I will keep updating if any new findings.
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1. Introduce the term right away.
2. Give the formal, dictionary definition
3. Give the background of the term
• Historical context or historical use
• Background of usage
• Term’s origin
4. Brief examples of how the term is used in everyday life – to show the connotation of the term in practical use.
5. A full narrative anecdote with details about a specific event that happened involving the term – vividly illustrates the term in action. You newly define the term from your personal experience.
6. Explain sub-categories or aspects of the term
• Classifications
• Divisions
7. Define via synonyms to compare what is similar or like the term
8. Define via negation – antonyms, what the term is NOT, contrast to other ideas or terms, give the opposite for contrast.
9. Enumeration – list characteristics
10. Explain with a metaphor or analogy to make the concept more familiar to your reader. (Untouchables are treated early AIDS patients in the US)
11. Explain by pointing out Famous instances in popular culture to give the reader a familiar connection. (For example, a famous extrovert is Clinton; a famous introvert is Nixon.)
12. Use a personal hook early in the essay – explain why the writer personal cares so much about the term. We care more about an essay when the author cares about it. (For example: I am an introvert who has been misunderstood.)
13. Use Rhetorical Questions to get your reader involved in thinking about the implications of the term in his/her own life – create a personal hook within your reader to make him/her care. (Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations. . . ?)
14. Offer interesting facts and/or statistics about your term
Bonus techniques for use in any essay:
1. Come full circle. If you start with an idea or story, return to it at the end and re-evaluate it or revisit it with humor. (For example, Rauch started with questions about having an introvert in your life how needs "care," and he ends by asking how you can "support" the introvert in your life.)
2. Use tone and diction in a surprising way. (For example, when talking about introverts, Rauch uses the language and words of the gay movement ("It’s not a choice . . . it’s an orientation.), self-help pamphlets, care and feeding of a pet or plant. It is humorous to apply the diction from one area of life and apply it humorously to another area of life that we don’t normally associate with the term.
3. Offer an IF-SHIFT. Ponder "what if" . . . (What "if we introverts ran the world, it would no doubt be calmer, saner.)
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5. Definition
NOTE:
The following is general information about the rhetorical mode. It is not meant to
take the place of any specific instructions given by your instructor for this
assignment. If your instructor wants you to write your paper in a different manner,
then by all means do it the way your instructor requires you to do it.
Details of Definition
A definition essay takes a word, term, or phrase that is well-known to the author and defines it
(explains it, expounds upon it, exemplifies it) for the reader.
Here are some specifics:
1. The introductory paragraph should contain a sentence like this one, in which the term is
formally presented to the reader and defined:
A is a that .
(word) (category) (distinguishing details)
2. Use your own ideas and thoughts and examples to define your term. Don’t use a formal
dictionary definition.
3. Your definition must use the following format:
a. Select a term.
(It could be a technical term, something used on your job, something you learned in
school, or even a made-up word or phrase known only to you.)
b. Place the term into a general category.
(Ask yourself, “How would I classify my term? What actually is the term? Into what
kind of category would I put it according to its nature?”)
E.g., A horse is an animal . . . . .
A college is an institution of higher learning . . . . .
A family is a unit . . . . .
c. Give details about the term (i.e., describe it) to distinguish it from other members of that
same category.
For example, a chair is a piece of furniture, but so is a lamp. So, try to figure out how a
chair is different from a lamp or a sofa or other pieces of furniture.
d. So, as a result of following these steps, your definition sentence should sound like this:
A chair is a piece of furniture that has four legs, a back, maybe arms, and is made to
(term) (general category)
accommodate one person for the purpose of sitting.
or
. . . . A nerd is a guy who wears last year’s fashions, dark-rimmed glasses, is poor at
sports, and usually has a genius I.Q.
e. After you have given your formal definition sentence in the introduction, the rest of your
paper goes on to tell why you define the term as you do. In other words, you could do
one of the following:
•
give further examples of your term
•
tell a personal incident about how you came to think of your term as you do
•
give more detailed information about the term in light of your personal definition of it
•
compare the term and your use of it to something else to show how your concept of
the term is different, better, or more accurate
f. Here are some possible suggestions for terms to define, some serious and some lighthearted.
•
freedom
•
a “real” man
•
a “real” woman
•
a Democrat
•
a Republican
•
a Christian
•
an American
•
responsibility
•
a nerd
•
a fox
•
a stud
•
a jock
•
a wuss
•
gnarly
•
a rip-off
•
a dude
•
chilling out
•
or any other term that you can explain to your reader
07-30-08-1d
NOTE:
The following is general information about the rhetorical mode. It is not meant to take
the place of any specific instructions given by your instructor for this assignment. If
your instructor wants you to write your paper in a different manner, then by all means
do it the way your instructor requires you to do it.
Details for Writing a Definition Essay
Here are the details of the procedure for writing a definition essay:
1. Point of Paper.
To explain to your reader how and why you are defining a certain word,
term, or phrase.
2. Method.
To take a word or phrase from your own experience and explain what YOU mean
by the phrase.
Do not include a formal dictionary definition. What matters is how YOU define the term, not
how the dictionary defines it.
3. Procedure.
Define your term in two steps:
a. Place the term within a general category
b. Distinguish your term from other terms within the same category
c. The above (a and b) should be expressed in one succinct definition sentence similar to the
following:
A [term] is a [category] that …….. (proceed to give details and specifics about the term
you’re defining.)
term category
A chair is a piece of furniture that is used for one person to sit in, usually has four legs,
should have a back support, and could have arms.
The above sentence should appear as the final sentence of the introductory paragraph.
d. The rest of the paper will simply give more information about the term and why you’re
defining it as you are: examples, explanations, details, personal narratives, comparisons,
and so on.
In short, “teach” the reader about your term.
4.
In general, select a term that is specific and something with which you have direct personal
experience. Consider a term from one of your hobbies or from your job or from a sport that
you play. Avoid vague and philosophical terms like
love and freedom. If you choose a
technical term that you learned about in a school course, do not use any kind of textbook for
help or support. Let it all come from your own personal understanding and interpretation of
that term.
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