encompasses A), B), and C).
has come to be used to refer to …
is generally understood to mean …
has been used to refer to situations in which …
carries certain connotations in some types of …
is a relatively new name for a Y, commonly referred to as …
The definition of X has evolved. There are multiple definitions of X. Several definitions of X have been proposed. In the field of X, various definitions of X are found. The term ‘X’ embodies a multitude of concepts which … This term has two overlapping, even slightly confusing meanings. Widely varying definitions of X have emerged (Smith and Jones, 1999). Despite its common usage, X is used in different disciplines to mean different things. Since the definition of X varies among researchers, it is important to clarify how the term is …
The meaning of this term | has evolved. has varied over time. has been extended to refer to … has been broadened in recent years. has not been consistent throughout … has changed somewhat from its original definition … |
X is a contested term. X is a rather nebulous term … X is challenging to define because … A precise definition of X has proved elusive. A generally accepted definition of X is lacking. Unfortunately, X remains a poorly defined term. There is no agreed definition on what constitutes … There is little consensus about what X actually means. There is a degree of uncertainty around the terminology in … These terms are often used interchangeably and without precision. Numerous terms are used to describe X, the most common of which are …. The definition of X varies in the literature and there is terminological confusion. Smith (2001) identified four abilities that might be subsumed under the term ‘X’: a) … ‘X’ is a term frequently used in the literature, but to date there is no consensus about … X is a commonly-used notion in psychology and yet it is a concept difficult to define precisely. Although differences of opinion still exist, there appears to be some agreement that X refers to …
The meaning of this term | has been disputed. has been debated ever since … has proved to be notoriously hard to define. has been an object of major disagreement in … has been a matter of ongoing discussion among … |
The term ‘X’ is used here to refer to … In the present study, X is defined as … The term ‘X’ will be used solely when referring to … In this essay, the term ‘X’ will be used in its broadest sense to refer to all … In this paper, the term that will be used to describe this phenomenon is ‘X’. In this dissertation, the terms ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are used interchangeably to mean … Throughout this thesis, the term ‘X’ is used to refer to informal systems as well as … While a variety of definitions of the term ‘X’ have been suggested, this paper will use the definition first suggested by Smith (1968) who saw it as …
For Smith (2001), X means … Smith (2001) uses the term ‘X’ to refer to … Smith (1954) was apparently the first to use the term … In 1987, psychologist John Smith popularized the term ‘X’ to describe … According to a definition provided by Smith (2001:23), X is ‘the maximally … This definition is close to those of Smith (2012) and Jones (2013) who define X as … Smith, has shown that, as late as 1920, Jones was using the term ‘X’ to refer to particular … One of the first people to define nursing was Florence Nightingale (1860), who wrote: ‘… …’ Chomsky writes that a grammar is a ‘device of some sort for producing the ….’ (1957, p.11). Aristotle defines the imagination as ‘the movement which results upon an actual sensation.’ Smith et al . (2002) have provided a new definition of health: ‘health is a state of being with …
X is defined by Smith (2003: 119) as ‘… …’ The term ‘X’ is used by Smith (2001) to refer to … X is, for Smith (2012), the situation which occurs when … A further definition of X is given by Smith (1982) who describes … The term ‘X’ is used by Aristotle in four overlapping senses. First, it is the underlying … X is the degree to which an assessment process or device measures … (Smith et al ., 1986).
This definition | includes … allows for … highlights the … helps distinguish … takes into account … poses a problem for … will continue to evolve. can vary depending on … was agreed upon after … has been broadened to include … |
The following definition is | intended to … modelled on … too simplistic: useful because … problematic as … inadequate since … in need of revision since … important for what it excludes. the most precise produced so far. |
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At-home/in-class exercise.
All good arguments draw their strength from strong textual evidence and analysis. This exercise has two parts. In the first, which can be done for homework, students select passages from shared readings, closely analyze them, and then examone their responses for key terms. In the second, which is an in-class exercise, they use key terms to shape their essay’s argument.
to strengthen your close reading skills of an exhibit source, so that your analysis may help to shape a larger argument; to generate a research question; to use key terms to help shape and complicate a claim
research question; claim; acknowledgment and response
Consider the role of key terms in your argument as you work toward a claim:
What are key terms? Key terms are words that will appear in your essay title, claim, and body paragraphs. You come up with them because they emerge from your selected evidence and analysis of passages. If you have changed focus from that exercise, you will need to create new key terms for your draft. Key terms might be viewed as shorthand for the claim and as signposts for your reader in the body paragraphs, especially the topic sentences. You can use synonyms for your key terms to avoid sounding repetitive; however, the synonyms should not alter the meaning of the original key terms significantly. See Turabian for more information on key terms. Example of key terms Research Questions: Why must citizens be equal before “God and the law” in “Harrison Bergeron”? Hasn’t the USHG done away with religion? Provisional Claim: Based on my evidence, I argue not only that religion poses a potential threat to the State but also that Diana Moon Glampers and Harrison Bergeron try to become gods in the narrative. Key Terms: “God,” “religion,” “threat,” “State,” and “apotheosis.” Even though the last term does not appear in the claim, that might change once I’ve written the draft. “Become a god” is a paraphrase of “apotheosis.” I might also specify “religion” in my analysis.
Write answers to the following questions (before you begin your draft) and be ready to discuss them in groups or as an entire class:
Chapter Twelve: Positing a Thesis Statement and Composing a Title / Defining Key Terms
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Earlier in this course, we discussed how to conduct a library search using key terms. Here we discuss how to present key terms. Place yourself in your audience’s position and try to anticipate their need for information. Is your audience composed mostly of novices or professionals? If they are novices, you will need to provide more definition and context for your key concepts and terms.
Because disciplinary knowledge is filled with specialized terms, an ordinary dictionary is of limited value. Disciplines like psychology, cultural studies, and history use terms in ways that are often different from the way we communicate in daily life. Some disciplines have their own dictionaries of key terms. Others may have terms scattered throughout glossaries in important primary texts and textbooks.
Key terms are the “means of exchange” in disciplines. You gain entry into the discussion by demonstrating how well you know and understand them. Some disciplinary keywords can be tricky because they mean one thing in ordinary speech but can mean something different in the discipline. For instance, in ordinary speech, we use the word shadow to refer to a darker area produced by an object or person between a light source and a surface. In Jungian psychology, shadow refers to the unconscious or unknown aspects of a personality. Sometimes there is debate within a discipline about what key terms mean or how they should be used.
To avoid confusion, define all key terms in your paper before you begin a discussion about them. Even if you think your audience knows the definition of key terms, readers want to see how you understand the terms before you move ahead. If a definition is contested—meaning different writers define the term in different ways—make sure you acknowledge these differences and explain why you favor one definition over the others. Cite your sources when presenting key terms and concepts.
