1.What is the article all about?

2.What are the words that caught your attention?

3.How were these words formed?

Definition Essay

Term Type of Definition Metrosexual (paragraph2)

Formal Definition: (term + class + differentiating characteristics

Metrosexual males are males who do not give a hoot about being identified as overly concerned with personal grooming and fashion.

Ukay Etymology or word origin from words “halukay” and “hukay”

Halukay Informal definition “to dig”

jologs Word history (how word has changed through time)

Will jologs have the same staying power as baduy? Or will it go the way bakya, quaint (attractively old-fashioned) as the wooden clogs of long ago.

Think about this!

Which statement is true to you?

A. New words capture the contemporary realities.

B. Realities produce new words.

What made the senators meet at a

crossroad?

Why should terms be defined?

Definitionare central to moral , social,

political, and legal issues

“unemployed”

“reverse engineering”

Definition Essay•define, explain, and exemplify

something

•make the terms that we use understandable for the reader

Ways to define any term

A. Formal Definition

B. Informal Definition

C. Extended Definition

A. Formal Definitionterm + class + difference

1. Choose the specific class where the term belongs.

2. Make sure that the differentiating characteristic separate the term from the other members of the same class. (Principle of Exclusivity)

Be careful with the scope an limitations of your definition. It must be large enough to include its members, but not wider than its scope.

A. Formal Definitionterm + class + difference

3. Avoid the trap of simply repeating the term in the definition. ex. Marketing is a process by which individuals market their goods.

Love is a feeling of loving someone. 4. Avoid more technical terms. Use simpler terms.

Formal Definition Sample A

• Statistics (term) is a branch of mathematics

(general class) that deals with the analysis and

interpretations of numerical data in terms of

samples and population (distinguishing

characteristics).

Formal Definition Sample B

• Comic books (term) are sequential and

narrative publications (class) consisting of

illustrations, captions, dialogue balloons, and

often focus on super-powered heroes

(differentiating characteristics).

For clear and effective formal definition:

1. State the word or concept being defined, cite its genus/ general class, then its distinguishing characteristics

2. Use simpler and familiar terms

3. Do not just repeat a word being defined in your definition. ex: Love is the feeling of loving someone.

4. Be careful with the scope and limitations of your definition.

B. Informal Definition• you may simply give the term’s synonyms or

its class

Informal Definition Sample A

• An algorithm is a collection of simple instructions for carrying out a task.

C. Extended Definition• includes strategies to clarify the meaning of a

term such as giving its etymology or word origin, contrasting it with its antonym, tracing its history, comparing it with a more familiar term, describing its uses and its feature, and giving its examples.

C. Extended Definition• Expresses the author’s opinion, attitude,

or judgement about the meaning of the term being defined. He/ explains his point of view supported with specific details

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Extended Defintion Sample A

• (Sentence definition) We can define an SUV as a vehicle which is usually driven on rough terrain. (Illustration)SUV is an acronym which stands for sports utility vehicle. (Description)The engines of the SUV vehicles supply power to all four wheels, so they are better for cruising sand dunes. (Classification) SUV vehicles vary in size; some of them can seat 5 passengers, while others can seat 7 passengers. (Description) SUV vehicles are quite common in Saudi Arabia due to the low cost of petrol and their fantastic performance in the desert.

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• (Sentence definition) Glass is a hard transparent material which is used to make windows, bottles and other objects. (Etymology) glass is an English word and was first used before the twelfth century. (Chronology)Glass has been used as a decorative object indoors since ancient times. Today, glass is widely used in the construction and telecommunication sectors. (Description) It is made by cooling molten ingredients such as silica sand with sufficient rapidity to prevent the formation of visible crystals.

Extended Defintion Sample B

Let’s have an exercise!

Study carefully the given definitions, and tell whether it is a formal, informal, or extended definition.

Item #1• The term corruption covers a broad range of human actions. To

understand its effect on an economy or a political system, it helps to unbundle the term by identifying specific types of activities or transactions that might fall within it. In considering its strategy the Bank sought a usable definition of corruption and then developed a taxonomy of the different forms corruption could take consistent with that definition. We settled on a straightforward definition—the abuse of public office for private gain. Public office is abused for private gain when an official accepts, solicits, or extorts a bribe. It is also abused when private agents actively offer bribes to circumvent public policies and processes for competitive advantage and profit. Public office can also be abused for personal benefit even if no bribery occurs, through patronage and nepotism, the theft of state assets, or the diversion of state revenues.

Item #2

• Water is a liquid made up of molecules of hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2 to 1.

Item #3

• The so-called greenhouse effect is an atmospheric process by which a portion of the sun's heat is trapped within the earth's atmosphere, making the earth's surface warmer than it would otherwise be. Life on earth is possible because there is liquid water, a blanket of life-supporting gases, and a climate neither too warm nor too cold. Human beings may now be altering this balance by adding unusual amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This could make the global climate warmer than at any other time in human history. And this change would be irreversible.

Item #4

• Astronomy is a branch of scientific study primarily concerned with celestial objects inside and outside of the earth's atmosphere.

Item #5Intuitively, a function is a machine (or an operation) that takes aninput and produces an output based on the input. For example, thinkof a vending machine that sells soft drinks. It takes money (in theform of coins or bills) as input, and produces canned soda as output.In algebra, the functions we are interested are functions that take realnumbers as input and gives real numbers as output. An example of asimple function would be something like:f :3 2-4 15 -17 2

Reminders in writing a Definition Essay

1. Start with a formal class definition

2. Give a little etymology of the term (cite its origin, root, and so forth)

3. Include details that tell what the term is not

4. Appeal more to your audience by extending your definition citing your feelings, judgment, or point of view towards it

Reminders in writing a Definition Essay

• Describe it• Tell stories about it (anecdotes)• Compare or contrast it to other things• Give examples of it• Classify it and identify its unique properties• Describe causes and effects of the item being

defined• Explain its process of functioning

Pair Activity

The article “31 Joyful Days of

Heritage” exemplifies the three types

of definition. On a ½ crosswise, give

the formal, informal, and extended

definition of the word “culture”.

Portfolio Writing Task

• Imagine you have been chosen to represent the student sector in a committee which will choose the Word of the Year in the field of Information Technology. Think of a new word that reflects the changing realities the field Web and Mobile applications Design locally or globally. Write a 5 paragraph essay defining this word and why it should be the word of the year. Your readers will be other committee members who will evaluate the word of the year.

Portfolio Writing Task

• Required documents

1. Pre writing Activity2. Outline of the Essay 3. First Draft4. Second Draft 5. Final Draft

References:• Plata, Sterling M., et.al. (2006). Keys to Critical Reading and Writing I. English Proficiency and

Personal Leadership Workbook for College Success. (2nd ed.). Laguna: Trailblazer Publications.

• Luna, Josephine M., and Elineth Elizabeth L. Suarez. (2011). Skill Builders for English Proficiency 11. (1st ed.). Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

• http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/types%20of%20essays/DEFINITION%20ESSAY.pdf

• Ruetten, M. K. 1997, Developing Composition Skills, Heinle & Heinle Publishers, USA.• Dale, T. 2004, An introduction to academic discourse, KFUPM Printing Press, KSA.

• http://www.onlineacademicwriting.com/documents/english_101.html

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/622/01/

• http://www.essaystart.com/Kinds_of_Essays/definition_Essays.htm