3 Sept 2020 “Generic Conventions”

Raymond Alarcon

Prompt:
Writing at least 250 words, please compare the three extended definitions we've read
thus far to identify similarities in their style, organization, citation style, design, and/or
uses of evidence (try to identify at least three similarities).

Questions for reflection: Which of these conventions will you try to apply to your own
definition? What can you add to your definition by following these conventions? What
might you risk--or gain--if you decide to break one of them?

Assignment:
Style:
All three of these definitions are written in a formal style. The authors attempt to
establish themselves as an informer to the reader. There is little to no opinion work in
these definitions.

Organization:
All three definitions are broken up into distinct parts. They start with a shorter broad
definition of the term and then expand into more specific and detailed sections. The two
wikipedia articles give a table of contents, broken into an overview, history, a more
detailed definition of the keyword and its features, and suggestions for further reading.
Unlike the other two definitions, the Absolute Zero definition does not give its history.
Instead, it gives a brief overview and has two short sections on applications. All three
articles are easy to follow and understand, and are clearly organized.

Citation Style:
The two wikipedia articles are cited using footnotes and citations at the bottom of the
article. The wikipedia articles take advantage of hyperlinks and pop-up pages to provide
further definitions and citations. The Absolute Zero definition features no citations. It
does list the authors and editors toward the front of the page.

Design:
The two wikipedia articles follow the typical wikipedia design. They are broken up into
distinct sections, separated by a solid line and headed with a bolded title. The text is left
aligned and written in a sans-serif font to be easier to read on a screen as it is made to
be read online rather than in print. The design takes advantage of hyperlinks to guide
the readers further through the page and to other articles. It features a hyperlinked table
of contents. They are all on one page for convenience. The Eclipse definition also
features pictures along with the text which features a short description of the image. The
images remain either in the left or right side, and the text is wrapped around the images.
The Absolute Zero definition comes from an encyclopedia designed to be printed rather
than read online, although it does come in e-book format as well. For this reason it
utilizes a serif font. The encyclopedia has its definitions broken into two columns. The
formatting can be a little confusing because the pictures break up the text and the
additional information in the margins can give the illusion that there is a third column.