Key Takeaways
Define key terms | Present key terms without definitions |
Look for definitions of key terms in disciplinary texts before consulting general-use dictionaries | Assume that ordinary dictionaries will provide you with the best definitions of disciplinary terms |
Explore the history of the term to see if its meaning has changed over time | Assume that the meaning of a term has stayed the same over years, decades, or centuries |
If the meaning of a term is contested, present these contested definitions to your reader and explain why you favor one over the others | Present a contested term without explanation |
Even if you think your audience knows the term, assume they care what your understanding is | Assume your audience doesn’t care about your understanding of a key term |
Strategies for Conducting Literary Research Copyright © 2021 by Barry Mauer & John Venecek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Before writing an essay response, it is important to understand exactly what is being asked.
There are certain key words in every question that tell you what information the professor is asking for and how to format your response.
This list of common key words and their definitions may help answer that common question, “So what am I really supposed to do?”
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Now, we may be experts in best essay writing , but we’re also the first to admit that tackling essay questions can be, well, a bit of a challenge. Essays first require copious amounts of background reading and research so you can include accurate facts in your writing. You then have to figure out how to present those facts in a convincing and systematic argument. No mean feat.
But the silver lining here is that presenting your argument doesn’t have to be stressful. This goes even if you’re a new student without much experience and ability. To write a coherent and well-structured essay , you just have to really understand the requirements of the question. And to understand the requirements of the question, you need to have a good hold on all the different question words. For example, 'justify', 'examine', and 'discuss', to name a few.
Lacking this understanding is a pitfall many students tumble into. But our guide on essay question words below should keep you firmly above on safe, essay-acing ground.
No matter their nature, question words are key and must always be adhered to. And yet, many students often overlook them and therefore answer their essay questions incorrectly. You may be a font of all knowledge in your subject area, but if you misinterpret the question words in your essay title, your essay writing could be completely irrelevant and score poorly.
For example, if you are asked to compare the French and British upper houses of parliament, you won’t get many points by simply highlighting the differences between the two parliamentary systems.
So, what should you do? We advise you start by reading this guide – we’ve divided the question words either by ‘critical’ or ‘descriptive’ depending on their nature, which should help you identify the type of response your essay requires.
These are the question words we will cover in this blog:
Critical question words | Descriptive question words |
---|---|
Analyse | Define |
Evaluate | Demonstrate |
Justify | Describe |
Critically evaluate | Elaborate |
Review | Explain |
Assess | Explore |
Discuss | Identify |
Examine | Illustrate |
To what extent | Outline |
Summarise | |
Clarify | |
Compare | |
Contrast |
Once you have done this, it’s also important that you critically (more on this word later) examine each part. You need to use important debates and evidence to look in depth at the arguments for and against, as well as how the parts interconnect. What does the evidence suggest? Use it to adopt a stance in your essay, ensuring you don’t simply give a narration on the key debates in the literature. Make your position known and tie this to the literature.
It is essential to provide information on both sides of the debate using evidence from a wide range of academic sources. Then you must state your position basing your arguments on the evidence that informed you in arriving at your position.
Also, you may want to consider arguments that are contrary to your position before stating a conclusion to your arguments. This will help present a balanced argument and demonstrate wide knowledge of the literature. Here, a critical approach becomes crucial. You need to explain why other possible arguments are unsatisfactory as well as why your own particular argument is preferable.
The key to tackling these question words is providing ample evidence to support your claims. Ensure that your analysis is balanced by shedding light on, and presenting a critique of, alternative perspectives. It is also important that you present extensive evidence taken from a varying range of sources.
State your conclusion clearly and state the reasons for this conclusion, drawing on factors and evidence that informed your perspective. Also try to justify your position in order to present a convincing argument to the reader.
Put another way, ‘review’ questions entail offering your opinion on the validity of the essay question. For example, you may be asked to review the literature on electoral reform in Great Britain. You'll need to give an overview of the literature. and any major arguments or issues that arose from it. You then need to comment logically and analytically on this material. What do you agree or disagree with? What have other scholars said about the subject? Are there any views that contrast with yours? What evidence are you using to support your assessment? Don’t forget to state your position clearly.
Review answers should not be purely descriptive; they must demonstrate a high level of analytical skill. The aim is not simply to regurgitate the works of other scholars, but rather to critically analyse these works.
However, when assessing a particular argument or topic, it is important that your thoughts on its significance are made clear. This must be supported by evidence, and secondary sources in the literature are a great start. Essentially, you need to convince the reader about the strength of your argument, using research to back up your assessment of the topic is essential. Highlight any limitations to your argument and remember to mention any counterarguments to your position.
Give a detailed examination of the topic by including knowledge of the various perspectives put forward by other scholars in relation to it. What are your thoughts on the subject based on the general debates in the literature? Remember to clearly state your position based on all the evidence you present.
You should also try to provide some context on why the issues and facts that you have closely examined are important. Have these issues and facts been examined differently by other scholars? If so, make a note of this. How did they differ in their approach and what are the factors that account for these alternative approaches?
‘Examine’ questions are less exploratory and discursive than some other types of question. They focus instead on asking you to critically examine particular pieces of evidence or facts to inform your analysis.
Such questions require that you display the extent of your knowledge on a given subject and that you also adopt an analytical style in stating your position. This means that you must consider both sides of the argument, by present contrasting pieces of evidence. But ultimately, you must show why a particular set of evidence, or piece of information, is more valid for supporting your answer.
It is important that you provide more than one meaning if there are several of them as it shows that you are very familiar with the literature.
Make sure you assert your position with these types of questions. It's even more important that you support your arguments with valid evidence in order to establish a strong case.
‘Describe’ question words focus less on the basic meaning of something, therefore, and more on its particular characteristics. These characteristics should form the building blocks of your answer.
In addition, always remember to back any claims with academic research. In explanatory answers it is important that you demonstrate a clear understanding of a research topic or argument. This comes across most convincingly if you present a clear interpretation of the subject or argument to the reader. Keep in mind any ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions as this will help you to structure a clear and logically coherent response. Coherence is extremely important in providing explanatory answers.
A somewhat detached, dispassionate tone can be particularly effective, in contrast to the more assertive, argumentative tone you might adopt for other types of essay question. Just remember that the key objective here is to give a nuanced account of a research topic or argument by examining its composite parts.
8. illustrate, 10. summarise, 11. clarify.
Such questions require you to shed light on a topic or, in some instances, break down a complex subject into simple parts. Coherence is very important for acing such questions, remembering to present your answer in a systematic manner.
