Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Definition Definition • Tells what a term means and how it differs from other terms in its class – Altruism is the performance of an unselfish act. • As a pattern of behavior, this act must have two qualities – It must benefits someone else, and – It must do so to the disadvantage of the benefactor • It is not merely a matter of being helpful; it is helpfulness at a cost to yourself • Essay is not merely a dictionary definition but must explain what something or even someone is Formal Definition • Three part structure – Term to be defined – Class it is part of – Qualities that differentiate it from the other terms in the same class • Example:: – Term: Naturalism – Class: A literary movement – Differentiation: Whose original advocates believed that writers should treat life with scientific objectivity Examples • Term: Behaviorism • Class: A theory • Differentiation: That regards the objective facts of a subject’s actions as the only valid basis for psychological study. • Term: Cell • Class: A unit of protoplasm • Differentiation: With a nucleus, cytoplasm, and an enclosing membrane Uses • To explain: – Abstractions: Freedom – Controversial terms: Right to life – Slang terms – Words with more than one meaning: • Unfamiliar words • Using a word in an unfamiliar way: – Wife beater – Untouchable Combining Rhetorical Modes • Exemplification: provides examples • Description: provide a visualization • Comparison and contrast: provide a comparison/contrast with something familiar to the reader • Process: provide an explanation; suitable for terms that must be described by what they do • Classification: identify the class your term belongs to Other Strategies • • • • • Synonyms Antonyms Enumeration (listing its characteristics) Analogies Origin and Development Example 1 • Introduction (reason) – Thesis: if you look carefully at your calendar for the month of December, you are likely to come across the holiday Kwanzaa, which may be unfamiliar to you but which is celebrated each year by an increasing number of your friends, coworkers, and neighbors – Current importance with examples • Definition – Brief formal definition – Historical background – Features: seven principles, various activities, clothing, participants, meaning of celebration, food, stories, materials and resources – Present instances – current and growing popularity • Conclusion – Summary and sources for further information Example 2 • Introduction: – Thesis: Contrary to its critics’ objections, behaviorism is a valid approach for treating a wide variety of psychological dysfunctions • Background: – Definition of behaviorism, including its origins and evolution • Examples: – The use of behaviorism to help psychotics function in an institutional setting – The use of behaviorism to treat neurotic behavior, such as chronic anxiety, a phobia, or a pattern of destructive acts – The use of behaviorism to treat normal but antisocial or undesirable behavior, such as heavy smoking or overeating • Conclusion: – Restatement of thesis or review of key points Definition Essay Types • For subjects that can be observed, measured, and known: – – – – What are its features? What is its history? What does it do? What doesn’t it do? • For concepts, values, or terms whose meaning depends on the ways people use them: – – – – How do people use it? What has its meaning been historically? How has the meaning changed? How is the set of values or concepts different from/ similar to others?