• Choose a Plot and Themes

Do Your Background Research

• Don't Be Afraid to Use Records and Documents

Include an Index and Source Citations

• Certificate in Genealogical Research, Boston University
• B.A., Carnegie Mellon University

Writing a family history may seem like a daunting task, but when the relatives start nagging, you can follow these five easy steps to make your family history project a reality.

What do you envision for your family history project? A simple photocopied booklet shared only with family members or a full-scale, hard-bound book to serve as a reference for other genealogists? Perhaps you'd rather produce a family newsletter, cookbook, or website. Now is the time to be honest with yourself about the type of family history that meetings your needs and your schedule. Otherwise, you'll have a half-finished product nagging you for years to come.

Considering your interests, potential audience, and the types of materials you have to work with, here are some forms your family history can take:

• Memoir/Narrative: A combination of story and personal experience, memoirs, and narratives do not need to be all-inclusive or objective. Memoirs usually focus on a specific episode or time period in the life of a single ancestor, while a narrative generally encompasses a group of ancestors.
• Cookbook: Share your family's favorite recipes while writing about the people who created them. A fun project to assemble, cookbooks help carry on the family tradition of cooking and eating together.
• Scrapbook or Album: If you're fortunate enough to have a large collection of family photos and memorabilia, a scrapbook or photo album can be a fun way to tell your family's story. Include your photos in chronological order and include stories, descriptions, and family trees to complement the pictures.

Most family histories are generally narrative in nature, with a combination of personal stories, photos, and family trees.

Do you intend to write mostly about just one particular relative, or everyone in your family tree ? As the author, you need to choose a focus for your family history book. Some possibilities include:

• Single Line of Descent:  Begin with the earliest known ancestor for a particular surname and follows him/her through a single line of descent (to yourself, for example). Each chapter of your book would cover one ancestor or generation.
• All Descendants Of...:  Begin with an individual or couple and cover all of their descendants, with chapters organized by generation. If you're focusing your family history on an immigrant ancestor, this is a good way to go.
• Grandparents:  Include a section on each of your four grandparents, or eight great-grandparents, or sixteen great-great-grandparents if you are feeling ambitious. Each individual section should focus on one grandparent and work backward through their ancestry or forward from his/her earliest known ancestor.

Again, these suggestions can easily be adapted to fit your interests, time constraints, and creativity.

Even though you'll likely find yourself scrambling to meet them, deadlines force you to complete each stage of your project. The goal here is to get each piece done within a specified time frame. Revising and polishing can always be done later. The best way to meet these deadlines is to schedule writing time, just as you would a visit to the doctor or the hairdresser.

Choose a Plot and Themes

Thinking of your ancestors as characters in your family story, ask yourself: what problems and obstacles did they face? A plot gives your family history interest and focus. Popular family history plots and themes include:

• Immigration/Migration
• Rags to Riches
• Pioneer or Farm Life
• War Survival

If you want your family history to read more like a suspense novel than a dull, dry textbook, it is important to make the reader feel like an eyewitness to your family's life. Even when your ancestors didn't leave accounts of their daily lives, social histories can help you learn about the experiences of people in a given time and place. Read town and city histories to learn what life was life during certain periods of interest.  Research timelines  of wars, natural disasters, and epidemics to see if any might have influenced your ancestors. Read up on the fashions, art, transportation, and common foods of the time. If you haven't already, be sure to interview all of your living relatives. Family stories told in a relative's own words will add a personal touch to your book.

Don't Be Afraid to Use Records and Documents

Photos, pedigree charts, maps, and other illustrations can also add interest to family history and help break up the writing into manageable chunks for the reader. Be sure to include detailed captions for any photos or illustrations that you incorporate.

Source citations are an essential part of any family book, to both provide credibility to your research, and to leave a trail that others can follow to verify your findings.

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9 Tips for Getting Started on Writing Your Family History

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Written by Diane Haddad, unless otherwise noted.

Once you’ve been doing genealogy research for a while, and you have a family tree or a computer hard drive or a filing cabinet with a bunch of notes and old records, you might wonder what to do with it all. Or perhaps you’ve always harbored the dream of sharing your family history, and you’re not sure how.

It’s a hard truth: Few people have much use for an unstructured assortment of documents and computer files. Even folks who are curious about their family history—and that describes most I’ve met—aren’t likely to sort through your research and rebuild the store of knowledge you’ve amassed over years.

If your family research is to live beyond you, you’ll need to do the work of putting it into some shareable, lasting form. That usually means summarizing your finds in writing, maybe enhanced with photos and images of interesting documents. Whether you go all-out with a self-published hardback or just pass out stapled pages at the next family reunion, you’ll create a legacy—a framework others can use to understand your family’s story and the genealogical evidence you’ve gathered.