Furthermore, you may also want to emphasise any differences, although the focus of your essay should be on establishing similarities.
How to strategically structure essay based on question words.
Understanding how to structure an essay based on question words is crucial for producing clear, focused, and compelling academic writing. The question words we analised above guide the direction of your response and dictate the type of content required. Recognising the demands of each question word allows you to strategically organise your essay, ensuring that your arguments are relevant and comprehensive. By mastering this approach, you can enhance the clarity and impact of your writing, making your academic work more persuasive and effective.
Here are a few more handy tips to bear in mind when addressing your essay questions:
When you first get your essay question, always try to understand exactly what the question means and what it is asking you to do. Look at the question word(s) and think about their meaning before you launch into planning what to write. Hopefully, our guide has shown you how to do this expertly.
Remember to read the question several times and consider any underlying assumptions behind the question. Highlight the key words and if possible, make a very basic draft outline of your response. This outline does not have to be detailed. But if you follow it as you write, it will help keep your response coherent and systematic.
Finally, remember to read through your essay at the end to check for any inconsistencies and grammatical or spelling errors. Or, if you're in search of the perfect finishing touch, have a professional apply an edit to your final essay. It always helps to have a second set of fresh eyes to assess your work for any errors or omissions.
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Published on February 4, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.
A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay . It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect.
The main goals of an introduction are to:
This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.
The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.
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Step 1: hook your reader, step 2: give background information, step 3: present your thesis statement, step 4: map your essay’s structure, step 5: check and revise, more examples of essay introductions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.
Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.
Avoid long, dense sentences—start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.
The hook should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of the topic you’re writing about and why it’s interesting. Avoid overly broad claims or plain statements of fact.
Take a look at these examples of weak hooks and learn how to improve them.
The first sentence is a dry fact; the second sentence is more interesting, making a bold claim about exactly why the topic is important.
Avoid using a dictionary definition as your hook, especially if it’s an obvious term that everyone knows. The improved example here is still broad, but it gives us a much clearer sense of what the essay will be about.
Instead of just stating a fact that the reader already knows, the improved hook here tells us about the mainstream interpretation of the book, implying that this essay will offer a different interpretation.
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Next, give your reader the context they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:
The information here should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument. Don’t give too much detail—you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.
How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our Braille example, we take a few sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:
Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. This is your thesis statement —a sentence or two that sums up your overall argument.
This is the most important part of your introduction. A good thesis isn’t just a statement of fact, but a claim that requires evidence and explanation.
The goal is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic.
Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.
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As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more.
For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.
When you’ve finished writing the essay body and conclusion , you should return to the introduction and check that it matches the content of the essay.
It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.
To polish your writing, you can use something like a paraphrasing tool .
You can use the checklist below to make sure your introduction does everything it’s supposed to.
My first sentence is engaging and relevant.
I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.
I have defined any important terms.
My thesis statement clearly presents my main point or argument.
Everything in the introduction is relevant to the main body of the essay.
You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.
This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.
The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.
This introduction to a short expository essay leads into the topic (the invention of the printing press) and states the main point the essay will explain (the effect of this invention on European society).
In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
This introduction to a literary analysis essay , about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.
If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!
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Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:
The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .
The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction . It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.
To write a good hook, avoid overly broad statements or long, dense sentences. Try to start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.
A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.
The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:
Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.
The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.
The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
McCombes, S. (2023, July 23). How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/introduction/
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The following key terms often come up in discussions about academic writing, and many writing programs have chosen to define them in an effort to clarify the conversation about what they are expecting students to learn.
On first glance, these definitions might look simple, even self-evident, but they aren’t (read our definition of “conventions” to find out why). For one, they have been designed to describe academic writing across multiple disciplines, each with its own approach to problem, or argument, or idea. They have also been designed to emphasize certain habits of mind we value at EWP, like inductive writing (writing-to-think) and extensive drafting. In many, there is a distinction between process and product, e.g. in how we might think of “problem” at the beginning of a writing project, and how it might turn up in a finished essay. Our extended definitions often anticipate the recalibrations many students have to make when transitioning from high school to college. These explanations are not exhaustive, nor are they to be understood as dogma. Instead, they are designed to clarify the creative and intellectual potential of each term. They have been written for students who are working out how to stitch the experiences of their different classes together: who want to examine more closely the processes of critical thinking and writing.
A problem is a puzzle or question that sets into motion a process of inquiry, which evolves through representing and analyzing evidence.
Evidence comes in many forms and refers to the range of sources a writer selects, represents and analyzes in order to develop an argument.
A representation is a place of descriptive focus in an essay that emphasizes the writer’s experience of encountering a piece of evidence and allows the reader to encounter that evidence, in turn.
Analysis is a critical act that constructs and reveals the meaning, significance, and implications of evidence for the reader.
An argument is a series of interpretive claims or debatable propositions, motivated by inquiry and developed through analysis of a body of evidence.
An idea is a claim or insight that emerges as an argument progresses and governs an essay’s development and structure.
Structure refers to the organization of an essay’s parts on multiple scales (e.g. sentences, paragraphs, sections, parts, motifs) in order to reveal and advance the essay’s argument and idea to the reader.
Signposting refers to a range of rhetorical strategies that sets a pace of reasoning for the essay by signaling transitions, establishing key terms, and clarifying structural design.
Conventions are grammatical, formal, and stylistic codes a writer can adopt (or intentionally break) to demarcate an essay’s reading public and signal how that piece of writing might be read.
Voice is the tonal quality of the writer’s thought as reproduced on the page.
Problems foreground the significance of not-knowing, which is a primary driver in both scholarly and creative endeavors. They arise through a writer’s encounter with evidence and take many forms, including questions, curiosities, puzzles, and doubts. Outside an essay, problems may appear to us as things that need to be resolved, preferably as quickly as possible, but in writing, they identify new intellectual territory, new directions to move toward, rather than away from.
A writer’s sense of the problem they are exploring tends to develop and change during the drafting process as they clarify its significance for themselves and their readers. An intellectually ambitious problem might be phrased concisely, but it will almost always offer a range of possible responses. Articulated near the beginning of a finished essay, a problem acts as an inciting incident: it pulls the reader in, establishes the focus of the essay, and conveys significance. It might well lead to a sequence of smaller questions or problems throughout the essay that each structures or directs a section.
An individual piece of evidence can serve many purposes. For example, you might use evidence to provide background or other contextualizing information, draw attention to an example or object of analysis, serve as a “lens” or theoretical perspective, or introduce arguments that complement, complicate, or contrast with your own. Academic disciplines follow different conventions for evidence and use different naming assumptions: humanities scholars make distinctions between primary and secondary sources, or between objects of analysis themselves and commentaries on them; social scientists often differentiate between qualitative and quantitative (or numerical) evidence; and in the sciences, research literature is referred to as primary literature.
