How To Write A Definition Essay Outline
Essays are some of the most common types of assignments a student encounters at various stages of the education process, but not all essays are similar in terms of complexity. Some essays are famously difficult to write, but others have a reputation for being easy and satisfying to work with.
One of those easy tasks is a definition essay. Writing a definition essay is commonly believed to be one of the least challenging writing tasks for modern students. However, a success definition essay is only possible when you know the ins and outs of writing it. Check out a detailed guide on how to write a definition essay from the team of professional writers of the best essay writing service right now.
What Is a Definition Essay?
The first step on your way to writing a convincing essay is finding out what is definition essay and what exactly should be written in one. The meaning of a definition essay is concealed in the very name of this written assignment.
The purpose of a definition essay is to provide the readers with a clear, concise, and scientifically-grounded definition of a particular word, phrase, or concept. Simply because of how brief a definition essay format is in its nature, the length of a typical definition essay is only between ½ page and a whole page.
In some cases, you will be tasked with writing an extended definition essay, where you will need to take multiple approaches to define a single concept or work with a particularly complex subject that requires an in-depth approach. In that case, the extended definition essay outline may require you to include several pages in your essay.
What Is a Definition Essay Outline?
Let’s define an outline for definition essay before proceeding to examine the fuller details of this vital document. A definition essay outline is a mental roadmap that directs and orders your thoughts and determines where you need to place a particular idea. This roadmap shows what your paragraphs will contain, the order in which the paragraph will appear, and how your points will fit together in your essay.
Many outlines use numbers or bullet points to organize information and convey points. A good definition essay outline is vital in your writing planning because it lets you understand how you will connect all the details you gathered to support your thesis statement. It also allows you to manipulate ideas conveniently without writing full paragraphs.
You need to spend enough time for preparation and planning if you want to write a great definition paper. The starting point of any definition essay is a thesis statement. Here, you can experiment with different styles and tones to determine which presentation strategy works best for your definition paper.
After you have collected sufficient information, your definition essay outline template will have three main sections, as discussed in detail below.
Introduction
Your definition essay outline will have an introduction where you introduce your topic to the reader. Your definition essay introduction will explain or define the term you are covering. It will also give an overview, origin, and history of what you are defining. You can define the term or object using the dictionary.
Your definition essay structure will also include a thesis statement to show readers your personal stance on the subject. This statement appears at your introduction’s end.
Body Paragraphs
Your definition essay structure will also include body paragraphs. This section is your paper’s main part where you discuss the full details you introduced in the beginning. Here, you will fully discuss the details with the analysis. You will also explain your term with examples.
Traditionally, your body will include three paragraphs. Each paragraph will be dedicated to one point or idea. You have to start these paragraphs with topic sentences to show readers what lies ahead. Remember to connect your sentences and paragraphs using transition words to give readers a smooth, seamless transition between them as they move to the conclusion.
Conclusion
Lastly, your definition paper outline will include a conclusion. This finishing section summarizes your main points. It also restates your thesis statement to prove how you proved it in the body section. Here, you will give your final verdict on the discussion. This section must satisfy readers so that they can sign out feeling that they didn’t waste their time.
Definition vs. Argumentative
Definition and argumentative essays are two of the most commonly assigned types of essays in modern schools, and while the two share some similarities, at their core, they are two very different types of assignments and should not be confused.
Like a definition essay, an argumentative essay deals with a single topic or subject. However, in an argumentative essay, the writer’s job is to present different arguments supporting his own opinion in the correct one. In a definition essay, the format doesn’t call for the writer’s opinion and instead requires him to solely present the facts that form the definition of the subject.
Types of Definition Essays
After learning what is a definition essay, you may think that this type of assignment is very straightforward and only has one type — the definition itself. However, there are three types of definition essays you need to know about if you want to do a good job with your definition essay:
- Functional definition
In this definition essay, you will define how a certain object or process works. This type of definition essays is very interesting for the audience, as it gives them a chance to find out about the inner workings of something they have always known but never studied in detail.
