Structure of a definition essay
Definition essays are some of the pieces of writing that a student will be required to complete as part of their academic milestones. This is a common essay in quite a number of courses and one that resonates with career chores. It is important to note that most of the careers will require the student to have some element of descriptive capabilities relative to letting the people they interact with understand certain aspects of their work. The basic structure of a definition essay can be divided into four main parts.
These parts include:
Introduction
- Thesis statement
Body paragraphs
- History and origin of the word
- The dictionary meaning of the word
- Personal meaning of the word/associated with personal experiences
Conclusion
It is this basic outline of the definition essay which forms the structure as well and acts as a guide to a good definition essay. Using the structure, the writer is able to concentrate on the parts of the essay that crucial to delivering a winning piece. This is to mean the writer has much of their efforts focused on the making their argument. In this case, the writer will be focused on helping the audience understand their personal meaning.
When writing a draft for the definition essay the writer is tasked with capturing all the main points of the essay and what it is they want to pass across to the audience. The elemental importance of the draft is the writer is able to make all the possible corrections before they get to writing the essay. This is relative to corrections they can make during the development of the draft. The draft acts as a backbone of the essay they are to write about. Using the draft the writer then fills up much of the material to make the winning essay. As such, the writer is supposed to use the draft as their skeleton to their essay. Laying out the draft calls for the writer to bring to the table all the ideas they have for the essay, as it is from the draft, they are able to tell which parts they will be able to keep and what parts they leave out. This is relative to the latter parts failing to the goal of the definition essay the writer has in mind. From the draft, the writer is able to brainstorm on all the ideas which will work in their essay, especially so with reference to achieving their goals. As such, the writer is supposed to only include the main points for the essay they plan to write. It is also supposed to be driven by the theme they plan to lean on when writing the paper. When a reader looks at the draft, they are supposed to see the entire picture, get the ideas the writer is trying to build on and the prime argument for the definition essay. The draft is also supposed to create interest in the reader. Most of the words that the writer may write about are those the readers have come across. As such, the definition essay much provide an edge the readers will be intrigued to follow in the essay.
The first part of the essay is introduction, which makes it a prime section of the piece. Ideally, after the readers have interacted with the title of the paper, the other part they will interact with is the introduction. The most important approach is the dictionary meaning, the writer uses to set the premises of the paper. This means the writer will give the baseline upon which, the readers will compare the thesis meaning given in the paper. Ideally, the thesis statement will give a rather different meaning of the word to drive the argument of the definition essay and the theme of the writer. The thesis statement is supposed to set the ground upon which the essay is going to be based on. It gives the basis for the argument. It is important that the thesis statement clearly states the stand of the writer with reference to what they feel is the meaning of the word considering the experiences they have had in their past. The difference in experience is what makes all the differences when debating the meaning of the word. This is relative to the fact that, people attach meaning to their experiences and this forges their reaction to the stimuli in their environment.
The body paragraphs are divided into three parts, where the first part is the introduction to the origin and history of the word. Using academic resources, the writer should give the origin of the word and how it has developed over the years. Most of the words will have some element of history explaining how they have developed over the years. The second paragraph them describes the dictionary meaning of the word. This is relative to the formal meaning of the word, which most of the readers may have come across or may have access to when they search for the word online of from other academic quarters. The last paragraph is then the personal meaning of the word. This is a meaning the writer would want to further indicate to the readers relative to their experiences. For example, the writer may want to explain the word terrorism, from a perspective of their culture, religion or even an experience they have had at the hands of such persons. As such, this is a a meaning that is also shaped by the way the writer interacts with their environment from the experiences they have gone through the in the past. This spurs the argument of the paper, as most of the readers will also have their opinion. It is the duty of the writer to convince the readers of the importance of their interpretation of the word.
The last part of a definition essay is the conclusion. In the conclusion, the writer summarizes all the main points raised in the definition essay. The ideas have then to be tied together to the main argument brought out in the definition essay. Towards the end, the writer should also mention the impact the essay has had on them. This is also part of ensuring the readers are able to connect with the meaning of the word and the experience of the writer, as they reflect on what they consider to be the meaning and their experiences.
Sample outline of a definition essay on terrorism
Introduction
- Thesis statement
Body paragraphs
- Origin and history of terrorism
- Dictionary meaning of terrorism
- Personal meaning of the word terrorism
Conclusion
Writing skills are crucial not just for a student but also for persons in their careers. It is important, when writing a definition essay, to consider the audience who are likely to read the piece. Depending on the level, the development of the paper should match the standards of the audience. It is also crucial all the ideas in the definition essay are connected to make a coherent piece other than disjointed pieces of information. It is also important the writer maintains standard lengths of s a paragraph to ensure they do not have too long sentences and paragraphs.