Journal prompts for English learners.
Sixty prompts for writing your journal in English. Each one is tagged with a level and the grammar or vocabulary it naturally practises.
Choose prompts at your level, or one step above it. Each prompt shows a CEFR level (A2 to C1) and a focus — the grammar or vocabulary the answer will naturally need. Write, then check that one point before you finish.
Your day 10 prompts
Routines and today: the topic you always have material for.
- What time do you usually get up, and what do you do first?
- Describe your bedroom. What is in it?
- What are you wearing today, and why did you choose it?
- Write about something that happened while you were on your way somewhere.
- Describe how you made your last meal, step by step.
- What have you done today that you did not do yesterday?
- Describe a daily habit you used to have, and why you stopped.
- Report a conversation you had today: “She told me that…”
- Rewrite today’s entry in the style of a short newspaper report.
- Describe today in exactly 50 words. Then cut it to 25.
People 10 prompts
Describing people is where adjectives and relative clauses earn their keep.
- Write about someone in your family: their name, age, job and what they like.
- Describe your best friend in five sentences.
- What can your best friend do that you can’t?
- Describe someone you admire and say why. Use “who” at least twice.
- Compare yourself with a brother, sister or close friend.
- How long have you known your oldest friend? How did you meet?
- Describe someone who has influenced you without using “nice” or “good”.
- Write about something you wish you could tell someone.
- Describe a person you don’t fully understand. Use “seems”, “appears” and “perhaps”.
- Write about a stranger you saw today, and imagine the rest of their day.
Places 10 prompts
Prepositions, the passive and description all live here.
- What can you see from your window? Use in, on, next to and behind.
- Where did you go last weekend? What did you do there?
- Write about a shop or café you often visit.
- Describe a trip you remember well. What happened?
- Describe a celebration in your country. When is it held, and what is eaten?
- What advice would you give a visitor to your town?
- Describe a place using all five senses.
- How has your town changed since you were a child?
- Describe a place you love without naming it. Let the details reveal it.
- Write about a journey, using “Never had I…” or “Rarely do I…” once.
Memories 10 prompts
The past tenses, practised on stories only you can tell.
- What was your favourite toy or game as a child?
- Write about your first day at a new school or job.
- Write about a mistake you made and what you learned from it.
- Tell the story of a funny moment in five sentences.
- What did you use to believe when you were little?
- Describe a day when things had gone wrong before you even left home.
- Write about something you regret not doing.
- Choose one moment from your past. If you had chosen differently, what would have happened?
- Write about a moment that seemed small at the time but mattered later.
- If you hadn’t started learning English, how would your life be different now?
Opinions 10 prompts
Saying what you think, then defending it.
- What do you like doing in your free time? What do you hate doing?
- What is your favourite season, and why?
- Write about a film or series you watched recently. Would you recommend it?
- What would you do with a free week and no plans?
- What is the best advice anyone has given you?
- Argue for and against working from home.
- Write a short review of an app or an object you use every day.
- Choose a rule you think should change, and give two reasons.
- Write about an idea you changed your mind about, and what changed it.
- Make the strongest case you can for an opinion you disagree with.
Plans 10 prompts
The main future forms in English, on things you actually intend to do.
- What are you going to do this weekend?
- Where would you like to travel one day, and why?
- Write about next month: one plan, one arrangement and one prediction.
- Which job would you like to try for one day?
- If it rains this weekend, what will you do?
- What will you be doing this time next year?
- What will you have done by the end of this year?
- Write about one of your goals using nouns: “My aim is the improvement of…”
- Describe the role English plays in your life now, and the role you want it to play.
- Write a short, polite letter to your local council suggesting one improvement.
- Levels are a guide, not a fence. An A2 prompt answered in long sentences becomes B1 practice; a C1 prompt answered simply is still useful. The tag says what the prompt invites, not what you must write.
- Check the focus, not everything. When you finish, check only the point in the tag — every past simple, every relative clause. One focused check teaches more than a general look for mistakes.
- Not sure of your level? The placement test gives an estimate in a few minutes. It is a study aid, not a certificate.
Frequently asked
What do A2, B1, B2 and C1 mean? They are levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which has six levels from A1 to C2. A1 and A2 are “basic user” levels, B1 and B2 “independent user”, and C1 and C2 “proficient user”.
Should I write my journal in English if I am a beginner? Yes, if you keep it simple. Short sentences about your day in the present and past simple are real practice. Start with the A2 prompts and move up when they feel easy.
More prompts: morning · evening · gratitude · self-reflection · goals, or all six themes. New to journaling? Start with how to start a journal.