Learning
Exams & Tests
The Prompt
“Write a diary entry about your first day at a new school. Include your thoughts and feelings as well as what happened.”
Planning Hints
4 tips to help you plan your response
1
A diary is personal — write as if no one else will read it.
2
Include the mix of emotions: nervousness, excitement, loneliness, relief.
3
Describe specific moments: arriving, lunchtime, meeting someone, going home.
4
End with a reflection: how do you feel now the day is over?
Starter Sentences
Suggested opening lines to get you started
“Dear Diary, I survived. Just about.”
“Monday 9th September. The day I had been dreading for weeks finally arrived.”
“Well. That was... something.”
Key Techniques to Demonstrate
Techniques the examiner will be looking for in your response
Annotated Model Answer
A high-quality example response with techniques highlighted
Monday 9th September
Dear Diary,
I survived. Just about.
This morning I stood outside the school gates and felt my stomach turn itself inside out. Everyone was in groups — laughing, talking, shoving each other in the way friends do — and I was the only person standing alone, clutching a brand-new bag that still had the label hanging from the zip. I pulled it off and shoved it in my pocket. First rule of being new: don't look new.
Registration was fine. Mrs. Begum seems kind. She didn't make me stand at the front and "tell everyone a bit about yourself," which I had been dreading more than anything. She just said, "This is Kai, he's joining us from Parkside," and pointed to a desk near the window. I sat down so fast I nearly missed the chair.
Lessons were mostly a blur. I copied from the board. I didn't put my hand up. I tried very hard to look like I knew where I was going between classrooms (I did not know where I was going). At one point I walked into a cupboard. A CUPBOARD. Thankfully, nobody saw. I think.
Lunchtime was the hardest part. I sat at the end of a long table and ate my sandwich in about forty-five seconds flat, just to have something to do. Then a boy with glasses and a Star Wars lunchbox sat down opposite me and said, "You look as lost as I did last term. I'm Ravi." We talked about Star Wars for twenty minutes. It felt like breathing again.
The walk home was different from the walk there. This morning, every step felt heavy. This afternoon, they felt lighter. Not happy, exactly, but... less scared. Like the worst part is over and whatever comes next can't possibly be as terrifying as walking through those gates for the first time.
Tomorrow I have PE. I don't know where the changing rooms are. I don't know which team I'll be on. I don't know anything, really. But Ravi said he'd meet me at the gates, and that, for now, is enough.
Kai
Hover or tap the highlighted phrases to see the technique and explanation
Techniques Used in This Answer
Show Dont Tell (x2)
Voice (x2)
Humour
Simile
Reflection
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