How To Write A Definition Of Terms In A Literacy Research Paper

You will have to be extremely good in literature to handle a literary research paper. Suffice to say you may be bogged down by panoply of terms you have hardly heard of and may be sure that readers have invariably not encountered.

• Types of terms

There may be terms which define a writing style. There may be terms which characterize a period, say, Elizabethan era. There may be terms assimilating the tone and diction. There may also be terms related to rhetoric and prosody.

• The general method

The general method of defining terms is to conform to the format style. All styles invariably ask you to use Arabic numerals (1-2-3) below the term in case the term has different meanings. In case the term has several meanings, you may use sub-headings using English alphabets (a-b-c).

• Case of authenticity

You should place these terms along with the definitions in the Appendix page. This comes just after the Reference page. This is also a way of making sure that your paper does not seem plagiarized and comes across as authentic.

• Defining stuff

Whenever you write critical papers, it is urgent to assume that the readers have fairly average intelligence levels and have to be accorded explanations and definitions at all stages. This is not a creative book where you can take readers on a joy ride, almost banking on his capacity to absorb your matter.

• Invention of appendices

However, if you straightaway give the definition of terms along the term in the paper, it will make the pages stretchy and awkward. It is for precisely this reason that the appendix page has been invented; to carry footnotes, definitions and tables.

• Sourcing credibly

You should yourself find out the definitions from credible sources. You can of course absorb the meaning and define the term in your own words. However, if you take the definitions directly from sources, you should make the references suitably in the Reference page.

• Authoritative grading

These definitions grade your literary work by leaps and bounds. They give the readers a feeling that you know your job and are passionate about it. Your level of research also comes across as a fresh breeze.

• The pivotal avenues

These definitions are especially required when you take assignments such as depicting History of Language or checking out the dialectic movements in particular periods. You may rest assured there will be several terms to try your hand at.