Biography/Autobiography/Memoir/Diary

An autobiography is the story of someone’s life written by him- or herself. Autobiographies are sometimes called memoirs because they are about the author’s memories. They are written in first person (I, me, we). Many well-known people have written autobiographies. They include political figures like Malcolm X and Eleanor Roosevelt; entertainers like Bob Dylan; and writers like Maya Angelou.

-- Which of the following is an autobiography?

• John Adams by David McCullough

• Me: Stories of My Life by Katharine Hepburn

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

• Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

When writing a biography, you should look at both primary and secondary sources. A primary source is a first-hand account of an event. It is created at the same time the event happened. It can be a letter, diary entry, picture or video. A secondary source is a source that was created after the event.

-- Which of the following is a primary source?

• a book about the Titanic written many years after it sank

• a model of the Titanic made today

• a photo of the Titanic the day it set sail

• the movie Titanic that was produced and released in the 1990s

Which of the following summaries is an example of a biographical writing?

• A diary of a newspaper reporter and her inner feelings of a news story she had to cover.

• An article about Rosa Parks written by someone who interviewed Rosa about her involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.

• "Brother" written by Maya Angelou about her relationship with her brother.

• A personal essay that Jackie Robinson wrote about his struggles with racism and inequalities when he became the first black professional baseball player.

An autobiography is-

• written by someone about his or herself.

• written by someone about someone else.

A biography is a piece of writing that....

• is about the author's own life story.

• is about someone different than the author.

Which of the following pronouns would be found in 1st person point of view articles? Choose 2

• I

• them

• our

• her

Choose 2 of the following pronouns that can be found in 3rd person point of view passages.

• them

• we

• me

• theirs

Choose the correct answer that goes with the following description-

"Uses 3rd person point of view"

• autobiography

• biography

• both autobiography AND biography

• neither autobiography or biography

Choose the correct answer that goes with the following description-

"The author is the narrator"

• autobiography

• biography

• both autobiography AND biography

• neither autobiography or biography

Choose the correct answer that goes with the following description-

"Author reveals their own personal feelings"

• autobiography

• biography

• both autobiography AND biography

• neither autobiography or biography