difference between composition writing and essay writing

Essay vs Composition: Difference and Comparison

Some students make a mistake, thinking an essay and composition are synonymous. These terms are not contrary on the one side, and on the other side, there is a significant distinction between them.

Key Takeaways Essay and composition are both forms of academic writing that require critical thinking, analysis, and effective communication; essay is a more specific term that refers to a piece of writing that presents a thesis statement and supports it with evidence and analysis. The composition can encompass various types of writing, including essays, narratives, and descriptive pieces; an essay is a specific type of composition with a more structured format. An essay includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, while composition may not have a specific structure or format.

Essay vs. Composition

Essays are about the writer’s opinion on a particular topic. They are structured and follow patterns, including an introduction, a body paragraph, and a conclusion. The composition can be about any topic, and it is not structured. It is not about any specific opinion or argument.

As such, essay and composition are not interchangeable terms. They also have different writing purposes. An essay aims to push readership to develop their position on a topic. A composition explains the topic and compares phenomena without declaring the author’s position.

An essay is a text of a small volume (sometimes a college essay can be up to 7-10 pages long, but usually, the required volume is not more than 2-3 pages). The essay is written in a prosaic style. In an essay, the author states his personal opinion on a topic.

The author can express his vision in a free form. In an essay, the author is speaking on a particular phenomenon, event, or opinion that is reasoning with his view. The essay requires not only gathering specific relevant information but also adding it to your thoughts and arguments.

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This is not a one-day job for most students. That is why they apply to paper writing services for help from skilled professional writers. These services aim to teach students how to explain their thoughts and structure their essays correctly.

The work created with the help of writing services is a completed essay that can be added to the student’s impressions. The composition is a creative paper presenting the author’s thoughts and feelings on the topic without explaining his opinion.

For example, the composition topic about the Great Depression is “Franklin D. Roosevelt’s role during the Great Depression.” The essay topic about the Great Depression will be: “Did the New Deal solve the problem of the Great Depression?”

Comparison Table

What is essay.

This genre has recently become popular, but its roots date back to the 16 th century. Today, the essay is offered as a college and university assignment. An essay is a type of work built around a central topic.

The main purpose of writing an essay is to provoke the reader into reflection . Writing an essay allows learning to formulate your thoughts, structure information, find arguments, express the individual impression, and formulate your position.

The characteristics of an essay are a small volume, a specific topic, and free composition. The author must build a trusting relationship with the reader; therefore, writing an essay is much more difficult than writing a composition.

What is Composition?

A composition is a creative work, on a prescribed topic. It has a clear presentation structure.

In the composition, you can agree or disagree with the opinion of other authors, express your thoughts about what you read, compare works of different authors, and analyze their vision. A composition is expected to provide full disclosure of the topic.

To provide it, the paper must follow a set structure: an introduction that outlines the essential problem of the topic. This body explains and reveals the main idea of the composition and a logical conclusion. Therefore, a composition has a larger volume than an essay.

Main Differences Between An Essay And Composition

• There is a significant difference in style. A composition mainly contains the analysis of the topic. At the same time, the author’s position is clearly expressed in the essay.
• Compositions and essays vary in length. The essay, most often, has a small volume because the author’s thoughts must be clearly stated. The composition has a prescribed structure and a larger volume.
• An essay allows the author to express creativity and show his vision and attitude toward a specific phenomenon. A composition explains the topic according to its concept and doesn’t have to be supplemented with unusual thoughts. 
• To write an essay, finding an original idea or developing an out-of-the-box view of a situation is significant. At the same time, writing a composition requires reading about the topic and talking about it.  

Last Updated : 11 June, 2023

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Essay vs. Composition: What's the Difference?

Key Differences

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The Difference between an Essay and a Composition

In a few cases, an essay and a composition can mean the same thing. However, your composition for a music class will look much different than your composition for a history class.

What is an Essay?

An essay is an informative piece of writing that includes an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The purpose of an essay is to present a specific point that a writer has chosen to make on a topic and to lay out the reasoning for why the writer reached that conclusion. When the writer has completed their essay, they have in their hands a literary composition. Essays can only be completed using the written word.

What is A Composition?

A composition is any creative work, and creativity does not always come in the form of the written word. Written compositions can be essays, but there are many other forms of writing that fall under the definition of a composition. In fact, all original pieces of writing are defined as written compositions, including all the writing forms that are not essays. Compositions can also include many other forms other than writing, as well.

