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DEFINITION PARAGRAPH – PREWRITING TEMPLATE
NOTICE:
There are 4 steps for this assignment: Planning (1), Rough Draft (2), Revised Draft (3),
and Edited Draft (4).
In order to complete the writing assignment correctly and to receive the maximum
amount of points for your work, you must complete all 4 steps.
Points will be deducted for any missing step.
Review the assignment instructions and the grading rubric carefully to ensure that you
have completed all of the required elements before submitting your prewriting
assignment.
HONOR STATEMENT
Read and sign this honor statement prior to submitting your assignment:
By typing my name in the space provided, I certify that all words and ideas in my writing
assignment are mine alone, and, if I used another person’s words or ideas (by summarizing,
paraphrasing, or directly quoting), I gave credit to that author, and I also put quotation marks
around any direct quotations.
By signing my name, I also understand that, if I have copied someone else’s ideas or words, I
have plagiarized, and I understand that the penalty for plagiarism is course failure.
Student Name: _________________________________________
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Writing Prompt: A definition piece takes a word that is difficult to define and seeks to define
the word using a variety of strategies:
A formal, dictionary definition (be sure to give credit to your source);
A personal definition (what it means to you);
An antonym (what the word is not) and/or synonym (a word that means the same thing);
Negation (words that people may confuse with the word);
A personal anecdote that provides an example of the term in action;
An extended example or several brief examples of the word;
The classification of the word (category to which it belongs: example- love is a feeling);
A description of different elements of the word (example- love is patient, kind, does not
envy or boast, from I Corinthians 13);
A comparison/contrast which evaluates the similarities/differences of related topics;
A biblical example (example- John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends” (KJV);
A brief history of the origin or causes of the term’s execution/application;
Effects or consequences of the term’s execution.
In the following four steps, choose a vague, abstract term, brainstorm, and define it, using at least
three of the above strategies in your definition paragraph.
Step 1: Definition Paragraph Planning and Outline
Directions: Complete all of the elements of the planning; otherwise, the content of your piece
will not be accurate.
Abstract Term: Empathy
Category: Ability and Feeling
Brainstorm List: Empathy, compassion, love, brotherhood, understanding, feeling, warmth.
Formal Definition: Empathy is known both as an ability to deeply understand others and as a
strong feeling that pulls us closer to fellow human beings.
Attitude: Empathy is a sign of emotional intelligence. People are starting to lack empathy in
today’s society.
Topic Sentence: Empathy is known both as an ability to deeply understand others and as a
strong feeling that pulls us closer to fellow human beings. It is a sign of a high emotional
intelligence, and it is getting rare in today’s society.
Definition Paragraph Outline: Topic Sentence: Empathy
is known both as an ability to deeply understand others and, as a strong feeling that pulls us
closer to fellow human beings. It is a sign of a high emotional intelligence, and it is getting rare
in today’s society.
I. Synonyms
A. Compassion
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B. Sympathy
C. Sensitivity and Understanding
II. Causes of Empathy
A. When someone has lived through the same situation as the person being
empathized with
B. When someone goes through the hard work of walking in someone else’s shoes
III. Classification of Empathy
A. Ability
B. Feeling
Conclusion: Empathy is the ability to listen to others, relate to their stories and pain, and go
above and beyond to try to understand them. Empathy allows us to feel compassion towards
others, even if their experiences were different than ours.
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Step 2: Definition Paragraph Rough Draft
Directions: Write a rough draft that follows your paragraph plan, beginning with your topic
sentence. Do not worry about spelling or grammar; just let your thoughts flow. End with a good
concluding sentence that mentions the significance of your personal definition to the general
understanding of the chosen term. It must be 200-250 words.
Empathy is known both as an ability to deeply understand others and as a strong feeling that
pulls us closer to fellow human beings. It is a sign of high emotional intelligence, and it is getting
rare in today’s society. Empathy is a hard term to define, and it is often confused with other
general term, but the synonyms that have the nearest significance to empathy are compassion,
sympathy, and sensitivity followed by understanding. People may feel sympathy towards others
when listening to their stories or watching their situation from afar. For example, a feeling of
empathy might come to us when someone has lived through the same situation as the person
being sympathized with; they know the hardships and pain linked to this particular situation and
they can relate to it. Another thing that might cause a feeling of empathy is trying hard to walk in
someone else’s shoes to try to understand them, even though the empathizer may have never
lived in the same circumstances. In conclusion, empathy is defined as the ability to listen to
others, related to their stories and pain, and go above and beyond to try to understand them.
Empathy allows us to feel compassion towards others, even if their life experiences were
different than ours.
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Step 3: Definition Paragraph Revised Draft
Directions: Copy your Definition Paragraph Rough Draft (from above) and paste it below, click
on “Tools” or “Review” if you are using Microsoft Word, and hit “Track Changes.” This is so
your instructor can see all the changes you make. Begin reading through your rough draft and
make changes to the content as you see fit. If necessary, add more distinguishing details to each
way you choose to define your term. Add transitional words or phrases to help the paragraph
flow in a logical order. Add transitional words or phrases to help the paragraph flow in a
logical order. Then, save the draft with the changes.
Empathy is known both as an ability to deeply understand others and as a strong feeling that
pulls us closer to fellow human beings. It is a sign of high emotional intelligence, and it is getting
rare in today’s society. Empathy is a hard term to define, and it is often confused with other
general terms, but the synonyms that have the closest meaning to empathy are compassion,
sympathy, and sensitivity followed by understanding. People may feel sympathy towards others
when listening to their stories or watching their situation from afar. For example, a feeling of
empathy might arise when someone has lived through the same situation as the person being
sympathized with; they know the hardships and pain linked to this particular situation and they
can relate to it. Another thing that might cause a feeling of empathy is trying hard to walk in
someone else’s shoes to try to understand them, even though the empathizer may have never
lived in the same circumstances. In conclusion, empathy is defined as the ability to listen to
others, relate to their stories and pain, and go above and beyond to try to understand them.
Empathy allows us to feel compassion towards others, even if their life experiences were
different than ours.
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Step 4: Definition Paragraph Edited Draft
Directions: Turn off the “Track Changes” feature. Copy your Definition Paragraph Revised
Draft, paste it below, click on “Tools” or “Review” if you are using Microsoft Word, and make
sure you turn on the “Track Changes” feature. Edit for any spelling, punctuation, or
grammatical errors. Focus especially on the concepts you should have recently studied. Save
these changes.
NOTE: Use of contractions (can’t, won’t, doesn’t, etc.) and second person (any form of the
pronoun “you”) is strictly prohibited and will result in loss of points on writing
assignments.
Empathy is known both as an ability to deeply understand others and as a strong feeling that
pulls us closer to fellow human beings. It is a sign of high emotional intelligence, and it is getting
rare in today’s society. Empathy is a hard term to define, and it is often confused with other
general terms, but the synonyms that have the closest meaning to empathy are compassion,
sympathy, and sensitivity, followed by understanding. People may feel sympathy towards others
when listening to their stories or watching their situation from afar. For example, a feeling of
empathy might arise when someone has lived through the same situation as the person being
sympathized with; they know the hardships and pain linked to this particular situation and they
can relate to it. Another thing that might cause a feeling of empathy is trying hard to walk in
someone else’s shoes to try to understand them, even though the empathizer may have never
lived in the same circumstances. In conclusion, empathy is defined as the ability to listen to
others, relate to their stories and pain, and go above and beyond to try to understand them.
Empathy allows us to feel compassion towards others, even if their life experiences were
different than ours.
