definition essay

· "Some of the most pressing social issues in American life today are further complicated by imprecise definitions of critical terms. Various medical cases, for example, have brought worldwide attention to the legal and medical definitions of the word death. Debates continue about the meanings of other controversial words. Select one of the following words and write an essay in which you discuss not only the definition of the term but also the problems associated with defining it:

. values

. alcoholism

. cheating

. kidnapping

. lying

. censorship

. remedial

. insanity

. forgiveness

. sex

. success

. happiness

. life

. equality"

Essay requirements:

1. Length: 500-750 words (two-three typed pages)

2. MLA essay format

3. Thesis statement (the main idea of your essay expressed in one sentence)

4. Concrete, specific details

5. Interesting title

6. Fully developed introduction

7. Fully developed body paragraphs

8. Fully developed conclusion (your essay should have at least five paragraphs)

9. Do not use second person pronouns (you and your)

10. Do not use contractions (i.e., isn't, aren't, there's . . .)

11. You may use first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine)

12. Do not use outside source material in this essay. All of the information should be your own. An essay that contains outside source material will automatically receive no credit ("NC").