Diary Entry

Learning
Objectives
⁃ to become familiar with a diary entry, its format and language
⁃ to practise writing diary entries
What I Already Know
In groups of four, write three things that you know about diary entries. Think about
the features of a diary entry or the type of writing and the words you would expect to
see in a diary.
1. We write in a diary to express our feelings and emotions.
Let's Learn
Read the entries from the diary* of a young soldier.
14th April 1944
I'm home on leave. It's good to be back and see everyone. Do you know how happy
Mother and Father are to see me?
Emphanic Engint_ling_Cr 8_Vel 2,2005 26 11th Dockher 2036 ind 93
93
We're hearing great things from Manipur. The Azad Hind Fauj has freed Moirang
from the clutches of the British Empire. Soon, I'll be joining the troops in Imphal. My
heart is torn between home and the battleground.
Karuna$
19th April 1944
Mohan turned up today, as he was on leave. He had been granted leave for eight
days.
However, it took him three days to get here.
He informed me that the Azad Hind Fauj soldiers fought tooth and nail to capture the
NorthEast Frontier. The only thing that made us sad was that we had to fight our own
countrymen.
Oh, what a wretched plan of destiny!
Karuna
27th April 1944
Mohan left for battle yesterday. I wasn't very happy about Mohan's parting. To see
him go was the worst moment for our family. He didn't say anything. I wish I knew
what he felt.
Karuna
29th April 1944
I'm going back to Imphal today. Mother's eyes were moist. When I looked at Father,
his eyes twinkled. I left with a heavy heart. Their love keeps me going on the
battleground.
Karuna
20th May 1944
I haven't written anything for a long time because I haven't had the heart to.
There is bad news from Kohima. It was a terrible battle, but no land was gained.
When I read Mohan's letter, a shiver ran down my spine. Will it be like this forever?
Will the misery of the soldiers ever end?
Karuna
[*a fictional diary]
[# a fictional character]
Now, check if your points match these entries.
Do the soldier's diary entries show her feelings and emotions?

What is a diary?
A diary is a personal record of incidents experienced by the author and his/her
feelings, emotions and reactions to those incidents. Each record of a diary is known
as a diary entry
Concept 1
Language and features of a diary entry
Let's understand the type of language that is used to write a diary with the help of the
diary entries given above.
1. Date
For example:
2. The first person
For example:
Each entry of a diary begins with a date.
⁃ 14th April 1944
⁃ 20th May 1944
The diary is written in the first person
- 'I'.
a I'm home on leave.
b I'm going back to Rangoon today.
3. Use of tenses
For example:
The diary is mostly a record of past events.
Sometimes, the writer also records his/her future plans.
Therefore, the simple past, the present perfect and the future tense are used most
frequently. However, one can use any tense depending on the topic and the time of
the event.
a Mohan turned up today, as he was on leave.
b The Azad Hind Fauj has freed Moirang from the clutches of the British Empire.
c Soon, I'll be joining the troops in Imphal.
4. Self-reflection
For example:
The diary is a tool to express your thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears that you
cannot express freely to anyone. You can write your innermost thoughts in your
diary, because your diary is meant only for you.
a My heart is torn between home and the battleground.
b Oh, what a wretched plan of destiny!
I wish I knew what he felt.

Conversational tone
For example:
The diary is written using a personal, conversational tone. It is as if you are talking to
a friend.
⁃ Do you know how happy Mother and Father are to see me?
⁃ I haven't written anything for a long time because I haven't had the heart to.
6. Paragraphs
For example:
You need to use paragraphs when you want to change the topic, place, person or
thought while writing an entry in your diary.
The first and second entries of the diary given above have two paragraphs each to
show the change of topic.
7. Rhetorical question
For example:
You can ask rhetorical questions about circumstances that are beyond your control.
It shows whether you are ecstatic, optimistic, frustrated, fearful or nervous about
those circumstances.
c Will it be like this forever?
d Will the misery of the soldiers ever end?
(Here, the writer expresses her concern about the ongoing war and its aftermath.)
Note 14
Sometimes, the day is written before the date in certain formats.
For example: Saturday, 16th May 2020

