Definition Essay Writing Parts and Steps

What Does a Definition Essay Stand for in Academic Sense?

The necessity to write a definition essay appears each time a student meets a new word or group of words. The teachers want to check how well students work with their vocabularies as well as their:

• Reading skills
• Writing skills
• Research capabilities
• Knowledge of five-paragraph essay structure and paper formats

There is always a dictionary by your side. But how would you explain the word to others? Which examples would you include while writing your essay to help your reader understand the meaning of the certain term?

Because such type of essay has to be both formal and personal, it sounds rather tricky. But your explanation has to be detailed and clear! Use different words and examples to describe your target word/phrase: involve adjectives and adverbs. Recall all meanings of the certain word in your definition paper. Complex terms usually have deep historical roots, so use them to develop an interesting background for your meaning essay. Make a story out of it. For example, it is almost impossible to explain the depth and all meanings of the word “hate,” so you can play with it in your five-paragraph definition assignment in every sentence. Another great example is “love.” A lot of information may be gathered on a single word.

Defining a word or saying is an exciting process. Often, one sentence or even a whole paragraph is not enough to explain the meaning of the word or phrase. Besides, usually, you’ll be asked to write a definition paper on more than one word. It will take a plenty of time. Be ready to write a common five-paragraph essay when it comes to definition assignment.

Choose Terms and Words for Your Definition Essay

If your teacher does not give specific words or terms to define, start searching for the good ideas on your own. It is important to choose words with many meanings, different characteristics, complex concept, and interesting history to make your reader want to read the entire essay. It’s a good point to look for the best words in the dictionary. You may use the traditional library or online help. There are also many different examples of the definition essays with the proper structures on the internet.

Some of the good topic ideas are below. Hopefully, these suggestions will help.

• What makes human a Hero?
• Explain the concept of love/hatred.
• What success means.
• Defining the word “beauty.”
• Is happiness/sadness an abstract phenomenon?
• What does Respect mean?
• What is Loyalty as a personal trait?
• Ways to describe courage.
• An effective definition of friendship or hostility.

As we can see, good examples of definition essay topics include rather contradictive words. Try to choose one of these words to come up with some good points in your definition paper. It is important to choose the topic with which you are familiar with so that your paper sounds persuasive.

Definition Essay Structure and Outline

An outline is a plan for your writing process. Concerning the number of words in your definition assignment, it usually depends on the complexity of the term described. How long might it take to develop an understanding of the chosen term? Unlike other types of essays, definition papers can vary in their volume. Other types of essaysinclude:

• Narrative
• Expository
• Analytical
• Argumentative
• Persuasive
• Compare and contrast
• Character analysis
• Critical thinking

A definition essay contains almost the same information as character analysis paper as it’s all about describing and explaining things.

No matter which word from the dictionary you choose, make your definition project according to the general structure and accepted an order:

1. Intro
2. Body paragraphs
3. Conclusion
4. Bibliography

No other order is available. You don’t need a huge list of references to be included in the definition essay. Write down only such sources as dictionary or encyclopedia. The example may be taken from your own experience or book/article you’ve read.

You can find more tips on writing an assignment on any type by reading more information online.

Steps in the Process of Writing a Good Definition Essay

It all starts with choosing a good term or several terms to observe, describe, and explain. If you look for the definition paper writing tips, you may notice that most of the authors advise avoiding nouns like “bed” or “pen.” There is nothing else to say about them except for the one-sentence definitions provided in the English dictionary. To be more specific, make a story out of a multi-dimensional term.

If you don’t have any life experience or good examples to include in your definition essay, don’t choose those words. Try to pick similar and yet interesting solutions!

You should know the entire meanings of the term. Thus, it is crucial to conduct research. Oxford Dictionary may help to make your decision.

1. Introduction. First of all, write an introduction with a strong definition thesis in the last sentence. State the dictionary version first. You will write your examples later in the text.
2. Basic body paragraphs. Start writing about the history and origin of the term. Add the explanation taken from the official dictionary. Finally, write your personal definition based on your own experience in the last body section.
3. The conclusion should be simple and to the point. It is important to recall the main definition of your term for your readers. Make a summary of all basic points (arguments). Except for the definition, look up for the impact this word has on you. Write about your personal experience. Leave your reader with the sense of purpose!