Course: Unit 6: Writing technical definitions

BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Engineer

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BADGE – Becoming a Digital Global Engineer
Project 2019-1-FR01-KA203-063010 (167 512 512)

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Objectives

Select activity After studying this lesson on writing techni...
After studying this lesson on writing technical definitions, you will be able to

differentiate between the different types of technical definition;
determine how much information your audience needs to understand a term;

write clear and concise parenthetical, sentence and expanded definitions.

Warm-up questions

Select activity In what cases might a technical de...
In what cases might a technical definition be needed?

What should you consider before writing a technical definition?

Should a technical definition be as short as possible? Why / why not?

Did you know…

Select activity Definition: 'a statement that explains the me...

Definition: 'a statement that explains the meaning of a word or phrase’, ‘a description of the features and limits of something’ (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/definition).

The first single-language English dictionary, called ‘Table Alphabeticall’, was written by Robert Cawdrey and contained the definitions of 3000 words. It was published in 1604, a time when many new words connected to trade and innovation were appearing in the English language. Over 400 years later, the Oxford English Dictionary contains over 600,000 definitions and adds hundreds of new words every year.

Technical definitions explain specialised terms in a document, clarifying what the terms are or do. It may be necessary to provide a definition if a term is unfamiliar to the audience or the term has more than one meaning. In this case, a definition would explain the precise meaning for that context. Moreover, a definition may be used to limit the scope of the document. If terms are left undefined, it may affect the audience’s understanding of much, if not all, of the document.

Before writing a definition, there are a few aspects to take into account. Firstly, you need to consider the context and purpose of the document, and who will ultimately read it. Once you’ve established these points, you need to determine what knowledge your audience already has of the subject matter and whether clarification of certain terms is necessary. If you are writing for a general audience, it is more likely that you will need to define more terms than if your audience is made up of people within your technical field. In addition, the knowledge and background of the audience will dictate the level of detail needed and the technicality of the language: a general audience will require definitions in familiar and clear language rather than technical jargon, and only enough to aid understanding.

The second aspect to bear in mind refers to legal implications. As the writer of a technical document, you are responsible for making sure definitions are clear and accurate in order to avoid any potential misunderstandings, which could ultimately result in a lawsuit.

Another aspect to consider is the ethical impact of definitions. Definitions should be, from an ethical perspective, clear, accurate and fair, so that you and the audience share a mutual understanding of the document’s meaning.

There are three types of definition and the choice of which you use is dependent on how much detail you need to go into in order to explain the term.

Parenthetical definitions

This is the briefest and quickest way to define a term. The definition consists of a synonym or short phrase in brackets, or between commas or hyphens, immediately after the term you wish to define. Take a look at the examples below:

Bitcoin (a type of digital currency) is banned in some countries such as China while it is restricted in a number of others.

Some people will go to extreme lengths to take the perfect selfie -a photo you take of yourself – despite the rising number of reported deaths.

A parenthetical definition may be used to introduce an acronym that will appear throughout the document. For example:

Our engineers use CAD (computer aided design) to design new products in 2D and 3D.

In addition, it’s common to find parenthetical definitions on webpages – when you hover over or click on an unknown term, a small box opens with the definition.

Sentence / formal definitions

Sentence or formal definitions are longer and provide more detail. They may be used when you need to provide a ‘working definition’ for a term which will be used throughout a document. It’s typical to divide such a definition into three parts:

TERM - CLASS/CATEGORY - FEATURES/DISTINCTIONS

Apparently, this division of information mimics the way our brains process information. It’s important here to classify the term as narrowly as possible as then you will need to list fewer distinguishing features. Below are some examples.

Term	Class	Features
Friction	is the force	that makes it difficult for one object to slide along the surface of another or to move through a liquid or gas.
Rust	is a reddish-brown substance	that forms on the surface of iron and steel as a result of reacting with air and water.
Groupthink	is the process	in which bad decisions are made by a group because its members do not want to express opinions, suggest new ideas, etc. that others may disagree with.
A stent	is a long thin object	put inside a tube in the body, for example a blood vessel, so that its walls stay firm or so that body fluids can flow easily through it.
A gargoyle	is an ugly creature or head	cut from stone and attached to the roof of an old church, etc., often with an open mouth through which rain water flows away.

