Autobiography is a type of text that is:

• About a person's life
• Written by that person.

Whilst it is drawn on 'real life and events that happen' and is classified as non-fiction, there are 'fictional' elements to it as:

• It is not pure version of the life being told – it's from the autobiographer's perspective and that can be littered with:
  • Memory loss.
  • Selective passages to be included.
  • Made-stories on who that person is.
  • Their own interpretation of past events.

Why do people write autobiographies?

• To come to terms with a major experience or need in their life.
• Share their learning with the public.
• Express themselves and their identity.
• The idea of self and the meaning of self-knowledge.

How do we go about reading comprehension for autobiographies?

• Same as narratives c.f. to non-fiction texts.

  • Detail questions – factual questions and figurative language questions.
  • Main theme question – this is important in autobiographies as there is generally some form of self-learning that occurs.

• Important thing to note about autobiographies, is that the person is telling the story of their own life. How is his or her perspective influenced?

Let's look at these types of questions in the illustrated example below.

We'll also put into practice the approach to answering questions too.

Illustrated Example 1

Below is the extract from President Obama's autobiography.

Could she come to see me in New York? 'Of course,' I said. 'You can stay with me; I can't wait.' I spent the next few weeks rushing around in preparation: new sheets for the sofa bed, a scrubbing for the bath. But two days before she was scheduled to arrive, Auma called again, the voice thicker now, barely a whisper. 'I can't come after all,' she said. 'One of our brothers, David - he's been killed. In a motorcycle accident. I don't know any more than that.' She began to cry. 'Oh, Barack. Why do these things happen to us?'

I tried to comfort her as best I could. After she hung up, I left my office, telling my secretary I'd be gone for the day. For hours I wandered the streets, the sound of Auma's voice playing over and over in my mind. A continent away, a woman cries. On a dark and dusty road, a boy skids out of control, tumbling against hard earth, wheels spinning to silence. Who were these people, I asked myself, these strangers who carried my blood? What might save this woman from her sorrow? What wild dreams had this boy possessed? Who was I, who shed no tears at the loss of his own?

I still wonder how that first contact with Auma altered my life. Not so much the contact itself (that meant everything) or the news that she gave me of David's death (that, too, is an absolute; I would never know him, and that says enough). But rather the timing of her call, the sequence of events, the raised expectations and then the dashed hopes, at a time when the idea of working to help people was still just that, an idea in my head, a vague tug at my heart.

Maybe it made no difference. Maybe Auma's voice simply served to remind me that I still had wounds to heal, and could not heal myself. That I still felt confused about my identity. But if Auma had come to New York then and I had learned from her what I learned later about my father, it might have relieved certain pressures that had built up inside me. I then might have taken a more selfish course, and given myself over to stocks and bonds and respectability.

I don't know. What's certain is that, reminded of my family, my father and the sense of duty he inspired within me, I resigned from my big graduate job and began work as a community worker in Chicago.

1 Why did Obama resign from his graduate job?

A His family forced him to.

B He was confused about his identity.

C Auma called and reminded him of his family bonds.

D His sense of duty to the community was more important than financial respectability.

2 Why did Obama 'shed no tears at the loss of his own?'

A because he has lost his family members at an earlier age.

B because was not familiar with them and they was far away.

C because he only had a phone conversation with Auma.

D he still felt confused about his identity.

3 What identity is Obama confused about?

A where he is located and his origin – Kenyan or American.

B what job he should – stay in financial writing or get another graduate job.

C what he should be doing – helping others or helping himself.

D what he should do as a sense of duty.

4 Why was the timing of Auma's call important?

A It cancelled the trip which was the catalyst for Obama to quit his job to pursue his idea.

B It provided him with information about his family.

C A sequence of events happened which made it impossible for Obama to continue in his job.

D He was excited that she was visiting and her call ruined that.

Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1025052/He-young-successful--selfish-Barack-Obamas-autobiography-reveals-took-sister-met-life-meaning.html#ixzz3IVpdL5vv

Key Rules to remember:

• Autobiographies are a mix of fact and fiction.
• They're written from one perspective and involves self-discovery.
• You answer them as you would answer narrative questions (even though the genre is non-fiction) with the added thing that you'll have to have an overall idea on the autobiographer's perspective on the issue being put forward.

Now it's time to do your assignment.

1. Download the assignment question here.
2. Print it out or if you want to do it electronically, save it.
3. Complete the questions to it.
4. Then check the solutions on the video below or download the ANSWER KEY here.

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