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Monday, May 12, 2008

Definition Development Template

copyright 2008 by Gary L. Pullman

Note: We recommend that you read our "Essay Patterns of Development" post before you read this post.

Definition: Define a term by grouping it with others of its kind, based on a general characteristic that it shares with them, and distinguishing it from others of its kind by showing how it differs from them.

Note: Definition essays can be “extended” by giving examples of persons, places, or things that represent the item that is being defined. The approach of writing an extended definition is more typical of college essays that define more complex topics, such as concepts or theories.

Note: Often, there will be more than two distinguishing characteristics, or differentiae.

Topic: Comedy (literary definition)

THESIS: A comedy is a drama in which the protagonist, who is an ordinary type of person, is worse off at the end of the story than he or she was at its beginning.

Use this blank template to generate a thesis for your own definition essay:

THESIS:

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