CHOICES AND STRATEGIES: Choosing the Appropriate Type of Definition
| IF THE TERM IS . . . | AND THE DOCUMENT IS . . . | TRY THIS TYPE OF DEFINITION |
| Relatively simple | Relatively informal | Parenthetical. A parenthetical definition is a brief clarification within an existing sentence. Sometimes, a parenthetical definition is simply a word or phrase enclosed in parentheses or commas or introduced by a colon or a dash: “The computers were infected by a Trojan horse (a destructive program that appears to be benign).” |
| Relatively simple | Relatively formal | Sentence. A sentence definition usually follows a standard pattern in which the item to be defined is placed in a category of similar items and then distinguished from them: “Crippleware is shareware in which some features of the program are disabled until the user buys a license to use the program.” Here, “shareware” is the category and the words that follow “shareware” are the distinguishing information. Writers often use sentence definitions to present a working definition for a particular document: “In this report, electron microscope refers to any microscope that uses electrons rather than visible light to produce magnified images.” Such a definition is called a stipulative definition. See the Guidelines box for more about writing sentence definitions. |
| Relatively complex | Informal or formal | Extended. An extended definition is a detailed explanation—usually one or more paragraphs—of an object, process, or idea. Often an extended definition begins with a sentence definition, which is then elaborated. For instance, the sentence definition “An electrophorus is a laboratory instrument used to generate static electricity” tells you the basic function of the device, but it doesn’t explain how it works, what it is used for, and its strengths and limitations. An extended definition would address these and other topics. See “Writing Definitions” for more about extended definitions. |