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DEFINITION ESSAY By: Dr. Mary Custureri

DEFINITION ESSAY By: Dr. Mary Custureri. What do definitions do?. Definitions answer questions: What are we talking about? They give terms that are clear for specific audiences

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DEFINITION ESSAY By: Dr. Mary Custureri

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  1. DEFINITION ESSAYBy: Dr. Mary Custureri

  2. What do definitions do? • Definitions answer questions: What are we talking about? • They give terms that are clear for specific audiences • All audiences are not alike. Some need more specific, more easily understood definitions because they have not been trained. • Poor definitions can cause problems because of misinterpretation

  3. Levels of Detail in Definitions • Technical level (Doctor, scientist) • Ex: A tumor is an neoplasm • Tech. level (nurse, technician) • A tumor is a growth of cells that occurs independently of surrounding tissue and serves no useful function. • Lay person: • A tumor is a growth that has no useful function and that may be benign or become cancerous.

  4. DEFINITIONS FOR DIFFERENT AUDIENCE LEVELS

  5. What is a definition essay? • It is an extended explanation of an abstract idea, a complicated idea or a controversial word or phrase Example: love quality beauty

  6. What question does the definition essay answer? • What is it? • What does it encompass? • What does it include?

  7. Why should a writer know how to write a definition essay? • I: Often people debate about issues and misunderstand each other because of unique definitions. This lack of understanding leads to problems. • EXAMPLES: life death morality cheating marriage equality success failure beauty ugliness pornography art addiction minority(ethnic or otherwise monopoly (in business) defense power weakness

  8. Cont. Why write a definition? • People who are not experts in a field may misunderstand the author’s meaning. • Medical terms • Technical terms • Specific terms in a proposal for a project • Explanations of problems

  9. Purpose of a definition essay • Specify the meaning of a term or concept • Specify distinctive characteristics, and boundaries of that term so that the reader cannot make a mistake

  10. Formal definition has specific parts • Word: A watch • Class: is a mechanical device • Characteristics: that is used for telling time and is usually carried or worn

  11. Example 2 • Word: Semantics • Class: is an area of linguistics • Classification: that is concerned with the study of the meaning of words.

  12. Ways in which to help readers understand • The writer offers examples and sets up contrasts by showing what it is not. • The writer offers analogies or examples of what it is • The writer offers a graphic picture with explanations • The writer redefines the word by explaining it in easy-to-understand language • The writer can write an informal essay or even satire to entertain and inform

  13. Activity with definition • Define one of the following terms formally by putting it in a class and then differentiating it from other words in the class. potato chips saxophone sociology monopoly (the game) love physical therapy Chickadee quality other?

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