We can’t promise the project will be a breeze, but we can promise it’ll be easier when you follow these tips and use our handy organizing worksheet.

1. Know Your Purpose

Before you begin, it’s important to know what you hope to accomplish with this writing project. Do you want to summarize all your research, share your family legacy, pass down the stories Grandpa told, tell how your family fits into local history, share the story of an ancestor or family you admire, celebrate your ethnic heritage, or something else?

A strong focus makes the project more manageable, says Sunny Jane Morton, author of Story of My Life . “A small, finished project is better than a three-volume tome that exists only in your dreams.”

Need help narrowing the scope? Morton advises looking at your research for the most compelling story or interesting person. Author Sophia Wilson, who penned an 160,000-word history of her family, started her project by writing as many family stories as she could think of, then turning them into short biographies of the people involved. She wrote every day for at least 15 minutes, but sometimes for hours at a time. Taken together, those biographies served as the starting point for her project.

Alternately, you could choose a topic that commemorates an upcoming family milestone, such as your parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Or you might start with whatever is most doable.

Your audience is an important aspect of your goal. For a project just family will see, you might use a casual writing style, refer to relatives with familiar titles (“Great-grandpa Thornton”), and use in-text source information. If other genealogists will read your work in a newsletter, journal or published book, you’ll want a more authoritative style with an emphasis on your research process, and formal source citations in footnotes and source lists.

Think about your audience’s age (or level of maturity), too. Wilson recalls how her research turned up stories that might not be appropriate to a younger audience. “Instead of shifting the focus of my book, I decided that children could simply read the unvarnished truth once they were mature enough,” Wilson says. “Age-appropriate stories could be extracted and adapted for a younger audience, for whom I would also write at a lower reading level.”

“I kept coming back to what I wanted the project to accomplish (preserving and sharing memories for the younger generation) and letting that guide my decisions,” she says.

2. Make a Plan

An outline gives you a framework for building your project, especially if it involves multiple people or a long time span. Make a list of elements you want to include. Don’t worry about organizing the list yet.

Here’s an example for my maternal family history opus:

• a family tree of Mom’s family
• information about the places the family came from with a map, including why so many immigrated from each place
• names and immigration details of all the immigrant ancestors: Henry Seeger, Eduard Thoss, Mary Mairose, Thomas Frost, Edward Norris, Elizabeth Butler, Henry Hoernemann, Anna Maria Weyer, and so on.
• where these families settled in the United States, their jobs and their children
• Eduard Thoss tavern in Northern Kentucky
• info on Cincinnati Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, where so many settled
• Dierkes boys in family cemetery plot
• Henry Seeger’s cigar store, with photos and timeline, and two babies who died as infants
• Thomas Frost/Mary Wolking divorce
• Ade Thoss and the Covington Blue Sox
• possible family connection to Windthorst, Kan.
• death of Elizabeth Teipel Thoss and several of her children
• Benjamin Teipel trap-shooting invention and death
• Civil War service of Frank and Benjamin Thoss
• firefighter Raymond Norris and Newton Tea & Spice Co. Fire
• how Grandma and Grandpa met

Your list might cause you to rethink your project scope. For example, I’m seeing that I could divide up my project by family branches, breaking it down into smaller parts (and this is only part of my list).

When you know the topics you want to cover, arrange them in an order that makes sense to you. You could do chronological order, geographical order (group all information related to Germany, all immigration information, all second generation information), family branches one at a time, or some other arrangement. You could opt for a general overview then add several shorter profiles of specific ancestors or families.

Wilson shares how she thought about structure while planning her project:

One option would be maintaining individual biographies, organized in the book by birth year, generation or location. Or I could combine all biographies into a single narrative chronology, or even organize the stories by theme (women, farming, culture, etc.). I opted for the most straightforward and comprehensive order: chronological. With this approach, I gained a deeper understanding of how my ancestors’ lives developed over time, and how one event flowed into another.

Next, create an outline by organizing topics into sections or chapters. Read published family histories for examples. One of my favorites is Family by Ian Frazier.

3. Say It with Pictures

Pictures and graphs will engage your readers, help them follow complicated lineages and show what you’re talking about. “Plan as you go which pictures, documents, maps, charts and genealogical reports will best illustrate your narrative,” Morton advises.

Depending how many photos and documents you’ve found, you’ll want to winnow the options to those from key moments in your family history, selecting those that will reproduce well in the finished product. Consider adding transcriptions for hard-to-read or foreign-language documents.

