Lesson 3 — Activity 1: Biography and Autobiography



So far in Theme 1, you have looked at some definitions of identity as well as learned about some ways to celebrate the identities of people on special occasions. In this lesson, you will look at other ways that people and their unique stories can be told.

The formats in this lesson are biography and autobiography. Keep the following definitions below in mind as you work through this lesson.

  • Biography: the story of a real person's life written by someone other than that person
  • Autobiography: an account of a person's life written by that person


If you went to a library, you would find many books that are biographies and autobiographies.


Courtesy of Getty
Biographers may work with people and their family and friends to learn about some person firsthand and then write the life story with their input, suggestions, and corrections. Some biographers, especially those writing about figures from the past, might base their writing mainly on research about the events in the person's life, the things the person accomplished, the person's letters or other communication, and reports or reactions from other people. A biography is likely told from the third person point of view (he/she, him/her, his/hers, they, them, their).

An autobiography is written by a person about his or her own life, so it may not involve the same amount of research as a biography. An autobiography is likely to be told from the first person point of view (I, me, my, we, us, our) because the narrator (the person telling the story) is talking about events from his or her point of view.

Courtesy of Getty

A video biography is a movie focusing on the life story of an individual, from their childhood up to the present day. Memories of people, places, and things are documented on video or film, often combining interviews with family photographs, documents, maps, and other memorabilia.

A video biography is also often called a personal documentary, video memoir, legacy video, or simply a life story video.

Self-check!


Now that you know more about biographies and autobiographies, click here to download a Venn diagram.

Complete the Venn diagram to show how they are the same, and how they are different. On the outer circles, write what is different between a biography and an autobiography. In the centre where the circles overlap, write what is the same between a biography and autobiography. Be sure to hand in your Venn diagram when you are finished so your teacher can check it!