ENG 106: Composition 2

ENG 106: Composition 2 Lesson 6: Definitions Week: Feb. 10-16, 2003 Place: Dial 147 Objectives By the end of this lesson, you should be able to do each of the following: Construct a definition. Understand a dictionary entry. Define relevant terms. Assignments Read Chapter 9 of Everything’s an Argument and excerpt from J. Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur’s “What Is an American?” (473-479) before you come to class on Tuesday. Write an outline of your definition before you come to class on Thursday. This outline should contain your claim, as well as notes for your introduction, support, rebuttal, and conclusion. Activities Think Fast: Look up the words “American” and “America” in a dictionary. Record the following information for each word: pronunciation, part of speech, definitions, etymology. Compare the information here with the definition of American provided by Crevecoeur. Presentation: Definitions (Professor Canada) Cooperative Learning: Discuss the criteria for being an American with a partner. Begin prewriting some criteria and rebuttals. Discussion: During this time, we will discuss the insights and questions that have emerged during our reading, “Think Fast” exercise, presentation, and cooperative learning. Think Again: Read a partner’s outline and evaluate its claim, support, and rebuttal. Conferences: During these one-on-one conferences, I will review some of your writing, orally quiz you on lesson objectives, and field your questions. Announcements: We will wrap up this lesson with announcements regarding upcoming lessons, as well as other relevant subjects. Terms Make sure you know the meaning and significance of each of the following terms: connotation definition denotation dictionary etymology stress Resources The American Heritage College Dictionary is an excellent source of information about the spellings, uses, meanings, and histories of English words. Everything’s an Argument provides step-by-step instructions for writing a definition. Updated December 31, 2002 © Mark Canada, 2002 mark.canada@uncp.edu

Introduction Now that you have written both an evaluation and a causal argument, we turn now to a third kind of argument, the definition. We also will take a close look at dictionaries. Please bring your hardback college dictionary to each of our class meetings this week. Discussion Definitions Although you probably have encountered numerous definitions in your life, you may not have thought of them as being the subjects or results of argument. When you look up a word, such as “table,” in a dictionary, you find a neat definition right there. So where’s the argument? Did you ever stop to wonder, though, where that definition came from? The English language did not come to us with a glossary attached. Someone had to come up with that definition, and that someone conducted painstaking research to create it. He or she probably examined numerous instances in which writers, speakers, or both used that word and, from those instances, drew a conclusion about the word’s meaning. The resulting definition is, then, open to argument, though most speakers will probably agree on the basic outlines of the definition. Imagine, however, how much more contestable might be definitions of other things. For example, many people define a fetus as a human being, while others define it as something slightly different. When you write an argument of definition, you argue that something has particular features or belongs to a particular category. Often you will use a set of criteria in making your argument. As always, you will want to address counterarguments and to present plenty of evidence to support your claim. Dictionaries A good dictionary and the knowledge of how to use it are essential if you want to get the most out of what you read. After all, with the exception of graphic items such as charts and diagrams, everything that you have to learn from a text book comes in the form of words. If you don't know what those words mean, you won't learn much from the textbook.  Thus, one of the first things you should do when you get to college is buy a good hardback college dictionary, which is the best guide to words' spellings, pronunciations, meanings, and histories. While small paperbacks are cheaper and easier to carry, they generally have fewer entries, fewer and less detailed definitions, and less information about usage and etymology. If you like to carry a dictionary with you, buy a small paperback, but make sure you have a hardback edition on the desk where you work. If you study in the library, pick up one of the dictionaries in the reference area or know where to find one on a stand somewhere. My favorite hardback college dictionary is The American Heritage College Dictionary, which contains excellent definitions, usage notes, and etymologies, all printed in an easy-to-read format. Become familiar with the format of your dictionary. While some parts of a dictionary entry, such as spelling and definitions, are generally self-explanatory, others require you to know something about how the lexicographers, or dictionary makers, put their information together. For example, you need to be able to decipher the symbols used to indicate the word's pronunciation and make sense of abbreviations such as "tr." and "OE." After you buy a dictionary, take a few minutes to skim the introductory material, which contains valuable information about abbreviations, format for listing entries, system for indicating pronunciation, and much more. When you are reading, look up unfamiliar words and study their pronunciations, meanings, uses, and histories. I suggest the following steps: 1. Using the pronunciation provided, say the word aloud. Refer to the dictionary's pronunciation key, usually located at the bottom of the page or a facing page, to find out what the symbols mean. If the word has more than one syllable, make sure you know which syllable to stress when you pronounce the word; that is, know which syllable should be pronounced with more force or volume. In the word "volume," for example, the first syllable should be stressed. This step is important because you will want to pronounce the word correctly if you use it in conversation; pronouncing it incorrectly suggests to people listening to you that you do not really know the word.  2. Determine the word's part of speech. Knowing whether a word is a noun, a verb, or something else can help you to understand and use it. Be aware that many words, such as "run" and "low," can be more than one part of speech. Dictionaries generally use abbreviations such as "n." and "adj." to indicate parts of speech.  3. Read the definitions and determine which relates to the context in which you found it. You may have to look up words you find in these definitions. Each definition provides one of the word's denotations, or literal meanings, but it may also give you clues to the word's connotations, which are associations that go along with the word. One dictionary's definition of "notorious," for example, is "Known widely and usually unfavorably." Thus, this definition not only explains that "notorious" means "Known widely," but reveals that it has negative connotations. You have reason to believe, then, that the person described in your reading as "notorious" had some enemies. You also know better than to use this word to describe someone widely respected, unless perhaps you want to create a humorous effect.  4. Pay attention to usage information. When you read a definition, you may notice an italicized term designed to tell how or where the word is used. The designation "Music" in a definition of "note," for example, indicates that this particular definition pertains to how musicians use the word. The designation "archaic" in a definition of "awful" shows that the word is no longer used widely with this meaning. The American Heritage College Dictionary also includes "usage notes" with many words, including "infer," "unique," and "literally." These notes provide information about how appropriate these words are in Standard English. Usage information can help you make decisions about whether and how to use a word. If it is labeled "archaic" or "obscene," for example, you probably will not want to use it in a research paper you are writing for a class, unless it appears in a quotation.  5. Study the word's etymology. The etymology of a word is its history. In many cases, when you read a word's etymology, you will see that English speakers borrowed the word from another language, such as French or Latin. You also may see that the word consists of various parts, each with its own meaning. If you look up the word "ambiguous," for example, you will see that it came from the Latin language and that it is made up of two parts: "ambi," which means "both" in Latin," and "guous," which refers to "meaning." Such information can help you to remember the word's meaning and to learn new words. By associating this word with "ambivalent," which means "having mixed feelings," and "ambidextrous," which means "functional with both hands," you can learn three words for the price of one.  6. Drawing on what you have learned from the dictionary entry, use the word in a sentence of your own. Using a word is the best way to commit its meaning to memory.  7. Record all of this information in a glossary in your notes. Writing down all of this information not only helps you remember it, but provides you with a reference you can use later. Conclusion In this lesson, we examined definitions. In our next lesson, we will turn to visual argument.