English 9 Genre Study
For Group Discussion
 Think about a situation when you and your parents
disagreed about how to define a term (perhaps curfew,
good grades, respectful behavior, appropriate
language). How did you resolve this disagreement?
What kind of evidence did you provide?
 Be prepared to share your story and your definition of
the term in question with the whole class.
 Notice that your definition of a given term may differ
based on your:
 perspective
 interest and/or motivation
 personal experience
In other words, many terms are defined differently by
different people. Who you are, what you want to say, and
what you have experienced can provide you a unique
definition of a given term.
For Group Discussion
 What is the purpose of a dictionary?
 Why do they exist?
 What is the purpose of Wikipedia?
 Do we need it? Why/why not?
 Dictionaries provide general agreed upon definitions of
commonly used words.
 However, some words have many possible meanings and
can even have personal significance based on a person’s
experiences, interests, and perspective.
 Wikipedia provides a larger and more in-depth source of
information on people, places, events, and concepts and
can even be updated regularly to accommodate new
meanings, further examples, and catalogues of
information.
For Group Discussion
 What are some terms (keep them appropriate) that
exist now but didn‘t when your parents were kids?
 Are there some words that your parents know but that
now have a completely different and unknown
meaning between you and your friends?
 Language is constantly evolving.
For example:
 New words are regularly introduced to represent new
concepts and technologies.
 Existing words often take on new meanings.
 Words fall out of use when enough people begin using
new vocabulary to represent the same ideas or objects.
The fact that language changes so rapidly can also
sometimes accelerate or accentuate differences in the
way terms are defined.
Read the “Hacker” Essay
 What is the central theme/term being defined?
 What makes it an extended definition?
 How is the text structured? Why?
 What is the thesis of the text? Where is it found?
 How do we approach issues, ideas, and/or topics
differently based on our point of view ?
 How do writers use historical, cultural, and/or literary
knowledge?
Read the “American Patriot”
Essay
 What is the central theme/term being defined?
 What makes it an extended definition?
 How is the text structured? Why?
 What is the thesis of the text? Where is it found?
 How do we approach issues, ideas, and/or topics
differently based on our point of view ?
 How do writers use historical, cultural, and/or literary
knowledge?
Read “Poverty”
 What is the central theme/term being defined?
 What makes it an extended definition?
 How is the text structured? Why?
 What is the thesis of the text? Where is it found?
 How do we approach issues, ideas, and/or topics
differently based on our point of view ?
 How do writers use historical, cultural, and/or literary
knowledge?
Always/Sometimes/Never
 With a partner:
 Add Characteristics from these 3 essays to “Always”
 Add Characteristics to “Sometimes”
 Add Characteristics to “Never”
What is a definition essay?
 A definition essay does just what its name implies: it
defines.
 The subject is frequently an object, a concept, a type of
person, a place, or a phenomenon that requires
uncovering or that the writer believes needs to be reconceptualized (Nadell 428).
Not Just a Dictionary Definition
 Unlike a traditional dictionary definition or
encyclopedia definition, the definition essay makes
clear in a more complete and formal way the writer‘s
own understanding based on his/her personal
experiences.
Going Beyond the Dictionary
 Though dictionary definitions may serve as a starting
point, an effective extended definition doesn‘t end
there.
 As Nadell, Langan, and Comodromos explain,
extended definition allows you to apply a personal
interpretation to a word, to propose a revisionist view
of a commonly accepted meaning, to analyze words
representing complex or controversial issues (428).
Learning in the Process
 Writers might think that they fully understand a
concept when they begin, but as they continue to
write, this definition changes: a new meaning is
discovered and shared.
Your Definition Is a Unique
Representation of Your Perspective
 Definitions are also unique to an individual writer.
 By selecting particular details and ignoring others, by
incorporating stories or anecdotes, and by carefully
determining how to analyze their subject, a writer puts
forth a definition that is distinctive and specialized.
Adjusting Your Way of Thinking
 These essays should be answering questions like:
 What does _____ mean?
 What is the true nature of _____?
 How can _____ mean more (or something different)
than people usually think?
Organizational Patterns
 Good definition essays incorporate 2 or 3 of the
following:
 Showing it in relationship to another idea/term
(comparison/contrast)
 Telling a story that demonstrates the idea/term
(narrative)
 Divide an idea/term by separating it into parts
(classification)
Adding to Our
Always/Sometimes/Never
 Based on this new information, what else can be added
to the chart we began after reading the three model
texts?
Topic Selection
 For this essay, you will need to choose a topic from a
pre-approved list of topics.
 The topics that are available for selection are terms and
ideas that have been explored in the literature that we
read during English 9.
 Therefore, you should choose a topic with which you
have had personal experience and that you can defend
with the literature we have read.
Topic Selection
 New concept or terms: What are new concepts or terms im-
portant today that may not have existed in the past? What
do you see as being a defining issue in the future?
 Commentary on society: What is something that people
around you frequently misunderstand? (e.g., that
popularity isn‘t easy, that families include more than blood
relatives, that ―respect‖ is more than what people think it
is).
 Debate: what are issues that you like to debate, over and
over again. What is the major ―unpinning‖ of the debate?
Suggested Topics
 Prejudice
 Justice
 Friendship
 Loyalty
 American Dream
 Success
 Wealth
 Education
 Alienation
 Love
 Equality
 Culture
 American
Other Topics
 If you have an idea or term that you would like to
explore and define that is not on the previous list, you
will need individual approval from your teacher.
 The main requirement is that you choose a topic that
you can support with examples from both your
personal experience AND evidence or events in at least
one piece of literature that we have read during
English 9.
Topic Selection
Understanding How Topics Can Be Extended
 How might a definition of “life” contribute to the debate




around abortion?
How was the definition of “torture” germane to the debate
on Guantanamo Bay?
How do different definitions of the word “citizen” influence
the immigration debate?
How did definition of the term How do differing ideas of
“fidelity” influence relationships?
How do definitions of “truth” and “lies” influence our legal
sys-tem? Our political system? Our relationships?
Research
 Evidence has to include details outside of your own
experiences. This should be a deliberate broadening of
your perspective to reach past a common definition.
 Consider a variety of texts (articles, books, TV shows,
and movies), conversations with others, and other
anecdotal details as pieces of evidence.