Definition Paper

English 101

Fall 2018

Paper 2

Dr. Andrew J. Kunka

Definition Paper

Topic: Choose a slang term or a concept related to popular culture, social media, or a hobby or interest you have. Explain the concept thoroughly to your readers, considering carefully what they already know about it and how your essay might add to what they know. Remember: the main goal of this paper is to thoroughly inform your audience on the topic. However, you may have secondary goals to entertain the reader or argue a specific position.

The topic should also be manageable in a short paper (four or more pages). That means you should be able to cover the topic thoroughly in the length you have; therefore, the narrower the topic, the better. You may narrow the topic by picking a term or concept that has a very limited application. Or you may pick a narrow context in which to discuss a broad concept.

Pop culture, slang, and hobbies are particularly ripe with new concepts and terms that people outside of select groups may not know or understand. Look to these areas for good topics.

I want to approve your topics before you begin writing. You may come up with a topic that is too large for a short paper, so you may need to refine or revise your focus. Or you may come up with a topic that does not qualify as a concept or meet the requirements of the assignment, and so I want to make sure you don’t put too much work into a topic that you must abandon. Start thinking about possibilities right away. Submit your topic to the relevant discussion thread on Blackboard.

Here are some questions to get you thinking:

· Is there a concept that may be generally understood, but it has a specific application that isn’t popularly known?

· Is there a term that you consider to be generally misused, and that you would like to change the popular conception of it?

· Are you involved in a hobby, sport, or specialized interest that you could illuminate for an audience that is unfamiliar with it?

· Is there a trend, fad, slang term, or other popular concept that is specific to your age group, interests, or geographical location that someone outside of your experience might not understand?

· Are you curious about a subculture of American society and the language that they use that you want to research further?

· Is there a term or phrase that you and your friends use that others outside the group may not understand?

· Is there a new slang term that has recently emerged in pop culture that you would like to explore further?

· Are there terms that you use in specific contexts, like texting, emailing, tweeting, etc., that you don’t use in regular speech?

Graded assessment of the assignment will focus on several key factors:

1. Focus/organization/structure: Does your paper have a clear beginning, middle, end? Is the paper focused on a specific subject that is manageable and that can be developed thoroughly within the length requirements? Have you paid careful attention to the classification of information and the order in which paragraphs and ideas are expressed? Is your writing organized into clearly defined, focused paragraphs?

2. Tone: Is your paper both informative and engaging? Do you choose a tone (serious, humorous, sarcastic, authoritative, etc.) that is appropriate for the topic and your approach to it?

3. Description and detail: Would a person who is unfamiliar with your subject be able understand it? Do you use interesting descriptive words to illuminate your subject? Do you define important terms and concepts related to your topic in a manner that is clear and understandable for the general reader? Do you use various definition strategies in order to illuminate the topic thoroughly? Do you provide sufficient examples?

4. Support: Did you do adequate research on your topic? Is your research properly documented in the paper in order to avoid plagiarism?

5. Correctness: Do you have correct grammar and spelling? Do you avoid overusing “be”-verbs and other vague terms? Are your sentence structures correct? Did you spellcheck the paper?

6. Overall appearance: Does your paper look neat and professional? Do you use an appropriate font and margin? Do you have a catchy title?

Your paper should be a minimum of four pages, typed and double-spaced with 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font and one-inch margins.

Important Dates:

October 3: Topics Due on Blackboard

October 15: Writing Group Draft Due

October 22: Definition Paper Final Draft Due