Keep copyright in mind. If you plan to publish your work (including on a website), get permission from the copyright holder or owner of any images you didn’t create or that aren’t in your personal collection. For a quick read about understanding copyright laws, check out this article .

4. Get Organized and Utilize Apps

Now you’re ready to write. As you work, go over your records for families and people you’re writing about. Wilson developed a filing system that automatically sorted documents by individual. “I created a separate document for every event so I could easily insert new findings, titling each with the event, the date and the location,” she says. “I then grouped the documents into folders, one folder for each year.”

To help you organize source references, add in-text references with the title, author and page or record number in parentheses when you use information from a record, article, book or website. Also create a bibliography of sources as you go. This should include everything needed to find that source again: title, author, publisher or creator (such as the National Archives), publication date and place, website, etc.

Later, when your project is mostly complete, you can keep the in-text references, or number the references and create footnotes (short-form citations at the bottom of the page) or end notes (short-form citations at the end of a chapter). Include the bibliography at the end of your work. For help with source citations, use the book Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Genealogical Publishing Co.).

You might have a writing head start if you can pull together blog posts or short essays you’ve already written about your family history. Your genealogy software or online tree might offer a timeline you can follow, or even generate a narrative report for you. For an ambitious project or if you do a lot of writing, you might invest in software such as Scrivener . Additionally, writing apps can help you create an outline, organize and edit your story.

Read: How to Create a Genealogy Source Citation

5. Generate Ideas through Prompts and Research

If you’re still having trouble knowing what to write, try answering the family history writing prompts in a book such as Stories From My Grandparent or from Family Tree Magazine . These will help you flesh out ideas and take your family stories in new directions.

Revisit your research for story ideas, and let what you find in documents inspire you. Wilson consulted books (both digital and physical) about her ancestors’ location and ethnic group, as well as documents on genealogy websites like Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com. One book on Ancestry.com contained all the church records for her ancestors, some written by her great-great-great-grandfather’s best friend.

Wilson also revisited local histories and newspapers she had found early in her project. “Now that I was further in my research, I recognized more names and better understood the relationships among them,” she says. “People I had dismissed as “townsfolk” turned out to be in-laws and close friends of my lineal ancestors.”

6. Seek Out Help

Look for writers’ groups and classes in your community. From online groups to friends and family members, having a community you can rely on for feedback and encouragement is essential.

Reaching out can also lead to new research finds, important for sourcing the details in your stories. Wilson connected with other family historians, as well as genealogical societies and libraries (who scanned entire chapters of reference books for her to consult). One cousin-in-law even sent her photos and a relevant family keepsake they found on eBay.

7. Begin in the Middle

Don’t let the “how to start” roadblock stall your project right out of the gate. If you don’t know how to begin, just start writing a story you like—maybe it’s about an ancestor’s immigration, military service or venture to the wrong side of the law. The words will flow from there.

“My goal wasn’t perfection, just to get memories on the page,” Wilson says about her first step of writing family biographies. “I didn’t waste time checking spelling and grammar—that would come later.” An interesting or dramatic event is often the best way to begin a story, anyway. Remember, you’re not carving in stone: You can always rearrange things later.

8. Write Naturally

If you’re writing for relatives, pretend you’re telling your family story to a friend. If you’re writing for a publication, tailor your work to that publication’s style.

Wilson had to wrestle with how to balance facts she found in her research with storytelling. “I thought of how much I hated history class growing up—all those names-places-dates to memorize, and no story to latch onto,” Wilson says. “I resolved to … strive for historical accuracy without resorting to the dry tone of a textbook.”

9. Take Your Time

A deadline can motivate you, but give yourself plenty of time. You want this project to add fulfillment to your family research, not cause stress. Start now and work on your writing project a little at a time, once a week or every evening if you can manage it. Imagine where you’ll be a year from now.

A version of this article appeared in the December 2018 issue of Family Tree Magazine , written by Diane Haddad. Sophia Wilson’s article on the steps she took to write her family history narrative appeared in the March/April 2022 issue of Family Tree Magazine .

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Essay about Family: What It Is and How to Nail It

Humans naturally seek belonging within families, finding comfort in knowing someone always cares. Yet, families can also stir up insecurities and mental health struggles.

Family dynamics continue to intrigue researchers across different fields. Every year, new studies explore how these relationships shape our minds and emotions.

In this article, our dissertation service will guide you through writing a family essay. You can also dive into our list of topics for inspiration and explore some standout examples to spark your creativity.

What is Family Essay

A family essay takes a close look at the bonds and experiences within families. It's a common academic assignment, especially in subjects like sociology, psychology, and literature.

