a non-fiction text written about someone’s life

the effect created by choosing serious, factual language

the 'he/she/it/they' perspective, where we talk about another person

a type of subordinate clause starting with a relative pronoun (such as who, which or whose)

Identifying features of a biography in preparation for writing about Darwin

English

Researching Charles Darwin's life

Researching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

Planning a biography about Charles Darwin's life and theory of evolution

Writing the first half of a biography about Darwin and his theory of evolution

Writing the second half of a biography about Darwin and his theory of evolution

Presenting information about evolution

In this unit, pupils write a biography based on research about a scientific theory of a famous scientist. In 'Climate Emergency: Journalistic Report Writing', pupils will use a scientific, environmental speech to write a journalistic report from.

In 'Harriet Tubman: Biographical Writing', pupils learnt to research an inspirational figure's life to write a celebratory biography. In this unit, pupils will write a biography based on research about a scientific theory of a famous scientist.

In this unit, pupils research Charles Darwin's life and evolution theory in order to write a biography. The biography is written chronologically, from his early life to university, his trip to the Galapagos and his theory of evolution. Finally, pupils present information about evolution to a group.

Charles Darwin: biographical writing

to inform the reader about a particular event

to inform the reader about a particular person

to inform the reader about a particular place

Which of the following could be the subject of a biography? 

In what order is a biography usually written?

Which of these are key linguistic features of a biography?

She was committed to learning more about chimps. 

She taught me everything I know about chimps. 

Which sentence is appropriate for use in a biography? 

Match the types of fronted adverbial to the examples. 

Which words best match the meaning of 'formal'?

Which sentence below is the most formal in tone? 

What are the key features of a fronted adverbial? 

During the 1990s, she studied at university. 

She studied at university during the 1990s. 

She worked in Manchester after she left university. 

After she left university, she worked in Manchester. 

Which of these sentences have a fronted adverbial? 

She chose to train as a gymnast after watching the Olympics. 

She offered me the job even though I was untrained. 

She saw the potential in him immediately. 

Which sentence below is **not** written in the third person?

Starter Quiz

Which words best match the meaning of 'formal'?