What is a Definition Essay?
We all know what definitions are, they are the explanation of a word, its meaning and usage. But we tend to assume all definitions are firm, factual and agreed upon, when language is far from that simple.
Consider a conversation with a co-worker. You mention a “great” restaurant nearby with, “reasonable” prices and “excellent” service: while great, reasonable and excellent are familiar words that we understand, the truth is we all define them a bit differently. “Great” might refer to the service, or the decor, or the rating it got from a food critic; “reasonable” for an account executive at a major firm is different than reasonable for a college-student; “excellent” can mean that the server was chatty and friendly, or that the server was efficient and didn’t waste time on small talk.
If we think about it, language is abstract and we must always be ready to explain ourselves.
Every profession, subject-area and hobby has its own vocabulary. There are terms specific to respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, environmental science, architecture, information technology and nursing. Many terms might be fact-based, such as the medical definition of “hematoma,” or “equity” in the field of accounting. But there is also vocabulary that raises questions and draws debate.
Use the posted discussion board to help come up with a list of single words or brief phrases in your chosen field of study, and select the ones that cause experts to debate with one another.
If a business boasts of its “sustainability” how is it defining the term? What does that mean for the business? for the community? Can we trust it when used by the CEO? Or do we prefer to learn that it is a local environmentalist who applied it to this business.
In nursing, there is often slang used in a hospital setting, created by the staff so they can communicate to one another without patients and their families fully being disturbed, such as “dyscopia” referring to a family that is having difficulty coping with the patient’s condition or illness.
A definition essay does not simply state the generally accepted way a word or phrase is understood, but offers a more insightful and debatable approach to the term, using examples, descriptions and comparisons to support the writer’s definition. Definition is a form of argument that requires awareness of detail, creative thinking, anticipation of audience questions and logical organization of information.
Choose ONE of the following options:
- Teach the General Public: Is there a word or phrase in your major or future profession that the general public is not aware of or does not fully understand? Is it a word or phrase that even people in the field might argue about? Create an essay that argues for a particular way to define that word or phrase, and explain to the audience why it is important for them to have this particular understanding of it.
- Introduce a New Word/Phrase:Is there a word or phrase that is relatively new in your field of study? Why was there a need for this word to be created? How should it be used? Is it a word that will fade out in time, or not? Create an essay that identifies a relatively new word/phrase in your field, explain why it was necessary for this word/phrase to be created, how it should be used, and why it may or may not last over time.
- Debate With Peers: Is there a word or phrase that people within your field disagree about? Maybe they do not hold opposite opinions but have variations on the base definition. Maybe it is a term that causes confusion because it is somewhat abstract. Create an essay that offers an approach to a word/phrase that others in the field may define slightly differently. Write the essay as if it is for the general public, but also for those who know the word/phrase and might disagree with your approach.
Objectives:
- To compose a thesis that presents a debatable definition. The thesis should be a one sentence, debatable definition of the word or phrase.
- To include the thesis in an introductory paragraph that both entertains the reader and offers a framework for general argument of the essay.
- To display an insightful and thorough examination of how a term can be applied and understood.
- To offer examples, descriptions and comparisons as evidence to support the thesis.
- To have paragraphs that each focus on a specific main point of the essay.
- To address any potential opposition or alternate definitions with respectful refutation.
- To construct sentences that are clear and correct.
- To follow the rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- To follow the correct APA format.
- To avoid the use of any source material or definitions offered on-line or in print.
Selecting an Appropriate Definition Topic
- Select a word or phrase from a STEM field: Science, Technology, Engineering or Math.
(If you are an Education, Architecture or Sociology major you can choose from your major).
- Select a word or phrase that is DEBATABLE in that field. That means professionals have slightly different ways of using the term or understanding the term. Your essay will argue for the definition that seems most logical to you.
- Select a word or phrase that is not already well-known by the general public, and one that requires COLLEGE-LEVEL analysis. College-level analysis moves beyond the well-known and predictable.
Once you have achieved the three steps listed above, submit it on the Discussion Board provided.
Additional Information
Some students expressed confusion to me, but did not post on the Discussion Board for questions, so this is information intended to help anyone who might need more clarification on this assignment.
- Communication is Argument-based
We often think of argument as a heated debate, or an anger-based exchange between people, but it should be about valid opinions being shared, with each side attempting to reinforce their opinion with evidence, explanation and logic. If that is the case, then when we talk about the weather, expressing our displeasure in WNY temps, we are arguing that cold weather is unpleasant whereas someone else my find it refreshing or invigorating and in talking about the weather use positive terms. It is not an argument the way we normally think of it, but it is an argument at its core.
Definitions can be argument-based if various informed people in that field have a range of ways to understand the term.
Definitions can be argument-based if the general public tends to misunderstand the term and an argument is needed to clarify their impression.
- As a writer your role is to EDUCATE
Again, we often think of education as fact-based, which is certainly a part, but not the only content in any course. The higher the level of education one pursues, the more debatable and detailed the course content becomes.
Do not feel tempted to look up information, especially other definitions, of the term!! You are educating your reader based on your impression and experience with the term.
To educate the reader you must explain, describe, give examples and perhaps often comparisons or analogies to what the general public knows to help them better understand this material.
- The THESIS is your contract with the reader
A thesis should contain the framework for the entire essay within a single sentence. This is why (a) it must be worded to indicate the definition is not a fact, (b) include two or more debatable points that will be supported in the essay.
Word the thesis using terms such as “may”, “could”, “might,” and not “is,” “must,” “will.” If the word “is” is used, then qualify it with “is likely” or “is possibly” or “often is.”
- The audience has QUESTIONS
Anticipate that your audience will be curious and interested in the topic. Treat the reader as a person with whom you are having a conversation. In a conversation there is an exchange of ideas, questions asked, sometimes challenges raised. The best writers imagine their audience responding to them, and include information the audience would need.
Does the general reader have any familiarity with the term? Does the general reader hold any inaccurate or biased impressions of the term?
How can this topic be made of interest or use to a general reader who is not within this specialized field?
What types of evidence would be useful? Should there be explanations? Would a description be useful? Are there comparisons that might clarify a point?
If the reader doubts us, what would be their arguments? How can we weaken their argument?
- “Shitty First Drafts” are the beginning of Great Final Drafts
A writer named Anne Lamott is known for telling writers that they have to start with a “shitty first draft.” Too often students are so worried about “getting it right the first time” that the result is high stress, often writer’s block (an inability to come up with ideas) and poor writing because of this.
LET IT STINK! LET IT BE AWFUL! LET THAT FIRST DRAFT BE FULL OF WEAK IDEAS!
Why? Because it gives you something to work with.
Think of it as making a vase on a pottery wheel. When a potter is creating a vase it begins with a lump of clay on the pottery wheel; that lump looks like a blob and doesn’t resemble what it will eventually become. It has to be shaped gradually, a little pressure here, a little pressure there, removing some clay. . . That is what writing should be like.
If you take away the stern internal judge who tells you that an idea is weak before it even makes it to the page, then you will allow your mind to wander around and in that wandering it will come up with silly or weak concepts, but some good ideas will reveal themselves as well.
What is a Definition Essay?
APA
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE ON THIS ASSIGNMENT
The post What is a Definition Essay? appeared first on Apax Researchers.