DIARY ENTRY A diary entry is a record and reflection on personal experiences. The number of entries will be determined by the question. Diary entries • must reflect a date for each entry • must be written in the first person • must express feeling and emotions • will be informal in style. Colloquial language is acceptable, but NOT slang. In a diary you record daily, or at irregular intervals, things that have happened during the day and your feelings and thoughts concerning them. It is not written for public scrutiny. You are actually writing to yourself and can therefore write exactly what you want to. However, as an exercise for an English teacher, you should write good, Standard English as far as possible. Each entry should have the date at the top (right is good) and be written at the end of the day. It is very important that the TONE of the diary entry is determined by the nature of the entry. E.g. a sad experience will carry an unhappy/ depressed tone. A diary is a portrayal of daily events. The author presents his/her evaluation of the day or events. Written from the writer’s point of view, the first person narration is the most appropriate approach. FRIDAY, 27 APRIL 2018 Dear Diary It’s 5pm and my nerves are shattered. My stomach is filled with butterflies and my hands are sweaty and won’t stop shaking. I’m so nervous about this talent show tonight. What on earth made me decide to compete in the first place and why did I choose singing as my talent? FRIDAY, 27 APRIL 2018 Dear Diary It’s now 8pm. The show wasn’t so bad after all. I went on stage and did great. I obtained second place and couldn’t be happier. I guess the nervousness was unnecessary; after all, everybody applauded me! I am so proud of myself! Monday 30 January 2009 Dear Diary Fantastic! Matric results came out today and guess what? I passed with distinction! My aggregate is easily high enough to guarantee my place in the science faculty at UCT. I could barely sleep last night worrying and was up and about before sunrise. I phoned Jake at 4.30, expecting an irate response from a guy who loves his sleep, but he too was wide awake. We agreed to meet at the lake in 20 minutes and did a 10 km run together to fill in the hours before we could go to school and … This has been the best day of my life and even though I’ve been awake for 19 hours, I don’t feel like going to bed at all. Goodnight! Thursday July, 21st It is three days until my birthday, yet I feel no excitement whatsoever. We have been defending our arms base atop Mount Everest for two days straight and it does not seem like the onslaught will stop any time soon. We have many casualties and the smell of the medic’s disinfectant hangs in the air. This was not what I expected to be doing when I signed up for the arm. The death, the violence, the inhumanity, I just can’t take much more of it. Seeing my brothers in arms dying and in pain is just sick. Having to kill others and watch life drain from their writhing bodies is too much for my laden soul to handle. I am losing myself. Friday July, 22nd Day three of defending our base has just ended. We have lost six men today, I do not know how much more I can take. All I want to do is go home, but on top of this mountain I feel closer to the moon than home. Sometimes when I sleep I hear the echoes of the world I left behind and I dream about the victory I will not find. The sad reality dawns upon me, we are fighting a losing war. A soldier in our platoon lost it tonight and I watched a man take his own life, unable to stop the desperation that held him. Why did I sign up for this pain and this mental and physical torture? Joshua Mitchell Write in a chronological order. Start with events that happened early in the day, and end with events that took place in the evening. Familiar events • talk about events that involved you, or your familiar, or close friends. • Avoid talking about strangers, and events you were not involved in. Detailed description • Give detailed information about places, objects, people and events. • Avoid describing what is not needed! Your diary has to include your personal touch, so you are not going to write about something you are not interested in. And last but not least… • Don´t be afraid to write about your feelings and emotions. After all, it ´s a personal diary and you share everything with it! Explain why… • If you are upset, remember to explain why (Don´t write just “I´m sad today…”) • If you are elated, tell your diary why you are happy! Write in the first person • Use pronouns such as I, We, Us • You are the protagonist FORMAT: Dear Diary Monday, 11 April 2012 (Leave a line open) Today has been the best/worst/most exciting day ever! I can’t believe what happened after break… Love John (Word count: 120 words) DIARY ENTRY TOPIC You have been invited to accompany a friend to a live performance of one of your favourite artists. Write ONE diary entry on the evening before the event and ONE entry after the event. Some diary entries are written over two or three days. Ensure the days and dates coincide. If you are asked to write, two diary entries: Divide the total number of words between the two diary entries. Your entries should be between 80-100 words in total.
