Operating Definitions and Guidelines for Writing - Methods of Development
Definition

1. What is definition?
The method of development in which the writer clarifies the meaning of a term to support a point.

2. Why do writers use definition?

a. To clarify the meaning of words or technical terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader

b. To define terms that may be new and not in the dictionary yet (multiple advocacy, yuppie)

c. To fit changing standards or values

d. To draw the line between relative or overlapping terms

e. To explain the essential nature of a thing or idea; it answers the question, "What is the essence of ..." (good parenting, love, a healthy family)

3. How can readers and writers recognize definition when they see it?
Be on the lookout for

a. The term
b. The purpose
c. The strategies
d. Indicator words such as these:
    • Means
    • Is
    • Signifies
    • Denotes
  • Can be taken to mean
  • Can be interpreted as
  • Is defined as

4. How does one go about writing an extended definition? For any writing task, always look at the

a. _________ (think about what should go in the blank and click here to confirm the answer)

1.) Disagreement over the particulars of abstract terms
2.) Original, subjective approach to defining concrete term or process

b. _________ (think about what should go in the blank and click here to confirm the answer)

Think about why it’s important to clarify the definition, to attempt to explain the essential nature of a thing or idea because _________________ . (think about what should go in the blanks and click here to confirm the answer)

c. __________ (think about what should go in the blank and click here to confirm the answer)

1.) What do the readers know?
2.) What can the writer tell them that they don't already know?
3.) What strategies can help explain what the writer means?

d. Strategies of Definition

    • Use strategies beginning from the fourth one down to start. Include the first three only if they contribute an idea of significance to the development of the essay. They are reflex strategies inexperienced writers go to first.
    • Be careful to use terms that are more familiar than the term being defined.
    • Most people write about number one, the surface meaning, and make it the substance of the essay, telling the reader what s/he already knows. A good extended definition includes the surface meaning as part of the definition by class, stating that it is not only that. For example, some people think they are adequate parents if the pay the rent, buy the food and provide the clothes. A thesis which goes beyond the obvious starts like this: Good parenting is not just providing shelter, food, and clothing, but also …
    • Although using time or space order are possible with different topics, most often, the examples lend themselves to order of importance.
    • The strategies after #3 make for really informative definition writing. Most of them are also methods of development.

1.) Give the surface meaning -- what everybody assumes it to mean

2.) Offer a dictionary definition -- use only if it comes from a specialized dictionary and only if it raises a key issue or sums up important points

3.) Trace the etymology -- Look at the source of the word or concept, e.g., leader: the word lead comes from the Anglo Saxon "laedan" or "lithan" meaning "to travel or go," and so a leader can be described as one who determines a way of traveling or going

4.) Use a synonym – Discrimination means discernment.

5.) Function (process): explain what a person does or how an object or procedure works

6.) Classification -- put the object in its class then tell the features that distinguish it from other objects in the same class

7.) Division – sort it into the major categories that make it up

7.) Illustration – identify and list distinctive features or attitudes

8.) Comparison – relate it to something in its class which is similar
    • Contrast: tell what a word is not--serious argument is not name-calling or mere rationalizing; rhetoric is not propaganda; stress is more than distress
    • Analogy – relate it to something that comes from another class, yet still bears instructive similarities, perhaps in a simile or metaphor

9.) Cause and effect – explain what causes it or what effects it brings about. Effect/cause example: Stress is the body's nonspecific response to any demand made upon it.

10.) Narration – tell a story which illustrates what the word means

11.) Description – tell the facts and senses which create a word picture of the term

5. How does the thesis for an extended definition go?

Thesis pattern: _____ (term) is not ____ (surface meaning), but rather, it is ____ (class and distinguishing characteristics).

Example: Love is not just an emotion or feeling that too soon changes, but rather, the act of choosing to do what is in the best interest of the loved one over the long haul despite the cost to oneself and without expecting anything in return.

6. How can one practice recognizing an extended definition?

In outside reading (not dictionaries or English or reading textbooks), look for paragraphs whose focus is what a word means. Look for the words and transitions which indicate definition. Look also for examples in film.

An Example and Outline for Definition Writing

If an instructor assigns an extended definition, ask also these questions: what important word is often misused or misunderstood? Explain not only what most people think it means, but also what it really means. Be sure to:

[ ] Use at least three different strategies from #4 on down

[ ] Include your own, original definition by class stated in the thesis pattern given above.

[ ] Uses an outline like the one below

I. Introduction that uses a college level strategy, states how the subject came up, formulates the thesis in the pattern given in #5 above, and indicates the audience.

II. The Body

A. Redefinition using strategy 1

B. Redefinition using strategy 2

C. Redefinition using strategy 3 ...
III. Conclusion which states or restates writer's own class definition