In all disciplines, evidence tethers a writer’s thinking to the world by grounding arguments in concrete detail. The need for evidence forces us to be specific, and often puts us in conversation with other writers and texts. Part of the challenge in drafting an essay is to select, integrate, analyze, and synthesize evidence without overly-simplifying or misrepresenting. Whether you encounter evidence in written, visual, oral, performative, experiential, quantitative, or some other form, your task as a writer is to represent it fully and fairly, with enough context and explanation so someone who has no knowledge of it would still have a good sense of the originating material. In a finished essay, rhetorical signposting and careful quotation are used to make it clear how your own argument builds from the evidence you have amassed, arranged, and analyzed.
In academic writing, an essay’s evidence is sometimes selected and presented without calling attention to the fact that it is being selectively presented by the writer. In these moments, evidence is foregrounded, and the writer moves into the background. But there are other moments when the evidence demands a different approach, when it is not “just” the evidence that is significant to the argument as much as it is the writer’s encounter with that evidence which needs to be carefully described and analyzed. By making the writer’s presence in the essay more palpable, representations invite readers to align themselves with an authorial, perceiving mind.
Writing a representation is a very useful early drafting strategy, because it invites you to pay careful attention to your own habits of perception, to tease out reactions and questions you might have. In subsequent drafts, and as your argument develops, you can use representation to direct the pacing of your essay. As the writer emphasizes an encounter, analysis often appears to be subordinated to narrative description, and though the pace of an essay’s argument can appear to slow with these details, it is always in advance of a new turn or realization in the essay, an acceleration in the essay’s argumentation.
In a finished essay, representations often combine techniques of description, summary, paraphrase, quotation, and explanation. Selected details should never give a false impression of the whole.
A writer analyzes by selecting evidence, parsing it into constituent parts, scrutinizing telling details, identifying patterns and divergences, and articulating meaning and significance. While analysis is often thought of as something that is performed on one piece of evidence in isolation, it also involves synthesizing data or text from multiple sources in order to construct conceptual relationships between them. You perform analysis on your own developing argument when you reflect on preceding claims and articulate a new implication, complication or nuance. Accordingly, the work of analysis requires patience and persistence, a willingness to reckon with dead ends and wrong turns and to follow-up on insights, especially unexpected ones, as they emerge. Analysis is an instigator of momentum and depth of thought in an essay; without analysis, there can be no claim or argument, and without an argument, there can be no governing idea.
An argument is motivated by a writer’s inquiry into a problem and is more interested in the counterfactual rather than the commonsense: it anticipates what might surprise the reader. It is built as claims about evidence are connected to each other. Each claim is developed by reflecting on the significance of one’s analysis of evidence that addresses the essay’s motivating problem. When persuasive, an argument gives readers an experience of momentum, particularly when claims are causal (“If this is the case, then…”) rather than sequential (“And…”). In a finished essay, arguments are presented as a set of cumulative propositions which determine the shapes of paragraphs and sections.
There is a difference between how an argument develops in the drafting process, and how it is presented in a finished essay. In some disciplines and genres, writers prefer to present their argument very deductively: upfront, in abstracts, thesis statements, or in very directed topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs. In other essays, the argument emerges and develops more inductively, with claims appearing at the ends of paragraphs after the evidence is presented and analyzed. Yet regardless of how it is presented in a finished essay, a nuanced argument is developed in the drafting process through open-minded, patient and empathetic analysis, in considering evidence as sites of exploration rather than sources of proof. These arguments tend to form through writing rather than only relying on essay pre-planning.
The writing process sometimes begins with the spark of an idea, typically one you cannot yet fully explain: an intuition about the significance of a piece of evidence, or a gut response to an emerging question, puzzle, or problem. In many cases, your idea will change dramatically or only take form during the revision process, when you have had time to reconsider your early responses to the evidence you are analyzing and respond to feedback from your first readers. When asked about the significance or implications of an essay’s argument, a reader will often state its idea.
In some essay genres, the consolidation of an idea is known as a thesis and is presented in the first paragraph. In others, the conceptual terms or building blocks of an idea might be revealed at the beginning of a finished essay, but the exact relationship between these terms--and the significance of that relationship for your problem--is only revealed by the end of the essay.
There are persistently universal structural forms in writing, such as a beginning, middle and an end. Other structural forms are predetermined by genre (i.e. “five paragraph essay”) or by the requirements of a given publication or discipline: in the sciences, structure is often created by clearly delineated sections marked by headings, and in the liberal arts, an essay prompt might direct the stages of your argument. In other essays and texts (across many disciplines) structure is designed through the drafting process: content generates form, rather than being shaped by it.
Some people think of structure in visual terms; others in terms of key conceptual terms or chronology. Structure can be created through recursion, when a writer revisits earlier arguments to add complexity and/or underscore the cumulative implications of a particular piece of evidence. Multiple structural strategies might be used in an essay, but regardless of type or complexity, all propose a relationship between the parts of an argument and its whole. In that sense, structure can be a powerful aid to coherence.
If structure is often thought of as a purpose-built container for our thinking, signposting refers to a variety of strategies we use to help our reader to move through the essay, setting a pace to our argument that anticipates the readers’ needs. Students often refer to signposting as “good flow.” In a finished essay with “good flow,” there is a heightened awareness of the timing of information for the reader: the writer knows how to briefly cover well-worn ground, or slow down to explain the counterintuitive or emphasize a crucial turn. It is clear the reader’s needs have been anticipated. Key conceptual terms are explained and if their definition shifts through the course of the essay, the writer points that out and considers the implications. Signposting is often pronounced at the beginning and endings of paragraphs when we clarify the point of one paragraph and the necessity for the next. Outsized effects can be obtained by seemingly minor shifts in sentence structure: the decision to use a compound sentence or a complex one; a reordering of clauses; the addition of a clarifying or emphatic phrase. In a finished essay, signposting might appear “natural,” but more often than not it involves a tinkering curiosity throughout the drafting process, which also helps to identify redundancy or confused thinking.
We often think of conventions as fixed or unchanging systems, as citation and formatting rules we learn in order to apply to our work in the final stages of completing an essay. Though conventions vary across disciplines and time periods, consistency in practice is key, and one’s growing ease with them is often an indication of whether you claim membership in a given discipline. Yet conventions are not just about adherence. Embedded in formal, grammatical and stylistic conventions are particular expectations about what counts as knowledge and how that should be conveyed to a reader. Conventions make some of these values explicit, while inevitably encoding others. Studied carefully, conventions often reveal ideologies of knowledge.
