II. Developing Concepts

• Definitions serve as a frame of reference for discussions as it provides the meaning of a word or term used in the paper.
• There are three (3) types of definitions: formal, informal, or extended.
• Formal sentence definitions

  include the term or word to be defined, the c/ass or the group where the term belongs, and the

  distinguishing features or the qualities that make the term unique.
• While informal definitions do not include distinguishing features.

  They provide a more casual explanation of a term, often relying on common understanding rather than precise characteristics. For instance, saying "a dog is a pet that barks" lacks the specificity found in formal definitions but is easily understood.
• extended definitions are essay-length texts that claborate

  the meaning of a term or concept through different rhetorical patterns. The latter define and describe, compare, and contrast, and show cause-and-effect relationships to provide a holistic

  definition of a term.