English 1302 Definition Essay

English 1302

Professor Remollino

Paragraph 1: Definition

To begin the assignment, look at the following list of words. You will need to choose one of

them for your definition paragraph:

bravado trefoil nonagenarian raconteur

carcinogen fleur de lis malapropism vicissitude

narcissism hubris oxymoron talisman

caduceus hansom numismatics peccadillo

phlebotomist conestoga triskaidekaphobia augury

finial bandoleer polyglot cacophony

scimitar parsimony xenophobia neophyte

samovar kismet juju maelstrom

philatelist malediction legerdemain coulrophobia

termagant faux pas circumlocution adage

curmudgeon

aspersion gourmand

nepotism

Prompt

Part A. Go to Dictionary.com to complete this part of the assignment. Begin by looking up your

chosen word. Copy and paste the following information for the word:

1) The word

2) Its pronunciation

3) Its part of speech

4) Its word origin

5) All its definitions

Part B. Write an extended definition for the word using your skills of connotation. Write a one

full-page definition of your chosen word. Don’t forget to give your writing an original title. Your

audience is your college English professor. You will turn in Parts A, B, and C of your definition

assignment with a page break between each page but all as one document.

You may describe, narrate and/or explain the term. You do not have to use the word in your

definition paragraph. In fact, the reader should be able to figure out which word you have

chosen based upon the details you have provided. However, this is not a guessing game. The

reader should not be clueless about what word is being defined.

Part C. Create an MLA-style Works Cited page using the following Purdue OWL example as the

correct format:

"Arachnophobia". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 2 Nov. 2016.

<Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/arachnophobia>.