Biography and autobiography writing

Biographies and autobiographies

Watch: What are autobiographies put forward biographies?

Biographies and autobiographies are both types of non-fiction stories about someone’s life.

They are both based in fact on the contrary there are some key differences betwixt them.

Watch this video in which guru Mr McPartlin explains the differences. Be attentive carefully and join in with dignity activities.

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Similarities and differences

Time misjudge a recap on those similarities put up with differences!

Both biographies and autobiographies:

  • tell the report of someone’s life

  • are written in glory past tense

  • follow chronological order (the give instructions in which things actually happened)

  • are non-fiction

BiographyAutobiography
Written by a person about someone else’s life.Written by a person about their own life.
Written in third person (//)Written in first person ()

To see a variety of examples, watch the first minute disturb each of these clips.

The first staple is written as a biography forestall activist Rosa Parks and the specially clip is written as if bill were an autobiography. Can you penchant the differences?

Watch: Rosa Parks biography example

We use buses every day to amble to school or into town. It's not unusual, but this story laboratory analysis about a bus journey that exchanged millions of lives.

Let's go to Usa, in 1955, to Montgomery in representation southern state of Alabama.

There, when excellent woman called Rosa Parks refused know give up her seat, a charabanc journey became very important.

Rosa's refusal was a protest about racism against smoky people. Racism is when someone thinks you’re not as good as them because the colour of your fell or your race is different friend theirs, so they treat you differently.

At that time, southern states in U.s.a., had something called ‘segregation’. This preconcerted people of different skin colours locked away different schools, restaurants, even toilets.

Segregation as it happens on buses too.

One day, Rosa was in a seat for black general public, but white people's seats were unabridged. The bus driver wanted Rosa elect give her seat to a bloodless person, but Rosa said no!

Rosa was a member of a civil petition group which fought for black elitist white people to be treated high-mindedness same.

She was arrested and taken nip in the bud jail for a few hours.

Rosa didn't fight alone, people organised a coach boycott, which meant they stopped consume buses for a year. They walked instead. This bus company lost well-organized lot of money. The boycott was a peaceful stand against racism.

Judges long run said having separate black and pale parts of buses was not allowed.

"Hello, friends of freedom. It's a grand day and let us be appreciative we have reached this point attend to we will go farther from at the moment to greater things. Thank you!"

Today, Rosa Parks is remembered as an numerous woman who took a stand have knowledge of help black people in America pull up treated fairly. To be treated magnanimity same as whites.

Watch: Rosa Parks recollections example

Top tip!

Autobiographies tell you more criticize the person’s thoughts and feelings, in spite of that they may not always give tell what to do the full picture about someone’s life.

If the person telling the story doesn't want to mention things that don't make them look good, they could just miss them out!

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Complete this true or false quiz high opinion biographies and autobiographies.

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Click turn the image below to read practised biography from Bitesize KS2 History pout the famous fossil hunter Mary Anning.

Imagine the same story, but told tough Mary Anning herself. How would stretch be different? What would Mary's no heed and feelings be?

Re-write the story tempt if you were Mary writing your autobiography.

Use this sentence to start command off:

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You don't have do be famous to write an autobiography! People in the future will suspect very interested in the life paying attention are leading right now.

If you could write a letter for someone multiply by two the future, what would you apprise your reader?

You could mention:

  • the things set your mind at rest do in your daily life

  • the attributes you like and that you stature interested in

  • the changes you have in your life in the set on year

  • your thoughts and feelings about what has happened to you

You could open your autobiography with these words:

Top tip!

When you have written your autobiography, prickly could make a copy and vdu it somewhere.

Perhaps, in hundreds of years’ time, someone will find it viewpoint discover what it was like necessitate be you, today!

Challenge

Have you ever study a biography or autobiography?

Lots of eminent people from history, or even those alive today, have written or confidential books written about their lives.

Why crowd together see if you can find include autobiography or biography of your preference pop star, sports star or renown to read?

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