Expanded definitions

Expanded definitions are used for more complex terms when a lot of detail is needed, and such a definition may run to a paragraph or a number of pages. On webpages, clicking on an unknown term opens a hyperlink to another page with a detailed definition on it.

There are a number of ways to expand a definition, some of which are shown below.

Etymology

A definition which explains the etymology or origins of a term may help clarify its meaning. For example, many English terms take their origins from Greek or Latin, and some of these roots may already be familiar to the audience.

E.g.: A microscope is a scientific device that enlarges very small objects so that they can be seen in more detail. Both parts of the term are derived from Greek: micro- from the Greek word ‘mikros’ meaning small, and -scope from the Greek word ‘skopos’ meaning aim, target, or object of attention.

History

Sometimes, it is useful to explain the background to a term such as when it first came into use and what it may have referred to in the past. This would, in most cases, need to be a relatively brief account.

E.g.: The microscope has a long history going back centuries. Although it’s not certain who invented the first microscope, a primitive version consisting of two lenses at opposite ends of a tube was already in use in the 14^th Century. In the 16^th Century, the Dutchman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, considered founder of the study of microscopy, discovered that certain shaped lenses increased an image’s size, magnifying objects up to 200 times. This enabled him to examine bacteria, and animal and plant tissue, among other things.

Purpose

The purpose or function of a term, one of the clearest ways to describe jobs, roles, devices or processes, explains exactly what someone or something does.

E.g.: A microscope is a scientific device that enlarges very small objects so that they can be examined in more detail. It can be used to study cells and microorganisms, among many other things.

Operating principle

This method goes hand-in-hand with explanation of the purpose since it describes how it is achieved.

E.g.: A compound light microscope, probably the most common type, uses a convex lens which manipulates how light enters the eye. Light reflects off the object under the microscope and passes through the lens, which bends it towards the eye, making the object look bigger than it really is.

Required conditions

Connected to both the purpose and operating principle, the required conditions explain under what circumstances something works or happens.

E.g.: A compound light microscope as the name suggests relies on a source of light to magnify the object we wish to view.

Appearance/ analysis of parts

Depending on what a term refers to, describing what something looks like is very useful in the case of devices or processes.

E.g.: A microscope is made up of structural parts (head, base and arms) and optical parts (eyepiece, eyepiece tube, lenses, adjustment knobs, stage, aperture, illuminator, etc.).

Visuals

Obviously, using graphics will aid your description of the appearance and parts of a device or process. It’s important to briefly describe the graphics and label the parts clearly.

Examples

A concrete example will go a long way to clarifying a term, particularly if there are different types of the object or process in question.

E.g.: There are a number of different types of microscopes with different applications. Compound microscopes are probably the most popular and are commonly used in laboratories and schools to view cells, parasites, bacteria, etc. while metallurgical microscopes are typically utilised in the aerospace and automobile manufacturing industries, as well as by companies analysing metallic structures, composites, polymers, etc. .…

Comparison and contrast

Comparing your term entails drawing parallels with other terms perhaps within the same field, while contrasting means showing how the term is different from others.

E.g.: Both microscopes and telescopes are viewing devices which use lenses to enable us to see something up close. However, they differ in the fact that microscopes allow us to view very small objects invisible to the naked eye, such as cells and bacteria, while telescopes are used to view objects in the night sky which are extremely far away.

Remember

It’s important to use familiar words in definitions, particularly for a general audience. Using difficult words within your explanation may cause further confusion.
If a term has more than one meaning, you wish to narrow down the meaning, or you want to specify how the audience should understand the term, you can use qualifying phrases such as ‘In this report...’ or ‘The term.. refers here to…’.
If you rely on any sources for your definitions, remember to cite them.
Avoid circular definitions. Definitions such as these are unhelpful because they use the term itself in the definition. For example:
A manufacturer's guarantee usually guarantees that faulty goods will be repaired or replaced if they go wrong within a fixed period.
Finally, be careful not to over-explain. You might insult your audience if you explain the obvious.

lawsuit – the process by which a disagreement between people or organisations is settled in a court of law;
acronym – a word created from the first letters of the words in a phrase, e.g.: VIP (Very Important Person);
hover over – (in computing) hold the mouse cursor over a word;
mimics – imitates, copies;
narrow down – reduce the number of possibilities.