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Learning Resources and Assessments- Prelim

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Introduction to lesson 5
Lesson 5: Special Techniques of Technical Communication: Methods of definition

Topic: Methods of Definition

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1.       Identify the different parts of a dictionary definition;

2.       Recognize formal, informal, and extended definition;
3.       Identify the three distinct parts for formal definition.
 
LEARNING CONTENT
Introduction:
The world of business and industry depends on clear definitions. Suppose you learn
that your school pays tuition and expenses for their student workers’ education. You
would need to study the student-benefits manual to understand just what the school
would pay for. Who, for instance, is a student worker? Is it anyone who works for the
school, or is it someone who has worked for the school part-time for at least six
uninterrupted months? What is tuition? Does it include miscellaneous fees or student
fees? What is a student worker’s education? Does a second course qualify? What, in
fact, constitutes education?
Definitions, then, are crucial in many kinds of technical communication, from brief letters
and memos to technical reports, manuals, and journal articles. All readers, from the
general reader to the expert, need effective definitions to carry out their jobs.

Methods of Definition
Lesson Proper :

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 WHAT ENTERS YOUR MIND THE MOMENT YOU HEAR THE WORD
DEFINITION?

 
What is definition?

Definition is a way of giving or explaining the meaning of an abstract term or a concept.

It is derived from the Latin word finire (to limit); and de(from), the explanation it gives is
limited onl
y to what the reader need to know about the term to avoid confusion with other word
belonging to the same class to where the target word belongs.
When we define then, we are narrowing or limiting down the area of meaning of the
word which prevents you to attach other meaning to the other term. As Burnett says:
“definition that fits only the word; the word only fits the definition.”
Technical writing uses many scientific, technical or abstract terms and symbols that
appear complex and ambiguous. Unless you know who your readers will be and how
much they know about the subject, you cannot determine which terms to define or what
kind of definition to write. Physicists wouldn’t need a definition of entropy, but lawyers
might. Builders know what a molly bolt is, but many insurance agents don’t. When you
write for people whose first language is not English, definitions are particularly
important. So, the extent of explanations given to a word greatly depends on the
audience’s or reader’s background knowledge of the term or on their familiarity with the
word being defined.
Importance of Definition 

1. It gives the reader a clearer and easier understanding of the concept or idea enough to
encourage him to read continuously till the end of the text.
2. It explains ideas or concepts behind various innovations, methods, and techniques in
the field of technology.
3. It lessens the gap between technologically expert or “high-tech’ people and “low-tech”
people.
4. It frees a person from any confusing, or wrong understanding of a term.
5. It helps a company member do his job more efficiently towards a certain goal.
6. It makes many technical written work readable to all kinds of audience of readers.
7.
Placement of Definition in the Text
If you are writing a sentence definition or an extended definition, you need to decide
where to put it. The location of definition in a Technical Report is based on the following:

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1.      The nature of the audience or the readers;
2.      The length of the definition;
3.      The purpose and lay out;
4.      The agreed rules and practices in an area of discipline.
 
Where in your technical report should you specifically place your definition of terms? A
definition is typically placed in one of these six locations:

1.
1. In the text. The text is an appropriate place for sentence definitions that many or most
of your readers will need and for extended definitions of important terms.
2.       In a marginal gloss. Sentence definitions placed in the margin are easy to see, and
they don’t interrupt readers who don’t need them.
3.       In a hyperlink. In a web page, definitions can be put in a separate file and
displayed.
4.       In a footnote. If definition is short, it should be put in the A footnote is a logical
place for an occasional sentence definition or extended definition. The reader who
doesn’t need it will ignore it. However, footnotes can slow readers down by interrupting
the flow of the discussion. If you think you will need more than one footnote for a
definition on every two to three pages, consider including a glossary.
5.      In a glossary. A glossary — an alphabetized list of definitions — can accommodate
sentence definitions and extended definitions of fewer than three or four paragraphs in
one convenient location. A glossary can be placed at the beginning of a document (for
example, after the executive summary in a report) or at the end, preceding the
appendixes.
6.      In an appendix. An appendix is appropriate for an extended definition of a page or
more, which would be cumbersome in a glossary or footnote.
 
