The document outlines 14 steps to define terms effectively in a proposal or research paper. It includes guidance on how to structure definitions, utilize research notes, and cite dictionary sources correctly in APA format. Emphasis is placed on unique personal definitions alongside standard dictionary definitions for clarity.

1. DEFINITION OF
TERMS
14 STEPS TO DEFINE
TERMS IN YOUR
PROPOSAL OR
RESEARCH PAPER
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2. Location
At the start of the
paper, before the
major contents
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3. Location
The definition of terms can be after the
paragraph that describes the purpose of the
study
• Statement of the Problem
• Purpose of the Study
• Definitions
• Significance of the Investigation
• Literature Review
• Questions or Hypothesis

4. Example
Use one paragraph
for each term that
you define
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5. Example
The dictionary definition of the term
illegal immigration is “the migration of
people across national borders in a way
that violates the immigration laws of the
destined country” (Merriam-Webster’s
1993). In this paper, the term illegal
immigration is used to mean “nonresidents
who enter a country without an acceptable
passport or visa.”

6. STEP 1
ADJECTIVE + NOUN
COMBINATIONS
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7. STEP ONE
Select the terms of your Thesis
Statement: Adjective + Noun
combinations such as
–illegal immigration
–school uniforms
–campus romance

8. STEP 2
VERBS
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9. STEP 2
Select the terms of your Thesis
Statement: Verbs such as
–influence
–affect
–determine

10. STEP 3
VERBS + ADJECTIVE
COMBINATIONS
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11. STEP 3
Select the terms of your Thesis
Statement: Verb + adjective
combinations such as
–is more effective
–are bigger
–can be detrimental

12. STEP 4
ADVERB + VERB
COMBINATIONS
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13. STEP 4
Select the terms of your Thesis
Statement: Adverb + Verb
combinations such as
–negatively influence
–positively affect

14. STEP 5
YOUR OWN
DEFINITIONS
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15. STEP 5
Use the following format:
In this essay, the term term1 is
used to mean “your own meaning
inside the quote marks.” In this
essay, the term term2 is used to
mean “your own meaning inside
the quote marks.”

16. EXAMPLE
In this essay, the term illegal
immigration is used to mean
“people who go to another country
without the correct passport or
visa.”
In this essay, the term influence
is used to mean “to affect
something in some way.”

17. STEP 6
THE LIST
FORMAT
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18. STEP 6
You can write in list format. The term
being defined is in italics.
Term A – Definition
Term B - Definition

19. STEP THREE
You can write in paragraph format. Use one paragraph
for each term, including dictionary definition and your
own definition. Use a sentence format, such as follows.
According to Webster (2001), the
term troll is a noun that means
“insert definition here.” In this
paper, the term troll is a verb that
means “to collect” as in “to troll the
internet for quotes.”

20. STEP 7
USE YOUR
RESEARCH
NOTES
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21. STEP 7
Open the MS Word file Research
Notes at
http://thereferencebox.jimdo.com
/free-textbooks/research-notes/
Read and follow the instructions.

22. APA Reference: Online Dictionary
A reference list of an online dictionary or
thesaurus should include:
• headword of the entry cited (in quotes)
• title of the source (in italics)
• date the dictionary or thesaurus was
published, posted, or revised (Use the copyright
date noted at the bottom of this and every page
of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.)
• full URL of the site (up to and including the file
name)
• date you accessed the dictionary (in parentheses)

23. Example
The entry for hacker in the Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary, if you accessed it on May
8, 2011 can be referenced in two ways:
"hacker." Merriam-Webster.com. 2011.
http://www.merriam-webster.com (8 May 2011).
APA Style: hacker. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com.
Retrieved May 8, 2011, from
http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/hacker

24. APA Reference: Online Dictionary
• Reference: APA: Dictionary Click to cite a dictionary
• Structure:
Author Last, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Entry Name [Def.
Number]. In F. M. Last (Ed.) & F. M. Last (Trans.), Website
Title. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL.
• Examples:
Citation [Def. 2]. (n.d.). In Merriam Webster Online, Retrieved
September 24, 2011, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/citation.
Hemorrhage [Def. 1]. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online. In
Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 2, 2013, from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citation.
• Make sure to: Add a definition number (ex 5b).
– See the visual citation guide on how to cite a dictionary in
APA format .

25. How do I cite a work that has no
listed author in an APA-style paper?
• According to the OWL website’s resource on APAstyle citations, "When your essay includes
parenthetical citations of sources with no author
named, use a shortened version of the source’s
title instead of an author’s name. Use quotation
marks and italics as appropriate.
• For example, parenthetical citations of the source
above would be: (Merriam-Webster’s 1993).
• The reference list would be
Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th
ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

26. STEP 8
USE A
DICTIONARY
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27. STEP 8
Use a dictionary or thesaurus
with available APA information:
author, title, date, publisher, page
number.
Copy-paste the words that you
want to use into your research
notes.

28. Why use many dictionaries?
• The teacher might be impressed by the
number of entries in the List of References
• Each dictionary might reveal a slightly
different meaning; one might be the best for
your use.
• Some dictionaries might not have all the
required APA information.

29. STEP 9
COPY THE
DICTIONARY
DEFINITION
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30. STEP 9
Complete one Research Note
for each term.
For exercise, use a different
dictionary for every term or, if
this is not possible, use
different dictionaries.

31. STEP 10
USE THE TWO
DEFINITIONS:
YOUR OWN AND
THE DICTIONARY
DEFINITION
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32. STEP 10
On half of your
monitor, display completed
Research Notes tables.
On the other half, open the
file Class Work and type your
own definitions paragraph.

33. STEP 11
QUOTE FROM THE
DICTIONARY INTO
YOUR PAPER
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34. STEP 11
After each term, type a pair of
quote marks.
From the Research
Notes, copy-paste the definition
of each term inside the quote
marks.

35. STEP 12
WRITE AN IN-TEXT
CITATION AFTER
EACH QUOTED
DEFINITION
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36. STEP SIX
There are three ways to write
an in-text citation:
In the beginning, in the
middle, or in the end of a
sentence.

37. STEP 13
VARY THE IN-TEXT
CITATIONS
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38. STEP 13
Type your in-text citation for
each quoted text.
In each sentence, you may
alternate the location of the intext citations.

39. STEP 14
SHOW ME
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40. STEP 14
Show me the first three
terms to check if you are
doing it right.

41. End Notes
LENGTH
TWO-WORD TERMS
ORIGINAL DEFINITIONS
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42. LENGTH
The length of the paragraph
depends on the number of
terms defined.

43. TWO-WORD TERMS
When a key term is
composed of two or more
words, there may be one
dictionary definition for the
entire key term, or one for
each word in the term.

44. ORIGINAL DEFINITIONS
To minimize external
influence, write your
definitions before
researching the dictionary
definitions.

45. END OF PRESENTATION
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