Limit Your Definitions to a Single
Concept
If you can’t define the term in your mind to a single concept, then split the concepts into
separate definitions. Think of report as both the sound of gunfire and calling the police
to tell them about the sound of gunfire. That’s two definitions. One is a noun (the sound)
the other is a verb (the act of calling or reporting). You have to define one concept at a
time.
Research the Term
Here’s the scenario, you are writing whatever document it is and you’ve determined that
you want to create a definition in your document. But your organization doesn’t have a
definition for that term that you can draw from. So your first step in how to write a
definition is to see if there’s a definition readily available that you can leverage (and cite
so you aren’t plagiarizing). The Unified Compliance team is in that predicament quite
often. Where do we find the definitions, what methods do we use to look for them? Our
methodology works its way down from the most authoritative sources to the least
authoritative sources. From absolute definitions down to definitions you will have to
build out yourself (following standards set forth by international committees).
Determine the Term's Concept
The first thing you need to do is to place your term into the proper context. If you are in
a discussion and need to define your term, you’ll be thinking about the discussion you
are having, and what types of concepts are being bandied about. If you are writing a
document, you’ll probably need to narrow the concept down to one. We’ll stick with you
writing a definition for a document, and we’ll use the term pattern-hiding display. The
document you are working with will form the subject field for the broadest context you
are going to work with. The citation, no doubt, falls within a section of that document.
And sections are broken down into various contexts within the document. Within that
section, the Citation will provide the most specific context you are dealing with.
Choosing the Definition Type
You need to start with the designation for the definition. You can’t define the concept
unless you know what type of concept you are defining.
Designations are attributed to the concept you are defining, not the individual term.
Designations for definitions fall into two categories: parts of speech designations and named
entity designations. Parts of speech are noun, pronoun, adjective, determiner, verb, adverb,
preposition, conjunction, or interjection. As we will discuss later, named entities can be any of
those entities we’ve already named; asset, data contents, events, group, organization,
organizational function, person, record example, role, or title. Or they can be additional named
entities that you have defined.
Three Steps to Effective Definition
1.
Tell readers what term is being defined.
2.
Present clear and basic information.
3.
Use facts, examples, or anecdotes that readers will understand.
Steps in Making a Definition
Classify the term. Specify what classes/category a word
belongs to according to a standard dictionary definition
Research the word's origins. Look up your chosen word in
the dictionary or in another etymology dictionary
Provide traditional details about the term Explain any
physical characteristics or traditional thoughts used to
describe your term of choice.
Use examples to illustrate the meaning.
2 Research the word's origins.
1 Look up your chosen word in the dictionary or in another etymology.
3 Provide traditional details about the term.
4 Explain any physical characteristics or traditional thoughts used to describe
your term of choice.
5 Use examples to illustrate the meaning.