how to write a definition essay outline「写作指南」

How to write a definition essay outline？Knowing how to write a definition essay requires a good understanding of the required elements, outline, structure, logic as described below. These essays are important since they require integration of a few interpretations on the same concepts, making clear distinctions and generalizations, providing personal interpretations, etc.This article provides you with relevant writing definition essay tips, steps and examples for your reference.

一.how to write a definition essay

Once you think you have a deep understanding of what a definition essay is and plenty of good definition essay ideas, it’s time to begin your writing process.

1.Outline

As it’s often the case with written assignments in school, the process of writing a definition essay starts with definition essay outline. To outline definition essay, you will need to adopt the classic approach, where the outline consists of an introduction, a certain number of body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

2.Introduction

The introduction to your definition essay is the first time the readers are exposed to your topic and subject, which means that the introduction needs to be not only highly informative, but also interesting enough to compel the readers to continue studying your paper.

A good way to begin your definition essay introduction is to include a standard brief definition from a dictionary and then explain why this definition does not give a complete idea about the subject and it needs to be investigated further.

Keep in mind that the definition essay structure does not include a thesis statement simply because you don’t need to prove anything as a writer. However, you can still finish your introduction with a strong statement that resembles a thesis statement but has a more neutral look.

请记住，定义论文结构不包括一个主题陈述，因为你不需要证明任何作为一个作者。然而，你仍然可以用一个强有力的陈述来结束你的介绍，它类似于一个主题陈述，但看起来更中性。

3.Body

The classic three-paragraph structure of the body of the essay may not always work in the case with a definition essay. Some definition essays are so brief that you simply can’t source enough relevant information to put in three separate paragraphs. That is why your definition essay can have as little as 1 body paragraph, although 2 or 3 are the more conventional approach.

In the body of your definition essay, you need to offer a detailed background of the object you are analyzing, including its history, the way it is depicted in relevant sources, and where it is most commonly used. Repeat the same steps for every definition of the word in case there is more than one of them.

4.Conclusion

In the conclusion to your definition essay, your job is to briefly summarize everything that has been said in the paper without actually retelling the introduction and the body word for word. In your conclusion, you can add a more personal view on the subject and finish the paper by encouraging the audience to do some additional reading about the subject to get an even more complete understanding.

在你的定义文章的结尾，你的工作是简要总结论文中所说的一切，而不是逐字复述引言和正文。在你的结语中，你可以添加一个关于这个主题的更个人的观点，并通过鼓励观众做一些关于这个主题的额外阅读来完成论文，以获得更完整的理解。

5.Definition essay topics

Knowing how to start a definition essay and how to write its other parts is important for the success of the paper, but it’s even more important to find the right topic for your paper. The topic should not only be interesting for your potential audience, but also relevant to your own interests and the current discourse.

Here are some definition essay topics examples you may find helpful:

Optimism.

Happiness.

Respect.

Peer pressure.

Family.

Social media.

Weakness.

Individuality.

Ambition.

Independence.

二.how to write a definition essay outline

When assembling an essay outline, it is useful to consider what type of paragraphs and how many of each should be included and in what order. In terms of meaning, such types of essays have the following sections or paragraphs:

1. Denotation

this part provides direct concept explanations, for instance, dictionary or formal interpretations integrated from multiple sources. This section is normally shorter and could be limited to one paragraph. If you are wondering how to start a definition essay, opening your essay by listing formal dictionary explanations would be perfectly acceptable and even fairly standard.

2.Connotation  

in this part, one describes related ideas or term implications, including from a personal perspective or judgement. A good method for identifying connotations is looking up the word in a thesaurus. The connotation part is typically more voluminous, being spread across multiple paragraphs.

在这一部分，一个人描述相关的想法或术语含义，包括从个人的角度或判断。识别内涵的一个好方法是在词典中查找这个词。内涵部分通常更丰富，跨越多个段落。

Judged by their specific function, paragraphs can either:

Describe–provide description of the words in detail; describe perspectives, standard or peculiar interpretations, worldviews, etc.

