Defining a Term for a Real-World Audience

This assignment is connected to the proposal assignment that you worked on, the website and the attachment covers the assignment description. Please include sources if the assignment require sources. http://english393bl(dot)weebly(dot)com/definition.html

Defining a Term for a Real-World Audience

Length:                                Audience Analysis, approximately 200 words

                               Definition, approximately 300 words

It’s very likely that in your first month’s worth of involvement with your topic, you’ve come across a term that will need to be defined, clarified, or put into context for one of your three audiences for your final project.  In this assignment, we’ll practice two key skills: the first will be writing for a specific, real-world audience member; the second will be the underrated but essential skill of defining a term in a brief, concise way.

Term Selection First, you’ll need to choose a term related to your project. Your term shouldn’t be too obvious – it should be new, or a term with several meanings, or a term that’s more technical than your audience is generally familiar with. “Recycling” would not be a good term, for example, but “single-stream recycling” would be.  

Audience Description You’ll need to select a member from among one of your audiences – primary, secondary, or tertiary – who needs to know your definition of the term.  If your selected audience is a group – say, college students – you’ll want to focus on one IDEAL member of your audience (a real person you’ve encountered in your research).  You should begin by giving me a specific, detailed description of this named audience, and as many characteristics as you can that will allow you to connect your definition specifically to your audience member.  Your audience description should be roughly one paragraph long.

Definition Here, we’re not looking for a general definition, or one that you’d see in a dictionary; rather, you should be connecting the term specifically to your audience’s interests, knowledge, and understanding. Vocabulary will be key: make sure you are using terminology and language appropriate for the audience you’ve described. Here is not the place to preview your final project’s solution; rather, you should see this as a precursor to your final project, a conversation that needs to take place before a solution is proposed.

Your readings have given you an understanding of an extended definition, including a description of the eight techniques or tactics you can use in order to craft a definition. For this assignment, you’ll want to figure out the best ones for your audience. You’ll want to make sure to connect the information directly to the traits you described in your audience description – whether you are using examples, comparisons, negation, analogies, etymology, or even graphics, there should be a direct, specific connection back to the traits described in your audience description. A solid, well-targeted definition should be no longer than one page.

Graphics You are welcome to use graphics appropriate for your audience; graphics, however, cannot replace text requirements or the use of other techniques, and should be used in conjunction with your written definition.

Grades Your grade will be determined by your ability to describe your audience fully, how well you define the term specifically for this exact audience, and your use of the techniques of definition, as well as on the overall organization, clarity, and precision of your text.