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 only 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.

1. Methods of Definition
Advanced Technical Communication
MICHAEL JOHN L. MARIBBAY
Instructor

2. 01 • 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 only
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.
• Burnett says: “definition that fits only
the word; the word only fits the
definition.”
DEFINITION

3. 02
• 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.
IMPORTANCE OF
DEFINITION

4. 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:
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.
03
PLACEMENT OF
DEFINITION
IN THE TEXT

5. Where in your technical report should you
specifically place your definition of terms?

6. 03
PLACEMENT OF
DEFINITION
IN THE TEXT
A definition is typically placed in one of these
six locations:
1. In the text. The text is an appropriate place
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
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
put in a separate file and displayed.

7. 03
PLACEMENT OF
DEFINITION
IN THE TEXT
4. In a footnote. If definition is short, it should
be put in the footnotes. A footnote is a logical
logical place for an occasional sentence
definition or extended definition. The reader
reader who doesn’t need it will ignore it.
However, footnotes can slow readers down by
down by interrupting the flow of the discussion.
discussion. If you think you will need more than
more than one footnote for a definition on
every two to three pages, consider including a
including a glossary.

8. 03
PLACEMENT OF
DEFINITION
IN THE TEXT
5. In a glossary. A glossary — an alphabetized list
of definitions — can accommodate sentence
definitions and extended definitions of fewer than
than three or four paragraphs in one convenient
convenient location. A glossary can be placed at the
at the beginning of a document (for example, after
after the executive summary in a report) or at the
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.
footnote.

9. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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.
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.

10. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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.

11. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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 te
program is disabled until the user
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.

12. 04
TYPES OF
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.
Guidelines in giving a formal or one-
sentence logical definition

13. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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?
Analogy or Figurative definition
This erroneous definition just compares the word being define to other
term instead of giving additional information about the word.
Erroneous ways of Defining a Term
through the Formal Method

14. Negative or no-notdefinition
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.
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.
04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
Erroneous ways of Defining a Term
through the Formal Method

15. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
3. 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.

16. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
Some ways of expanding or extending a definition of a
term:
1. Etymology or wordderivation
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
Extended, Expanded or Amplified definition

17. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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.
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
Extended, Expanded or Amplified definition

18. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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.
Extended, Expanded or Amplified definition

19. 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
paragraph briefly
compare VoIP and
traditional phone
service. Notice that this
passage is organized
according to the part-
by-part comparison-
and-contrast pattern.

20. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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.
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.
Extended, Expanded or Amplified definition

21. 04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION
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 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.
Extended, Expanded or Amplified definition

22. Stipulative definition
04
TYPES OF
DEFINITION

23. Thank You!