Voice is the tonal quality of the writer’s thought as enacted on the page.
Voice performs an active, thinking, feeling mind. A writer’s voice can range from formal or detached to intimate or confessional; earnest to ironic; authoritative to speculative. Voice determines what details are shared or left out, what values emphasized or best left implied. All essays have a voice, but some writers foreground it and others minimize it.
Though voice is often characterized as individual, it is developed by anticipating a community of readers and a cultural context. Voice is always a negotiation between 1) the deliberate and individual choices you can make about diction, syntax, and stance (along with structure, selection of evidence, or type of argument); 2) broader grammatical, formal and stylistic conventions; and 3) cultural expectations about how any writer conveys authority (ethos). As such, voice helps to establish a relationship between the writer, subject, and reader. This negotiation will likely shift with every essay you write, but over time you will start to sense certain constants in how you respond to a wide variety of writing prompts and tasks. These constants can distinguish you as a writer, and are often referred to by readers as more longstanding elements of style.
A definition essay can be deceivingly difficult to write. This type of paper requires you to write a personal yet academic definition of one specific word. The definition must be thorough and lengthy. It is essential that you choose a word that will give you plenty to write about, and there are a few standard tactics you can use to elaborate on the term. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when writing a definition essay.
1: choose an abstract word with a complex meaning. [1].
A simple word that refers to a concrete word will not give you much to write about, but a complex word that refers to an abstract concept provides more material to explore.
Aside from being complex, the word should also refer to something that can mean different things to different people.
Dictionary definitions can only tell you so much. Since you need to elaborate on the word you choose to define, you will need to have your own base of knowledge or experience with the concept you choose.
While you will not be relying completely on the dictionary definition for your essay, familiarizing yourself with the official definition will allow you to compare your own understanding of the concept with the simplest, most academic explanation of it.
Look up your chosen word in the Oxford English Dictionary or in another etymology dictionary. [3]
1: write an analysis. [4].
Separate a word into various parts. Analyze and define each part in its own paragraph.
Specify what classes and parts of speech a word belongs to according to a standard dictionary definition.
An unfamiliar or uncommon concept can be explained using concepts that are more accessible to the average person.
Explain any physical characteristics or traditional thoughts used to describe your term of choice.
People often relate to stories and vivid images, so using a fitting story or image that relates to the term can be used in clarifying an abstract, formless concept.
If a term is often misused or misunderstood, mentioning what it is not is an effective way to bring the concept into focus.
This is when your research about the etymology of a word will come in handy. Explain where the term originated and how it came to mean what it currently means.
1: introduce the standard definition..
You need to clearly state what your word is along with its traditional or dictionary definition in your introductory paragraph.
Your actual thesis statement should define the term in your own words.
Each tactic or method used to define your term should be explored in a separate paragraph.
Briefly summarize your main points around the start of your concluding paragraph.
If the term you define plays a part in your own life and experiences, your final concluding remarks are a good place to briefly mention the role it plays.
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To be truly brilliant, an essay needs to utilise the right language. You could make a great point, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered.
Developing the language skills to build an argument and to write persuasively is crucial if you’re to write outstanding essays every time. In this article, we’re going to equip you with the words and phrases you need to write a top-notch essay, along with examples of how to utilise them.
It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and there will often be other ways of using the words and phrases we describe that we won’t have room to include, but there should be more than enough below to help you make an instant improvement to your essay-writing skills.
If you’re interested in developing your language and persuasive skills, Oxford Royale offers summer courses at its Oxford Summer School , Cambridge Summer School , London Summer School , San Francisco Summer School and Yale Summer School . You can study courses to learn english , prepare for careers in law , medicine , business , engineering and leadership.
Let’s start by looking at language for general explanations of complex points.
Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.”
Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point. Example: “Frogs are amphibians. In other words, they live on the land and in the water.”
Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance. Example: “Plants rely on photosynthesis. To put it another way, they will die without the sun.”
Usage: “That is” and “that is to say” can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: “Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.”
Usage: Use “to that end” or “to this end” in a similar way to “in order to” or “so”. Example: “Zoologists have long sought to understand how animals communicate with each other. To that end, a new study has been launched that looks at elephant sounds and their possible meanings.”
Students often make the mistake of using synonyms of “and” each time they want to add further information in support of a point they’re making, or to build an argument. Here are some cleverer ways of doing this.
Usage: Employ “moreover” at the start of a sentence to add extra information in support of a point you’re making. Example: “Moreover, the results of a recent piece of research provide compelling evidence in support of…”
Usage:This is also generally used at the start of a sentence, to add extra information. Example: “Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that…”
Usage: This is used in the same way as “moreover” and “furthermore”. Example: “What’s more, this isn’t the only evidence that supports this hypothesis.”
Usage: Use “likewise” when you want to talk about something that agrees with what you’ve just mentioned. Example: “Scholar A believes X. Likewise, Scholar B argues compellingly in favour of this point of view.”
Usage: Use “similarly” in the same way as “likewise”. Example: “Audiences at the time reacted with shock to Beethoven’s new work, because it was very different to what they were used to. Similarly, we have a tendency to react with surprise to the unfamiliar.”
Usage: Use the phrase “another key point to remember” or “another key fact to remember” to introduce additional facts without using the word “also”. Example: “As a Romantic, Blake was a proponent of a closer relationship between humans and nature. Another key point to remember is that Blake was writing during the Industrial Revolution, which had a major impact on the world around him.”
Usage: Use “as well as” instead of “also” or “and”. Example: “Scholar A argued that this was due to X, as well as Y.”
Usage: This wording is used to add an extra piece of information, often something that’s in some way more surprising or unexpected than the first piece of information. Example: “Not only did Edmund Hillary have the honour of being the first to reach the summit of Everest, but he was also appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.”
Usage: Used when considering two or more arguments at a time. Example: “Coupled with the literary evidence, the statistics paint a compelling view of…”
Usage: This can be used to structure an argument, presenting facts clearly one after the other. Example: “There are many points in support of this view. Firstly, X. Secondly, Y. And thirdly, Z.
Usage: “Not to mention” and “to say nothing of” can be used to add extra information with a bit of emphasis. Example: “The war caused unprecedented suffering to millions of people, not to mention its impact on the country’s economy.”
When you’re developing an argument, you will often need to present contrasting or opposing opinions or evidence – “it could show this, but it could also show this”, or “X says this, but Y disagrees”. This section covers words you can use instead of the “but” in these examples, to make your writing sound more intelligent and interesting.
