For this essay, you will be asked to write a FOUR-PAGE (DOUBLE-SPACED) Definition/Explanation Essay, WITH THREE SOURCES
I RECOMMEND the following:
Choose a topic that can be described from multiple angles or can exist in multiple contexts with multiple different definitions or occurrences
Really interrogate each aspect of your topic until you reach the simplicity limit of definition and explanation. By this I mean, aggressively ask questions of your topic’s components until you get to a place where you can assume the great majority of people would need no further explanation or definition. For example, a cup of coffee is at it’s simplest liquid in a container designed for moving liquid sustenance into the mouth without spilling, but in order to get there, I would need to define exactly what kind of liquid coffee is and explain exactly how we understand what a cup is.
This is an excellent paper to involve your friends and family in. Ask people around you to define or explain your topic; write down what they say. This serves two purposes. First, it allows you crowdsource ways of approaching your topic, and two, it generates useful content for the paper’s introduction and conclusion (potentially even some of the body paragraphs).
Once you’ve completed the initial planning phase of the paper, write a paragraph of no more than four sentence succinctly summoning up your definition and/or explanation process. This will be useful for writing your thesis statement.