Types of Definition
Your audience and purpose will also determine the length and formality of your
definitions. There are three basic types of definitions: parenthetical (Informal), one
sentence logical or Aristotelian (formal), and extended (Expanded or Amplified).

1. Informal Definition
A parenthetical definition is a brief clarification within an existing sentence. Sometimes,
a parenthetical definition is simply a word or phrase that is enclosed in parentheses or
commas or introduced by a colon or a dash. It is a sentence following another sentence.
This type of definition applies to general readers and it is also called a dictionary
definition because the meanings coming in the forms of individual words or phrases
written after the term look like list of words in the dictionary sequentially arranged
opposite in the target term.

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 In the following examples, the term being defined is shown in italics, and the definition is
underscored:
The computers were infected by a Trojan horse (a destructive program that appears to
be benign).
Before the metal is plated, it is immersed in the pickle: an acid bath that removes scales
and oxides from the surface.
Parenthetical definitions are not meant to be comprehensive; rather, they serve as quick
and convenient ways of introducing terms. But make sure your definition is clear. You
have gained nothing if readers don’t understand it:
Next, check for blight on the epicotyl, the stem portion above the cotyledons.
Readers who need a definition of epicotyl are unlikely to know the meaning of
cotyledons. To solve this problem, think carefully about your readers’ understanding of
your subject before including technical terms specific to that subject.

2. Formal Definition
A sentence definition — Aristotelian and a one-sentence logical definition — is more
formal than a parenthetical definition.
Defining a term in a formal manner requires you to:

1.      Mention the term or species to be defined.

2.      Name the genus, group or class where such term belongs;
3.      Give the differentia to indicate its difference from other members
belonging to the class.
All these 3 elements – term, genus and differentia should be contained in one complete
sentence, not just in a phrase or a clause.
The term to be defined has to fall under a genus or class to exclude explicitly other
meanings that anyone may attach to the term. You need to determine and exactly name
the context or class to which the term belongs. This is because some words are
ambiguous or have multiple meanings.
 
A sentence definition usually follows a standard pattern: the item to be defined is placed
in a category of similar items and then distinguished from them.
ITEM                                      =                             CATEGORY          +            
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Crippleware                is                      shareware                                    in which
some features of the  
                                                                                                                program is
disabled until the user

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                                                                                                                 buys a
license to use the program.
 
            Hypnoanalysis            is                     psychoanalytical                        in which
hypnosis is used to elicit
                                                                       technique                                   information
from a patient’s
                                                            
unconscious mind.
 
In many cases, a sentence definition also includes a graphic. For example, a definition
of an electron microscope would probably include a photograph, diagram, or drawing.
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 definitions are
sometimes called stipulative definitions because the writer is stipulating how the term
will be used in the context of the document rather than offering a general definition of
the term.
Guidelines in giving a formal or one-sentence logical definition

1.  Give one and only meaning to the term.

2.      Put them in a genus or class that is familiar to your audience or readers.
3.      Prevent the reader from thinking of many comparable and containing features of the
term in relation to others by using a specific class rather than a general class.
4.      Use positive words in stating the differentia
5.      Avoid giving a bias or subjective definition by basing your explanation on facts or
universal truths rather than on your viewpoints or opinions.
6.      See to it that you do not commit any of the following errors in defining.
Erroneous ways of Defining a Term through the Formal Method
1.      Tautology or Circular definition
Definitions that merely repeat the key words or the distinguishing
characteristics of the item being defined in the category. The definition “A
required course is a course that is required” is useless: required of whom, by
whom?
2.      Analogy or Figurative definition
This erroneous definition just compares the word being define to other term
instead of giving additional information about the word.
3.      Negative or no-not definition
This definition simply presents in the sentence the term as the antithesis or
the opposite of another term. Remember that a good one-sentence logical
definition stresses the positive aspect of the term not its negative attributes.

