T he D i a r y E n t r y

THE FEATURES OF A DIARY ENTRY

Chronological
order –
First person – Use
Start with events
pronouns such as
that happened
I, we, us, we’re, I’m.
Informal tone Emotive language early in the day,
This will make you
and end with
feel part of the
events that took
story
place in the
evening.
FOCUS POINTS:
Understand that eventually the diary will become your best
friend, silent confessor of witness.
Put the date or some sequence information in the diary,
maybe at the top of the page.

Start writing the diary only if you really have interest in it.
 WHAT SHOULD I WRITE?
Give detailed information about places, objects, people and events.

Avoid describing what is not needed!

Talk about events that involve you, or your family, or close friends.

Avoid talking about strangers and events you were not involved in.
Don’t be afraid to write
After all, it is a personal
about your feelings and
diary and you share
emotions. (use emotive
everything with it.
and persuasive words)
 Date and day at the right- Paragraphs using
hand top side full sentences
written in the past
Friday, 20 June 2013 tense. The first
XXX person voice (I,
Dear Diary me, we and us)
Include a greeting/can XXX Names of people
be nickname e.g. Dear I have just had a marvellous experience: Ben and I went on the (‘Ben’ instead of
Kitty fun walk today! We caught the train from Muizenberg and it was ‘my brother’)
full of people dressed in sport clothes and they had painted Include details
faces. We met some Spanish people and we could actually about people and
understand each other. I exchanged e-mail addresses with places, new
Manuel, who promised to keep in touch. Wouldn’t it be cool if I experiences and
visited him in Spain one day! personal interests.
Write your I am so proud of my country for staging such a great World Cup!
name/nick name XXX
to conclude your Johnny
entry. Personal thoughts and feelings, emotions.
Use informal language.
 Monday, 2 1 July 2 019
(Line open)
Dear Diary
(Line open)
I t is t hree days unt il my birt hday, yet I feel no excit ement what soever. We have been
defending our arms base at op Mount Everest for t wo days st raight and it does not
seem like t he at t ack will st op any t ime soon. This was not what I expect ed t o be doing
when I signed up for t he army. The deat h, t he violence, t he inhumanit y, I just can’t
t ake much more of it . Seeing my brot hers in arms dying and in pain is just sick. Having
t o kill ot hers and wat ch life drain from t heir bodies is t oo much for me t o handle. I am
losing myself.
(Line open)
 Tuesday, 2 2 July 2 019
(Line Open)
Dear Diary
(Line Open)
Day t hree of defending our base has just ended. We have lost six men t oday, I do not
know how much more I can t ake. All I want t o do is go home, but on t op of t his
mount ain I feel closer t o t he moon t han home. Somet imes when I sleep I hear t he
echoes of t he world I left behind, and I dream about t he vict ory I will not find. The
sad realit y dawns upon me, we are fight ing a losing war. A soldier in our plat oon lost it
t onight and I wat ched a man t ake his own life, unable t o st op t he desperat ion t hat
held him. Why did I sign up for t his pain and t his ment al and physical t ort ure?
She feels:
Sick
Nauseous
Emotional

Put it in a sentence:

I felt sick in my stomach

when I thought of the
Computer Science an Art
History marks I will receive
tomorrow.

I was nauseous and quite

frustrated because Justin did
not even look my way in the
corridor. I am totally
emotional on Valentine’s day.
SOME TIPS WHEN WRITING A DIARY ENTRY:
• You still tell/ write about an experience whether it is positive (bungy jumping for
the first time) or negative (you failed a test which you studied very hard for)
• Even though you tell us about the experience, the readers wants to really
understand your emotions and feelings you have while experiencing this event.
• What you experience happened already, so ALWAYS write in the past tense.
• Do not repeat ideas in your entry.
• Remember to still use paragraphs for every new idea.
• Try to use a variety of different words for emotions and feelings e.g. not just
happy or sad.
• Use figures of speech to make your entry more vivid.
 ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
• How did the experience make me feel?
• What emotions am I experiencing?
• What was the problem in this event?
• How can I solve this problem?
• Did I expose enough emotions and feelings about myself in
the entry?
• Where, when, how, with whom did this event happen?
 BETTER WORDS TO USE IN ENTRIES:
For BIG For LITTLE For SMART
Teeny
Diminutive
Compact
Microscopic
Petite
Wee
Small
Tiny
Minuscule
Miniature
Slight
Minute
infant
For NICE For FUNNY For PRETTY
Farcical
Jocular
Humorous
Witty
Comical
Hysterical
Hilarious
Laughable
Silly
Nonsensical
Absurd
For HAPPY For SAD
For GOOD
 How would you feel…

You studied days for an exam an worked very hard but received poor marks for your test?
List emotions, thoughts and feelings.

Your team wins the match because you scored the winning try?
List emotions, thoughts and feelings.

What happened if it is the worst day ever?

How would you feel?
List feelings, verbs and descriptive words.

What would happen if it is the best day ever?

How would you feel?
List feelings, verbs and descriptive words.
 FORMAT OF TWO ENTRIES:
YOU CAN ONLY WRITE 80-100 WORDS FOR BOTH ENTRIES:
MONDAY, 20 JUNE 2022
DEAR DIARY

TODAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY PARTY. I WAS SO EMBARRASSED…

DAVID

TUESDAY, 21 JUNE 2022

DEAR DIARY

TODAY AT SCHOOL, EVERYBODY WAS SHOCKED THAT…

DAVID
 ACTIVITY:
YOU ARE THE HERD BOY IN “CATTLE IN THE RAIN”,
WRITE TWO DIARY ENTRIES OF 80-100 WORDS IN
TOTAL (BOTH ENTRIES TOGETHER) ON HOW YOU
FELT AFTER SUCH A HARD DAY HERDING THE
CATTLE.
AND THE SECOND ENTRY WHEN THE HERD BOY
WAS GROWN UP AND LIVING IN AMERICA.
YOU MUST ONLY PRESENT A PLANNING AND A
FINAL DRAFT.