• Writing a cultural autobiography is an exercise in self-reflection.writing image by Du...?an Zidar from Fotolia.com
  
  Writing a cultural autobiography is an exercise in self-reflection with a focus on the role that culture plays in influencing who we are as individuals. According to Dr. Marybeth Peebles of Marietta College, we all belong to nine microcultures. These are "class, race, ethnicity, gender, language, religion, exceptionality, age, and geography."
  
  

Organize and Prioritize

• In a cultural autobiography, you want to use everything you know about good writing to make your personal story vivid as well as informative. A thorough cultural biography addresses your membership all nine microcultures, with an emphasis on those that seem to be most influential on your life. Begin by sketching notes about each of the microcultures, and introspect about how significant each is for you. For example, if you have significant health issues or have always been singled out as the class "Einstein," you will have more to say about "exceptionality" than the other microcultures. Determine which of the microcultures will get your emphasis, but be sure to think a bit about all of them. Less obvious influences take longer to recognize.
  
  

Allow Time to Contemplate

• It takes time to introspect about the influence of culture. Try to go back as far as you can to recall ways in which a culture influenced you. For example, if you grew up in Albany, New York, aspects of living in that part of the U.S. are not a part of the everyday geography for people living elsewhere. Think about how often your family vacationed at the ocean. Did you family go to Maine? The Maine coast is a lot different from the coast in South Carolina. Or did you vacation in the Adirondacks? Is hunting a part of life where you live? It's not part of everyday life for many people living in large cities. Many people have difficulty recognizing how their personal geography influenced them because it's always there and a part of life. Often the first realization comes when moving to another part of the country for college.
  
  

Show Don't Tell

• This is a cardinal rule for writers, and it's important for the cultural autobiography. Don't just simply write down generalizations. Use specific examples, and recount incidents in which you can see culture playing a part. Don't just say you often felt uncomfortable being the only child in your neighborhood who went to Catholic school while everyone else went to public school. Instead, tell about an Ash Wednesday when you wore ashes on your forehead and how others reacted to you.