Types of Definitions: Formal, Informal, Extended

Types of Descriptions

• An objective description presents an impartial and actual picture of the subject without biases and excluding personal impressions.

Sensory Details

• Sensory language refers to the kind of words used to describe how a subject looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes like in a descriptive paragraph.

Subjective Description

• A subjective description, also known as an impression, occurs when you give a personal impression of what is observed.

Denotation and Connotation

• The primary difference between denotation and connotation is that denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, while connotation refers to the emotional or cultural association of a word.

Formal Definitions

• In a formal definition, the 'Genus' represents the general category or class that the term being defined belongs to.
• Differentiae in a formal definition are the distinctive features that distinguish the term being defined from other members of the same genus.

Effective Writing Patterns

• The exemplification pattern is the most effective for explaining an idea or point.

Exemplification in Paragraph Development

• The purpose of using exemplification in paragraph development is to provide specific examples to support a general statement or idea, making the writing more engaging and persuasive.

Transitional Expressions

• The transitional expression "for example" is commonly used in writing effective classification paragraphs.

Combining Exemplification and Classification

• A writer can combine exemplification and classification in paragraph development by providing specific examples to illustrate the characteristics of a particular group or category.