Assignment

Words often have different meanings in specialized contexts, and a sentence definition can help a reader understand how a word is used within a certain technical field or professional community. Often writers use sentence definitions to establish a working meaning of a word within a particular document or to offer a simple, brief explanation of a term before going into a longer, more detailed explanation (as you will do in your Technical Description project).

The world of the university can be confusing to new students and their families, in part because of the specialized vocabulary they may not have encountered in the past. For this exercise, consider a first-generation college student who is thinking about enrolling at ECU. Write sentence-length definitions for each of the following words common in higher education:

1. hours
2. general education
3. major
4. minor
5. Blackboard
6. work study
7. bursar
8. degree plan
9. adviser
10. FAFSA

Tips

• Be specific.
• Avoid circular definitions that merely repeat the key word.
• Use noun phrases rather than a phrase beginning with when, what, or where.
  
  • Ex: General education is a program of study… NOT General education is when you take certain classes…