Concept 2
Format of a diary entry
A diary is a personal record, therefore, there is no particular format. However, for
assessment purposes, the following format should be followed.
22nd August, 2022 Saturday 10 p.m.
date day time
Dear Diary,
Today, for the first time, I travelled alone by train. I decided to visit my cousin Rishi
during this weekend and Father couldn't come with me because he had some urgent
business to attend to.
To tell you the truth, it was an awful experience travelling on a train. Everywhere I
went, there was a long queue. The train was extremely crowded and people were
pushing, nudging and jostling one another. I somehow managed to huddle in a
corner, but others kept bumping into me and I had to constantly save myself from the
commotion. I stared at the roof of the train. For a moment, I wished I were a
superhero and could fly out of the roof to reach my cousin's place. "When will this
journey get over?" I thought to myself. It was the longest hour of my life. I looked up
to heaven as soon as I got off the train. Oh, now I know the struggle Father goes
through every day to reach his office. It was exhausting to travel in such a dreadful
condition!
Prakash
salutation
paragraph 1
paragraph 2
the writer's namel
Activity 1
Complete the following diary entry using the clues given below.
⁃ how you felt about the filthy streets
⁃ the kids' club of your society
⁃ the cleanliness drive in your locality
⁃ how you arranged the drive
what you think will happen next. 2nd October, 2023 Monday 9:30 p.m.
Dear Diary,
Today was Gandhiji's birthday. Bapu, as he is known, always advocated cleanliness.
But
We, the children of my society, started a kids' club. This time I proposed that we
should
We collected brooms and other necessary things
Tomorrow will be another day for the residents. I hope
Pragya
Tips for maintaining a diary
1. Maintain a single book so that you can keep a record.
You can use a plain notebook or a spiral-bound diary.
2. You don't have to wait for an occasion to jot down your feelings. Just write down a
few lines about daily events. You can even write a 'to do' list in your diary to plan the
next day.

'A picture is worth a thousand words." In addition to writing your feelings and ideas,
you can even draw in your diary. You can also paste photographs, newspaper
cuttings and other images in your diary to express your thoughts about a particular
event.
4. You are not writing an essay or an article. It is your diary, which no one else will
read. So, write whatever comes to your mind.
Class
Assignment
Write a diary entry on the celebration of Independence Day in your school. Use the
following points to write your diary entry.
⁃ Add the date, the day and the time.
⁃ How do you feel as an Indian citizen?
⁃ How were the celebrations in school?
⁃ How is the event celebrated all over the country?
⁃ How can you contribute to making your country a better place?
⁃ Describe your feelings and emotions towards your country.
Home
'Assignments
I. Write a diary entry on any one of the following topics.
e Write a diary entry of the day when you were selected as the captain of your
school football team.
Your school had arranged a tree plantation drive. Write a diary entry on the drive and
how you felt.

There are many famous literary works that are written in the form of a diary. Look at
the cover pages of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Zlata's Diary. Read any one of
these books and recreate your own diary in a similar fashion. You can draw images
for each day. Show your diary to your teacher.
DIARY of a
Wimpy Kid
Z LATA'S
DIARY
A CORNER SIRO 1A MORERE 9900105
in cartechs
ILIPOVIC
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of novels about a boy named Greg Heffley, who
tries to become popular among his peers while studying in middle school.
Greg records his efforts, experiences and feelings in the form of diary entries.
Zlata's Diary is a true story of Zlata's real-life experiences while living in Sarajevo
during the civil war, recorded in the form of a diary. Zlata Filipovic was a young girl of
11 at that time. In her diary, Zlata shares her fear, anger, hope and faith in times of
cruelty and violence.