- Structural definition
The purpose of a structural definition essay is to offer the viewers a complete look at how a certain object is structured and which parts it contains. It can be material or immaterial object, but it needs to be relevant to the interests of the audience.
- Analytical definition
This type of definition essays is possibly the most complex one, as it requires you to not only look at the subject of your essay in great detail and explain it to the audience, but also offer a comparison to similar subjects and how it relates to them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Definition Essay Examples
We’ve examined what you need to learn about a great definition paper outline. Here are two examples that demonstrate how ideas flow through this structure.
- Leadership Ethics
Should leaders be ethical and socially responsible, or is that demand too much? As a society, we know the roles and impact of leaders in social, economic, ecological, and cultural environments. Therefore, we expect leaders to act responsibly and think ahead instead of focusing on personal gain. The concept of leadership ethics means applying moral principles when making decisions that affect those we lead, while ethical choices have far-reaching implications (Mordecai, 2022). Leaders do not operate in a vacuum and regularly interact with many internal and external stakeholders, which suggests that they must have guidelines to guarantee ethical decisions every time. The concept of leadership ethics is not regulated by law, and hence, leaders define it differently.
While examining leadership ethics, we must understand that leaders should balance their own personal gains and potential long-term benefits when making ethical decisions. In the article by Ayayah (2023), we find proof that ethical responsibility comes second after economic and legal duties. Particularly, the first and foremost responsibility of leaders is to solve people’s problems and meet their needs, while the second duty is complying with all relevant laws (Ayayah, 2023). Ethical responsibility in leadership in this angle means fulfilling divine and social expectations not just written as law (Ayayah, 2023). The main issue in defining leadership ethics is akin to defining ethics as a whole because leaders can have different moral compasses and evaluations of what is wrong and right. Therefore, leadership ethics is about following particular moral principles that society expects leaders to live by.
- Courage
All of us feel afraid from time to time. We face fear for various reasons and under different circumstances. Depending on the battles at hand, the extent of our fears varies and somehow prevents us from achieving our goals. However, none of us needs to forget our fears to live bold and brave lives. On the contrary, courage wouldn’t exist if we didn’t have real fear to overcome.
Courage is the mindset one adopts when facing difficult or potentially risky challenges. The tasks that bring out courage out of us vary and range from fighting life-threatening conditions to driving through dangerous terrains. Sometimes, the things that cause people to fear are as harmless as climbing stairs or using an elevator. Courage requires one to embrace these tasks instead of withdrawing from them.
All communities have examples of what they perceive as courage. For instance, you only need to look at your local fire station to see how these men risk their lives to save other people’s lives. In schools, standing before an audience of hundreds or thousands of teachers and students to present one’s project is also an example of courage among young learners.
We can conclude that courage doesn’t erase fear; instead, it needs fear to exist and manifest itself. Regardless of how risky and challenging tasks may seem, courage allows us to fulfil them without forgetting fear. So, next time you see a person acting courageously, remember that they were most likely frightened.
Questions to Ask When Finishing Your Definition Essay
Now that you know how to write definition essay and got some ideas about the regular and extended definition essay topics, all that is left to do is write your paper and then give it a good check. Besides the grammar and language, you also need to make the content of your essay simply flawless. Answering the following 5 questions, prepared by our essay service, will help you understand if you did a good job with your essay:
- Is the topic of my essay fully relevant to its content or can it be viewed as a misleading?
- Is the tone and language of my essay appropriate to my audience?
- Did I choose the most relevant subject for my definition essay?
- Have I studied every possible source to deliver a quality definition?
- Is my definition all-encompassing and impartial or does it still need work?
Conclusion
Crafting a great definition essay outline is a vital step to succeeding in your writing assignment. We hope the insights we discussed and the examples we shared will inspire your future definition essays.
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