Definition Essay Prompt
M3: Definition Essay Prompt
General Information
The essay and sources are due on Thursday, 5/2 by 11:59 pm.
The essay is worth 120 points, and the sources are worth 30 points.
Prompt:
When defining a term, we have two options: denotation and connotation.
Denotation is the dictionary definition of the word.
Connotation is the feelings, emotions, and thoughts the word brings up.
The words we use and the context in which we use them matter. Many times, it is the connotative meaning that holds the most power, so it is important that we understand how it is used and why.
For example, a friend showed me a thread that some of her colleagues had put together at her work to vent. Someone, we’ll call her Sally, commented that she felt like a “slave” at work because the project she was working on was taking a lot of time and was making her hourly rate drop to approximately minimum wage.
Several of her colleagues commented later that they felt the use of that word was inappropriate. Sally countered with the dictionary definition of slavery, which is as follows:
noun
noun: slave; plural noun: slaves
a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.
a person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something.
a person who works very hard without proper remuneration or appreciation
She felt the last definition was the most apt to her circumstances because she was not getting the proper remuneration for all of the work she was putting into the project. However, this work increase was only temporary, and after it was completed, there would be some major downtime, so it would all eventually even out, but she could not see that at the moment. She also could not see what was wrong with using the word “slave.”
Her colleagues explained that it wasn’t the denotative meaning that was at issue here; it was the connotative meaning. In this country (I know slavery is not only an American phenomenon, but it will be the focus for the moment), Black people were stolen from their homeland, brought to America under deplorable conditions, forced into labor with NO remuneration, separated from their families, raped and beaten, and the list of atrocities goes on and on. So, how, exactly does her having to work more hours than usual equate with what actual slaves went through? She was not forced with beatings if she did not complete the work. She was not sold to another office in another state because she voiced her concern about the workload. She was actually paid (although not to her satisfaction) and due to that pay, she has the ability to own her own home, go grocery shopping, and travel freely with her family, none of which an actual slave could do.
Now, this is where someone will jump in and say that those who complained were “policing” her speech. She had the right to use that word, and everyone should have known that she wasn’t actually comparing her situation to actual slaves. However, this is where the power of the words we use matters because think about how you would feel if your family, many generations ago, were actual slaves, and someone who is in a pretty privileged position equates her work with that of slaves.
The more we use words like this flippantly, the more we forget their connotative meaning, in this case, the horrific legacy of slavery in this country. What other words could she have used to describe her situation that were not so loaded with a violent history?
Below is a list of sentences that contain words, which I have italicized and bolded, that have negative connotative meanings beyond their denotative meanings. Choose one of these sentences and write an essay in which you argue that the way the word(s) are being used in this context is actually code for something else more menacing. In other words, you need to explain why the word or phrase could be misconstrued due to the connotative and historical connection(s) to the word or phrase.
He’s so ghetto.
The way we were treated in the meeting felt like a lynching.
She was an affirmative action hire.
That school is so gay.
I have PTSD from that roller coaster.
A White man said to a Black man, “Boy, you better get over here now.”
The protesters are thugs.
The Black Lives Matter protests bring out the animals.
The inner cities are where all of the problems lie.
- She is a welfare queen.
He’s obviously a terrorist because he’s Muslim.
They are a nice middle-class family.
- States’ rights are more important than federal regulation.
She cited religious freedom as why she would not cater a same-sex marriage.
Dude, you throw like a girl.
- That lady and her whole family are just trash.
Please note: No more than two people can write on the same topic, so it is crucial to message me as soon as you figure out your topic. I will make a list of who is writing about what, and it will be on a first-come/first-serve basis.
Essay Structure:
- To write an essay like this, you will need to research and then present the following:
The dictionary definition of the word
The historical use of the word
- How the word is used in the context I presented and why that is problematic.
Why some people may disagree with your argument and why.
A thesis statement for this type of essay should contain the word you are going to define and what the focus of your argument will be. For example, below is a thesis statement for my “slave” example above.
- The fact that the word “slave” was used to equate having to work hard while still getting paid versus the historical context of the word is inappropriate because the two meanings are not equivalent, and it does a disservice to those who endured slavery.
Note how I put the word that I am arguing about in quotes. You should do the same. Also, note how I gave a brief description of my reasoning which will, of course, be expanded on in the essay.
The essay should be structured as follows:
- Introduction: The hook should be the sentence you are writing about from my list above in quotes followed by the dictionary definition. Then, you need to explain a little about the general idea of the topic. The thesis statement should be at or near the bottom of the introduction.
Body Paragraphs: There should be four or more body paragraphs.
One to two body paragraphs should explore the historical context of the word and compare/contrast that to the dictionary definition.
- One to two body paragraphs should look at how and why it is being used in the context I provided and why that is a problem.
There should be opposition as well. You can do this in a separate body paragraph that only focuses on the opposition position, or you can weave opposition arguments throughout your body paragraphs. Either way, you want to make sure to acknowledge and then refute the opposition’s position.
