E NGLISH for

ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL PURPOSE

D EFINITION
TECHNIQU
ES
O
English for Academic and
Professional Purposes
BJECTIVES WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

Determines the ways a

writer can elucidate on a
concept by definition,
explication and clarification.
(CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-Ig-j-
20)
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
WRITING A
CTIVITY CONCEPT
PAPER

T he class will be divided into five

groups. Each group will be given an
assigned word. The task is to make a
graphic organizer
defining/describing the word
assigned to them.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
WRITING A
NALYSIS CONCEPT
PAPER
1. Did you find the activity difficult?
Why or why not?
2. What basis did you consider in
defining your assigned word?
3. Do you think you were able to define
the words correctly? Why or why
not?
D EFINITION
TECHNIQUES
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION… WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

• Usually forms the core of a

concept paper
• May consist of the original
meaning of the term / concept
• Later and present-day uses of the
word to clarify the concept
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“
1. FORMAL
Follows a pattern or equation
Term + genus + differentia

”
(differentiating characteristics)
Ex. A robot is a machine that looks like a human
being and performs complex acts of a human
being (Webster)
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“
2. By SYNONYM
Using a word or phrase that shares a

”
meaning with the term being defined

Ex. Hashish-marijuana
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“3. By ORIGIN or SEMANTIC

HISTORY

”
Using the etymology / language of origin

Ex. Yoga comes from Sanskrit “to join”

 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ 4. By ILLUSTRATION
Provides illustrative examples

Ex. Known for shedding their leaves in the fall,

”
deciduous trees include oaks, maples, and
beeches
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ 5. By FUNCTION (uses)
States the use or the function of the

”
concept

Ex. A thermometer measures temperature

change.
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ 6. By ANALYSIS
Breaking down wholes into parts, aspects

”
into levels, and a process into steps
Ex. The republican form of government has
three branches: the executive, the legislative,
and the judiciary.
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ Uses
7. By LIKENESS OR
SIMILARITY (sameness)
direct comparison in defining a

”
concept

Ex. Brighter than 100 million suns, quasars

stand like beacons on the shore of the universe.
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ Uses
8. By ANALOGY or
METAPHOR (comparison)
analogy/indirect comparison in
defining a concept
Ex. The germs or bacteria or antigens are like a
”
gang of villains invading our body, attacking our
unseen defenders, the layers of macrophages,
cytokines, and lymphocytes.
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ 9. By CONTRAST (unlikeness)
Use of opposites
Ex. Unlike those of gas, the particles of plasma
are electrically charged. ”
 English for Academic and

D
Professional Purposes
EFINITION WRITING A
TECHNIQUES CONCEPT
PAPER

“ 10. By NEGATION
Stating what a term is not

”
Ex. Wild rice, an American delicacy, is not rice at
all but the seed of a tall aquatic grass.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
PPLICATION WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

Using the class groupings,

try to define the word
that will be assigned to
your group.
 English for Academic and

G
Professional Purposes
ENERALIZATION WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

I learned that…
_____________________________
______________________.
I realized that…
_____________________________
______________________.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

DIRECTIONS: Identify
the definition technique
used in the following
sentences.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

1. Freedom, if achieved,
provides privacy,
autonomy, dignity and the
transnational legal
process.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

2. True freedom includes

the ability to think, feel,
say or act however one
chooses.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

3. Freedom is like a cocaine to a

teenager; intoxicating, addicting
and motivating. They will do
anything to get it, and they are
terrified of losing it.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

4. Freedom comes from

the Old English 'freodom'
which means state of free
will.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

5. Freedom, also referred to as

liberty or independence, is a
state people reach when they are
free to think and do whatever
they please.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

6. Freedom is like the

food that we eat, it is
the best choice to make.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

7. The Americans, unlike

those of the Filipinos, can
attain real freedom when
everyone has the same
educational opportunities.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

8. Freedom is the quality

or state of being free and
the absence of coercion or
constraint in choice.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER

9. Freedom is a state
where the bars of
bondage do not exist.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSESSMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER
10. Freedom is a state that
requires efforts, it presupposes
mental and moral qualities of a
high order to be generally
diffused in the society where it
exists.
 English for Academic and

A
Professional Purposes
SSIGNMENT WRITING A
CONCEPT
PAPER
Write a minimum of 5-sentence paragraph
defining the following concepts using any of
the various techniques. Identify also the
technique used.
a. Lipstick
b. Wristwatch
c. Necktie
TYou!
hank