This document discusses the purpose and structure of a concept paper. A concept paper defines an idea or concept by answering what it is and what it entails. It starts with a formal or informal definition and then provides an expanded analysis of the concept. For example, a concept paper may use analogies, examples, or historical context to further explain the initial definition. While a concept paper allows for some subjectivity from the author in deciding what to emphasize, it must still clearly define terms to ensure readers understand the concepts.

1. DEFINING A CONCEPT

2. CONCEPT PAPER DEFINES AN IDEA OR A CONCEPT AND EXPLAINS
ITS ESSENCE IN ORDER TO CLARIFY THE “WHATNESS” OF THAT
IDEA OR CONCEPT.
IT ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS: WHAT IS IT AND WHAT ABOUT IT
(DADUFALZA 1996:183).
IT STARTS WITH A DEFINITION, EITHER FORMAL OR INFORMAL,
OF THE TERM OR THE CONCEPT AND PROCEEDS WITH
EXPANDED DEFINITION AND AN ANALYTIC DESCRPTION OF THE
ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT.

3. FOR INSTANCE, IN PAUL THEROUX’S ESSAY, HE STARTED BY GIVING
HIS OWN DEFINITION OF MANHOOD IN AMERICA BY USING AN
ANALOGY. HE THEN EXPANDED HIS MAIN DEFINITION BY CITING
DIFFERENT EXAMPLES AND BY PROVIDING SOME HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND.
TAKE NOTE THAT HIS DEFINITIONS OF MANHOOD ARE MOSTLY
BASED ON STEREOTYPES OF MANHOOD DURING THAT TIME IN
THE CONTEXT OF AMERICA.
HIS REFERENCES, ESPECIALLY TO THE MALE AMERICAN WRITERS,
ARE LIMITING IN SUCH A WAY THAT OTHER PEOPLE WHO MAY
NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH HIS CONTEXT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND
THEM.

4. “Fetishist are nearly always men; and their commonest fetish is
a woman’s shoe.” – definition by analogy
Masculinity is a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for
one’s entire life (by contrast, I imagine femininity to be an
oppressive sense of nakedness). - definition by contrast
Man means manly – definition by synonym
Girls are traditionally urged to please adults with a kind of
coquettishness, while boys are enjoined to behave like
monkeys towards each other. - Definition by contrast

5. Hemingway is a fiction writer. However all the bullfighting and arm
wrestling and elephant shooting diminished him as a writer but is
consistent with a prevailing attitude in American writing: one cannot be a
male writer without first proving that one is a man.
American male writer is traditionally proud of his heavy drinking.
-He kills lions (Hemingway)
-He hunts ducks (Nathanael West)
-A man should carry enough knife to defend himself (James Jones)
-Mount a horse and & go fox hunting (drunken William Faulkner)
-Roistered up & down Manhattan in a lumberjack shirt (Jack Kerouac)
-When John Irving was revealed a wrestler; serious writer

6. ANOTHER PURPOSE OF A CONCEPT – TO STIPULATE THE MEANING OF A
TERM BY LIMITING, EXTENDING, OR REDIRECTING THE REFERENCE OR
SENSE IN WHICH THE TERM IS COMMONLY UNDERSTOOD OR TO USE IN
A SPECIAL WAY A TERM BORROWED FROM ANOTHER FIELD IN WHICH IT
IS MADE TO APPLY (DADUFALZA 1996:183).
IN THIS SENSE A CONCEPT PAPER CAN BE SUBJECTIVE BECAUSE THE
WRITER CAN CHOOSE WHAT AREAS TO EMPHASIZE, WHAT
EXPLANATIONS AND ANALYSES TO INCLUDE AND EXCLUDE AND WHAT
COMPLEX IDEAS HAVE TO BE SIMPLIFIED.

7. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER:
THAT A CLEAR DEFINITION OF WORDS AND IDEAS IS IMPORTANT TO
MAKE SENSE OF LANGUAGE AND IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE
DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN DEALING
WITH ABSTRACT CONCEPTS.
THUS, EVEN IF THE CONCEPT PAPER TENDS TO BE SUBJECTIVE, THE
WRITER STILL HAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONCEPTS ARE CLARIFIED
AND EXPLAINED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE READERS CAN UNDERSTAND
AND MAKE SENSE OF THE CONNECTIONS.