ELUCIDATING A CONCEPT

BY DEFINITION, EXPLICATION
AND CLARIFICATION
Prepared by: Charmaine D. Santos
 OBJECTIVES
After going through this module, you are expected to:
❖ define and explain the different techniques used to
elucidate concepts in writing a concept paper;
❖ show appreciation in characterizing the different
techniques; and
❖ employ the different techniques in analyzing a text
and in writing a concept paper.
CONCEPT PAPER
- clarifying the whatness of an idea or
concept, “what it is” and “what about it”.
- it can be a grant/project proposal,
advertising paper, and academic
research paper
 ELUCIDATE A
CONCEPT
BY DEFINITION
 DEFINITION
+ Definition is a mode of paragraph development that answers the
questions: What is it? What does it mean? What are its special
features?
+ The word to be defined may be an object, a concept, a person, a
place, or a phenomenon
FORMAL DEFINITION
❖ TERM = GENUS + DIFFERENTIA
TERM - term to be defined

GENUS – class where the term belong

DIFFERENTIA - characteristics of the term

FORMAL DEFINITION
Example of FORMAL DEFINITION

(TERM) (GENUS) (DIFFERENTIA)

1. A triangle is a plane figure with three straight sides and three
angles.

(TERM) (GENUS) (DIFFERENTIA)

2. A robot is a machine that looks like a human being and performs a

complex act of a human being
INFORMAL DEFINITION
- uses known words or examples.
- synonyms or antonyms
- on other words, like
INFORMAL DEFINITION
EXAMPLE:
A MACHINE IS ANYTHING
THAT
REDUCES HUMAN EFFORT,
ANYTHING THAT known words
SIMPLIFIES AND SAVES TIME.
IN A WARM DAY, PRESS A
BUTTON
AND YOU GET A BLAST OF example
AIR – A FAN,
THAT’S A MACHINE.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
- define abstract concepts that cannot be
formally defined.
EXAMPLE:
BOOKS ARE INSTRUMENT THAT RECORD, ANALYZE, SUMMARIZE, ORGANIZE, FUNCTIONS
EXPLAIN INFORMATION
WHICH ARE
ILLUSTRATIVE, NON-ILLUSTRATIVE, HARD BOUND, PAPER BACK, JACKETED, NON-
JACKETED WITH FORWORD INTRODUCTION, TABLE OF CONTENTS AND INDEX ILLUSTRATION
THAT ARE INTENDED FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT, UNDERSTANDING,
ENRICHMENT, ENHANCEMENT, AND EDUCAITON OF THE HUMAN BRAIN ANALYSIS
THROUGH SENSORY ROOT OF VISION.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ USE OF SYNONYM
- using a similar term or phrase to define a
word.

Example:
A charlatan is a quack, an imposter, a
pretender, a fraud.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY ETYMOLOGY
- explaining the origin or the place where the term
comes from.

Example:
Tyrannosaurus rex comes from the Greek word
meaning “tyrant” and “lizard” and the Latin word
meaning “king”.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY ILLUSTRATION OR VISUAL
- providing a graphic representation of a topic or term
to be defined.

Example:
The water cycle describes the continuous movement of
water from the surface of the Earth, to the atmosphere and
back again.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY FUNCTION
- stating what the word or term is for.

Example:
A straight spatula is a kitchen tool used for scraping
food from the sides of pots, stirring ingredients in
curved bowls, or folding ingredients into each other.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY EXAMPLES
- giving examples or narrating incidences that can
further explain an abstract or complicated topic

Example:
The horticulture industry can be categorized into three
areas: pomology, olericulture, and ornamental
horticulture.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY LIKENESS OR SIMILARITY
- stating the similarity of one concept with another.

Example:
A teacher is like a gardener who allows the students
to grow under the best conditions
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY ANALOGY OR METAPHOR
- drawing a comparison between the topic and
another concept already familiar to readers.

Example:
The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer
system works like the human brain.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY NEGATION
- defining a term by stating what it is not

Example:
Whale sharks, the largest fish in the world is not a
whale but a shark.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY CONTRAST
- defining by the use of opposites.

Example:
Unlike other birds, penguins cannot fly.
EXTENDED DEFINITION
❖ BY ANALYSIS OR PARTITION
- Breaking down wholes into parts, aspects into
levels, and a process into steps.

Example:
The Philippine government is divided into the
executive branch, the legislative branch, and the
judiciary.
 CLARIFICATION
- “an explanation or more details that makes something
clear or easier to understand.”
- The points are organized from a general abstract idea
to specific and concrete examples.
A clarification on the term “Justice”
general idea

specific
example

explanation
of the
example
 CLARIFICATION
❖ THROUGH CAUSE AND EFFECT
-cause is the reason why something happens while the
effect states the result or outcome.
❖ THROUGH THEORIES
- a theory is an idea or a system of ideas intended to
explain the occurrence of an object, activity, or situation
 ELUCIDATE A
CONCEPT
BY EXPLICATION
 EXPLICATION
- Explain a story, a literary work or
research.
- Used for a close analysis of an
excerpt or text taken from a lengthy
piece of work.
An excerpt from the poem “The Road Not Taken”
Explication:
I shall be telling this with In the final stanza of his poem The Road Not Taken,
a sigh Frost talks about his dilemma of coming upon two
Somewhere ages and diverging paths, and not knowing which one to
ages hence: choose. The third line is very important, as it
delivers an idea of choosing between the two
Two roads diverged in a divergent paths. The tone in this stanza shifts from
wood, and I— regretful to optimistic. The two roads symbolically
I took the one less represent individual choices. The mood is neither
traveled by, depressed nor unhappy, but the poet sighs because
he knows what the complexities our life may have
And that has made all for him. Whether he has chosen a right or a wrong
the difference. path, it has a compelling impact on his life. The
phrase “less traveled” suggests the theme of
individualism.