In your own terms
It’s in your gut…


Single sentence
3 part structure
• Term
• Class
• Differentiation
Example:
A pineapple
is a tropical plant
that has large
swordlike leaves
and yellow edible
fruit.
 Includes
the 3-part formal definition
 Uses examples
• Anecdotes—narrative
• Details—descriptive
 Uses negation
• It’s NOT this, or this, but it is more like this.
 Denotation
 Connotation
 Dictionary
Definition
• What a word means
• Could include word history
 Example
An apple is the fleshy usually rounded
red, yellow, or green edible fruit of a
usually cultivated tree of the rose family.
 Meanings
associated with a word
• What words are associated with apple?
 Friend
 How
+ Enemy = Frenemy
do we know if we have a frenemy?
 What
are some characteristics of a
frenemy?
 What
are the consequences of having a
frenemy?
 Appropriate
dress for a first date
 Appropriate dress for school
 Appropriate dress for a job interview
 Appropriate dress for a football game
 Appropriate dress for a wedding
 Appropriate dress for a funeral
 Appropriate dress for
 Coming
up with Characteristics and
Details for Your Word
• Define your term with a friend and discuss
• Brainstorming chart (see chart)
• Look it up
• Think of situations/incidents that reveal the
meaning of the word
• Think of synonyms/antonyms (see chart)
Seeing the Pattern, 402
 General Format for the Definition Essay
• Introduction
 Introduces Word
 Provides background information
 Thesis statement: gives standard definition and
reveals importance and significance
• Body Paragraph(s) (as many as necessary)
 Distinguishing Characteristic
 Supporting Details
• Conclusion
 Refers back to thesis
 Draws essay to close
Seeing the Pattern, 400
Words you like…
Words you dislike…
Words you wonder
about…
 Pick
top 3 words from any of the 3
columns (they can all be from one
column)
 For each word
• Write a formal 3 part definition (term, class,
differentiation)
• Write down at least 2 connotations associated
with the word.
• Write down examples with negations.