Author's Point of View Educational Resources K12 Learning, Comprehension, Reading Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

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First person? Third person?
What are we talking about when we talk about an author's point of view?

Every fictional story tells us the story through the eyes of the narrator. Take this lesson to figure out how to tell who's "telling" the story and determine the author's point of view.

Today, you'll learn how to tell if the author's point of view is first person or third person.

There are some easy clues that tell us which is which. Before you start, think about what a narrator is.

The narrator is the person or character who is telling the story. When the narrator is writing in first person, he or she will use the words "I" and "me." In this case, the story is told from his or her perspective, or how he or she experienced the events.

When the narrator, or point of view, is in third person, you will see the words "he," "she," and "it." This means the narrator is not involved in the story, but rather an all-seeing presence who is telling the reader what is happening to the characters in the story. Take a look at the chart below for reference:

Point of view	Definition	Clue words
First person	The narrator tells the stories from his or her experience.	I, me
Third person	The narrator seems to know everything about the character's experiences.	He, she, it