English

Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

LESSON 1.1
The Expanded Definition
Table of Contents
Introduction 1

Objective 1

DepEd Competency 2

Warm-Up 2

Learn about It 3

Key Points 5

Check Your Understanding 5

Let’s Step Up! 7

Photo Credits 8

Bibliography 8
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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

Lesson 1.1
The Expanded Definition

Figure 1. An expanded definition is sometimes necessary to make concepts more

understandable.

Introduction
Sometimes, when writing about a topic, it is not enough to include only one sentence to
define a certain concept. There are instances in which a term has to be elaborated to give a
thorough background about it. This is especially true when it comes to academic writing.

Objective
In this lesson, you should be able to define the term expanded definition and
identify its purposes.

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

DepEd Competency
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to give expanded definitions of
words (EN10V-IIa-13.9).

Warm-Up

Think-Pair-Share
Procedure
1. Below are 20 broad topics. Choose one and talk about it in front of the class. You will
be given a minimum of three minutes and a maximum of five minutes.
2. Include every piece of information you can think of about the topic in your short talk.

family women youth disease

men computer games beauty doctors

dogs love religious beliefs vacation

candy holiday kindness happiness

books Christmas Valentine’s day friends

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

Guide Questions
1. How do you feel about the activity?
2. Did you have a hard time talking about your chosen topic? Why?

Learn about It
What you did when you talked about the topic by including information about it is similar to
the concept of making an expanded definition.

An expanded definition, also called extended definition, is a type of technical definition

that is used when a certain word or phrase needs to be explained with much detail or to be
defined in a particular context or situation. This kind of definition may be a few sentences or
several pages long.

Here is an example of an expanded definition:

Poverty is the state of having insufficient resources or possessions. People

who suffer from poverty include the homeless. They are seen on the streets
begging for alms, their clothes dirty and sometimes tattered, and their feet
bare. Also, informal settlers live in poverty, even though they have a home.
The unemployed and the large families with only one breadwinner are among
the poor, too.

The first sentence of the sample paragraph above is a technical definition of poverty. Then
the definition is elaborated by mentioning people living in poverty and describing them. The
additional information makes the concept easier to understand.

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

In many instances, a certain word or concept cannot be explained in just one sentence. In
writing an academic paper, for example, you may need to define certain terms in your own
words for readers to understand the terminology.

Below are some of the purposes for which expanded definitions are written.

● to explain the history of a word or term

● to illustrate an abstract concept with the use of concrete examples
● to clarify the meaning of a term in a particular context
● to explain the basics before the discussion of the main subject matter

Vocabulary
context the conditions that surround a word, which dictate its
(noun) meaning

technical
specialized definition or definition based on a particular
definition
field of study
(noun phrase)

expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as

objective
perceived without distortion by personal feelings,
(adjective)
prejudices, or interpretations

Essential Question
What are the situations that require a person to write expanded
definitions?

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

Let’s Check In
Can you give an expanded definition for each of the following topics? Write
down your answers on a sheet of paper.
1. Coffee
2. Wi-Fi
3. Hemoglobin

Key Points

● An expanded definition is a type of definition when a concept needs to be

explained with more details or defined in a particular context.
● It can be defined based on your own words.

Check Your Understanding

Indicate what is the term being defined by the following definitions.

1. _____________________ is a cool drink that is composed of tea and boba pearls.

2. _____________________ is a social media platform where you post ‘tweets’.

3. _____________________ is a happy event that is celebrated every December 25th.

4. _____________________ is a device that we use to call friends or check social media

apps.

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

5. _____________________ is an event where people celebrate the change of one year to

another.

Write an appropriate independent clause on the blanks below.

1. What is an expanded definition?

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2. How do you write an expanded definition?
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3. Where do we usually use an expanded definition?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. Why is the knowledge of writing expanded definitions useful?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. How is an expanded definition different from the usual definition of a word?
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Write your own expanded definition of the following concepts.

1. Social media

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__________________________________________________________________________________________

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

2. Online learning

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Social media influencer

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4. Viral artist
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. Social media marketing

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__________________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s Step Up!

On a short bond paper, create a table with three columns. In the first column, write
down five scientific terms. Research on the definition of those five words. In the
second column, write down the regular definition of each one, and write down the
extended definition on the third column.

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Grade 10 • Unit 1: The Expanded Definition of Words

Photo Credits

Fig. 1. Magnifying Glass and Papers is contributed by Gerily Ruth Abordo to the Quipper
Content Illustration Bank

Bibliography
“11 Techniques of Extended Definition.” University of Maryland. Accessed August 8, 2018.
https://myelms.umd.edu/courses/1087526/pages/11-techniques-of-extended-definiti
on.

Eric Halfpenny and Theodore C. Grame . “Stringed instrument.” Encyclopædia Britannica.

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc, 2018. Britannica. Web. August 9, 2018

“Extended Definition Sample.” Wilmington University Writing Resources. Accessed August 8,

2018.
http://blog.wilmu.edu/writing/writing/extended-definition/exercises-extendeddefiniti
on/extended-definition-sample/.

McIntosh, James. "All you need to know about tuberculosis." Medical News Today.
MediLexicon, Intl., 27 Nov. 2017. Web. August 8, 2018.
<https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8856.php>

Pepper, Mark, and Dana Lynn Driscoll. “Writing Definitions.” Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Accessed August 9, 2018. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/622/01/.