Usage: Use “however” to introduce a point that disagrees with what you’ve just said. Example: “Scholar A thinks this. However, Scholar B reached a different conclusion.”
Usage: Usage of this phrase includes introducing a contrasting interpretation of the same piece of evidence, a different piece of evidence that suggests something else, or an opposing opinion. Example: “The historical evidence appears to suggest a clear-cut situation. On the other hand, the archaeological evidence presents a somewhat less straightforward picture of what happened that day.”
Usage: Used in a similar manner to “on the other hand” or “but”. Example: “The historians are unanimous in telling us X, an agreement that suggests that this version of events must be an accurate account. Having said that, the archaeology tells a different story.”
Usage: Use “by contrast” or “in comparison” when you’re comparing and contrasting pieces of evidence. Example: “Scholar A’s opinion, then, is based on insufficient evidence. By contrast, Scholar B’s opinion seems more plausible.”
Usage: Use this to cast doubt on an assertion. Example: “Writer A asserts that this was the reason for what happened. Then again, it’s possible that he was being paid to say this.”
Usage: This is used in the same way as “then again”. Example: “The evidence ostensibly appears to point to this conclusion. That said, much of the evidence is unreliable at best.”
Usage: Use this when you want to introduce a contrasting idea. Example: “Much of scholarship has focused on this evidence. Yet not everyone agrees that this is the most important aspect of the situation.”
Sometimes, you may need to acknowledge a shortfalling in a piece of evidence, or add a proviso. Here are some ways of doing so.
Usage: Use “despite this” or “in spite of this” when you want to outline a point that stands regardless of a shortfalling in the evidence. Example: “The sample size was small, but the results were important despite this.”
Usage: Use this when you want your reader to consider a point in the knowledge of something else. Example: “We’ve seen that the methods used in the 19th century study did not always live up to the rigorous standards expected in scientific research today, which makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions. With this in mind, let’s look at a more recent study to see how the results compare.”
Usage: This means “on condition that”. You can also say “providing that” or just “providing” to mean the same thing. Example: “We may use this as evidence to support our argument, provided that we bear in mind the limitations of the methods used to obtain it.”
Usage: These phrases are used when something has shed light on something else. Example: “In light of the evidence from the 2013 study, we have a better understanding of…”
Usage: This is similar to “despite this”. Example: “The study had its limitations, but it was nonetheless groundbreaking for its day.”
Usage: This is the same as “nonetheless”. Example: “The study was flawed, but it was important nevertheless.”
Usage: This is another way of saying “nonetheless”. Example: “Notwithstanding the limitations of the methodology used, it was an important study in the development of how we view the workings of the human mind.”
Good essays always back up points with examples, but it’s going to get boring if you use the expression “for example” every time. Here are a couple of other ways of saying the same thing.
Example: “Some birds migrate to avoid harsher winter climates. Swallows, for instance, leave the UK in early winter and fly south…”
Example: “To give an illustration of what I mean, let’s look at the case of…”
When you want to demonstrate that a point is particularly important, there are several ways of highlighting it as such.
Usage: Used to introduce a point that is loaded with meaning that might not be immediately apparent. Example: “Significantly, Tacitus omits to tell us the kind of gossip prevalent in Suetonius’ accounts of the same period.”
Usage: This can be used to mean “significantly” (as above), and it can also be used interchangeably with “in particular” (the example below demonstrates the first of these ways of using it). Example: “Actual figures are notably absent from Scholar A’s analysis.”
Usage: Use “importantly” interchangeably with “significantly”. Example: “Importantly, Scholar A was being employed by X when he wrote this work, and was presumably therefore under pressure to portray the situation more favourably than he perhaps might otherwise have done.”
You’ve almost made it to the end of the essay, but your work isn’t over yet. You need to end by wrapping up everything you’ve talked about, showing that you’ve considered the arguments on both sides and reached the most likely conclusion. Here are some words and phrases to help you.
Usage: Typically used to introduce the concluding paragraph or sentence of an essay, summarising what you’ve discussed in a broad overview. Example: “In conclusion, the evidence points almost exclusively to Argument A.”
Usage: Used to signify what you believe to be the most significant point, and the main takeaway from the essay. Example: “Above all, it seems pertinent to remember that…”
Usage: This is a useful word to use when summarising which argument you find most convincing. Example: “Scholar A’s point – that Constanze Mozart was motivated by financial gain – seems to me to be the most persuasive argument for her actions following Mozart’s death.”
Usage: Use in the same way as “persuasive” above. Example: “The most compelling argument is presented by Scholar A.”
Usage: This means “taking everything into account”. Example: “All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that…”
How many of these words and phrases will you get into your next essay? And are any of your favourite essay terms missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch here to find out more about courses that can help you with your essays.
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Understanding the meaning of words, especially task words, helps you to know exactly what is being asked of you. It takes you halfway towards narrowing down your material and selecting your answer.
Task words direct you and tell you how to go about answering a question. Here is a list of such words and others that you are most likely to come across frequently in your course.
