Grade 9

English Home Language

WRITING A DIARY
A diary entry is a very personal kind of writing. It is meant to record certain
significant events and feelings of the writer.

Format checklist:

✓ Salutation “Dear Diary”.

✓ Alphabetical date (day, month, year)
✓ Informal/casual language
✓ Write in the first person “I” and “Me”.
✓ Contents of the diary entry:
o Topic sentence.
o Detail that supports the topic.
o Emotions
o Future hopes and expectations
✓ Signature

Points to remember:

➢ Creativity, imagination and expression in diary writing are tested.

➢ You should write as if you have really been a part of the situation.
➢ It highlights events, so do not go into every detail from breakfast to
dinner.
➢ One does not write about things experienced daily. Only matters of
some significance are recorded.
➢ It is a secret record of one’s life, so one can be very honest about one’s
feelings and emotions.

THE ACTIVITY:

The president announced today (a Sunday evening) that a schools will open on the 18th of
May 2020. Write TWO diary entries. The first entry must indicate how you felt the day
before the school opened and the second entry must express how you felt after your first
day back at school. Your word count is 160-180 words. (The word count is for both entries)
 An Example: (106 Words)

Write the topic in

Write the Write the date
the first sentence
Write in
Salutation
first
person
Write how Dear Diary 13 May 2020
it made you
feel Today I started my new job at our local dentist. I was Write a
excited but very nervous at the same time. You know supporting
sentence
how everyone dreads going to them? I finally know why!
Highlight
A client came in to get a few rotten teeth removed, boy
the most
was it memorable. His heart-wrenching screams will
memorable
definitely haunt my dreams tonight. I am not sure if I
part of want to go back tomorrow, the dentist was friendly, but
your day
I am not sure I can handle the daily horror-movie sound You can draw
effects. an emoji just
for fun
Anyway, I don’t think returning to my job tomorrow is a
choice. The sad reality is that my mother “IS” the
dentist!
Future
Your traumatised friend hopes/expectations

Jimmy
Add the signature
(Your name or
nickname)

Parts written in bold is not part of the word count!

Criteria Exceptional Skilful Moderate Elementary Inadequate

CONTENT, PLANNING 12-9 (100-75%) 8-7 (67-58%) 6-5(50-42%) 4-3 (34-25%) 2-0 (17-0%)
& FORMAT

- Outstanding - Very good - Adequate - Basic response, - Response reveals

response beyond response response, demonstrating no knowledge of
Response and ideas normal expectations demonstrating demonstrating some knowledge features of the type
good knowledge of knowledge of of features of the of text
- Intelligent and features of the type features of the type of text
mature ideas of text. type of text - Meaning obscure
Organization of ideas
- Some focus but with major
- Extensive knowledge - Maintains focus – - Not completely writing digresses digressions
of features of the type no digressions. focused –some
of text digressions. - Not always - Not coherent in
Features/ conventions
- Coherent in coherent in content and ideas
and context - Writing maintains content and ideas, - Reasonably content and ideas
focus very well coherent in - Very few details
elaborated and content and - Few details support the topic.
- Coherence in support the topic.
details support ideas.
content and ideas - Necessary rules of
topic.
- Necessary rules format not applied
12 MARKS - Highly elaborated
- Some details
of format vaguely
- Appropriate support the topic
and all details support applied
format with minor
the topic - Generally
inaccuracies.
appropriate - Some critical
- Appropriate and oversights.
format but with
accurate format
some
inaccuracies.

LANGUAGE, STYLE & 8-7 (100-88%) 6-5 (75-63%) 4 (50%) 3 (38%) 2-0 (0-25%)
EDITING

Tone, register, style, - Tone, register, style, - Tone, register, - Tone, register, - Tone, register, - Tone, register,
vocabulary vocabulary highly style and style and style and style and
appropriate to appropriate to vocabulary very vocabulary vocabulary less vocabulary not
purpose and context. purpose, audience appropriate to appropriate to appropriate to appropriate to
and context purpose, audience purpose, purpose, audience purpose, audience
Language use and and context audience and and context and context.
conventions -Grammatically context.
accurate and well- -Generally -Inaccurate - Vocabulary not
Word choice constructed grammatically - Some grammar. -Limited suitable for
accurate and well- grammatical vocabulary purpose
Punctuation and -Outstanding constructed errors
spelling vocabulary. -Meaning -Meaning seriously
- Very good - Adequate obscured impaired
8 MARKS Virtually error-free. vocabulary vocabulary
- Numerous errors - Error-ridden and
- Mostly free of - Errors do not confused
errors impede meaning