Outline

41

397-417

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Defining

Defining something says what it is - and what it is not. A terrier, for example, is a kind of dog. A fox terrier i s a small dog now generally kept as a pet but once used by hunters to dig for foxes . Happiness is a jelly doughnut, at least according to Homer Simpson. All of those are defini­ tions. As writers, we need to define any terms our readers may not knoW. And sometimes you'll want to stipulate your own definition of a word in order to set the terms of an ARGUMENT-as Homer Simpson does with a definition that's not found in any dictionary. This chapter details strategies for using definitions in your writing to suit your own rhetorical situations.

Formal Definitions

Sometimes to make sure readers understand you, you will need to pro­ vide a formal definition. If you are using a technical term that readers are unlikely to know or if you are using a term in a specific way, you need to say then and there what the word means. The word mutual, for example, has several dictionary meanings:

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Definition of MUTUAL

1a: directed by each toward the other or the others. mutual affection b: having the same feelings one for the other. they had long been mutual enemies c: shared in common • enjoying their mutual hobby d: joint· to their mutual advantage 2: characterized by intimacy. mutual contacts 3: of or relating to a plan whereby the members of an organization share in the profits and expenses; specifically: of, relating to, or taking

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g for foxes. Happiness is a jelly impson. All of those are defini­ ~rms our readers may not know. 'our own definition of a word in -as Homer Simpson does with a ry. This chapter details strategies .t your own rhetorical situations.

;tand you, you will need to pro­ i technical term that readers are m in a specific way, you need to ;. The word mutual, for example,

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41/Defining

the form of an insurance method in which the policyholders constitute the members of the insuring company

-Merriam-Webster.com

The first two meanings are commonly understood and probably require no definition. But if you were to use mutual in the third sense, it might-depending on your audience. A general audience would prob­ ably need the definition; an audience from the insurance industry would not. A website that gives basic financial advice to an audience of non­ specialists, for instance, offers a specific definition of the term mutual fund:

Mutual funds are financial intermediaries. They are companies set up to receive your money and then, having received it, to make invest­ ments with the money.

-Bill Barker, "A Grand, Comprehensive Overview to Mutual Funds Investing"

But even writers in specialized fields routinely provide formal defini­ tions to make sure their readers understand the way they are using certain words. See how two writers define the word stock as it pertains to their respective (and very different) fields:

Stocks are the basis for sauces and soups and important flavoring agents for braises. Admittedly, stock making is time consuming, but the extra effort yields great dividends.

- Tom Colicchio, Think Like a Chef

Want to own part of a business without having to show up at its office every day? Or ever? Stock is the vehicle of choice for those who do. Dating back to the Dutch mutual stock corporations of the sixteenth century, the modern stock market exists as a way for entre­ preneurs to finance businesses using money collected from investors. In return for ponying up the dough to finance the company, the investor becomes a part owner of the company. That ownership is represented by stock-specialized financial "securities," or financial instruments, that are "secured" by a claim on the assets and profits of a company.

- " Investing Basics: Stocks," Motley Fool

STRATEGIES

To write a formal definition

Use words that readers are likely to be familiar with.

Don't use the word being defined in the definition.

Begin with the word being defined; include the general category to which the term belongs and the attributes that make it different from the others in that category.

For example:

Term

Stock is

Photosynthesis is

Astronomers are

Zach Galifianakis,

General Category

a specialized financial "security"

a process

scientists

an actor,

Distinguishing Attributes

that is "secured" by a claim.

by which plants use sunlight to create energy.

who study celestial objects and phenomena.

has been featured in several films, including The Hangover and Birdman.

Note that the category and distinguishing attnbutes cannot be stated toe:> broadly; .if they were, the definition would be too vague to be useful. It wouldn't be helpful in most circumstances, for example, to say, "ZaGh Galifianakis is a man who has acted" or "Photosynthesis is something having to do with plants."

Extended Definitions

Sometimes you need to provide a more detailed definition. Extenqed d~fi­ nrtions may be several sentences long or several paragraphs long and may include pictures or diagrams. Sometimes an e.ntire essay is devoted

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Distinguishing Attributes

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who study celestial objects and phenomena.

has been featured in several films, including The Hangover and Birdman.

