Parenthetical/Synonymous

• The leaching field (sievelike drainage area) requires crushed stone.

• The trees on the site are mostly deciduous (shedding foliage at season’s end).

Term Category Distinguishing FeatureAn ace is a tennis serve that is successful because the

opponent cannot reach the ball to return it.

Term Category Distinguishing Feature

A firearm is a weapon from which a bullet or shell is discharged by gunpowder.

A rifle is a firearm with spiral grooves in the inner surface of the gun barrel to give the bullet a rotary motion and increase its accuracy.

A Winchester

is a rifle first made about 1866, with a tubular magazine under the barrel that allows the user to fire a number of bullets without reloading.

Rule: Do not use the same key word in the distinguishing features part that you used in one or both of the other two units

• Poor: A pump is a machine or device that pumps gas or liquid to a new level or position.

• Better: A pump is a machine or device that raises or moves gas or liquid to a new level or position.

• An odometer is a measuring instrument that measures the distance traveled by a vehicle.

• An odometer is a measuring instrument that measures the distance traveled by a vehicle.

• An odometer is a measuring instrument that records the distance traveled by a vehicle.

Rule: Do not use distinguishing features that are too general to adequately specify the meaning of the term

• Poor: Rugby is a sport that involves rough contact among players as they try to send a ball over the opponent’s goal lines.

• Better: Rugby is a team sport that involves 13 to 15 players on each side who try to send a ball across the opponent’s goal line during two 40-minute halves.

• A staple is a short piece of wire that is bent so as to hold papers together.

• A staple is a short piece of wire that is bent so as to hold papers together.

• A staple is a short piece of wire that is bent so both ends pierce several papers and fold inward, binding the papers together.

Rule: Do not use distinguishing features that are too restrictive

• Poor: A tent is a portable shelter made of beige canvas in the shape of a pyramid, supported by poles.

• Better: A tent is a portable shelter made of animal skins or a sturdy fabric and supported by poles.

• A videotape is a recording device made of a magnetic ribbon of material ¾ inches wide and coated plastic that registers both audio and visual signals for reproduction.

• A videotape is a recording device made of a magnetic ribbon of material ¾ inches wide and coated plastic that registers both audio and visual signals for reproduction.

• A videotape is a recording device made of a magnetic ribbon of material, usually coated plastic, that registers both audio and visual signals for reproduction.

Rule: Do not use is when, is where, or is what in place of the group part (genus) of a formal definition

• Poor: A tongue depressor is what medial personnel use to hold down a patient’s tongue during a throat examination.

• Better: A tongue depressor is a flat, thin, wooden stick used by medical personnel to hold down a patient’s tongue during a throat examination.

• Genetic engineering is when scientists change the hereditary code on an organism’s DNA.

• Genetic engineering is when scientists change the hereditary code on an organism’s DNA.

• Genetic engineering is the set of biochemical techniques used by scientists to move fragments from the genes of one organism to the chromosomes of another to change the hereditary code on the DNA of the second organism.

Rule: Do not use an explanation that obscures your meaning

• Poor: A tumor is a neoplasm

• Better: A tumor is a growth of cells that occurs independently of surrounding tissue and serves no useful function.

• A solenoid is an inductance coil that serves as a tractive electromagnet. (note: okay for an engineering manual)

• A solenoid is an inductance coil that serves as a tractive electromagnet. (note: okay for an engineering manual)

• A solenoid is a coil that converts electrical energy to magnetic energy capable of performing mechanical functions.

Negation

• Raw data is not “information”; data becomes information only after it has been evaluated, interpreted, and applied.

Stipulation

• In this paper, I use the word “affordances” to mean the actions available from the user interface.

Analogy

• Doing distance running is like giving your body a bigger gas tank, and doing speedwork enables your body to work more efficiently, as if you were getting more miles to the gallon.

Illustration

Etymology

• “Biological control” of insects, for example, is derived from the Greek “bio,” meaning “life” or “living organism” and the Latin “contra,” meaning “against” or “opposite.”

History

• The idea of lasers dates back as far as 212 B.C., when Archimedes used a magnifying glass to set fire to Roman ships during the siege of Syracuse.

Examples

• Lasers are increasingly used to treat health problems; for examples, cataracts and detached retinas are now treated with laser surgery.

Operating Principle

• A clinical thermometer works on the principle of heat expansion: as the temperature of the bulb increases, the mercury inside expands, forcing a mercury thread up into the hollow stem.

Analysis of Parts

• Psychoanalysis is an analytic and therapeutic technique consisting of four parts: (1) free association, (2) dream interpretation, (3) analysis of repression and resistance, and (4) analysis of transference.

Comparison and contrast

• A pair of optical fibers has the capacity to carry more than 10,000 times as many signals as conventional copper cable. A ½- inch optical cable can carry as much information as a copper cable as thick as a person’s arm.