So, what's involved exactly? Simply put, it's an exploration of what family signifies to you. You might reflect on cherished family memories or contemplate the portrayal of families in various media.

What sets a family essay apart is its personal touch. It allows you to express your own thoughts and experiences. Moreover, it's versatile – you can analyze family dynamics, reminisce about family customs, or explore other facets of familial life.

If you're feeling uncertain about how to write an essay about family, don't worry; you can explore different perspectives and select topics that resonate with various aspects of family life.

Tips For Writing An Essay On Family Topics

A family essay typically follows a free-form style, unless specified otherwise, and adheres to the classic 5-paragraph structure. As you jot down your thoughts, aim to infuse your essay with inspiration and the essence of creative writing, unless your family essay topics lean towards complexity or science.

Here are some easy-to-follow tips from our essay service experts:

• Focus on a Specific Aspect: Instead of a broad overview, delve into a specific angle that piques your interest, such as exploring how birth order influences sibling dynamics or examining the evolving role of grandparents in modern families.
• Share Personal Anecdotes: Start your family essay introduction with a personal touch by sharing stories from your own experiences. Whether it's about a favorite tradition, a special trip, or a tough time, these stories make your writing more interesting.
• Use Real-life Examples: Illustrate your points with concrete examples or anecdotes. Draw from sources like movies, books, historical events, or personal interviews to bring your ideas to life.
• Explore Cultural Diversity: Consider the diverse array of family structures across different cultures. Compare traditional values, extended family systems, or the unique hurdles faced by multicultural families.
• Take a Stance: Engage with contentious topics such as homeschooling, reproductive technologies, or governmental policies impacting families. Ensure your arguments are supported by solid evidence.
• Delve into Psychology: Explore the psychological underpinnings of family dynamics, touching on concepts like attachment theory, childhood trauma, or patterns of dysfunction within families.
• Emphasize Positivity: Share uplifting stories of families overcoming adversity or discuss strategies for nurturing strong, supportive family bonds.
• Offer Practical Solutions: Wrap up your essay by proposing actionable solutions to common family challenges, such as fostering better communication, achieving work-life balance, or advocating for family-friendly policies.

Family Essay Topics

When it comes to writing, essay topics about family are often considered easier because we're intimately familiar with our own families. The more you understand about your family dynamics, traditions, and experiences, the clearer your ideas become.

If you're feeling uninspired or unsure of where to start, don't worry! Below, we have compiled a list of good family essay topics to help get your creative juices flowing. Whether you're assigned this type of essay or simply want to explore the topic, these suggestions from our history essay writer are tailored to spark your imagination and prompt meaningful reflection on different aspects of family life.

So, take a moment to peruse the list. Choose the essay topics about family that resonate most with you. Then, dive in and start exploring your family's stories, traditions, and connections through your writing.

• Supporting Family Through Tough Times
• Staying Connected with Relatives
• Empathy and Compassion in Family Life
• Strengthening Bonds Through Family Gatherings
• Quality Time with Family: How Vital Is It?
• Navigating Family Relationships Across Generations
• Learning Kindness and Generosity in a Large Family
• Communication in Healthy Family Dynamics
• Forgiveness in Family Conflict Resolution
• Building Trust Among Extended Family
• Defining Family in Today's World
• Understanding Nuclear Family: Various Views and Cultural Differences
• Understanding Family Dynamics: Relationships Within the Family Unit
• What Defines a Family Member?
• Modernizing the Nuclear Family Concept
• Exploring Shared Beliefs Among Family Members
• Evolution of the Concept of Family Love Over Time
• Examining Family Expectations
• Modern Standards and the Idea of an Ideal Family
• Life Experiences and Perceptions of Family Life
• Genetics and Extended Family Connections
• Utilizing Family Trees for Ancestral Links
• The Role of Younger Siblings in Family Dynamics
• Tracing Family History Through Oral Tradition and Genealogy
• Tracing Family Values Through Your Family Tree
• Exploring Your Elder Sister's Legacy in the Family Tree
• Connecting Daily Habits to Family History
• Documenting and Preserving Your Family's Legacy
• Navigating Online Records and DNA Testing for Family History
• Tradition as a Tool for Family Resilience
• Involving Family in Daily Life to Maintain Traditions
• Creating New Traditions for a Small Family
• The Role of Traditions in Family Happiness
• Family Recipes and Bonding at House Parties
• Quality Time: The Secret Tradition for Family Happiness
• The Joy of Cousins Visiting for Christmas
• Including Family in Birthday Celebrations
• Balancing Traditions and Unconditional Love
• Building Family Bonds Through Traditions

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Family Essay Example

For a better grasp of the essay on family, our team of skilled writers has crafted a great example. It looks into the subject matter, allowing you to explore and understand the intricacies involved in creating compelling family essays. So, check out our meticulously crafted sample to discover how to craft essays that are not only well-written but also thought-provoking and impactful.

