Definition Essay

Writing an original and unique definition essay requires from the writer an in-depth understanding of the topic. Besides, a good definition essay should be created only after a top-notch writing plan is designed. We offer to learn about some steps that a person should follow on the way to creating a quality definition essay. All of the points are worth paying attention to.

Choose the Right Content for Your Essay

Before the very beginning, the writer is to pick the theme to discuss. The content of the essay should be justified. The context of the paper should be based on several important predetermines. They are the format of the paper, its length and the audience one is going to address. Essay definition is a priority task.

A Good Topic Is a Great Beginning

Definition essay topics, as well as topics of any other papers, give the reader an insight of the issue the paper is going to address. Therefore, a definition essay should also have a strong and exciting topic to attract reader’s attention. Some teachers prefer to assign the definition essay topics on their own, thus depriving students of any possibility to choose the topic of the essay themselves. But a student should always look for a compromise with a tutor or at least for a chance to determine the topic on his own. It is incredibly fascinating when students have an opportunity to write about something they enjoy. Such piece of work will never be dull.

Study the Topic

Writing a definition essay requires the inclusion of various sources of materials used. Some of them are online resources, books, magazines, journals and other possible relevant sources. Despite the wide range of the sources used, preferably most of them should be academic ones. If the information is gathered from a number of sources, the essay is guaranteed to have a strong supportive basis. Otherwise, your claims may have no right for existence. The following definition essay ideas will be divided into several categories for your convenience. Select your excellent topic from the best list that can be found online!

Definition Essay Topics List: Only Fresh Ideas

Definition Essay Topics for High School and College

• How to live a healthy life: abandon harmful habits and cultivate good ones.
• Rewarding job: things that boost employee’s motivation.
• The experience and skills a successful college teacher must have to inspire students.
• Do people really need to learn a second language (French, German, or Chinese)?
• What makes a marriage strong and happy?
• ‘Platonic love’ from the perspective of modern students.
• The elements of a good college application essay.
• Freedom of choice: how to find a perfect balance between democracy and anarchy?
• Educational video games, mobile phone applications, and YouTube channels. Can technology make studying more effective?

Definition Essay Topics: Argument

Choose from the following list to create an interesting essay. You can even modify the topic you prefer to make it a better fit for your circumstances.

• How a regular employee can improve the SCR of a company?
• What is your opinion about the latest elections? Were they fair? Explain your answer.
• Racial segregation besets the USA. What are the factors that contribute to it and what should be done to improve the situation?
• Are death penalties necessary? Do they help us achieve justice?
• How can teachers control cheating during exams? Should they?
• School shootings: contributive factors, impact, and preventive measures.
• The danger of smoking: why don’t people give it up?
• What are pros and cons of English being the language of international communication?
• What is creationism and why might it be a school subject?

Topics for Long Definition Essays

In case you have to write a long definition essay, for example, five or more pages, choose a topic from the list below. Try to find the most controversial topic so that you could discuss it from various perspectives.

• What is the difference between self-development, self-control, and self-assurance?
• Does freedom in the democratic societies really exist?
• Provide a definition of the modern-day generosity.
• Explain how US government and FBI restrict our privacy rights.
• What are the characteristics of a modest person? Does the modern society appreciate modesty?
• Five symptoms of an unhealthy appetite.
• What is procrastination and how to overcome it?
• Is frenemy a positive thing? Compare it to hostility and friendship.
• How do caring parents punish children?

Popular Topics for a Definition Essay

• Analyze your favorite Marvel or DC hero and discuss which character traits you would like to borrow.
• Define success on the example of Stephen Hawking or Steve Jobs.
• Can true love be never-ending?
• Define respect analyzing the relationships between you and your grandparents.
• Analyze the story of McDonald’s and define customer loyalty.
• Is there a universal definition of courage? What would courage mean to a three-year kid, a single mother, and a president of a country at war?
• Describe the features of a true soulmate.
• Why do people consider hate to be the most destructive feeling? Do you agree with them?
• Why do some people living in poverty consider it comfort?

Definition Essay Topics: Happiness

• How do different people define happiness? What are some common components?
• What are the benefits of excitement and other positive emotions for human health?
• Which one would you choose: living in poverty with the loved one, or sharing all the richness in the world with a person you do not love?
• Does money make people happy?
• Define happiness from the perspective of a modern-day teenager.
• Discuss happiness as the fundamental right of the US citizens.
• Why is happiness a controversial topic?
• Analyze happiness using three psychological theories of your choice.
• What are the physiological bases of happiness?
• Define happiness from religious, philosophical, and psychological perspectives.
• Give your own definition of happiness.

