DEFINITION

When your topic is new to the audience and/or addresses a complex concept (What is a fractal?), pay particular attention to providing adequate definitions. To define something is to identify its essential qualities and meaning.

You can approach definition in a number of ways, including the following:

• Defining something by what it does (operational definition): A computer is something that processes information.
• Defining something by describing what it is not (definition by negation): Courage is not the absence of fear.
• Defining something by providing several concrete examples (definition by example): Health professionals include doctors, nurses, EMTs, and ambulance drivers.
• Defining something by comparing it to something synonymous (definition by synonym): A friend is a comrade or a buddy.
• Defining something by illustrating its root meaning (definition by word origin): Our word rival derives from the Latin word rival is, “one living near or using the same stream.”⁵

Definition: Example

Definition: Examples (popular culture references)