Choose a word/term you want to define. Write your word/term here: ____________________ Consider different ways to describe the term you’re defining. What sorts of examples would best illustrate it? What kind of conflict might the word involve? What is it similar to? What metaphor could be used with this term? Are there any steps involved with this word? Are they crucial? What conditions might cause your word? What connotations are associated with your word? What is the denotation of the word? (Look it up in the dictionary and write the complete definition here.) List eight synonyms for your word: Audience Normally you can assume that your audience has had some experience with the term or event that you’re about to describe. Your goal, therefore, will be to define the word in a new or different way that will bring about an additional appreciation and understanding of the word to the reader. Your job is to tell the reader something new about your topic. Thesis Remember that your thesis is your assertion about the definition of your word. We have spent this semester writing explicit thesis statements, those that are clear and direct. For this assignment, however, you may opt to imply your thesis by writing an implicit thesis that subtly allows your reader to infer what you’re saying about your term. Just to prevent me from having a headache, however, your thesis – whether implied or stated – must appear in your introduction. By the time I reach your first body paragraph, I want to know what you’re trying to prove in your essay about your word.

Perseverance is a steady effort to maintain a course of action, purpose, or belief, often in spite of difficulty. Write an essay about the meaning of perseverance as it applies to personal success. You may use the following information as well as your own experiences, observations, and/or readings. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall.” ~Nelson Mandela “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”~ Lance Armstrong “I would go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” ~ Jacob A. Riis “Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. Remember no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost. Sometime, somewhere, somehow we shall find that which we seek.” ~ Helen Keller “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” ~ Albert Einstein “If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” ~ Michael Jordan As you write your essay, remember to: Focus on the meaning of perseverance as it applies to personal success. Consider the purpose, audience and context of your essay. Organize your ideas logically and effectively. Include specific details that clearly develop your essay.