What Are Biographies, Autobiographies & Memoirs?

Biographies, autobiographies & memoirs tell stories of real people’s lives.

Are Biographies, Autobiographies & Memoirs the Same Thing?

Biographies, autobiographies & memoirs are similar because they all tell stories about a person’s life, but they aren’t exactly the same.

The main differences are:

Who wrote it: Is the writer telling their own story or someone else’s story?
What perspective is used: Is the writer using the 1st person (I/me/my) or the 3rd person (he/she/they)?
What is covered: Does it cover a person’s whole life, whole career or a specific time period/event?
What is included: Does it include research findings, facts, personal thoughts or feelings?

Biographies	Autobiographies	Memoirs
Written by
Someone other than who the story is about	The person themselves	The person themselves
Perspective
3rd person	1st person	1st person
(he/she/they)	(I/me/my)	(I/me/my)
Cover
Whole life (or a big part of it)	Whole life (or a big part of it)	A specific time period
Whole career	Whole career	Specific events
Include
Research findings	Personal thoughts & feelings	Personal thoughts & feelings
Facts	Reflections	Reflections
Historical context	Memories	Lessons learned

Here are some of the most common elements you can find in these texts.

Time & place	Context for when and where events take place
Quotes	Comments and information from relatives, friends and acquaintances
Life events	Important and meaningful events for the person in question
Anecdotes	Interesting stories connected to the narrative
Personal insight	Reflections and thoughts about narrative events
Themes of a personal nature like:	Coming of age
	Facing & overcoming challenges
	Identity
	Forgiveness