Conclusion: Finally, you will need to present a conclusion paragraph that wraps up your argument for why the word is inappropriate in the context (and possibly any context) in which it is being used in the statement you are writing about.
- Essay Requirements:
Your final draft must be 1500-2000 words. Put your final word count at the end of the essay.
The essay must be in MLA format.
- You need to highlight parts of your essay as follows:
Highlight the thesis and all of the topic sentences in light yellow. That way I can see what you think is the thesis and which sentences you feel are the topic sentences, and then I can verify that.
Highlight all quotes, including citations, in light green. Direct quotes are often necessary and can provide a real impact; however, they should be used sparingly. An essay with too many direct quotes lacks development and will be marked as such. So, again, having that information highlighted gives a visual cue if you are using too many quotes.
- Highlight all summaries, including citations, in light blue. I have you do this because one of the issues you need to be careful that you do not provide too much summary of a source. You will need to summarize your secondary sources, and that is fine, but you do not want too much summary or it takes away from your ideas. Either way, highlighting in blue gives you an easy visual to see if you are offering too much summary.
You must use three to five legitimate secondary sources for your essay.
If you get your sources from the library database, they will be legitimate, but sometimes you will need to look beyond the database. When doing so, be careful that the source is reputable.
- You cannot use Wikipedia, or any wiki, as a source. Also, general-subject encyclopedias are not allowed, but single-subject encyclopedias will be a great source for this essay.
Using any kind of essay writing website or Cliffs Notes-type source is not allowed.
Using any kind of AI or essay-generating software is not allowed.
- Whether you summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote from a source, you have to cite where you got the information in the essay and provide a full citation of that source on the Works Cited page.
Make sure to properly cite your sources using MLA 9th editionActions (this will open as a PDF) within your essay and include a Works Cited page. The Works Cited page starts on a new page and does not count toward the word count; however, it should be part of the document you create. In other words, if the actual essay ends halfway through page 5, you need to do the Works Cited on page 6.
The essay must be saved as .doc or .docx. The links to submit the essay and the sources are under M3/Assignments/Due by 5/2. The essay and sources can be turned in up to four days late with no point penalty. After that time though, I cannot accept them.
- Sources:
Along with submitting the essay and note to Canvas, you must also submit the outside sources used in the essay. Below are the directions for how to save, label, and post your outside sources. Part of the requirements for this class is that I make sure you are using sources correctly. By having you upload your sources, I can confirm that you are doing so, and if not, we can work to correct the issues.
Once you have found outside sources that will work for your essay, copy and paste the source to a document and then save that source to your computer in Word or Google Docs. If you use Google Docs, you will need to convert it to Word before submitting it to Canvas.
- Save the document using your last name, the author’s last name, and the first few words of the article title. For example, if I had an article by Jack Smith titled “Bridges and Buses Are Not Sexy, but They Need Help,” my document title would be “Goldbar Smith Bridges and.docx.” You can save the sources as .doc, .docx, or .pdf.
Highlight the section(s) you summarized, paraphrased, or directly quoted and used in your essay. Then, note on which page of the essay you used this information.
To make the notation, you can go to the “Review” tab in Word and add a “New Comment” with that information.
- Or, you can type in the actual article where you used the information in the essay
See the sample source below. It shows both options:
Goldbar Abrams Take Climate.docxActions (This links to a Word document.)
Save the document again and post it to Canvas under the link titled “Submit the Definition Essay Sources to Canvas.” You can post multiple documents to that same link. So, if you have three different sources, then you would save each as a separate document and post both to that link. DO NOT put all the sources into one document.
If you are using a hard copy of a source, you need to scan the page(s) you used into your computer and follow the same directions as above. When you scan, you want to save the document as a Word document so that you can highlight it. However, if that is not possible, highlight or underline the section you used before scanning it into the computer.
Do NOT scan in a whole book, journal, magazine, etc. Just scan, highlight, and label, the page(s) you reference in the essay.
If the page(s) you scan does not have the author’s name on it, type or write it in.
Please Note: These are the actual sources you used that you are posting. This is not just the Works Cited page which should already be a part of the Definition essay document. Again, I want to see the sources so that I can make sure you are citing them correctly.
Let me know if you have any questions as you are going through this process.
Grading:
The essay is worth 120 points, and the sources are worth 30 points.
- See the rubrics for each under their respective submission links.
- Special notes:
- Direct quotes are fine but should be kept to a minimum. Any essay that relies too heavily on direct quotes will be considered to lack development and will not meet the required word count.
- In your essay, you can use 1st person (I, me) or 3rd person POV (he, she, they). However, you don’t want to use 2nd person POV (you, your) unless you are quoting someone who uses it.
Whether you summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote, you have to cite where you got the information in the essay and with a full citation on the Works Cited page. Failure to do this is plagiarism, so it is important that you carefully review your essay before submitting it to make sure you have cited everything that is required.
Check your essay for grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation issues before submitting it to Canvas.
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