This is the most comprehensive guide on essay vs research paper.
We’ll look at the differences and similarities between the two papers so that you can approach either assignment with clarity and certainty.
To begin with, essays and research paper examine your research, writing and analytical skills. They also require adherence to strict formatting and the inclusion of citation and bibliography.
What’s an Essay?
An essay is a written academic assignment that requires you to look into an issue and then provide your personal opinion while using credible sources and verifiable evidence to support your work.
In addition to knowing the different types of essays, you need to have excellent research and writing skills to write great essays that earn full marks.
The length of an essay varies from topic to topic. A shorter essay is about 500 words and longer ones can go up to 4,000 words.
Shorter essays don’t require extended research and you can therefore write them in one sitting.
Longer essays, on the other hand, demand in-depth research and attention to details. They can be quite time consuming to write and edit, which part of the reasons why students seek for writing help.
So if you have a longer essay to complete within a short deadline, check our essay writing service and let us help you get the essay completed in time.
What Essays Do Students Write in School?
The following are some of the most common essays that you’ll write in high school, college, or university.
1. Descriptive Essays
If asked to write a descriptive essay, focus on explaining the characteristics of a subject or issue.
Descriptive essays require some literary devices, such as similes and metaphors, to read well and communicate your message. You can check our guide on how to write description essays.
2. Comparison Essays
In a compare and contrast essay, you have to explain the differences and similarities between two subject. You can organize your writing based either on individual points or on the subjects.
3. Analytical Essays
Analytical essays don’t just appear in academic journals, newspapers, and magazines. They’re also common in academic settings.
In analytical essay writing, your work is to provide a substantive analysis of the topic without being biased.
3. Reflective Essays
In reflective essay writing, students have to examine experiences and explore the changes, challenges, developments, and growth that those experiences bring.
The standard format for a reflective essay is the same for all, but the format may change a little depending on the audience.
4. Argumentative Essays
In argumentative essay writing, you have to take a stance on an issue and use objective evidence to support your position.
Check out our argumentative essay hub here to learn more.
5. Academic Essays
Written at college and university levels, academic essay cover content in your coursework to gauge your writing skills and intelligence’s level.
These essays tend to be longer with the word count ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 words.
What’s a Research Paper?
A research paper is an academic assignment that requires students to express their views on a subject using supportive sources such as books and journal articles.
They’re longer than typical essays and therefore take more time to research, write, and proofread.
In the case where you have more demanding assignments and a research paper waiting for you to complete, you can take advantage of our research paper writing service to get the project done in time.
Types of Research Papers
The following are the common types of research papers that you’ll write in college or university:
1. Analytical Research Paper
With this type of research paper, you choose a topic, collect information from credible sources, and use the data to draw your conclusion on the subject.
Maintain a neutral position when writing an analytical research paper.
2. Argumentative Research Paper
In argumentative research paper, you look into two controversial issues in the same document.
While you’ll look into both sides of the argument, you’ll have to take a side and use information from different reliable sources to persuade reader to take your side.
3. Experimental Research
Experimental research papers are practical in form. Your instructor expects you to describe procedures you used in your experiment, accompanied by in-depth data analysis and a written report.
4. Survey Research Paper
With survey research papers, you have to collect information from as many respondents as you can find. Then, you have to analyze the information and write a final report.
Essay vs Research Paper: What are the Differences?
In this section, we’ll look at the differences between essays and research papers to give you more insight.
Differences in Writing
Since the primary objective of a research paper is to present a deeper knowledge of the subject, you have to do extensive research from different sources.
You also have to do a deep data analysis before writing so you can make a concrete conclusion.
Moreover, you have to be very conversant with the primary sources on the subject to write a good research paper.
With an essay, your goal is to show your teacher that you have good research and writing skills and can articulate your ideas in a way that shows your understanding of the given topic.
As such, essays won’t require deep research. In essay writing, you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with the main sources on a given subject although it’s important to.
Differences in Outline and Length
An essay has three parts: an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. The body section has at least 3 paragraphs, but there can be more depending on the subject, research, and the number of ideas you’d like to present.
A research paper has more sections. Your work needs to feature a title page, an abstract (summary of the research), the main body (divided into sections such as methodology and results), a conclusion, references, acknowledgements, and references.
An essay can be as short as one page, especially if it’s on a topic that doesn’t require extensive research. In some cases, you may have to make your essay longer. So check the prompt to know how long your instructor expects you to make the essay.
On the other hand, a research paper is longer than a typical essay’s length and can span up to 8 pages or more.
Differences in Presentation
In essay writing, students present their personal views on a given issue or subject and use reliable academic sources to support their opinions.
In research paper writing, you have to present other scientists and researchers’ point of views of a subject and also add your opinion as a writer. Therefore, you must not only logically organize your ideas but also formulate them academically.