Definition Essay

Your second essay is a definition essay in which you will define a concept that relates to you personally in some way. In this essay, you will want to catch and hold your reader's interest by using experiences you have had that caused you to have strong thoughts and feelings about a particular concept. An essay of definition can be amusing, vigorous, stimulating, and/or memorable.

To develop your basic data in a definition essay and make it interesting, you can use any or all of the following hints.

• Descriptive details such as size, build, color, usage, etc. are often valuable in a definition essay.
• Examples and incidents (narration) can make the definition of a general subject more specific. Incidents may be used to make abstract terms concrete: the old story of Abe Lincoln's walking miles to return a few cents was popular because, by illustrating honesty in action, it made the idea of that virtue much more vivid than could any discussion of honesty in the abstract.
• Comparisons may define the unfamiliar by showing how it resembles the familiar or differs from it. A strange object may be described through likeness as having "the shape of a hen's egg" or "the color of a tomato." On the other hand, a thing may be described through difference as "larger than a tennis ball" or "not so sour as a lemon."
• Negative comparisons may be helpful. Explaining what a thing is NOT, can clear the ground for explaining what it IS. This method is particularly useful in eliminating things that might otherwise be confused with the thing to be defined.

The following topics are examples of what can be used in a definition essay. You will want to choose a topic that relates to you personally. These are just some examples; you are not limited to any of them.

• success (or failure)
• the con artist (or loner, dreamer, big mouth, perfectionist, bully, or party pooper)
• country and western music (or hard rock, gospel, rap, or some other type of music
• common sense
• a good marriage (or a good partner, parent, or friend)
• the racing car (football, fashion or other) fanatic
• a dead-end job
• a racist (sexist, feminist, or other -ist)
• the night person (or morning person)

Good luck and have fun with your Definition Essay.