Biography Research Paper

Reyes, 1

Name: Shameeka Reyes

Professor’s Name: Dr. Richard Schultz

Class: Writing and Research 1189 Eng 1105

Date: October 26, 2018

Serena Williams Biography – Research P

On September 26, 1981, Michigan was blessed with a baby girl who would grow up to

become an inspiration and sports icon for many. On this date, Serena Williams was born in

Saginaw. She was the younger of the two sisters is her family, Venus being the older one. Both

sisters were taught and prepared for a career in Tennis by their father since the age of three.

In 1995, she became a professional tennis player, a year after her sister had already started

playing. Muscular and strong, she possessed powerful swerves which became her strength in

defeating opponents, and her superb athleticism allowed her to embark on a journey that would

make her the only woman to win 23 Grand Slam Singles, a record which no other man or woman

has accomplished during the open era.

Nowadays, Serena is considered to be the 22nd best female player in the world as stated by

the Women’s Tennis Association. In my opinion, the turning point for her life was when she won

the US Open in 1999, even though many experts speculated Venus to get there first. This marked

the change that would eventually take place, as it was the first step in Serene going on to win even

more championships. Numerous times over the years she teamed up with her sister Venus to win

the doubles event and received gold medals for it. After several years of inconsistent play, Serena

asserted herself in 2002 and won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, defeating

Comment [RS1]: I think you mean “serves”

Comment [RS2]: If this is the turning point, I want you to describe it in greater detail—make a dramatic story out of it.

Comment [RS3]: Spelling!

Reyes, 2

Venus in the finals of each tournament (Roenigk, 2017). In 2003, she went on to win the Australian

Open in the year 2003, and eventually went on to win even more championships. Serena became

known for her tenacity and aggressive swerves serves which that were powerful and on point,

allowing her to win multiple titles, until eventually in 2017, she defeated Venus at the Australian

Open, claiming the title of Grand Slam Singles Winner for the 23rd time, and hence setting a world

record. With this she surpassed Steffi Graf’s record for the highest wins of the Open era.

Her story is inspiring, for it shows that even in the face of problems and health issues,

Serena never gave up, rather she was always working hard and giving her all for the sport. The

two sisters became known for their powerful way of playing tennis, and Serena changed the way

women tennis was seen, through her plays and tenacity. There were multiple turning points in

Serena William’s life, one of them being the year she decided to go professional, however, when

you look at her life closely, I believe that the real turning point in her life was when her father

decided to train Serena and her sister for a career in tennis.

This was the point when it all began for the two sisters, and they were able to not only

become two of the greatest female tennis players of their time, but they also won numerous titles,

allowing them to make their father’s dream come true. So the catalyst that gave birth to that turning

point in my opinion is their father, whose vision and perseverance allowed him to hone the skills

of both his daughters and make them into champions. Serena’s success is mainly because her father

decided to train her since the age of three, and her winnings can be attributed to the hard work put

in by her father. And so, this was the first turning point in her life, which allowed her to achieve

victory.

Comment [RS4]: It looks as though you only have one parenthetical citation in this paper, and because of all the specific facts you have, there probably should be more. Learn how to use citations correctly, see this link, and make sure that anything in your paper that isn’t common knowledge is cited with parenthetical citations. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/ mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_ basics.html

Comment [RS5]: But I thought you said the 1999 Open was the turning point. In your final draft, choose one.

Comment [RS6]: This is a great first draft. For your final draft, make sure to pick only one turning point and stick to it. Also make sure you use in-text citations correctly. I took a look at your Works Cited page below, but it isn’t yet in MLA format. Take a look at this link on how your works cited page should look: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/ mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_ba sic_format.html And then I would recommend using a site like Easybib to compose the works cited entries. And when you do create your works cited page, only include the items you actually use in your paper. Your current works cited page has 6 entries, but in your paper it looks like you only use one. I look forward to your final draft.

Reyes, 3

References

Gotham Artists, SERENA WILLIAMS BIO, Accessed 25-10-18 from;

http://rbc.cardinalhealth.com/~/media/RBC2017/SerenaWilliamsBio.pdf

Richard Andrew King, Serena Williams: The Fall of a Champion, Accessed 25-10-18 from;

http://www.richardking.net/Serena%20Williams-Fall%20of%20a%20Champion.pdf

Alyssa Roanigk, “Road to 23: The story of Serena's path to greatness”, ESPN,

http://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/feature/article/17494146/road-23-story-serena-path-

greatness

“Serene Williams Biography”, Biography.com

https://www.biography.com/people/serena-williams-9532901

“Serena Williams, American Tennis Player”, 2018, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Serena-Williams

Simon Hattenstone, “There’s more to life than hitting a ball” 2009, The Gaurdian,

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/aug/29/serena-williams-interview