Economic essays are challenging to write: It is either you have a lot of good ideas or you are facing a blank wall. In writing economic essays, the clarity as well as the quality in the presentation of ideas is critical. Thus, whether you have a lot of ideas or you have a limited number of ideas, it does not really matter. What matters most in writing economic essay is the quality of how the ideas are presented and explained. Thus, the necessity to create correspondingly clear definitions assumes a prime significance.

Writing a concise definition is necessary to properly set the tone of discussion for your economic essay. The quality of your ideas in the economic essay is greatly governed by the definitions you have written. Here are some techniques of defining terms that you can use in the economic essay:

• Genus-species definition

The genus-species definition talks about a broad term that needs to be defined by defining another term within the scope of the broad term.

For example:
History is the recital of facts given as true, in contradistinction to the fable, which is the recital of facts given as false. – Voltaire

In the example, you can see that the broader term history and the narrower term fable are being distinguished from each other by stating their respective attributes. When this technique is applied in economic essays, you are giving a precise qualification between the two terms. Thus, in the genus-species definition, you are emphasising the distinction of your broad term in the essay.

• Definition by synonyms

The use of synonyms states the meaning of the term by using a similar word to describe it. This is very obvious in the economic essay. The essence of using the synonyms is to help the readers understand difficult or technical words in the essay. Synonyms always help the general readers to understand the whole piece of the economic essay.

• Definition by illustrating

Illustrating important ideas is common in most essays. In particular, the use of illustrations is necessary to add vivid visual concepts to your economic essay. If you are dealing with abstract economic terms and concepts, then better illustrate by showing concrete examples. The use of illustration affords you a clear visual definition of your thoughts, thus, you must choose your examples well.

Above all, please take note that the use of techniques in defining certain economic terms is secondary only to the style and presentation of ideas in the economic essay.  If you know how to structure your essay well, then you will also know what effective techniques of definition you are going to use.

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