Using a Dictionary Sense and Transferring Rainfall Data
A student is preparing a project on rainwater harvesting. She has a dictionary entry for 'harvest' with senses: (1) gather a crop; (2) the time of gathering; (3) the result or reward of work; (4) to collect something before it is lost. She also has a table: 'Rainfall in Chennai (mm)' with months and values: June 55, July 82, August 120, September 145, October 300, November 350. The project asks her to explain 'rainwater harvesting' in one sentence and to transfer the table into a short paragraph. She is unsure which dictionary sense to use, whether to say 'harvesting' means 'gathering a crop' in this context, and whether the paragraph should list every month or highlight the peak. She must also cite the dictionary as a source without copying the whole entry. The teacher requires one sentence for the definition and 40-60 words for the paragraph.
1. Which dictionary sense of 'harvest' should the student use in 'rainwater harvesting'? Explain why the other senses are less suitable.
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Sense (4), 'to collect something before it is lost', is closest, because rainwater harvesting means collecting rainwater for later use instead of letting it run off. Sense (1), 'gather a crop', is the literal farming sense; it is the source of the metaphor but not the meaning here. Sense (2), 'the time of gathering', is a noun and does not fit the gerund 'harvesting'. Sense (3), 'the result or reward of work', is abstract and does not fit the physical collection. A strong answer notes that the word is used figuratively but the dictionary's sense (4) captures the action.
2. Write a 40-60 word paragraph transferring the rainfall table. Do not list every month mechanically; highlight the peak and the trend.
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Rainfall in Chennai rises from 55 mm in June to 82 mm in July and 120 mm in August. It continues to increase to 145 mm in September, then jumps to 300 mm in October and peaks at 350 mm in November. The table therefore shows a steady increase from June, with the heaviest rain in October and November. This is 59 words: it includes every figure, but it groups the months into a trend and gives the peak its proper emphasis rather than writing six separate sentences.
3. How should she cite the dictionary without copying the whole entry? Write a sentence she could use.
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She should name the dictionary, the headword, and the sense number in a note, then paraphrase the definition in her own words. For example: 'The Concise English Dictionary defines harvest in sense 4 as collecting something before it is lost; this project uses the word in that sense.' She should not paste all four senses, because only one is relevant, and she should not present the dictionary's wording as her own. A strong answer distinguishes citation from copying: the note points readers to the source, while the sentence uses her own phrasing.