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 number