Analyze–these paragraphs could dissect complex words or expressions into individual parts and analyze each of these separately, as well as in combination. This could be done, for instance, with terms “self-sufficiency”, (“self” + “sufficiency”) or “gratefulness” (“grate” + ”fulness”). Obviously, such “linguistic” analysis does not apply to simple words like “hate”, “respect”, etc. However, each word may be analyzed for multiple meanings, for instance globalization may be viewed as globalization of culture, of knowledge, commerce, lifestyle, life-quality expectations, etc.

Exemplify–providing an eloquent and detailed example to accompany complex interpretations or argument increases understanding of it by readers, hence this is mandatory for good writing. Including good analogies has similar effects.

Compare and contrast. These paragraphs help differentiate discussed words or concepts by strictly defining their boundaries and by highlighting similarities and differences between compared terms.

Negate. One way of defining concepts is to tell what they are not – this is especially useful for closely related concepts.

Provide background with regard to history and origin. While this is not practical for common words, it makes sense for neologisms, professional terms, and some other words whose origin is easily tracked (for instance, “democracy”).

Consider definition essay outline and structural requirements along with what types of paragraphs would constitute your essays and what they would be exactly about and you’ll end up with definitive and solid outline.

考虑定义文章大纲和结构要求，以及构成你的文章的段落类型和它们具体是关于什么，你将最终得到明确和坚实的大纲。

三．definition essay example

Prompt:The title of this essay is:The Definition Of Bilingualism.Everyone grows up hearing many different languages. Sometimes they are called ‘dialects’ or ‘stylistic variants’ or whatever, but they are really different languages. It is just that they are so close to each other that we don’t bother calling them different languages. So, everyone grows up in a multilingual environment.

Over the years, linguists have used a multitude of definitions in order to explain “Bilingualism.” American linguist, Leonard Bloomfield, stated that bilingualism is the native-like control of two languages; however, this definition was regarded as a narrow explanation which gives the label “bilingual” to only a small number of people. Later, Haugen defined bilinguals as individuals who are fluent in one language but who can generate complete meaningful utterances in the other language. According to this definition, a child who speaks French and, due to instructional language of school, commences to produce meaningful oral production in English would be considered as “bilingual”. Apart from these definitions, Chomsky asserted a universal multilingualism claiming that every person living in a social community is bilingual. Chomsky noted:

Sometimes the multilingual environment involves systems so unlike that you call them different languages. But that is just a question of degree; it is not a question of ‘yes or no.’CITATION Mar l 1055 (Cazzoli, Guijarro, Young, Young, & Scholten)Currently, many researchers employ a broader definition of bilinguals that includes individuals who have various degrees of language abilities in different domains in both languages.CITATION But12 l 1055 (Butler, 2012)

Types of Bilingualism

Simultaneous bilingualism applies to children who acquire two languages from birth. Simultaneous bilingualism presents itself when more than one language is spoken among family members. Development of simultaneous bilingualism is framed by three phases which are resemble to that of first language development for monolinguals (see Figure 1).

Early Phase (0-3 Years) Middle Phase (3-4 Years) Later Phase (5-6 Years)

Familiarity of the components of language. Acquirement of sound systems, use of questions, capable of having conversations Expanding complexity of language heard and understood.

During the Early Phase, children make progress in linguistics and acquire basic grammar rules by age three. Children, also, make overgeneralizations; for instance, goed for went.

In the Middle Phase, pronunciation becomes more accurate and the length and complexity of sentences develop. Moreover, kids start to ask “wh” questions and answer those questions. The lexicon expands rapidly compared to early phase.

In the Later Phase, on the other hand, a child starts to produce longer sentences in each language and still develops their vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, children begin making jokes using the both languages.

