Concept Elucidation:

Definition, Explication, and Clarification

A. DEFINITION
Definition is a “mode of paragraph development that answers the questions: What is
it? What does it mean? What are its special features?” (Saqueton and Uychoco 2016, p.80)
When you define a word, idea or concept, you clarify its meaning and you control the scope
to avoid misinterpretations and vague ideas.
The word to be defined may be a person, a place, an object, a concept, or an event/
phenomenon.
There are different techniques used in defining a term or concept.
1. Formal definition
This is the most common form and follows a pattern:
Term = genus + differentia
or Definition = general category + differentiating characteristics
Example: Term = genus + differentia
a. A triangle is a plane figure with three straight sides and three angles.
b. A measuring cup is a cup-shaped utensil used to measure dry and liquid in-
gredients for cooking.
It is important to limit the genus. The narrower the genus, the more specific the defini-
tion will be.

2. Extended definition
It is used to define abstract concepts that cannot be formally defined. The following are
the strategies you can use for this particular technique:
A. Use of synonym: using a similar term or phrase to define a word
Example:
a. A charlatan is a quack, an imposter, a pretender, a fraud.
b. A bloke is a man, a boy, a fella, or guy in British.
Synonyms are only useful when a reader is more familiar to the meaning of t h e word
being defined than the actual term itself.
B. By etymology: explaining the origin or the place where the term comes from.
Example:
a. Tyrannosaurus rex comes from the Greek word meaning “tyrant” and
“lizard” and the Latin word meaning “king”.
b. Eskwela is from the Spanish escuela and the Latin schola, which means
“conversations and the knowledge gained through them during free time;
the places where these conversations took place.”
c. By illustration or visuals: providing a graphic representation of a topic
or term to be defined.
Examples:
1. The water cycle describes the continuous movement of water
from the surface of the Earth, to the atmosphere and back again.

2. A mattock is farm tool used for removing stones and large roots.

d. By function: stating what the word or term is for.

Examples:
1. 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.
2. A ledger is a written or computerized records of all the transac-
tions a business has completed.
e. By examples: giving examples or narrating incidences that can further
explain an abstract or complicated topic.
Examples:
1. Compound exercises are exercises that require multiple mus-
cle groups to work at the same time, like deadlifts, squats, front
lunge with twist, and high plank T-spine rotation.
 2. The horticulture industry can be categorized into three areas:
pomology, olericulture, and ornamental horticulture.

f. By likeness or similarity: stating the similarity of one concept with an-

other.
Examples:
1. Brighter than 100 million suns, quasars stand like beacons on
the shore of the universe.
2. A teacher is like a gardener who allows the students to grow
under the best conditions.

g. By analogy or metaphor: drawing a comparison between the topic and

another concept already familiar to readers.
Examples:
1. The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer system works
like the human brain.
2. Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're
going to get.

h. By negation: defining a term by stating what it is not.

Examples:
1. The Philippine flying lemur is not a lemur but a rodent, and can-
not fly as it only glides in the air from one tree to another.
2. In a vehicle with automatic transmission, the driver is not re-
sponsible for shifting the gears as the car does the shifting.

i. By contrast: defining by the use of opposites.

Examples:
1. Unlike other birds, penguins cannot fly.
2. Unlike other mammals, the duckbilled platypus doesn’t give
birth to live young.

j. By analysis or partition: Breaking down wholes into parts, aspects into

levels, and a process into steps.
Examples:
1. The Philippine government is divided into the executive branch,
the legislative branch, and the judiciary.
2. For a definition of diabetes, the writer would want to partition the
three kinds of diabetes (type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and
gestational diabetes) and discuss them one at a time rather than
try to define them all at the same time.
 3. Informal definition
In this type of definition, the writer uses known words or examples to explain an un-
known term.

Examples:
a. Freedom, also referred to as liberty or independence, is a state people reach
when they are free to think and do whatever they please.
b. Bullying occurs when someone uses his or her power or prestige to intimidate
and terrorize another person.

B. CLARIFICATION
Cambridge Dictionary defines clarification as “an explanation or more details that
makes something clear or easier to understand.” In reading and writing, you can use
several strategies to clarify a point and avoid Misconceptions or Miscommunication.

1. Through Cause and Effect:

Understanding the relationship between cause and effect is critical thinking skill
essential in all aspects of life. We consider how mining is related to deforestation
and wildlife loss. In history, we try to understand the causes and effects of specific
political events in the country affect the way we view science and religion.
A cause is the reason why something happens while the effect states the result or
the outcome. A causal chain is a sequence of events in which any event in the
chain causes the next one, leading up to the final effect. Let us analyze the sam-
ple text below

After reading the text, were you able to understand what Minamata disease is? Is the
concept successfully clarified in the text? What is the cause of the occurrence of the
disease in Japan? What was its effect to humans? What causal chain of events has
been linked to mercury pollution?

