{"id":245553,"date":"2017-03-06T20:30:05","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T20:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dreyercoaching.com\/beardeddragonmedia\/writing\/student-writing-a-definition-paper\/"},"modified":"2021-09-26T03:42:51","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T03:42:51","slug":"student-writing-a-definition-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dreyercoaching.com\/beardeddragonmedia\/writing\/student-writing-a-definition-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Writing: A Definition Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 In a recent online writing class<\/a>, my students have been studying about definition papers and how to write one. In this writing task, one seeks to define a word, idea, or person. Below are two samples my students wrote. Take a look!<\/p>\n

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Life: Does its Definition Work?<\/span><\/p>\n

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What do we know about life? What can be described as life? These are just two of the many questions that revolve around the definition of living things; some are easy to answer, while others are not. While the more complicated ones tend to be the most difficult to provide a solution for, one of the simplest questions in biology is left unanswered: What is life? This definition has been revised many times, with the first being described as anything that can grow, reproduce, and maintain homeostasis\/respond to the environment. However, the vital flaw with this interpretation is that crystals would also count as being living things since it can grow, reach equilibrium, and even move in response to stimuli. As a result of this flaw, a new definition was developed: any organism that has a carbon-based chemistry and depends on water in order to survive. Not surprisingly, this interpretation was also criticized for its “unfinished” definition. Its lack of regard for possible extraterrestrial life and unknown organisms on Earth point out the two flaws within the explanation. In response to these failed attempts, NASA has recently developed a new definition of life, stating it as “the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.” For now, this is the best description of life that we know of, but the possibilities are limitless; mankind might even see the adage, “you’ll know it when you see it” stand when defining life!<\/span><\/p>\n

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–Aaron in Hsinchu, Taiwan<\/p>\n

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There are several things I particularly like about Aaron’s paper:<\/p>\n

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