How to write a diary entry

➢ A diary entry is very similar to a personal letter. You write about things that happened (to
you), about your problems, about your feelings, and about your hopes and plans.
➢ A diary entry begins with a date, which is usually written in the top right-hand corner.
➢ After that you may address your diary (Dear diary,...), but you don't have to do this.
➢ At the end of your entry you might want to say goodbye to your diary (e.g. That's all for
today. c u tomorrow, etc.), but again, you don't have to do this.

So the composition of a diary entry looks like this:

Date

[Opening Formula: (e.g. Dear Diary, ]

Introduction: You will usually begin your entry with some kind of general
sentence about the day (e.g. Today was a wonderful day, etc.)
or
a general statement about your momentary state of mind (e.g.
I'm totally down.)

Main Part: Here you should write about

- what has happened (to you)
- how you felt and feel about it
- what your hopes and/or plans for the future are

Conclusion: You can end your entry with some kind of final remark about
the day or your feelings (e.g. I feel better nor that I have written
everything down, etc.)
or
a sentence about your momentary situation (e.g. I have to sleep now,
it's already midnight and tomorrow I'm taking a Geography test, etc.)

[Closing Formula: (e.g. Love, XXX) ]

In your entry:

✗ you will need many different tenses as you may write about the past, the present
and the future
✗ you may use informal language to make your diary authentic such as short forms,
incomplete sentences, exclamations (e.g. Terrible!), but be careful not to overuse too
colloquial words or swear words
✗ you should use connectives to help the reader understand the temporal and logical
connection of your ideas. Here, too, you should prefer informal words to formal ones
(e.g. anyway instead of nevertheless, etc.)
✗ once you are done, don't forget to proofread your entry