Autobiography Thread (merged)

[Yeoman]

Don't you mean:

".... and lived?"

Yes, the staff read them.   And the Pl WO and Pl Comd will probably read all of them, so don't copy your buddy's from another section either.

heck I had my OC read mine........well twice actually. had the same Capt run both the reserve and regs biq for me.
still remember talking to him about why I joined up.
Greg

 

[siky]

When I did DP2A, (Machine Gunner), I had to write a biography for my course, as with any course including PLQ. This was back in 2002, when crap in the world was starting to go nuts. One of those instructors was then Sgt. Richard Nolan. I had lost some friends in the Sept. 11 attacks, and was thinking at that time getting out of the Army. On the march back from the ranges on almost the last day of the course, he asked me if I was going to stay in the army or get out. For sure staff read them.

Before I transfered to the regs (I'm EME now), I was instructing on a RES BMQ, and we were told to read all the candidates Bio's and submit and shortened version of it to the PLT. Commander. ANd through out the course, it allowed us, and him, to get to know the candidates better. (And learn who the disturbed ones are).

BTW: My current course at CFSEME, is the only one that I've never had to write one, why is that?

 

[armyrules]

just finished my BMQ in Meaford before Christmas break and in my joining instructions I was told to have one ahead of time, so I did and the instructors made us sit down and write another one fresh from the start. I still have the one that I wrote before I left for BMQ.

I had to write mine because we didn't have access to a computer at the time. Plus the instructors would nevcer miss a chance to jack you up even for your bad handwriting.

 

[Cardstonkid]

I know my instructor read mine. He made comments about me that were directly related to what I had  written. I think it is a great idea and has great value.

 

[sgtdixon]

Always Start you course autobiography with the sentence

"Like Many Children, Pte. XXXXX was Born"

trust me

 

[Shamrock]

A guy on my PLQ wrote his in 2nd person.  Section commander made him rewrite it in 1st and 3rd.

 

[medaid]

wow... that is... wow... LMAO I cant imagine what was going throught your Section Comander's mind at the time... this is classic!! I must learn this for future courses that I'm staffing on.

 

[Zell_Dietrich]

A guy on my PLQ wrote his in 2nd person.  Section commander made him rewrite it in 1st and 3rd.

How can a person write about oneself in the second person? (Without sounding odd.)

Zell,  you're asking a silly question,  speaking outside of the third person always sounds odd. 

 

[Shamrock]

"If you were Cpl Bloggins, you would have been born on...your parents were..."

 

[Brads MM]

Has a recruit ever tested the theroy that the instructors don't read them?

As A Current Instructor at CFLRS, WE DO READ THEM, they are kept with the platoon staff throughout the course and they are included in the end course package turned into standards.

 

[BDTyre]

Standards for these autobiographies seem to vary from course to course and staff to staff.

Before beginning my SQ, everyone in my regiment was told to show up on the first day with their autobiography done.  On BMQ, we were told 400 words.  On SQ it became 500.  I did mine on 8.5x11 in black pen.  I was one of the 3 of 9 who didn't have to redo it. 

Those who did have to redo it were told "I don't know, 200...400 words, whatever.  All I need to see is effort."

But yes, they are read.  And every instructor has a different standard.

 

[The Bread Guy]

:warstory:

On my reserve MWO course, we were asked for an autobiography, so I wrote mine (at that point, I was a professional writer in training) like a magazine article.  Didn't have to do it over again, but one of the DS (while in the mess with a couple of pops in him before the course started) said, "So, you're the @#$%^&'ing Hemingway, are you?"  I passed nonetheless - found out one of the other DS was a writer as well.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread....

 

[TCBF]

At least Hemingway wrote in short, effective sentences.  He could have called you Dostoyevsky, or - heaven forbid - Attwood.

 

[metgirl]

spelling and  grammar count  can you  bring a pocket  dictionary    damn  you spell  check you have tainted me for life!

 

[Deleted member 9665]

At first Iw as kind of...pissed to know that I would have to this...

N ow...I think its a good way for the instructor to know about their candidate...

Its not fun doing it...but...its part of life...mine was ok enough not to re-write it again... so I guess that witha little effort...its quite easy to do.

 

[Meridian]

It's your life... why wouldn't it be fun recalling it and writing it down?

 

[Yrys]

why wouldn't it be fun recalling it and writing it down?

Some people may have s****y childhood or some other thing than they prefer not to recall
in that way...

 

[Wright]

This is right from the LFCATC web sight


ASSIGNMENT - AUTOBIOGRAPHY

1. In an effort to become better acquainted, it is asked that you write an autobiography of approximately 200 words or more of your life to date.

2. The autobiography will be treated as CONFIDENTIAL and will be read only by those officers involved in your training.

3. It is designed only as an aid in assisting your course staff in getting to know you.

4. Listed below are a few of the points you should consider in writing your autobiography:

a. Pre-School:

(1) Place of Birth,
(2) Number in Family, and
(3) Rural or Town.

b. School:

(1) Sports played, awards won,
(2) Type of School (separate, public),
(3) County or town,
(4) Organizations belonged to and positions held, i.e. scouts,
cubs, cadets, student council, and
(5) Final grade attained.

c. Family member's occupations and accomplishments.

d. When did you leave school and for what reasons?

e. What were your parents, brothers and sisters feelings about your decision to join the Canadian Forces?

f. What made you decide to join the Reserves?

g. What are your career ambitions in the Canadian Forces?

h. What is your Military Occupation Code (MOC) i.e. Infantry, Armoured, Cook etc, and why did you choose it?

j. What do you expect to be your ultimate accomplishment in the Canadian Forces?

5. Please write clearly.

our instructors printed that exact sheet off, i still have it lol

 

[Pte. Chávez]

Im currently on my Reserve BMQ course in Chilliwack. We got the weekend off so what better way to spend it than go on army.ca and read forums  ;D

For my autobiography it was a minimum of 400 words. We had 2 days to complete it but there was really no time so everyone did it during the night. Most of the platoon had to redo it.
Tips: - Make sure everyone has their name,SN, date, platoon, and section standardized in the top right corner.
- Double check everything. Make sure your spelling is perfect.
- Count all your words. Make sure it reaches the minimum word count.
- If it says handwrite then do it. If it doesnt specify, go with neat printing. Lots of people have messy handwriting and if the instructors cant read it, they'll put it down as a spelling mistake.
- Make sure you cover all the points they tell you to cover. Even if you have some english masters, if you miss one point they will give you councilling for not following instructions.

I had to redo my autobiography. The first time was because I had put 2 Platoon, 2 Section. I was actually in 1 Section and that simple mistake gave me councilling. I had one day to finish my redo and I did it that night as fast as possible. I thought I had counted all the words but I ended up with 390 words instead of the 400. I was called up to see the Platoon Commander and he gave me an Initial Warning (Written Warning not good it goes on record).

 

[Deleted member 9665]

for everyone info.

Yes they read it, even your platoon commander reads it. When I got mid-course interview, my platoon commander used some exact word of some stuff that was in my biography. and those word were nerdy word so he did not pop them out of his mind.

and my section commander talked about it during our weekly meeting. so do not doubt. THEY READ THEM.