ESSAY OF DEFINITION
A more
personal
approach
GLORIA NAYLOR
“MEANINGS OF A WORD”
CHRISTINE LEONG
“BEING A CHINK”
BORING
 Prejudice is a problem that most people face at some time in
their lives. The word “prejudice” comes from the root word “to
judge” and the prefix “pre” meaning “before.” In human terms,
prejudice means that someone in a situation has judged
another person before knowing that individual as a person.
For example, someone might assume that someone who is
Arabic would be someone who is anti - American and
dangerous. A person who prejudges another person only sees
that person as an example of a type, not as an individual.
A BETTER EXAMPLE WOULD INCLUDE
SPECIFIC DETAIL
 My friend Omar experienced prejudice recently at the airport.
When he approached the check -in counter, he was waved over
to the table on the side and the of ficials examined each item
in his suitcase. They took out his computer and turned it on to
check each drive. They unwrapped all of the presents he was
taking back to his family in Iraq and even punctured some of
the filled chocolate candies. They took out each item from his
meticulously packed suitcase and watched while he repacked
each item. What they did not know was that Omar is an
American and a patriot of the most loyal type. They were
prejudging him based on appearances.
READ THE SAMPLE ESSAY ON POVERT Y
 Annotate the essay.
 Look for ways the author makes poverty real.
 What is the writer’s definition of poverty?
AFTER READING
 To define “poverty,” this author describes the experiences of a
character or persona to “show” poverty, not just tell about it.
 How does the author illustrate the concept of “poverty?”
 What effect did this description have on your ideas of what “poverty”
is?
MORAL OF THE STORY
 Much to my dismay, we will have to make these more
personal.
 You have to tell the truth, even if it is not nice.
 You may use I more.
 You should use you sparingly. Do not preach. Do not try to
motivate us. The only you should be similar to Leong’s usage.
 Even personal examples should sound formal. Use elevated
diction. Speak intelligently about your experiences.
 Every paragraph must be specific and necessary to your
definition.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE