https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/definition-essay/
How confident are you right now in your ability to write a killer definition essay?
A. Super-confident. I can write a great essay with one hand tied behind my back.
B. Reasonably confident. I’d probably need both hands to type my paper.
C. Completely lacking in confidence. I couldn’t write a good paper right now unless I had an extra hand.
If you picked A or B, you probably have a good understanding of how to write a definition essay, but you should keep reading anyway. You might just learn a tip or two!
POP QUIZ! How confident are you right now in your ability to write a killer definition essay?
If you picked C, that’s okay too. I’m here to lend a helping hand and boost your writing confidence.
“Thermometer – Confidence Level” by Vic, Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)
Picking the right word or concept to define is a crucial step in writing a definition essay, so choose carefully.
Say you choose “pencil” as the topic of your definition essay. After you’ve written something like “a writing instrument” as your definition, what’s left to say? Exactly. Not much.
This means that basic nouns—such as pencil, cow, or corn—usually aren’t good topic choices for a definition essay.
Instead, choose a word that is a bit more abstract and can mean something different to just about everyone.
Perhaps you choose “home” as the topic for your paper. With this topic, there’s so much more to write about beyond the standard dictionary definition of “a dwelling or place of residence.”