Writing a Diary Entry

When you write a diary entry you are writing about a day in the life of a
real person or character. The diary entry needs to sound as if the person or
character has written it so it needs to be written from their point of view.
It also needs to be exciting and interesting to read. To get this right, just
follow a few easy steps...
 Diary Writing Must…

include the date and/or time

• The date or time can be written at the top of the page like this...

• or it can be included in the first few sentences of a diary entry

like this...
Over the
the past
past months,
months, II have
have been
been watching
watching my
my crew
crew members
members in
in the
the
freezing temperatures…
It is important because it tells the reader exactly when the diary is being
written.
 Diary Writing Must…
be written in the first person.

• This means including pronouns such as ‘I’,

‘I’, ‘my’,
‘my’, ‘we’
‘we’ and
and ‘our’.
‘our’.

• These words are special because they tell us the diary is being written
by someone
written and theyand
by someone arethey
talking
are about
talkingthemselves.
about themselves.

• Look at these two examples. Which one uses the correct words to be
‘first person’?
written in the ‘first person’?
 Diary Writing Must…
be written in the first person.

As I looked down from our lofty home, I noticed a group of humans.

They seemed to be holding loud, bright monsters with sharp, glistening
teeth that were tearing our trees from the ground.
First person

As she looked down from their

their lofty
lofty home,
home, she
she noticed
noticed aa group
group of
of
humans. They seemed to be holding loud, bright monsters with sharp,
glistening teeth that were tearing their
their trees from the
the ground.
ground.
Not first person
 Diary Writing Must…
use past tense for the main events.
• Diaries are usually written about an event that has already occurred so should
be written in the past tense.
• Which of these examples is written in the past tense?

happened –– ‘Endurance’
Two days ago, something dreadful happened ‘Endurance’ became
became stuck
stuck
in a large sheet of floating ice (an ice floe) following risky conditions
crossing the Weddell Sea. Past tense

Today, something dreadful will happen happen –– ‘Endurance’

‘Endurance’ will
will stick
stickininaalarge
large sheet
sheet of floating
of floating ice (aniceice(an icefollowing
floe) floe) following risky conditions
risky conditions crossingcrossing
the
the Weddell
Weddell Sea.Sea. Future tense
 Diary Writing Must…
include an introduction to set the scene.
• It is important to set the scene when writing a diary to ensure that it
is clear what you are writing about.
• You might answer the questions who, what, where or when.
• Which of the following extracts is an introduction? How do you
know?

Today has been an unusually busy

day for me! When I woke up this For now I must catch up on eating
morning, I noticed that the usual and sleeping and hope that they
calm atmosphere within our group do not return tomorrow.
had been replaced by one of panic.
 Diary Writing Must…
tell events in chronological order.
• In a diary we usually write about the events of our day in the order
they happened.
• We only include the most important or interesting events.
• Which of these would you include in a diary?

I ate breakfast. X
We visited the most amazing museum. ✓
An exhibit came to life! ✓
We had to evacuate the museum. ✓
I had a nap. ✓

You might choose to include information about breakfast and having a

nap if it is relevant or unusual.
 Diary Writing Must…
include personal emotions and feelings.
• A diary is usually a secret place to write the truth about how you feel
about what has happened to you in the day.
• In a diary you might include feelings, hopes or fears that you
wouldn’t want anyone to know about.
• Look at the examples below. Where have these diary writers described
their feelings?

Egypt is such a rich, powerful country and although I am nervous

nervous about
about
ruling it, I would rather
rather do
do so
so alone.
alone.

Yesterday, feeling
feeling relieved,
relieved,we
wereached
reachedthe
theisland
islandof
ofSouth
SouthGeorgia
Georgiaand
and
then completed a day long trek to find a whaling station…
 Diary Writing Must…
use time conjunctions and adverbials, e.g.
‘after that, ‘before lunch’, ‘until sunset’.
• A diary is usually describing lots of events. To make sense of when
these events happened, it is helpful to include time conjunctions and
adverbials.
• If we just use one word such as ‘then’ to link the events in our diary it
can get very boring!
• Look at the example below. Can you identify the time conjunctions
and adverbials that have been used?

Later, we will organise a lavish funeral for father that will last for days,
with plenty of music as he would have wanted.
After hearing
hearing the
the news
newsofofmy
myfather’s
father’sdeath,
death,I Ioverheard
overheardthe
themembers
membersof
of
thethe
court
court
discussing
discussing
what
what
is to
is to
happen.
happen.
 Find the features
Which features can you see in the following example?

Dear Diary, introduction Mon 31stst October

October
date
time conjunctions and adverbials
Yesterday startedas
Yesterday started asusual
usualbut
butchanged
changedvery
verysuddenly.
suddenly.As
Assoon
soonasasI I
entered the kitchen,
entered the kitchen, II knew
knew something
something was
was wrong.
wrong.

My witch was nowhere to be seen. Myfeelings was not

food was not in
in the
the bowl
bowl and
and the
the
door was wide open. I began
began to
to feel
feel anxious
anxiousasasIInoticed
noticedthethebroom
broomand
and
wand were missing… first person
past tense
 Find the features
Use the Differentiated Diary Examples to find the features of diaries
using the Diary Writing Checklist to help you.
 Write a diary
Now it’s your turn!

Using the Differentiated Diary Writing Activity Sheets, plan and write
a diary from the point of view of an animal. Don’t forget to include
everything on the Diary Writing Checklist.

Will you be…

a witch’s cat? a safari lion?

your own pet? a farmyard animal?

a rainforest creature? a polar animal?

Write a diary
 Diary Writing Check List
Can you remember all the things you need to do to write a fantastic
diary entry?
Diary writing must...

include the date and/or time. ✓

write in the first person. ✓

use past tense for main events. ✓

include an introduction to set the scene. ✓
tell events in chronological order. ✓
include personal emotions and feelings. ✓

use time conjunctions and adverbials, e.g. ✓

‘after that’, ‘before lunch’, ‘until sunset’.