: attributes cannot be stated too ld be too vague to be useful. It ces, for example, to say, "Zach r "Photosynthesis is something

~tailed definition. Extended defi­ or several paragraphs long and :imes an entire essay is devoted

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41 / Defining

to defining a difficult or important concept. Here is one writer's extended definition of meme:

Richard Dawkins first came up with the idea of a meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. Essentially, memes are ideas that evolve according to the same principles that govern biological evolution. Think about all the ideas that you have in your head right now. They are all memes, and they all came from somewhere. Some of them will have come from friends and some will have come from the internet or television. Examples of memes are musical tunes, jokes, trends, fashions, catch phrases, and car designs. Now, the memes that inhabit your mind are in competition with all the other memes in the memepool (the collec­ tion of all existing memes). This means that they are all competing to get themselves copied into other people's minds. Some of these memes do quite well. Every time you whistle your favorite tune or utter a useful catch phrase, you are facilitating the spread of those memes. Every time you wear something that is "in fashion" you are helping the idea of that fashion enter other people's minds. Consider the first four notes of Beethoven's 5th symphony, or the "Happy Birthday" song. These are ideas that inhabit our minds and have been very suc­ cessful at replicating. Not only have these memes found their way into literally millions of minds, they have also managed to leave copies of themselves on paper, in books, on audiotape, on compact disks, and in computer hard-drives.

There is a limited amount of memetic storage space on this planet, so only the best memes manage to implant themselves. Memes that are good at replicating tend to leave more copies of themselves in minds and in other mediums such as books. Memes that are not so good at replicating tend to die out. We can imagine what sorts of memes have become extinct. Ancient songs that were once sung and never written down are one example . Another example is the many stories that were once told but have since slipped into oblivion.

-Brent Silby, "What Is a Meme?"

That definition includes a description of the basic features and behavior of memes, examples of them, and the origin of the term. We can assume that it's written for a general audience, one that doesn't know anything about memes.

STRATEGIES

Abstract concepts often require extended definitions because by nature they are more complicated to define. There are many ways of writing an extended definition, depending in part on the term being defined and on your audience and purpose. The following examples show some of the methods that can be used for composing extended definitions of democracy.

Explore the word's origins. Where did the word come from? When did it first come into use? In the following example, from an essay consider­ ing what democracy means in the twenty-first century, the writer started by looking at the word's first known use in English. Though it's from an essay written for a first-year writing course and thus for a fairly general audience, it's a definition that might pique any audience's interest:

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term democracy first appeared in English in a thirteenth-century translation of Aristotle's works-specifically, in his Politics, where he stated that the "underlying principle of democracy is freedom" and that "it is customary to say that only in democracies do men have a share in freedom, for that is what every democracy makes its aim." By the sixteenth century, the word was used much as it is now. One writer in 1586, for instance, defined it in this way: "where free and poore men being the greater number, are lords of the estate ."

-Susanna Mejia, "What Does Democracy Mean Now?"

Here's another example, this one written for a scholarly audience, from an essay about women, participation, democracy, and the information age:

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The very word citizenship carries wit h it a connotat ion of place, a "citi­ zen" being, literally, the inhabitant of a city. Over the years the word has, of course, accumulated a number of associated meanings . .. and the word has come to stand in for such concepts as participation, equality, and democracy. The fact that the concept of locality is deeply embedded in the word citizen suggests that it is also fundamental to our current understanding of these other, more apparently abstract words.

In Western thought, the concepts of citizenship, equality, and democracy are closely interlinked and can be traced back t o a com­ mon source, in Athens in the fifth century S.c. Perhaps it is no accident that it was the same culture which also gave us, in its theater, the

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~nded definitions because by nature 'here are many ways of writing an on the term being defined and on wing examples show some of the ; extended definitions of democracy ,

d the word come from~ When did example, from an essay consider­ {-frrst century. the writer started by English. Though it's from an essay j thus for a fairly general audience, ldience 's interest:

:mary, the term democracy first ~ntury translation of Aristotle's 'e he stated that the "underlying i that "it is customary to say that lre in freedom, for that is what 1e sixteenth century, the word r in 1586, for instance, defined nen being the greater number,

Does Democracy Mean Now?"

:ten for a scholarly audience, from nocracy, and the information age:

a connotation of place, a "citi- l city. Over the years the word associated meanings . .. and the cepts as participation, equality, t of locality is deeply embedded so fundamental to our current arently abstract words. , of citizenship, equality, and :an be traced back to a com­ ry B.C. Perhaps it is no accident a gave us, in its theater, the

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~onna.n RockweJr's 1943 pClinting Freedom of Speech presents a visual defini­ !ion of democracy: Q citizen stands to speak at a public meeting while his fellow eitizens Listen attentively .

