Formal Definitions
A formal definition has the following format:
A is B that C
Where:
A is the term defined
B is the category or class which includes the term A
C is additional information about A which differentiates it from other members of the category.
For example,
- A researcher is an academician who studies a topic carefully and tries to discover new facts about it.
- Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science which deals with the simulation of intelligent behaviour in computers.
A formal definition is a complex sentence, which is made up of at least two clauses:
A main or independent one and a dependent or relative one.
In example #1 above, the main or independent clause is:
“A researcher is an academician”
And the dependent or relative clause is:
“studies a topic carefully and tries to discover new facts about it.”
The word which connects the two clauses is called a relative pronoun.
Some of the most common relative pronouns are the following:
- Who is used only for people.
- Which is used for anything except people.
- That can be used with both, but never follows a comma (,).
Here are some examples:
- Venus is a planet that is structurally similar to the earth.
- Venus is a planet which is covered with clouds.
- An astronaut is a professional who is trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft.
