DEFINITION OF TERMS14 STEPS TO DEFINE

TERMS IN YOUR PROPOSAL OR

RESEARCH PAPER

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LocationAt the start of the paper, before the

major contents

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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

ExampleUse one paragraph for each term that

you define

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ExampleThe 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.”

STEP 1ADJECTIVE + NOUN

COMBINATIONS

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STEP ONESelect the terms of your Thesis Statement: Adjective + Noun combinations such as–illegal immigration–school uniforms–campus romance

STEP 2VERBS

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

STEP 3VERBS + ADJECTIVE

COMBINATIONS

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

STEP 4ADVERB + VERB COMBINATIONS

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STEP 4Select the terms of your Thesis Statement: Adverb + Verb combinations such as–negatively influence –positively affect

STEP 5YOUR OWN

DEFINITIONS

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STEP 5Use 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.”

EXAMPLEIn 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.”

STEP 6THE LIST FORMAT

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STEP 6You can write in list format. The term being defined is in italics.Term A – DefinitionTerm B - Definition

STEP THREEYou 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.”

STEP 7USE YOUR RESEARCH

NOTES

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STEP 7Open the MS Word file Research 

Notes at http://thereferencebox.jimdo.com/free-textbooks/research-notes/

Read and follow the instructions.

APA Reference: Online DictionaryA 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)

ExampleThe 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.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker

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.merriam-webster.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 .

How do I cite a work that has no listed author in an APA-style paper?

• According to the OWL website’s resource on APA-style 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 beMerriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993).

Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

STEP 8USE A

DICTIONARY

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STEP 8Use 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.

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.

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STEP 9COPY THE

DICTIONARY DEFINITION

STEP 9Complete one Research Note

for each term. For exercise, use a different

dictionary for every term or, if this is not possible, use different dictionaries.

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STEP 10USE THE TWO DEFINITIONS:

YOUR OWN AND THE DICTIONARY

DEFINITION

STEP 10On half of your monitor,

display completed Research Notes tables.

On the other half, open the file Class Work and type your own definitions paragraph.

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STEP 11QUOTE FROM THE DICTIONARY INTO

YOUR PAPER

STEP 11After each term, type a pair of

quote marks.From the Research Notes,

copy-paste the definition of each term inside the quote marks.

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STEP 12WRITE AN IN-TEXT

CITATION AFTER EACH QUOTED

DEFINITION

STEP SIXThere are three ways to write

an in-text citation: In the beginning, in the

middle, or in the end of a sentence.

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STEP 13VARY THE IN-TEXT

CITATIONS

STEP 13Type your in-text citation for

each quoted text.In each sentence, you may

alternate the location of the in-text citations.

STEP 14SHOW ME

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STEP 14

Show me the first three terms to check if you are doing it right.

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End Notes LENGTH

TWO-WORD TERMSORIGINAL DEFINITIONS

LENGTH

The length of the paragraph depends on the number of terms defined.

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.

ORIGINAL DEFINITIONS

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

END OF PRESENTATION

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