This document discusses the key features of biographies. It notes that a biography is a life story of an individual written by another author, in the third person. An autobiography differs in that it is written by the subject of the biography in the first person. Biographies can come in many forms, including encyclopedias, directories, authorized stories, and unofficial accounts. When writing a biography, authors typically include an opening paragraph summarizing the subject's life, use past tense, write in the third person, recount key events in chronological order.

1. BIOGRAPHIES

2. Learning Objectives
•To recognise features of a biography.
•To look at complex sentences.

3. What is a biography?
• A life story of an individual written by another
author.
• It is generally written in the third person.
• What is the difference between an autobiography
and a biography?
• An autobiography is a life story of an individual
written by that person.
• It is generally written in the first person.

4. What different types of biographies
might you find?
• Biographical encyclopaedia's
• Directory of famous people
• Authorised biographies
• Unauthorised biographies
• Non fiction books, eg. Horrible Histories style
• Web sites

5. Let’s read
• Think about the different features of the text whilst we
read it.

6. What are the features typical of
biographical writing?
• Opening paragraph – summarises the persons
life
• Written in past tense
• Written by the third person
• Key incidents of the persons life are recounted
• Usually in chronological order

7. Let’s look at the text again...
• What tense is it written in?
• What if we were to change it to present tense?
• What if we were to change the narrator? – How
does this change the text? Does it make sense?

8. The features to find and label.
• Opening paragraph – summarises the persons
life
• Past tense
• Third person
• Key incidents of the persons life are recounted
• Usually in chronological order