IB English B Blogs, Diaries & Personal Letters Notes

Writing To Share, Reflect, and Connect

1. These three text types all test whether you can write with authenticity.
2. Examiners want to see you understand who you are writing to, why you are writing, and whether you can make the text look and sound like the real thing.

Blogs

1. Purpose, Audience & Register
   1. Purpose: Share experiences, reflect, or persuade lightly.
   2. Audience: classmates, school community, or a wider online audience.
   3. Register: informal to semi-formal, depending on context.
2. Layout & Conventions
   1. Title and short opening hook.
   2. Short paragraphs (2–4 lines) with subheadings.
   3. Ending often encourages the reader to reflect or act.

Key Features

1. Tone: Conversational, friendly, often enthusiastic.
2. Vocabulary: Everyday verbs, precise nouns, light rhetorical questions, verbs of action such as organise, test, build, reduce.

How to Write a Blog

1. Title that signals topic and angle.
2. Hook: one or two sentences that set context or provoke a question.
3. Body in two or three sections with subheadings; each section gives a point plus a concrete scene.
4. Mini takeaways in single lines.
5. Close with a nudge: invite a comment, a next step, or a simple challenge.

Diaries

1. Purpose, Audience & Register
   1. Purpose: Record events, express feelings, reflect on meaning.
   2. Audience: Yourself.
   3. Register: Informal, intimate, honest.
2. Layout & Conventions
   1. Date at the start.
   2. Written in first person.
   3. End with a reflection or next step.

Key Features

1. Tone: Honest, candid, personal.
2. Vocabulary: First-person pronouns, feeling verbs, sensory detail, subjective opinions.

How to Write a Diary

1. Begin with the date.
2. Describe one event briefly.
3. Add feelings and reactions.
4. Reflect on why it mattered.
5. End with a thought for tomorrow or a resolution.

Personal Letters

1. Purpose, Audience & Register
   1. Purpose: Share news, invite, ask for advice, or persuade gently.
   2. Audience: A specific person (friend, family, teacher).
   3. Register: Warm, respectful, personal.
2. Layout & Conventions
   1. Date at the top.
   2. Salutation with the recipient’s name (“Dear Ana,”).
   3. Clear paragraphs for each point.
   4. Sign-off that fits the relationship.

Key Features

1. Tone: Personal, warm, specific.
2. Vocabulary: Names, shared details, questions to keep it interactive, polite sign-offs.

How to Write a Personal Letter

1. Write the date.
2. Use a named salutation.
3. State the reason for writing early.
4. Add personal anecdotes or examples.
5. Suggest a next step or question.
6. End with a warm sign-off.