Biographical Writing Lessons

Which of the following is most likely the title of an autobiography?

• Jackie Robinson: Baseball Great
• How People Lived in Ancient Egypt
• Strange Creatures of the Undersea World
• My Life in Hollywood

"I was born in a log cabin at the edge of a huge, dark forest. My mother often begged my father to cut down more trees—"to let the sunlight in," she would say. But we were a poor family, and our energies had to go to finding food and keeping a roof over our heads."
Readers can tell that this passage is from an autobiography because it—

• describes the subject's childhood in vivid detail
• mentions where the subject was born
• provides a quotation from the subject's mother
• uses words like I, my, and we to refer to the subject 

"Jim Brown was a type of running back never seen before in the game of football. He was quick and fast like many halfbacks. Yet he was also massive and terribly strong. His muscular body was hard as stone. And when he ran, he often ran right over anyone who tried to tackle him."

This passage is probably part of— 

• a poem about an amazing athlete 
• a biography or biographical essay
• an autobiography
• an encyclopedia entry about football

What is the biggest difference between a biographical essay and other kinds of biographies? 

• length
• facts
• details
• opinions

Which sentence most likely comes from a biography?

• "When the fire was extinguished, we began to search for our belongings."
• "As a college freshman, Martin joined the Drama Club."
• "Some of the trees in that forest are more than 500 years old."
•  "It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen."

Which of the following is an example of a secondary source?

• a personal letter
• a diary entry
• a biography
• a memoir

A researcher might consult a secondary source when he or she wants to— 

• read a firsthand account of an event 
• learn about a writer's personal opinions
• write a letter to a friend 
• get a factual overview of a topic

"In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools is unconstitutional. This ruling marked a major change in the policy of "separate but equal" schools—which, in reality, were not equal at all."
Is this passage an example of a primary or secondary source? 

• It is a primary source because the writer includes mostly opinions.
• It is a secondary source because it is a factual description that includes the writer's analysis. 
• It is a secondary source because the writer was not a Supreme Court Justice in 1954.
• It is a primary source because the writer is biased against segregation.

"In 1993, the Mississippi River overflowed, causing one of the worst floods in its history. Approximately 74,000 people lost their homes, and $15 billion in property was damaged. Marion Johnson, a homeowner in Grafton, Illinois, recalled, "When I woke up and hopped out of bed, I was knee-deep in water. I had worked my whole life to buy this home—and now it was all gone, just like that."
This passage is an example of a—

• secondary source because the writer did not directly experience the flood
• primary source because the writer includes his or her own opinions
• primary source because the writer lost his or her home in the flood
• secondary source because the writer uses only secondhand information

"In 1993, the Mississippi River overflowed, causing one of the worst floods in its history. Approximately 74,000 people lost their homes, and $15 billion in property was damaged. Marion Johnson, a homeowner in Grafton, Illinois, recalled, "When I woke up and hopped out of bed, I was knee-deep in water. I had worked my whole life to buy this home—and now it was all gone, just like that."
The quotation by Marion Johnson is an example of—

• an unbiased opinion
• a primary source
• factual evidence
• a secondary source