definition essay on what it means to be rock ribbed. how it relates to being motivated to be the best that you can. popular examples using Ben carson and oprah whinfrey.

Your title should be short and indicate clearly the topic and your focus on the topic.  Make the title captivating to your readers.

As in other essay patterns, the thesis statement will give your reader a clue about your main point. In your thesis statement, you should define the term from your own angle. In other words, you shouldn’t confine yourself to a dictionary or etymological definition of the term. Importantly, your thesis statement should highlight the differentia, i.e. particular attributes that your term possesses.

e.g. Investigative reporting is the spearhead of journalism. In its mainstream manifestations, it involves probing into the mechanics of the underground world and offering the public a balanced perspective, based on reliable sources of information.

Your thesis should be included early in the essay, preferably at the end of the introduction. 

This is where most of your points come from. 

Introduction

 Open your essay with a few sentences that will grab your reader’s attention (see EFFECTIVE OPENINGS).

Here, you might want to point out the significance of the term that you have chosen to define. Alternatively, you might briefly mention some common definitions which you perceive as inaccurate. Then, without any delay, you’d better come up with your thesis statement.

Main body

Writing an extended, essay-length definition of a term often involves using elements of other patterns of organization. You can resort to:

           narration

If you are defining the term “investigative reporting”, for instance, you can exemplify one of your points by giving an account of an investigation conducted by a famous reporter.

• classification and division

By saying what class an object belongs to, you are, in a sense, defining it. For instance, if you are defining the term “pneumonia”, you will define it as a “disease”. In other words, you will attribute to it a belonging to a certain category. Then you might want to say which sub-class of diseases it is part of. This will differentiate “pneumonia” from other diseases, and thus define the term.

• comparison and contrast

You can outline the characteristic of a tem by comparing or contrasting it to other terms. For example, you can define the term “love” by contrasting/comparing it with the term “affection.”

A few techniques are peculiar to definition:

• You can define a term by using synonyms or analogy
• You can approach the definition of a term by using negation (telling your readers what it is not)
• You can define a term by using enumeration (listing its characteristics)
• You can define a term by discussing its different applications or usages.

Conclusion

Here you can reiterate the validity of your definition of the term. You could also conclude by using the “full-circle technique or by telling your readers about possible connections between your term and other terms. Think of an effective closing sentence that will round off the whole text.

Make sure that

• you have used appropriate transition words and key words to give the reader a sense of flow and coherence.
• the topic sentence of each paragraph indicates clearly what particular cause or effect will be covered in that paragraph.  Thus it should connect the specific paragraph with the overall purpose and your thesis.