424-31

STRATEGIES

concept of the unity of time and space. The Greek city-state has been represented for centuries as the ideal model of democracy, with free and equal access for all citizens to decision making. Leaving aside, for the moment, the question of who was included, and who excluded from this notion of citizenship, we can see that the sense of place is fundamental to this model. Entitlement to participate in the demo­ cratic process is circumscribed by geography; it is the inhabitants of the geographical entity of the city-state, precisely defined and bounded, who have the rights to citizenship. Those who are not defined as inhab­ itants of that specific city-state eire explicitly excluded, although, of course, they may have the right to citizenship elsewhere.

-Ursula Huws, "Women, Participation, and Democracy in the Information Society"

Provide details. What are its characteristics? What is it made of? See how a historian explores the basic characteristics of democracy in a book written for an audience of historians:

As a historian I am naturally disposed to be satisfied with the mean­ ing which, in the history of politics, men have commonly attributed to the word-a meaning, needless to say, which derives partly from the experience and partly from the aspirations of mankind. So regarded, the term democracy refers primarily to a form of government, and it has always meant govemment by the many as opposed to government by the one-govemment by the people as opposed to government by a tyrant, a dictator, or an absolute monarch .. . . Since the Greeks first used the term, the essential test of democratic government has always been this: the source of political authority must be and remain in the people and not in the ruler. A democratic government has always meant one in which the citizens, or a sufficient number of them to represent more or less effectively the common will, freely act from time to time, and according to established forms, to appoint or recall the magistrates and to enact or revoke the laws by which the community is governed. -Carl Becker, Modern Democracy

Compare it with other words. How is this concept like other similar.

things~ How does it differ? What is it not like? COMPARE AND CONII'~rr.

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:ics? What is it made of? See ristics of democracy in a book

be satisfied with the mean­ ave commonly attributed to hich derives partly from the IS of mankind. So regarded, form of government, and it y as opposed to government as opposed to government

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41 / Defining

it. See how apolitical science textbook defines a majoritarian democracy by comparing its characteristics with those of a consensual democracy:

A majoritarian democracy is one

1. having only two major political parties, not many

2. having an electoral system that requires a bare majority to elect one clear winner In an election, as opposed to a proportional electoral system that distributes seats to political parties according to the rough share o·f votes received in the election

3. a strong executive (president or prime minister) and cabinet that together are largely Independent of the legislature when it comes to exercising the executive's constitutional duties, In contrast to a[1 executive and cabinet that are politically controlled by the parties in the legislature and therefore unable to exercise much influence when proposing policy initiatives.

-Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore J. Lowi, and Margaret Weir, We the People: An Introduction to American Politics

And here's an example in which democracy is contrasted with various other forms of governments of the past:

Caesar's power derived from a popular mandate, conveyed through established republican forms, but that did not make his government any the less a dictatorship. Napoleon called his government a demo­ cratic republ ic, but no one, least of all Napoleon himself, d0ubted that he had destroyed the last vestiges of the democratic republic.

-Carl Becker, Modern Democracy

Give examples. See how the essayist E. B. White defines democracy by giving some everyday examples of considerate behavior, humility, and civic participation-all things he suggests constitute democracy:

It is the line that forms on the right. It is the don't in "don't shove." It is the hole in the stuffed shirt through which the sawdust slowly trickles; it is the dent in the high hat. Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time .... Democracy is a letter to the editor. -E. B. White, "Democracy"

418-23

STRATEGIES

White's definition is elegant because he uses examples that his read­ ers will know. His characteristics-metaphors, really-define democ­ racy not as a conceptual way of governing but as an everyday part of American life .

Classify it. Often it is useful to divide or CLASSIFY a term. The ways in which democracy unfolds are complex enough to warrant entire text­ books, of course, but the following definition, from a political science textbook, divides democracy into two kinds, representative and direct

A system of government that gives citizens a regular opportunity to elect the top government officials is usually called a representative democracy or republic. A system that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and policies is often called a direct democracy. At the national level, America is a representative democracy in which citizens select government officials but do not vote on legislation. Some states, however, have provisions for direct legislation through popular refer­ endum. For example, California voters in 1995 decided to bar undocu­ mented immigrants from receiving some state services.

-Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore J. Lowi, and Margaret Weir, We the People: An Introduction to American Politics

Stipulative Definitions

Sometimes a writer will stipulate a certain definition, essentially saying, "This is how I'm defining x." Such definitions are n ot usually found in a dictionary- and at the same time are central to the argumentthe wrlteris making. Here is one example, from an essay by Toni Morrison. Descriping a scene from a film in which a newly arrived Greek immigrant, workillg as a shoe shiner in Grand Central Terminal, $ses away an African Arneflcan competitor, Morrison calls the scene an example of "race talk," a coneept she then goes on to define:

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he uses examples that his read- 1etaphors, really-define democ­ ~rning but as an everyday part of

~ or CLASSIFY a term. The ways in x enough to warrant entire text­ efinition, from a political science :inds, representative and direct:

i!izens a regular opportunity to usually called a representative permits citizens to vote directly irect democracy. At the national nocracy in which citizens select te on legislation. Some states, gislation through popular refer- in 1995 decided to bar undocu­

ne state services.

ore J. Lowi, and Margaret Weir, ltroduction to American Politics

ain definition, essentially saying, litions are not usually found in a 1tral to the argument the writer is ;say by Toni Morrison. Describing !ved Greek immigrant, working as chases away an African American example of "race talk," a concept

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41 I Defining

This is race talk, the explicit insertion into everyday life of racial signs and symbols that have no meaning other than pressing African

Americans to the lowest level of the racial hierarchy. Popular culture, shaped by film, theater, advertising, the press, television, and litera­ ture, is heavily engaged in race talk. It participates freely in this most enduring and efficient rite of passage into American culture: negative appraisals of the native-born black population. Only when the lesson of racial estrangement is learned is assimilation complete. Whatever the lived experience of immigrants with African Americans-pleasant, beneficial, or bruising-the rhetorical experience renders blacks as noncitizens, already discredited outlaws.

All immigrants fight for jobs and space, and who is there to fight but those who have both? As in the fishing ground struggle between Texas and Vietnamese shrimpers, they displace what and whom they can. Although u.S. history is awash in labor battles, political fights and property wars among all religious and ethnic groups, their struggles are persistently framed as struggles between recent arrivals and blacks.

In race talk the move into mainstream America always means buying into the notion of American blacks as the real aliens. Whatever the ethnicity or nationality of the immigrant, his nemesis is understood to be African American . -Toni Morrison, "On the Backs of Blacks"

The following example is from a book review of Nancy L. Rosenblum's Membership and Morals: The Personal Uses of Pluralism in America, published in the American Prospect, a magazine for readers interested in political analy­ sis. In it a Stanford law professor outlines a definition of "the democracy of everyday life":

Democracy, in this understanding of it, means simply treating people as equals, disregarding social standing, avoiding attitudes of either def­ erence or superiority, making allowances for others' weaknesses, and reSisting the temptation to respond to perceived slights. It also means protesting everyday instances of arbitrariness and unfairness-from the rudeness of the bakery clerk to the sexism of the car dealer or the racism of those who vandalize the home of the first black neighbors on the block. -Kathleen M. Sullivan, "Defining Democracy Down"

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STRATEGIES

Considering the Rhetorical Situation

As a writer or speaker, you need to think about the message that you want to articulate, the audience you want to reach, and the larger context you are writing in.

Your purpose for writing will affect any definitions you include. Would writing an extended definition help you explain something? Would stipulating definitions of key terms help you shape an argument? Could an offbeat definition help you entertain your readers?

What audience do you want to r:each, and are there any terms your readers are unlikely to know (and therefore need to be defined)? Are there terms they might under­ stand differently from the way you're defining them?

Does your genre require you to define terms? Chances are that if you're reporting information you'll need to define some terms, and some arguments rest on the way you define key terms.

STANCE What is your stance, and do you need to define key terms to show that stance clearly? How you define fetus, for example, is likely to reveal your stance on abortion.

MEDIA/DESIGN Your medium will affect the form your definitions take.

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In a print text, you will need to define terms in your text; if you're giving a speech or presentation, you might also provide images of important terms and their definitions. In an electronic text, you may be able to define terms by' linking to an online dictionary definition.

!F YOU N~ED !V10RE ~~El.P

See also the PRO(;ESSES chapters for help generating ideas, drafting, revising, and so on if you are writing a whole essay dedicated to defining a term or concept .

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