Concept: Minamata Disease

Cause: methylmercury poisoning (ingestion of contaminated fish and shellfish)
Effect: sensory disturbances (glove and stocking type), ataxia, dysarthria, constriction
of the visual field, auditory disturbances and tremor , fetal poisoning, brain lesions,
death
Causal chain: poisoning that led to health problems and death of affected individuals,
as well as pollution of water ecosystems
 Minamata disease (M. d.) is methylmercury (MeHg) poisoning that
occurred in humans who ingested fish and shellfish contaminated by
MeHg discharged in waste water from a chemical plant (Chisso Co. Ltd.).
It was in May 1956, that M. d. was first officially “discovered” in Minamata
City, south-west region of Japan's Kyushu Island. The marine products in
Minamata Bay displayed high levels of Hg contamination (5.61 to 35.7
ppm). The Hg content in hair of patients, their family and inhabitants of the
Shiranui Sea coastline were also detected at high levels of Hg (max. 705
ppm).

Typical symptoms of M. d. are as follows: sensory disturbances

(glove and stocking type), ataxia, dysarthria, constriction of the visual field,
auditory disturbances and tremor were also seen.

Further, the fetus was poisoned by MeHg when their mothers

ingested contaminated marine life (named congenital M. d.). The symptom
of patients were serious, and extensive lesions of the brain were observed.
While the number of grave cases with acute M. d. in the initial stage was
decreasing, the numbers of chronic M. d. patients who manifested
symptoms gradually over an extended period of time was on the increase.

For the past 36 years, over 17,000 people from Kumamoto and
Kagoshima prefectures have claimed to have been Minamata disease
victims. Of these, 1,408have passed away, but even before the official
discovery of Minamata disease, caused by Chisso Company, many had
died from it.

In 1964 Minamata disease also broke out along the Agano River in
Niigata prefecture, where the Showa Denko Corporation used the same
production process. Elsewhere in the world, damage to health due to
mercury pollution from factories has also been reported along the Songhua
(Sungari) River in China, and in Canada. Andin recent years rivers and
lakes polluted by mercury in the Amazon and Tanzania have created
serious health problems. (Development Team of English for Academic and
Professional Purposes Teacher’s Guide 2016)
 2. Through Theories:

For sure, you have read or heard about stories explaining the origin of an ob-
ject or a place, like the Alamat ng Daragang Magayon in Albay or why seawater is salty.
You might have also heard theories explaining the origin of the solar system or why we
see reddish skies at dusk.

A theory is an idea or a system of ideas intended to explain the occurrence of an

object, activity, or situation. When we were children we all probably believed that the
sun sleeps at night when the moon rises. Having learned science, we now know that it
is not the case. Rather, we understand that the revolution of the Earth influences the
occurrence of day and night on the planet. This particular theory is not simply a product
of the imagination of scientists but a result of painstaking work guided by sci- entific
processes and tools.
Let us read a short essay showing how a theory can be used to clarify a concept.
Concept: penmanship
Related theories: connection theory and motor learning theory
We can now conclude from the text that a kid’s penmanship depends on how much
time is spent in practicing how to write and that penmanship impacts academic
achievement based from the theories mentioned above..

There are several theories that can be connected to penmanship: 1)

connection theory; and 2) motor learning theory. First, the connection
theory looks at the idea that handwriting legibility is related to fluency of
writing and reading skills (Rose 2004). This supports the idea that pen-
manship legibility impacts academic achievement and self-esteem
(Kushki et al. 2011). Second, motor learning is defined as “a set of proc-
esses associated with practice or experience leading to permanent
changes in the capability for movement” (Schmidt and Lee 2005 p. 302).
The motor learning theory states that for students to improve their hand-
writing, fine motor skills need to be developed and this can only occur
through practice (Hoy, Egan and Feder 2011).

C. EXPLICATION
Explication is a deductive process where you take a general concept, refine it, deter-
mine how to test for it and then carry out the test. It is also known as exegesis. The
term is of French origin, derived from explication de texte (explanation of text) the
practice in French literary studies of closely examining the language of a text to deter-
mine meaning (Nordquist 2018).
 In the modern times, it is known as close reading, where a text is read multiple times to uncover
its deeper meaning. Here, you explain what the main points of the author are and how they are
connected while offering your own critique of his/her arguments. It usually tells about figures of
speech, tone, setting, connotations, points of view, themes, contrasts, and anything else that
could add to the meaning of a text.

Example:
In the final stanza of his poem The Road Not Taken, Frost talks about his dilemma of com- ing upon
two diverging paths, and not knowing which one to choose. The third line is very important, as it
delivers an idea of choosing between the two divergent paths.
The tone in this stanza shifts from regretful to optimistic. The two roads symbolically repre- sent
individual choices. The mood is neither depressed nor unhappy, but the poet sighs because he knows
what the complexities our life may have for him. Whether he has cho- sen a right or a wrong path, it
has a compelling impact on his life. The phrase “less trav- eled” suggests the theme of individualism
(Literary Devices 2020).

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And
sorry I could not travel both And be one
traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could To where
it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And
having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though
as for that the passing there Had worn them really
about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves
no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first
for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted
if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere
ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a
wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,