《ACEW Lecture 7 Definition.doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《ACEW Lecture 7 Definition.doc（6页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、Lv Jun Advanced English Writing Page 6 of 6Topic/TitleLecture 7 DefinitionTeaching Aims/ObjectivesStudents learn what the definition is and how to develop the ability to write definition essaysTeaching Points1. What is definition? 2. Nature of definition 3. Types of definition 4. Methods of definiti
2、on 5. Strategies for writing a definition essayTeaching MethodsDiscussionTime Allowance80 minutesTeaching ProceduresI. What is definition?Definition is in fact a form of expository writing. It is a very important form, for to define something is certainly to explain it, and very often in order to ex
3、plain one must first define. So a definition is the effort to distinguish an entity from all other things for the purpose of being able to recognize it or in some way to understand it. Definition may deal either with words or with things, that is, the definition is concerned with apple as word or wi
4、th “apple” as thing. Some definitions focus our attention chiefly upon the thing, no matter whether we call it apple, pomme, or Apfel. This kind of definition attempts to give, as best it can, accurate, factual information about what an apple is, in some particular frame of reference. It is often co
5、ncerned with the analysis of the thing, with its constituent parts, their nature, function, and purpose. It describes the thing in relation to other things. It is called real definition by philosophers and logicians. In contrast, other definitions stress the word or the word-thing relationship. Eith
6、er they call our attention to how a word has been used in the past, or else they explain-by whatever the process-what words mean. This is called nominal definition. II. Nature of definitionThe purpose of providing definitions to develop essay content is to explain the meaning of a word or term in or
7、der to make a point. In writing a definition, you try to answer basic questions: What does it mean? and What is its special or true nature? Such an essay will give more than the sentence definition that is found in the dictionary. It involves extended definition which goes far beyond the concise, fo
8、rmal definition that appears in a dictionary. It explores the nature of something, including the aspects, significances, nuance（细微差别）, or complexities that are not part of what a dictionary takes in. It supplies supporting information such as examples, descriptions or comparison and contrast.Some es
9、says that provide definitions are serious efforts to illustrate a certain type of person or a certain trait（显著的特点, 特性） (freedom, well-educated person). Other essays may be humorous. The approach you take will depend on your topic, your purpose for writing, and your thesis statement.III. Types of def
10、inition1. Consensual（同感的） definitionA writer states the common public definition of the term, what it means by the consensus of its users in the same culture.2. Stipulative（规定的） definitionA writer may assign to a word a meaning more precise or in some other way slightly different from that which it
11、commonly has, for clarity and for convenience.3. Normative（规范的） definitionThe user gives a word a meaning and asserts that he will always use it with that meaning and that so should everyone else, for it and it alone is the proper meaning.IV. Methods of definitionSince there is no one “correct” meth
12、od to define a word or thing, we must say that it all depends upon ones reader and purpose. In other words, the writer may use any method or combination of methods known or devisable so long as he efficiently brings his reader to understand what something is or what a word means.1. Analysis First, p
13、lace a word in a large class called the genus and then differentiating the word from other members of that class.( genus and differentia) Second, listing the most important characteristics of the thing.( division into parts)-Semantics, or semasiology, is the study of the meaning of words.2. Synthesi
14、sOne relates the thing-to-be defined to something already familiar to the reader or listener. It often reveals the thing-to-be-defined as part of some larger whole. It might also be called “relational definition”. For example:-Blue: the color of the sky on a cloudless day.3. Negative definitionThe n
15、egative definition is to define a thing by making clear what is not. For example:-Electricity is not a thing like St. Pauls Cathedral; it is a way in which things behave.4. ExemplificationExemplification is definition by example, which often appears as an aid to definition by analysis or by synthesi
16、s, for one of the best way to define something is to give one or more examples of it. For example:-Anyone who has ever ridden on a railroad train knows how rapidly another train flashes by when it is traveling in the opposite direction, and conversely how it may look almost motionless when it is moving in the same direction.5. SynonymsAlmost as fa