Account for | Explain, clarify, give reasons for. (Quite different from "Give an account of which is more like 'describe in detail'). |
Analyse | Break an issue down into its component parts, discuss them and show how they interrelate. |
Assess | Consider the value or importance of something, paying due attention to positive, negative and disputable aspects, and citing the judgements of any known authorities as well as your own. |
Argue | Make a case based on appropriate evidence for and/or against some given point of view. |
Comment on | Too vague to be sure, but safe to assume it means something more than 'describe' or 'summarise' and more likely implies 'analyse' or 'assess'. |
Compare | Identify the characteristics or qualities two or more things have in common (but probably pointing out their differences as well). |
Contrast | Point out the difference between two things (but probably point out their similarities as well). |
Criticise | Spell out your judgement as to the value or truth of something, indicating the criteria on which you base your judgement and citing specific instances of how the criteria apply in this case. |
Define | Make a statement as to the meaning or interpretation of something, giving sufficient detail as to allow it to be distinguished from similar things. |
Describe | Spell out the main aspects of an idea or topic or the sequence in which a series of things happened. |
Discuss | Investigate or examine by argument. Examine key points and possible interpretations, sift and debate, giving reasons for and against. Draw a conclusion. |
Evaluate | Make an appraisal of the worth of something, in the light of its apparent truth; include your personal opinion. Like 'assess'. |
Enumerate | List some relevant items, possibly in continuous prose (rather than note form) and perhaps 'describe' them (see above) as well. |
Examine | Present in depth and investigate the implications. |
Explain | Tell how things work or how they came to be the way they are, including perhaps some need to 'describe' and to 'analyse' (see above). |
To what extent...? | Explore the case for a stated proposition or explanation, much in the manner of 'assess' and 'criticise' (see above), probably arguing for a less than total acceptance of the proposition. |
How far | Similar to 'to what extent...?' (see above) |
Identify | Pick out what you regard as the key features of something, perhaps making clear the criteria you use. |
Illustrate | Similar to 'explain' (see above), but probably asking for the quoting of specific examples or statistics or possibly the drawing of maps, graphs, sketches etc. |
Interpret | Clarify something or 'explain' (see above), perhaps indicating how the thing relates to some other thing or perspective. |
Justify | Express valid reasons for accepting a particular interpretation or conclusion, probably including the need to 'argue' (see above) a case. |
Outline | Indicate the main features of a topic or sequence of events, possibly setting them within a clear structure or framework to show how they interrelate. |
Prove | Demonstrate the truth of something by offering irrefutable evidence and/or logical sequence of statements leading from evidence to conclusion. |
Reconcile | Show how two apparently opposed or mutually exclusive ideas or propositions can be seen to be similar in important respects, if not identical. Involves need to 'analyse' and 'justify' (see above). |
Relate | Either 'explain' (see above) how things happened or are connected in a cause-and-effect sense, or may imply 'compare' and 'contrast' (see above). |
Review | Survey a topic, with the emphasis on 'assess' rather than 'describe' (see above). |
State | Express the main points of an idea or topic, perhaps in the manner of 'describe' or 'enumerate' (see above). |
Summarise | 'State' (see above) the main features of an argument, omitting all superfluous detail and side-issues. |
Trace | Identify the connection between one thing and another either in a developmental sense over a period of time, or else in a cause and effect sense. May imply both 'describe' and 'explain' (see above). |
Assumption | Something which is accepted as being true for the purpose of an argument. |
Issue | An important topic for discussion; something worth thinking and raising questions about. |
Methodology | A system of methods and principles for doing something. Often used to explain methods for carrying out research. |
Objective | It is the point, or the thing aimed at. It is what you want to achieve by a particular activity. |
Maddox, H 1967, How to Study , 2nd ed, Pan Books, London.
Marshall, L., & Rowland, F 1998, A guide to learning independently , Addison Wesley Longman, Melbourne.
Northedge, A 1997, The good study guide , Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
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A definition essay defines a term or concept but goes beyond the basic definition of a word.
A definition is often used in various essay types to explain a concept. Definition essays can discuss a word’s significance, correct misconceptions, argue for a preferred definition, or argue for a new understanding of the word. Definitions provide readers a deep understanding of not only a word’s meaning but also its significance. Furthermore, definitions help to correct misconceptions about a word.
Definition essays may review different parts of the word’s meaning, including its connotation, denotation, extended definition, and stipulative definition. Always consider the audience for a definition essay to ensure that the argument is relevant and meaningful to readers.
This page will cover the following points:
Why write a definition essay, types of definitions.
A definition is often used as a tool in various essay types when you need to explain a key term or concept. However, a definition can itself be the main focus of an essay. At first, this might seem limited. After all, when you want to know what a word means, you just look it up and read a brief definition. How do you turn something like that into an entire essay?
A definition essay goes beyond the basic definition of a word. It can:
Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.
There are different types of definitions and different parts of a word or term’s meaning. These can all have a role in a definition essay, although they might not all be emphasized to the same degree. Below, we’ll cover:
Stipulative.
The denotation is a word’s dictionary definition. Denotation is the straightforward meaning of a word that you can look up. Words can have multiple denotations and even different parts of speech.
The word “fast” has numerous denotations. “Fast” can mean not eating for a period of time; in this case, “to fast” is a verb, but “fast” is also a noun. “Fast” can also mean swift or speedy; in this case, “fast” is an adjective. It has many other denotations too.
A word’s connotation is its emotional resonance . Associations and usage create emotional resonance. Some words have a neutral connotation, but others have a more distinct connotation. The connotation adds a richness that goes beyond the denotation.
The denotation of “mother” is simply a female parent. However, the word has positive connotations of warmth, love, and care.
Connotation is responsive to how society uses a word. This can sometimes change quite quickly.
The word “pirate” has an appealing connotation of adventure and excitement that probably wasn’t as strong before the extremely popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.
Connotation vs. Denotation
Denotations can change, but they are generally more stable than connotations. Connotations are strongly connected to culture, so a word might have a certain connotation in one country or with one group of people but have a different connotation with another. While connotation relates to denotation, we recognize connotation more because of how a word is used.
We don’t often refer to children as “progeny” or “offspring,” so if your parents were to start calling you this, it might seem odd, but no one thinks it’s strange to call children “kids.” All of these words—children, progeny, offspring, kids—have the same denotation but different connotations.
An extended definition goes beyond a word’s denotation(s) to give a more thorough understanding . It might go into such things as:
The Oxford English Dictionary is an especially good resource for this. The dictionary is subscription-based, but schools and libraries often subscribe, so students can access it.
A stipulative definition argues for a particular interpretation of a word or term . This is more about how the writer sees the word or term. Your goal would be to convince your readers that your way of understanding the term is ideal. You may also want to argue about why a proper understanding of the term is important. You could support this by considering the negative consequences of misunderstanding the term.
This type of definition focus works well with abstract terms that can be understood in different ways, such as feminism , education , success , and happiness . Stipulative definitions also work well if you’re creating and explaining your own term or concept.
After choosing the word or term you want to define, think about what your purpose will be. Why are you defining it? Your assignment prompt may give you some direction here, but if not, you’ll still need a purpose. The purpose coordinates with your audience and provides guidance as you write. Here are some general purposes you might consider.
In a sense, all essays are meant to inform. If informing is the primary purpose of your definition essay, you might be working with a word, term, or denotation that you know is unfamiliar to your readers. You would probably present an extended definition to teach the readers about the word’s:
You can use a definition essay to present a new view of a word or term. A new view could help you show the concept in a different light.
Defining “fail” or “failure.” This word has a negative denotation and most often a negative connotation as well. However, you could define the term in a more positive context, arguing that failure is a necessary step in understanding ourselves better, refining our goals, and ultimately achieving success.
Addressing misconceptions is your purpose if you are trying to correct a misunderstanding or misconception about a word. It’s similar to presenting a new view, but the argumentative component is stronger. You’re not only showing readers something new but also persuading readers to change their minds about something.
Some terms are often debated, such as the concept of freedom. We use this word a lot, but what does it mean to be free? Do any laws we dislike and don’t want to follow keep us from being free? Do some laws or regulations inhibit freedom while others don’t? Can some laws and restrictions actually support freedom? You could develop a definition of freedom while arguing against alternative definitions.
