Mini biography definition autobiography

The three primary formats of a memory book, used to tell a life story, are a biography, an autobiography, and a memoir. Distinguishing between the three can feel a bit confusing since they all share several similarities. But there are some distinct differences.

Simply put, a biography is the life history of an individual, written by someone else. An autobiography is the story of a person’s life, written by that person. And a memoir is a collection of memories written by the person themselves.

What is a Biography?

A biography, also called a bio, is a non-fiction piece of work giving an objective account of a person’s life. The main difference between a biography vs. an autobiography is that the author of a biography is not the subject. A biography could be someone still living today, or it could be the subject of a person who lived years ago.

Biographies include details of key events that shaped the subject’s life, and information about their birthplace, education, work, and relationships. Biographers use a number of research sources, including interviews, letters, diaries, photographs, essays, reference books, and newspapers. While a biography is usually in the written form, it can be produced in other formats such as music composition or film.

If the target person of the biography is not alive, then the storytelling requires an immense amount of research. Interviews might be required to collect information from historical experts, people who knew the person (e.g., friends and family), or reading other older accounts from other people who wrote about the person in previous years. In biographies where the person is still alive, the writer can conduct several interviews with the target person to gain insight on their life.

The goal of a biography is to take the reader through the life story of the person, including their childhood into adolescence and teenage years, and then their ear

Know what is an autobiography and how it differs to biography definition and memoir meaning

With children, especially little ones, you get used to second guessing the words they come out with.

For example, one cracker my daughter used to say was “it’s ice cubing” when it hailed.

Meanwhile, my son called kangaroos near our house “bop bobs”, after the way they jumped.

Indeed other words easily become interchangeable with proper versions.

And this can also be the case for how we define autobiography definition, biography definition and memoir definition.

So today I’m going to clear up the confusion with correct meanings …

Related article – How to write an autobiography in four simple steps

Related article – How to start writing: The ultimate guide about planning to write life stories

Autobiography definition

The Macquarie Dictionary online is my go-to for all things editing.

So naturally I’ll start with its autobiography definition: 

autobiography: 
“noun (plural autobiographies)
an account of a person’s life written by himself or herself.”

Certainly this is a brief but oh-so-sweet definition.

However, some would also say an autobiography account starts from birth and continues to the present.

In short, this is my favourite term to describe this website – hence the name Forever Young Autobiographies.

But I also find it the most accurate word for what most people consider their life story, story of my life or personal history.

Related article – Why write: Why is writing important and why do we write

What is the difference between an autobiography and a biography?

We are often asked to write a short biography about ourselves for school, work or online sites.

And it is supposed to sum up our life plus highlight important facts and interests.

However, the biography definition from the Macquarie is

While each of these forms of writing illuminates the life, work, and worldview of an individual, they are differentiated by the degree of objectivity and factual content, as well stylistic approaches and perspectives.

Note: The below definitions are from the Oxford English Dictionary [electronic resource.] 

Autobiography, n. – 

Typically in book form, an autobiography is an account of a person’s life told by the himself or herself. An autobiography tends to be a more general history, while a memoir focuses on a specific piece of the author's life.    

Biography, n. –

A biography is a written account (although it may come in other forms such as recorded or visual media) of events and circumstances of another person’s life. Most commonly written about a historical or public figure, it profiles a person’s life or life’s work.

Diary, n. – 

A daily record of personal matters, transactions or events affecting the writer personally or the result of the author’s observations. 

Journal, adj. AND  n. – 

Often referring to a more detailed account than that of a diary, a journal contains events or matters of personal interest, kept for one’s own use. Either in the form of daily accounts or entries for when events occur.