Writing a Definition Essay
As part of the writing skills, students are required to express their understanding of various aspects in their surroundings, which they interact with. As such, one of the ways students are assessed on their skills to express themselves and explain ideas they have in their own words is through writing essays. Essays give the students a platform in which they only train on language, but also on bringing to an audience their ideas with a coherent approach. A definition essay is one such writing piece where the students are required to explain to the readers the meaning of a term or phrase.
There are two main elements associated with writing a definition essay. The first one involves the writer giving the readers the meaning of the word or term as per the official definition as would be found in a dictionary. This is largely with reference to the grammatical implications of the word in the essay. The second element is with reference to what the writer has experienced in light of the word. For example, there a formal understanding of the word love and there is what a writer may feel is the personal meaning of the word relative to the experiences they have had in their lives. It the ability to express this last part that mostly maintains the interest of the readers. The first part is basically a reference point to work with in the essay.
In light of the writer maintaining the interest of the readers, there is need to make sure they offer a good thesis statement. in the introduction, the writer introduces the word they will be defining, give the basic meaning of the word and then offer the readers the thesis statement. the basic premise of the thesis statement is to keep the readers interested and indicate to the them what the writer is discussing in the paper. Throughout the paper the essay will be guided by the thesis statement as the writer will be trying to prove the same.
The trick to writing a winning definition essay lies in the choice of the topic. The word to defined should have element of abstract or complex meaning. In an example the word home and house loosely refer to the same thing, however, home, offers a rather abstract meaning. It is also crucial that the word is disputable; it should mean different things to different people. Choosing a word that one is familiar with is crucial to the ability to express the ideas to the readers in an interesting, unique and most importantly logical manner. A home in this case will have a deeper meaning one that even the readers will connect with a personal level.
Good Topics for A Definition Essay
- Love
- Patience
- Hate
- Heroism
- Terrorism
- Faith
- Religion
- Kindness
- Pain
- Humor
- Poverty
- Happiness
- Sorrow
- Friendship
- Privacy
- Growth
- Peace
- Ugliness
- Beauty
- Honor
- Optimism
- Family
- Husband
- Lover
- Leader
- Respect
- Charisma
- Ambitions
- Racism
- Art
- Music
- Marriage
- Failure
- Success
- Independence
- Individuality
- Strength
- Power
- Weakness
- Truth
- Lies
- Ethics
- Communication
- Conservation
- Democracy
- Vegetarianism
- Corruption
- Comedy
- Courage
- Bureaucracy
- Home