Use the following guidelines to help you draft the argument of definition:
- Consider a term or phrase that you consider to be controversial or has special meaning that goes beyond a dictionary definition or an issue of categorizing something that is complex.
- Research different interpretations of the words and issues that are crucial to your topic.
- Form your own claim/opinion about the term or phrase. This will be your thesis.
- Organize your support for your claim by creating an outline of your body paragraphs.
- Write an essay starting with an introduction that includes background on your term or phrase you are using in your claim. Then create body paragraphs supporting your definition or categorization.
- The last page should be a Work’s Cited page with the citation of any dictionaries, articles, or other materials you used to write your essay.
- Must include at least 2 references
Grading Criteria:
Use this list, to check that your essay is following the core grading criteria.
A. _____ Is the essay 3-4 pages (not including the work cited page) with MLA formatting?
B. _____ Does the essay fully answer the assignment given?
C. _____ Does the writer avoid grammatical errors?
D. _____ Is the essay logically organized?
E. _____ Is the topic and focus of the paper clear throughout?
F. _____ Does the writer provide quality, unique examples and evidence as support?
G. _____ Is the information from the article analyzed and documented effectively?
