biography

Everyday

1. A true book or story about a real person's life, written by someone else. tree →
2. A short description of a person's life, such as on a website or book cover. tree →

In the lessons

In English and history lessons pupils read and write biographies of famous people like Mary Seacole or Martin Luther King. A biography is non-fiction, so it should use facts, dates and order of events. Phrases: "write a biography", "a biography of", "a short biography".

Examples

• We wrote a biography of Florence Nightingale. tree →
• A biography tells a real person's life story. tree →
• The library has a whole shelf of sports biographies. tree →
• My biography of Grandma includes her move to Canada. tree →
• A good biography uses facts and dates in order. tree →
• The author's short biography is on the back cover. tree →
• These biographies are written with kindly justice, and form a valuable contribution to the history of the reign of the Roi Soleil. tree →

Note

Plural: biographies (y changes to ies). A story you write about your own life is an "autobiography", not a biography. Writers of biographies are "biographers".