Outcomes and Skills
The unit builds a set of connected skills: reading a life story closely, researching responsibly, judging what evidence can support, shaping a profile and explaining the choices that make it fair. The outcomes below describe the whole sequence, not a single piece of work.
Unit outcomes
- Distinguish forms of life writing and explain the relationship between subject, biographer and reader.
- Explain how memory, evidence and selection shape a version of a life.
- Locate, evaluate and cite primary and secondary sources.
- Analyse how structure, voice and language position the reader.
- Explain how context and representation shape whose version is told.
- Apply ethical principles of consent, privacy and fairness.
- Plan, draft and revise a short profile supported by accurate evidence.
- Present a short oral account, interview reflection or seminar contribution.
How the skills connect
| Skill | What it looks like | How to practise it |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | Noticing who speaks, what the form allows and what is left out. | Annotate two extracts in different forms; mark voice, evidence and gaps. |
| Research | Finding sources, recording provenance and checking claims. | Build a five-entry source log with one conflicting account. |
| Analysis | Connecting a specific technique to an effect on the reader. | Write one paragraph using a short quotation and two effects. |
| Writing | Selecting, arranging and shaping material into a readable profile. | Draft a scene, a summary and a reflection, then cut one. |
| Speaking and listening | Asking open questions, listening, following up and reflecting back. | Run a paired interview and write a short transcript. |
| Ethical judgement | Recognising privacy, power and consent before publishing. | Apply the ethics checklist to a scenario and revise a draft. |
I can statements
- I can explain the difference between biography, autobiography, memoir and profile.
- I can identify factual, emotional and interpretive truth in a life-writing passage.
- I can evaluate a source by origin, purpose, audience and corroboration.
- I can choose a structure and explain why it suits my subject.
- I can analyse how a biographer's voice shapes the reader's judgement.
- I can describe a subject's contradictions without turning them into a caricature.
- I can explain how context and representation affect whose version is told.
- I can apply consent and privacy principles to my own work.
- I can plan and conduct a short, respectful interview.
- I can draft and revise a profile with accurate evidence and a clear angle.
Success criteria for a profile
| Element | A strong profile | A weaker profile |
|---|---|---|
| Focus and angle | Shows one person in a particular context and makes a clear point about them. | Lists achievements without a reason for telling this life now. |
| Research and accuracy | Uses named sources, dates and details that have been checked. | Relies on memory, vague claims or a single unsourced account. |
| Structure | Moves between scene, summary and reflection with a clear logic. | Follows a flat chronology or jumps randomly between moments. |
| Voice | Controls distance, tone and evaluative language deliberately. | Slips between praise, judgement and neutrality without purpose. |
| Evidence | Quotes briefly, contextualises and explains what the evidence shows. | Drops in long quotations or paraphrases without analysis. |
| Ethics | Respects privacy, seeks consent where needed and represents fairly. | Publishes private details or treats the subject as a specimen. |
| Presentation | Uses clear paragraphs, accurate punctuation and a purposeful title. | Reads like notes with no shaping for a reader. |
Key terms
| Term | Working definition |
|---|---|
| Life writing | An umbrella term for texts that represent a real person's life, including biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, letters, profile, oral history and obituary. |
| Biography | An account of a person's life written by someone else. |
| Autobiography | An account of one's own life, usually covering a broad span. |
| Memoir | A reflective account of a particular period, relationship or theme in one's own life. |
| Profile | A short, focused account of a person, often tied to a place, role or current event. |
| Oral history | A recorded interview in which a person gives an account of their own experience. |
| Subject | The person whose life is being represented. |
| Biographer | The writer who researches and shapes the account. |
| Primary source | Material produced at the time or by a participant, such as a letter, photograph, diary or interview. |
| Secondary source | Material that interprets or summarises primary material, such as a later history or article. |
| Provenance | The origin and history of a source, including who made it, when and for what purpose. |
| Corroboration | Supporting a claim with an independent source. |
| Focalisation | The perspective through which a narrative is filtered. |
| Hagiography | A biography that treats its subject as flawless, often to the point of uncritical praise. |
| Composite | A figure or scene assembled from more than one real person or event, usually disclosed to the reader. |
| Consent | Informed agreement to take part in research or to have personal material published. |
Evidence of learning
| Task | What it shows | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Annotated extract | Ability to notice voice, evidence and selection. | Start of Week 1. |
| Source log | Ability to find, record and question sources. | End of Week 2. |
| Character map | Ability to infer motive and contradiction from evidence. | Mid Week 3. |
| Close-reading paragraph | Ability to connect language to effect. | End of Week 4. |
| Profile draft | Ability to select, structure and write a life story. | End of Week 5. |
| Revision note | Ability to act on feedback and explain changes. | Final lesson. |
| Reflection | Ability to discuss truth, power and representation. | Final lesson. |
Transfer
The skills transfer beyond English. A source log is a research tool; an interview plan is a listening tool; a character map is a way of understanding motive; and a profile is a way of explaining a person's significance without reducing them to a list. Students who can explain why a version of a life is partial are better prepared to question the biographies, documentaries, obituaries and social media tributes they meet outside school.
Formative, not final. The criteria on this page describe quality for feedback and revision. They are not a reporting instrument and do not produce a score, band or rank.
Next, explore the forms of life writing.