Definition Essay [Assignment/Rubric]
Kimberly Stelly
Overview and Description
This type of paper requires an individual to write a personal yet academic definition of one specific word, idea, or concept. Choose a concept, idea, or word that will enable you to write an essay that will not just fulfill the basic requirements but will have depth. Choosing the “right” concept, idea, or word will make all the difference.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this assignment, students will
- analyze a chosen concept through various strategies, such as its connotations, denotations, and more.
- create a well-organized essay that explains and defends a proposed definition for their chosen concept through reasoning strategies, evidence, and credible sources.
Assignment
Write a definition essay about a concept, idea, or word, using specific details, organization, rhetorical devices, and conventions. The purpose of this essay is to defend your perspective of your chosen concept, idea, or word.
What to consider before you start writing: analogy, connotation, denotation, enumeration, and negation. Don’t forget about your audience. Don’t assume that your reader knows everything, but don’t insult your reader’s intelligence. Choose a concept that is open to interpretation. Do your research! Find out the origins of your concept, but don’t turn this paper into a history paper. This essay is about your definition of your chosen concept, idea, or word.
Prewriting
The following should be taken into account when you are planning your definition essay.
- Analogy: Compare your concept, idea, or word with a similar concept, idea, or word.
- Connotation: Identify the implied meaning of your concept, idea, or word, as it is commonly known in a cultural or emotional sense.
- Denotation: While you will not be relying completely on the dictionary definition for your essay, familiarizing yourself with the official definition will allow you to compare your own understanding of the concept with the simplest, most academic explanation of it.
- Enumeration: A list of events, items, or parts of a story
- Negation: Determine what the concept, idea, or word is not. Perhaps it is often misused or misunderstood.
- Description: Provide any physical characteristics or traditional details used to describe your concept, idea, or word.
- Persuasion: A definition essay is somewhat subjective by nature since your definition requires you to analyze and define a concept, idea, or word from your own perspective. You are writing a persuasive essay. If the answer you come up with after analyzing a concept, idea, or word is the same answer anyone else would come up with, your essay will lack depth. Avoid being superficial. Go beyond generalities or make general statements.
- Illustration: Use examples, stories, and vivid images to illustrate the meaning of your concept, idea, or word. These methods will help clarify an abstract, intangible concept.
- Credibility: Look for facts and numbers, such as statistics, as well as the opinions of experts.
- Anecdotes: You can use only one personal anecdote. Limit your use of the first-person pronoun. Avoid writing in second person.
- Research: You must do research and have at least four different reliable sources.
Think About Your Audience
- Consider your reader. What do they already know about your issue? What does your reader need to know to be able to understand the concept as well as you do?
- Think of how your readers might disagree with you. Then, choose reasons that would help them understand your point of view. Remember, everything is an argument.
Definition Essay Structure
- Introduce the standard definition: You need to clearly state what your word is along with its traditional or dictionary definition in your introductory paragraph. By opening with the dictionary definition of your concept, you create context and a basic level of knowledge about the idea. This will allow you to introduce and elaborate on your own definition. This is especially significant when the traditional definition of your word varies from your own definition in notable ways.
- Define the concept in your own words in your thesis: Your actual thesis statement should define the concept in your own words. Keep the definition in your thesis brief and basic. You will elaborate more in the body of your paper. Avoid using passive voice and having too many simple sentences. Do not repeat what others have written or said about your word.
- Body paragraphs: Divide your definition into parts. Think about the best way to explain your definition to someone if you were just talking. Once you’ve established your definition in your thesis, think about at least three different ways to prove your definition is strong. Some people are persuaded by facts, numbers, and/or statistics. Maybe they love a graph or a chart. Others need to have their heartstrings pulled; they need to have an emotional connection. Think of yourself as a lawyer defending your “client” before a jury. One strategy is not going to persuade all of the members of the jury. You might not be able to change another person’s definition, but you want them to believe that your definition is plausible. Possible examples that will best illustrate your definition: a story (fictional or nonfictional), a painting, a photograph, a historical event, a person, or a group of people. Be specific. Paint a picture in your reader’s mind. Only include a personal experience if this experience strengthens the defense of your thesis.
- Conclude with a brief summary of the main points of your essay: Reword your thesis, topic sentences, and main points that you wish to “reinforce” in your reader’s mind. Avoid using the following words in your conclusion paragraph: “in conclusion, to conclude, to sum up, etc.” Avoid being redundant. You might consider including how the concept has affected you. If the concept you are defining (defending) plays a part in your own life and experiences, your final remarks could explain the role the concept has played in your own life. Relate your experience with the concept to the definition you created for it in your thesis.
Suggestions
Keep the use of first-person and second-person limited. Avoid using the following words: it, seems, very, a lot, things, stuff. Don’t begin a sentence with the following: that, there, which, or any conjunctions. Cite your sources, even if you paraphrase someone else’s words.
Requirements
- You must compose at least five typed pages that follow MLA formatting, including double-spacing, one-inch margins, 12-size font, Times New Roman, and a Works Cited page
- You must use at least four different, reliable sources in your essay, and these sources must match the sources on your Works Cited page.
- Each source must be cited with in-text citations at least once within your essay, and they must be included on your Works Cited page.
Requirements of Works Cited Page
- Last page of your essay
- Titled correctly
- Citations are in alphabetical order based on the last name of the author. If no author, then use the title of the article.
- Correct MLA format
- Make sure that the second and consecutive lines of each citation are indented
Downloadable Resources (Assignment, Rubric, Outline, Peer Editing)
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Click here to download a Word Doc version of the peer editing questions:
Definition Essay peer editing questions
Attribution:
Stelly, Kimberly. “Definition Essay [Assignment/Rubric].” Strategies, Skills and Models for Student Success in Writing and Reading Comprehension. College Station: Texas A&M University, 2024. This work is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).