Writing An Interesting Human Rights Definition Essay

It is extremely difficult to create a concise definition of a concept as broad and contentious as human rights. Hundreds and thousands of works of literature have been written on the topic, indicating that boiling it down to one description is not going to describe suitably the concept. To write an interesting definition essay, you need to understand many of the different perspectives that exist regarding the idea. Human rights mean different things to different people, especially in different countries and cultures.

Within the scope of a five-paragraph essay, the structure would be similar to this:

First paragraph – introduction

This paragraph should provide readers with a basic working terminology of human rights that will be expanded upon and improved by your essay. This basic explanation should include common terms and their meanings from the histories you have studied. It should also explain your plan, and the scope of your essay, including the idea that a cohesive agreed upon definition will not be easy to find.

Second paragraph – supporting information

This paragraph should include quotes and descriptions from world leaders and experts in the field. Context for these discussions is important – explain who the leaders and experts are, and about which countries, groups of people, and events their quotes apply, if possible. All quotations and references should be properly cited.

Third paragraph – supporting information

The third paragraph should give a historical overview with concrete examples of issues and violations at global and regional levels. For example, discuss a brief history is introducing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the year 1948. Depending on the length of the essay, for instance, if more than five paragraphs are assigned, a further analysis of the definition can be done based on the experiences of different groups including women, children, people of color, and displaced persons. If the assignment is to write more than a five paragraph essay, expanding these thoughts into different paragraphs is appropriate and necessary.

Fourth paragraph – supporting information and synthesis

This is where the various examples are incorporated with each other to find common ground amongst theories and ideas. While experts do not agree on a comprehensive description, their theories and beliefs share common philosophies, and this is where those should be discussed. It is also important to address how the meaning of human rights has evolved over time and is continuing to change based on events and people involved in its movements. You can also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different descriptions as they are presented.

Conclusion – summarize the writings

The conclusion should wrap up all of the information that has been presented, pulling out the most relevant and comprehensive information and allowing the reader to determine the most important aspects of the definition of human rights.