Final Outlook

In wrapping up, let's remember: a family essay gives students a chance to showcase their academic skills and creativity by sharing personal stories. However, it's important to stick to academic standards when writing about these topics. We hope our list of topics sparked your creativity and got you on your way to a reflective journey. And if you hit a rough patch, you can just ask us to ' do my essay for me ' for top-notch results!

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FAQs on Writing an Essay about Family

Family essays seem like something school children could be assigned at elementary schools, but family is no less important than climate change for our society today, and therefore it is one of the most central research themes.

Below you will find a list of frequently asked questions on family-related topics. Before you conduct research, scroll through them and find out how to write an essay about your family.

How to Write an Essay About Your Family History?

How to write an essay about a family member, how to write an essay about family and roots, how to write an essay about the importance of family, related articles.

My Family History Essay Example

Family history is a journey that can take many different shapes. For some, it’s the story of how they became who they are today. For others, it might be simple curiosity about their roots or where their last name came from. It could also be an investigation into family secrets and mysteries for those with a more adventurous personality.

Writing an essay on family history is really challenging when it comes to describing every important aspect of it. That is why the essay sample serves an important purpose for the students here.

Essay Sample on My Family History

• Thesis Statement of My Family History Essay
• Introduction of My Family History Essay
• How Did Our Family use to live under a Single Roof?
• What are the Values that we learn by living in Joint Family?
• Causes that Separated the Family into little pieces

Thesis Statement of My Family History Essay This essay talks about my joint family or family tree in which we used to have a lot of fun and enjoy being together. Various glimpses of this happiness of togetherness is described in the essay below. Introduction of My Family History Essay Like every other family, we have our own family history which is illustrated herein details to the readers. The essay talks about how we used to live under a single roof and we have no need to set appointments to ask our elders for dinner. These joys of togetherness bring certain values in us as well like how to be happy among the people of different nature and hope. What is the result of being in togetherness that could be found in this essay? Readers will come to know about the instances that separate us from a joint family to a nuclear family in recent times. Main Body of My Family History Essay Here a detailed description of the family history is given to let you know about the era of happiness that used to exist in our life. Each and every single detail is given in this essay for better clarity of things. How Did Our Family use to live under a Single Roof? It dates back to the days when we were small kids and our grandmother used to feed us with a variety of dishes. Every day was like a festival for us as we were not supposed to go out for school and used to sit in the vicinity of our grandmother to listen to the different stories from her. We used to dine together and no one was supposed to watch television at the time of food. This is how we were spending our days happily. My parents were also very melodious towards us and everyone who visits our home at that time was bringing some refreshments to us. Hire USA Experts for My Family History Essay Order Now What are the Values that we learn by living in Joint Family? The joint family not only gave us happiness but at the same time, we adopt many values from our elders as well. For instance, living happily and ignoring the mistakes of others is the most important feature of residing in a joint family. That is what happened to us. We never fight with each other our siblings and always used to abide by the instructions of the parents whatever they ask us to do. More patience, compromise for small things, and becoming happy in the joy of others are some important things that we gained from our family history. The roots of love between the family members could easily be traced in those days. Causes that Separated the Family into little pieces As well said by a great philosopher that every good thing comes to an end eventually similar happened in our case as well. My grandmother died of cholera and we remain behind with the parents. As our age was gradually increasing we were sent to a school where the boring routine makes us remind of the old days and then the pressure of study starts suppressing our joy of being with the grandmother. We used to miss her for the entire long day, be that in the school hours or in the evening. Even the parents fail to continue the same routine of dining together owing to their jobs and all that we find around us was chaos in life. Buy Customized Essay on My Family History At Cheapest Price Order Now Conclusion The above essay draws a conclusion that it is a very positive thing to live in a joint family as it teaches values to us. But at the same time due to time constraints and technology-driven lifestyle we cannot suppose to cope up our life in joint families. This is how the family history has been narrated and it gives us a lesson that we should do something to save the ancient culture of staying together happily.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Family History — My Family History: A Comprehensive Report

My Family History: a Comprehensive Report

• Categories: Family History Family Values

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Words: 3024 |

16 min read

Published: Mar 28, 2023

Words: 3024 | Pages: 7 | 16 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, maternal great grandparents.

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