Definition Essay Topics List: Freedom

• Analyze the definitions of freedom found in four different dictionaries. Discuss their similarities and differences.
• What is freedom from the perspective of factory employees?
• What is freedom for a 4^th year college student?
• Freedom and independence for an American citizen.
• Does American Constitution provide a strong definition of freedom? Do Americans have the freedom defined in the Constitution?
• Distinguish between liberty and justice and explain how they contribute to freedom.
• How would you like the US government to interpret the word ‘freedom’?
• Are there people who do not deserve to be free?
• Freedom and happiness: how are these words connected?
• Why do not some prisoners want to be free?
• Do you consider yourself a free person?

Family Essay Topics

• How does your personal definition of a family differ from the official one found in an Oxford dictionary?
• Extended, small, and nuclear family: which one do you prefer and why?
• Can a summer with a family be perfect?
• Describe the role a family plays in a life of a first-year college student.
• How can a single parent make the family feel complete for the children?
• Some people claim that homosexual families negatively impact the institution of marriage. Do you agree/disagree?
• Explain when strangers can be better parents than the real ones.
• A family is valuable because it makes a society stronger. Agree/disagree.

Original Topics on Love

• Discuss attributes of love based on the definition of the Oxford dictionary.
• Why can love be called the most unexplored human feeling?
• How does mutual love make a personality more harmonious?
• Why can love not be a fairy tale? Do disagreements make feelings stronger?
• Passion, respect, and desire – prioritize these qualities of love between two people.
• How does love in a couple differ from love between friends?
• Does love in a same-gender couple differ from love in a heterosexual couple?
• Can people who marry at the age of 16 make their feelings last till they grow old?
• Is it possible to be in love with several boys/girls simultaneously?
• What definition of love would your parents provide? How would it be different from passion?

Easy Topics for a Definition Essay

These topics would be more appropriate for a short essay. You can use one of these ideas to write an essay during exams. The topics are taken from everyday life, so you will definitely have some ideas to share.

• How do you know your college professor is a true expert?
• How to stay in an excellent emotional health?
• Discuss a controversial world religion (e.g., Anti-Semitism).
• What makes people humane?
• Is there a difference between homosexual and heterosexual couples?
• What is the difference between good acting and pretending? What makes acting good?
• What is your favorite contemporary art genre?

Bonus Definition Essay Topics List

• How to improve your time-management skills?
• What factors contribute to depression? How do you support a depressed friend?
• Good and ill-timed jokes: how do you cultivate a good sense of humor?
• What makes a person good? Discuss the character traits good people possess.
• Can a lone wolf become a good team player?
• Can political correctness help avoid major conflicts on a global arena?
• American Dream: reality or a waste of time?

Analysis

Analysis is a crucial part of any essay. After having gathered all the required data, the writer is to arrange the ideas from a number of sources into one text. The analysis of the information gives the writer an opportunity to plan the essay structure beforehand. During the analysis process, there is also a chance to arrange all the points in such a way that the reader will be able to follow the general idea due to the smooth transition from one minor piece of information to another. Therefore, analysis phase is vital for a good flow of the paper. You may find some definition essay examples of using as a guideline for writing your paper, but they will never teach you how to analyze the information properly. Thus, you can only look through these definition essay examples to follow the general format.

Make the Paper Error-Free

A good definition essay is the one with flawless grammar and punctuation. The writer should check and proofread the essay several times. In this way, he will ensure that the paper is free of the mistakes mentioned above. When the writer gets to read the whole essay after it has been completed, he may determine whether it has a logical flow of ideas. The transitions should be clear, and the writer needs to avoid any senseless sentences to increase the word count merely.

A Conclusion

Some people underestimate the importance of a conclusion. For any type of a paper, including a definition essay, it is as valuable as the introduction. The main task of any conclusion is to sum up all the points of the paper and provide a list of recommendations that were drawn in the process of finding the answers to the questions set in the introduction. The conclusion discloses the main idea of the essay. By reading a good conclusion, any person will at once understand the core idea of the essay. Besides, the writer should always ensure that the paper follows the required academic format.