Having an audience in mind will help you shape and focus your material. The audience and purpose should coordinate. Ask yourself:
All of these factors influence what information you present and how you present it. You must approach the purpose in a way that would be meaningful and convincing to the target audience.
Once you have a word or concept you want to define and a sense of your audience and purpose, you can start developing your essay. Let’s look at tips for each section.
Your introduction presents the topic in a way that is engaging for the target audience. Since most topics start off pretty broad, an introduction also starts by guiding readers to your specific focus. Like everything in an essay, choose an introduction for its connection to the purpose and audience. Here are some possible strategies:
In general, a thesis presents your topic and the claim you are making about the topic. The denotation might be your starting point, and your thesis explains how your essay will go beyond the denotation. The thesis should let the reader know what insight you’ll be presenting or what claim you’ll be making about the word.
Think about what you’ll need to do to develop a well-rounded, thorough definition that addresses your thesis and purpose. Some means of developing your definition include:
Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.
The purpose of a conclusion is to signal closure. Here are some ways you might do that:
As you write, always keep your audience and purpose in mind. Don’t be afraid to change or refine your focus as you go. This is often part of working through your ideas and developing a strong essay.
By Ericka Scott Nelson. Ericka earned a MA in English from the University of California, Riverside. She teaches composition at a community college.
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Depending on the length of your essay, you'll have between 2 and maybe 5 key terms. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to think which terms are the central ones. Consider the following phrases as ways to define terms: X is understood as a process by which, X regards Y as, one view is that there is X so that Y, or X is commonly considered as.
Key Terms: Introduction. In academic writing, there are times when certain words or phrases are made to carry precise technical meaning. In other words, there are times when certain words or phrases in academic writing get elevated to the status of Key Terms. This happens in every academic discipline for a number of interrelated reasons:
Key Terms in Academic Writing--Online Writing Center . Knowing and understanding terms and concepts related to academic writing, and being able to apply them, will help you organize your thoughts and ultimately produce a better essay or paper. Important terms for you to know include: Definition of Apply; Argue; Compare/Contrast ; Define ...
Defining terms. In academic work students are often expected to give definitions of key words and phrases in order to demonstrate to their tutors that they understand these terms clearly. More generally, however, academic writers define terms so that their readers understand exactly what is meant when certain key terms are used.
Key Terms: "God," "religion," "threat," "State," and "apotheosis.". Even though the last term does not appear in the claim, that might change once I've written the draft. "Become a god" is a paraphrase of "apotheosis.". I might also specify "religion" in my analysis. Write answers to the following questions ...
proposition. Clarify. Literally make something clearer and, where appropriate, simplify it. This could involve, for example, explaining in simpler terms a complex process or theory, or the relationship. between two variables. Compare. Identify the similarities and differences between two or more phenomena. Say if any of.
an earlier idea or part of the essay, referring back to it either by explicit statement or by echoing key words or resonant phrases quoted or stated earlier. The repeating of key or thesis concepts is especially helpful at points of transition from one section to another, to show how the new section fits in. 8.
Key terms are the "means of exchange" in disciplines. You gain entry into the discussion by demonstrating how well you know and understand them. Some disciplinary keywords can be tricky because they mean one thing in ordinary speech but can mean something different in the discipline. For instance, in ordinary speech, we use the word shadow ...
The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body. This article provides useful templates and tips to help you outline your essay, make decisions about your structure, and ...
Come up with a thesis. Create an essay outline. Write the introduction. Write the main body, organized into paragraphs. Write the conclusion. Evaluate the overall organization. Revise the content of each paragraph. Proofread your essay or use a Grammar Checker for language errors. Use a plagiarism checker.
Clarify or interpret how something works or happens. illustrate. Show by means of example, picture, or diagram. interpret. Explain how or why; implies some subjective judgments. justify. Argue in support of something to find positive reasons. list. Order facts, attributes, or items in sequence.
Definition of Question Words with Examples. Words such as 'explain', 'evaluate' or 'analyse' - typical question words used in essay titles - provide a useful indication of how your essay should be structured. They often require varying degrees of critical responses. Sometimes, they may simply require a descriptive answer.
Table of contents. Step 1: Hook your reader. Step 2: Give background information. Step 3: Present your thesis statement. Step 4: Map your essay's structure. Step 5: Check and revise. More examples of essay introductions. Other interesting articles. Frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.
Define Clearly state the meaning, and list the qualities, traits and characteristics. Describe Provide a detailed explanation about how and why something happens. Discuss Make a case for or against an argument and reach a conclusion. Point out the advantages and disadvantages. Elaborate Give more detail and provide more information on a topic.
EWP Vocabulary for Writing. The following key terms often come up in discussions about academic writing, and many writing programs have chosen to define them in an effort to clarify the conversation about what they are expecting students to learn. On first glance, these definitions might look simple, even self-evident, but they aren't (read ...
Keep the definition in your thesis brief and basic. You will elaborate on it more in the body of your paper. Avoid using passive phrases involving the word "is" when defining your term. The phrases "is where" and "is when" are especially clunky. [6] Do not repeat part of the defined term in your definition.
essay questions. Observe which verb is used and do only what is required of you. Low grades are caused by ignoring these key words. We've provided a brief definition, summary and example for some of the key words that you are likely to come across. KEY TERMS 1. Identification Terms: These direct you to present the bare facts such as a name, a ...
Draft: The initial version of a paper before revisions and proofreading. Feedback: Comments on your paper that praise or provide suggestions for improving your draft. Revising: Correcting or making changes to the paper's thesis, organization, argument or evidence. Proofreading: Correcting the sentence structure, spelling, and other grammar ...
4. That is to say. Usage: "That is" and "that is to say" can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: "Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.". 5. To that end. Usage: Use "to that end" or "to this end" in a similar way to "in order to" or "so".
Compare/Contrast. a discussion of significant similarities and/or differences of two or more items. Critique. your evaluation of a text, pointing out its goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Diagram. a picture, chart, or plan. Define. the exact meaning or precise description of a word or idea. Enumerate.
Define. Make a statement as to the meaning or interpretation of something, giving sufficient detail as to allow it to be distinguished from similar things. Describe. Spell out the main aspects of an idea or topic or the sequence in which a series of things happened. Discuss. Investigate or examine by argument.
Key Takeaways. Definition essays can discuss a word's significance, correct misconceptions, argue for a preferred definition, or argue for a new understanding of the word. ... Some words have a neutral connotation, but others have a more distinct connotation. The connotation adds a richness that goes beyond the denotation.
How can you define a term beyond a few words? Learn the structure of a definition essay and read two examples of essays about concrete and abstract concepts. Dictionary ... While the basic pieces of the essay are the same, definition essays should include some key elements.