Sequential or Successive bilingualism is defined as process of a child’s learning a second language after having established basic mastery in the first language. There are four stages in the second language development (see Figure 2).

Home Language Use Non-verbal Stage Telegraphic and Formulaic Speech Productive Language Use

Use of home language irrespectively of the languages used by others. Listens to make sense of the new language.

Use of gestures, visage and sounds to communicate Makes an attempt to use the new language.

Use of telegraphic speech and formulaic speech.

Makes grammatical mistakes. (Overgeneralization) Commences to sound like a native speaker.

Demonstrates a general understanding of grammar.

Struggles in more cognitively demanding situations.

The Personal Benefits

Being able to speak in two different languages means being able to communicate with a wider range of people from plenty of different backgrounds. It certainly enriches our life adventure by enabling us to have various perspectives. Bilinguals can easily tolerate different notions of other people by putting themselves in the position of other people; thus, they grasp the importance of demonstrating respect for other human beings.

能够说两种不同的语言意味着能够与更广泛的来自不同背景的人交流。它让我们拥有不同的视角，从而丰富了我们的生活历险。双语者通过设身处地为他人着想，很容易就能容忍他人的不同观念;因此，他们懂得尊重他人的重要性。

The Cognitive Benefits

The improvements in cognitive and sensory processing driven by bilingual experience may help a bilingual person to better process information in the environment, leading to a clearer signal for learning.CITATION Vio12 l 1055 (Marian & Shook, 2012) Since switching between two languages is a demanding process which force bilinguals to compare two language systems, which enables them to see how a language as a communication system really works. This also enhances bilinguals’ creative, analytical and critical thinking.

“Bilingual people have a different brain structure that gives them a better capacity when it comes to concentration. Being bilingual helps you to make faster and accurate decisions.” CITATION Pam18 l 1055 (Rodriguez, 2018)2.3 The Societal Benefit

Globalization has been defined by Giddens as ‘the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa’CITATION Dav04 l 1055 (Block, 2004). Given that we live in the era of globalization where everything is easily accessible no matter how far away it is or how long it takes.

In an attempt to keep up with the times, people had better learn to speak all global languages other than their native languages; otherwise, they cannot utilize the opportunities. Here the importance of bilingualism comes in sight because bilinguals are the people who can connect the people in their society to the global world.

为了跟上时代，人们最好学会说除母语以外的所有全球语言;否则，他们就不能利用这些机会。在这里，双语的重要性显而易见，因为双语者是能够将他们社会中的人与世界联系起来的人。

The Economic Benefit

International markets are another part of globalization. With the globalization, superiors have been demanded for bilingual even multilingual workers in an effort to counterbalance the needs of globalization. Moreover, a number of companies are organizing dual language education (DLL) programmes which aims to enhance workers’ competence in multiple languages. According to a report published by the New American Economy, the demand for multilingual workers more than doubled from 2010 to 2015. Specifically, demand for bilingual employees who speak Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic has increased, particularly in the finance, healthcare, legal services, and customer service sectors CITATION Ing19 l 1055 (Colón, 2019).

All paragraphs should be related to this thesis through topic sentences – normally, this is the first sentence in a paragraph. Subsequent sentences constituting the paragraph explain them, support with arguments, provide evidence and examples, etc. Paragraphs should end up with concluding sentences, which synthesize the content presented within these paragraphs, or with transitioning sentences that help introduce subsequent paragraphs for smoother content flow.

所有的段落都应该通过主题句与论文主题相联系——通常，主题句是一段中的第一句话。随后的句子组成段落，解释段落，用论据支持段落，提供证据和例子等。段落应该以总结句结束，总结句综合了段落中呈现的内容，或者用过渡句帮助介绍后续段落，使内容更加流畅。

本站提供留学生dissertation、essay、assignment、personal statement等写作服务,如果有scholarship essay的写作需求，可以在线咨询。