Extended Definition Final Exam Preparation Dual Credit-Miller

An extended-definition paragraph makes up twenty-five percent of the final exam. As time allows, some prep. will occur in class; students may elect to complete prep. at home.

Getting Started: Read pages 324-326 (a brief introduction to definition) in the Mercury Reader. Also read Dave Barry’s “Mr. Language Person Takes Some of Your Questions” beginning on page 359 in the Mercury. The introduction to division and classification essays in the Mercury (pages 192-194) may also be helpful.

Each student must select his own (school-appropriate) topic. The paragraph must define a single word. Examples include honor, family, heroism, tragedy, power, education, symbol, traditional, Christmas, hatred, love, mediocrity, apathy, horror, but thousands of others exist.

Definition answers the question “What is it?” A definition contains three parts: term, class, and differentiating characteristic. A definition may be further clarified by elaborating with examples, illustrations, comparisons, contrasts, reasons, etcetera.

Example definitions: A slide rule is a tool of measurement. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme.

The students task in an extended definition requires something beyond a brief dictionary-type definition; it explores the meaning (extended!) of a term.

What to do in writing definitions:  Define a word in simpler and friendlier terms.  Keep the class small but adequate. i.e. Soldier is too small for the term lieutenant; person is also too large, but commissioned officer compromises.  State the differentiating characteristic precisely. A flute is a musical instrument played by blowing across along the body of the instrument.

What not to do in writing a definition:  Avoid defining with “is when” and “is where.” Is, a linking verb, must be followed by the same type of construction that precedes it.  Avoid the obvious  Do not define a word by repetition: A baked potato is a potato that has been baked.

Additional Hints: 1* Make the essay personal, amusing, vigorous, stimulating, memorable. 2* Details: What are the physical characteristics, traditional thoughts, and other distinguishing attributes that describe the subject of the paper? 3* Examples and Incidents: Narrate illustrations that can clarify a group, theory, or object. 4* Compare/Contrast: What is the subject like? What is the subject not like? 5* Results, Effects, and Uses: Discuss the consequences and uses of the subject. A sample extended-definition paragraph defining a bookwork appears below.

A Devourer of Literature

A reclusive creature of literature, a bookworm depends upon words for food and libraries for shelter. The bookworm stakes out a corner of the library much like an animal marks his territory. Woe to any visitor who accidentally tries to sit at the bookworm’s table. The bookworm’s table becomes his home-away-from-home. Here a bookworm lays out voluminous anthologies and reference books for sustenance. This connoisseur savors each word, re-reading, underlining, and swirling ideas and thoughts. Snarls of disgust and roars of rage greet anyone who threatens the bookworm’s mealtime. This bibliophile escapes the mundane activities of the world. For him, life begins and ends in the library where he conquers the unconquerable, solves the unsolvable, and unites the divisive. Books provide him the adventures that elude him in real life. Although a dying breed, the bookworm still exists, stepping silently into authors’ worlds and staying for often frequent visits.

Mrs. Carolyn McCown provided the base ideas for this paragraph. Ms. Elizabeth Miller altered and edited it to the present draft.