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 4.      Is where or is when definition
The use of where and when after the linking verb is does not compliment the
term. The where and when has to be changed to a word similar in rank or
class to the target term.
 Extended, Expanded or Amplified definition
 
An extended definition is a more 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, or its
strengths and limitations. An extended definition would address these and other topics.
There is no one way to “extend” a definition. Your analysis of your audience and the
purpose of your communication will help you decide which method to use. In fact, an
extended definition sometimes employs several techniques which we are going to
discuss one by one here.
 
Some ways of expanding or extending a definition of a term:
 

1. Etymology or word derivation

Gives the origin of the term based on the country that has first introduced the
term to the world. Citing a word’s etymology, or derivation, is often a useful and
interesting way to develop a definition. The Oxford dictionary is the appropriate
material to use for etymological definitions.

2.      Historical definition
Historical definition stresses the development of the term. Mentioned in this
definition are people, places, and dates that played significant roles in the
existence of the word.

3.      Negation or elimination
A special kind of contrast is negation, sometimes called negative statement. Negation
clarifies a term by distinguishing it from a different term with which readers might
confuse it. The following example uses negation to distinguish the term ambulatory from
ambulance.
 An ambulatory patient is not a patient who must be moved by ambulance. On the
contrary, an ambulatory patient is one who can walk without assistance from another
person.

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  Negation is rarely the only technique used in an extended definition; in fact, it is used
most often in a sentence or two at the start. Once you have explained what something
is not, you still have to explain what it is.

4.      Operating principle
Describing the principle of operation — the way something works — is an effective way
to develop an extended definition, especially for an object or a process. It is arranged
based on their time of occurrence and uses connectors such as: first, second, then,
next, soon, previously, lastly, finally, afterwards, before, and so on.

5.      Comparison-Contrast
Definition which makes you extend your explanation of a concept or a thing by
pointing out how such thing or concept is similar to or different from another
concept. Using comparison and contrast, a writer discusses the similarities or
differences between the item being defined and an item with which readers are
more familiar.
 
The following definition of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) contrasts this new
form of phone service to the form we all know
 
Voice over Internet Protocol is a form of phone service that lets you connect to
the Internet through your cable or DSL modem. VoIP service uses a device
called a telephony adapter, which attaches to the broadband modem,
transforming phone pulses into IP packets sent over the Internet.
 
VoIP is considerably cheaper than traditional phone service: for as little as $20
per month, users get unlimited local and domestic long-distance service. For
international calls, VoIP service is only about three cents per minute, about a
third the rate of traditional phone service. In addition, any calls from one person
to another person with the same VoIP service provider are free.
 
However, sound quality on VoIP cannot match that of a traditional land-based
phone. On a good day, the sound is fine on VoIP, but frequent users comment on
clipping and dropouts that can last up to a second. In addition, sometimes the
sound has the distant, tinny quality of some of today’s cell phones.
 
In this excerpt, the second and third paragraphs briefly compare VoIP and
traditional phone service. Notice that this passage is organized according to the
part-by-part comparison-and-contrast pattern.

6.      Analysis by Partitioning
Partitioning is the process of dividing a thing or an idea into smaller parts so that
readers can understand it more easily. The photo below uses partition to define the
components of a roof.

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     7. Use of examples
Examples are particularly useful in making an abstract or difficult-to-explain term easier
to understand. The paragraph-length definition enumerates the many uses of one
concept in a particular context of life.
      8.Explication
The second, third or the succeeding sentences operate to give the meaning of some
difficult expressions used in the previous sentences. Its function is to unlock difficult
words to understand in the sentence.
      9.Operational definition
This definition means you explain the indispensable function or use of the thing in the
process, project or activity. This gives the emphasis to the role or use of the thing in a
particular activity.
     10. Stipulative definition
It is a way to extend the definition of a term by explaining the word based on a special
condition, a particular purpose, a requirement or a limitation affecting any agreement

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between or among people. It assigns meaning to a word, sometimes without regard for
common usage. This term is often used in a pejorative sense to refer to a definition that
appears to be deliberately misleading. Stipulative definitions are also known as Humpty-
Dumpty words or legislative definitions.
  A Sample Extended Definition
The figure below is an example of an extended definition addressed to a general
audience.

 
*** END of LESSON 5***

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