<![CDATA[Definition paragraphs require students to state the essence of a concept rather than merely describe it, yet many EFL learners struggle to separate defining from describing. This qualitative study investigated the conceptual and structural hurdles EFL students face in writing definition paragraphs and the reasoning behind them. Using a descriptive qualitative design, data were collected from 50 English Education students at Universitas Islam Makassar through a written diagnostic task, a document analysis checklist, and stimulated recall interviews with five purposively selected subjects. Written products were examined for structural and conceptual errors, while interviews explored the reasoning behind students' writing choices. Data were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis involving condensation, display, and conclusion verification. Findings show that more than half of the participants (28 of 50, 56%) experienced difficulties, grouped into four categories: structural competence, definitional focus versus descriptive drift, conceptual clarity, and academic tone and objectivity. Interviews revealed that these hurdles stemmed from prioritizing content completeness over prose cohesion, equating the description of effects with definition, relying on everyday functional knowledge instead of formal academic boundaries, and preferring a personal voice over an objective register. The study concludes that explicit instruction distinguishing defining from describing, supported by structured practice and engaging instructional media, is needed to help EFL students construct academically sound definition paragraphs.]]>
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