Essays come in four basic types: expository, persuasive, descriptive, and narrative. Expository essays present facts about a topic, persuasive essays argue a point and try to convince readers to agree on that point, a descriptive essay paints a story using words, and a narrative essay tells a true story from a writer's personal experience. Each type of essay has its own structure to be followed but all should analyze, present, or describe a specific topic.

Compositions come in many forms: plays, short stories, musical scores, art, novels, and poems. Each has their own requirements for structure and allowances for creativity. Any original creative work is a composition, whether it's written, performed, sculpted, or drawn. Both modern American author Stephen King and 16th Century music composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are known for famous compositions like the novel The Stand and the opera The Marriage of Figaro.

While you don't need to be a great writer to publish a composition that will make you famous someday, you won't be able to take any shortcuts on learning an art form and honing it through years of practice. Whether your practice includes a pencil, word processing software, a paintbrush, or a piano, the original and creative results of that practice will all be compositions.

Difference Between Essay and Composition

Edited by Diffzy | Updated on: October 11, 2023

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• Introduction

We often get confused between an essay and a composition because they generally sound the same. So, we end up using the terms interchangeably. Essay and composition are components of writing skills, but they are slightly different from each other even if they seem the same. This is why they cannot be used interchangeably while speaking because they serve different writing purposes. Essays are writing pieces that follow a particular structure and are mainly written to express opinions on a particular subject. Compositions, on the other hand, refer to any kind of creation, which can include writing pieces or music compositions. They do not follow any particular structure, and their structure primarily depends on the kind of creation. A composition can be created on any particular topic. The structural pattern of an essay generally consists of a paragraph on introduction, after which comes the body, and lastly a paragraph on conclusion. So, an essay follows a uniform structure. But this is not the case with composition, and an interesting fact about composition that should be noted is that composition is a huge category under which an essay lies as a subcategory.

• Essay vs Composition

Essay and composition are different types of writing pieces that have their purposes. An essay is a piece of writing where an author expresses himself in his opinions or arguments regarding a particular topic. It follows a uniform structure from the beginning to the end, starting with an introduction paragraph, then a body, and then a conclusion paragraph. An essay can be of a few paragraphs or can extend up to several pages. So, an essay can be a quite long medium of self-expression. Moreover, the opinion expressed here can be either about world affairs, which means formal, or it can be about the writer's personal life, which means informal.

Composition is a general term that refers to any type of creation. It is a very broad concept, and an essay also comes under composition. Any piece of writing is a composition that includes stories and poems. It primarily means a creation, and any form of writing is indeed a writer's creation. So, compositions cannot be separately categorized as structured or unstructured.

• Difference Between Essay and Composition in Tabular Form
• What is an Essay?

Essays originated in the 16th century. It is a piece of writing where a writer conveys his opinion on a particular matter of interest. Today, essays as a genre have become very popular, and they are given as assignments in schools and colleges. A writer writes essays mainly to make the audience think over a particular topic of concern, and essays can have a formal or informal tone of writing. So, whether essays are formal or informal, they express the writer's opinion about something, which means that essays are written with a subjective approach. This is because subjective means personal emotions and feelings, and a writer's personal opinions can be found in an essay. Moreover, essays can be romantic or factual. Factual essays are when a writer writes about world affairs or daily life topics, but romantic essays consist of information about a writer's personal life, such as Charles Lamb's romantic essays.

Essay writing is a very good habit that enhances one's writing skills, improves the organization of information and thoughts, and improves one's expression of ideas. Essays follow a particular structural pattern, which includes an introductory paragraph, a body consisting of one or many paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. An essay can be of a few paragraphs, or it can extend up to several pages. Writing an essay is difficult since it conveys a writer's personal opinion, so essays should be authentic in providing information so that readers can believe a writer and the facts presented by a writer. So, a trustworthy relationship should be present between a writer and his readers or rather it should be built through an essay. Students often use essays to present their learning of a particular subject and the writing skills that they have developed. Scholars also use essays in academic fields to present their research on a particular topic. Essays are mainly written in prose format.

Types of Essays

Various types of essays can be found today, depending on the topic on which the essay is written and the writing style of an essayist. Some of them are: -

Critical Analysis Essays

Narrative essays, descriptive essays.

Critical analysis essays are primarily based on literature subjects. They provide a deep analysis of a particular piece of literature. Here, the author tries to make an argument or prove a point about the literary piece. It is very similar to argumentative or persuasive essays and follows the argument format by providing evidence in the form of quotations and citations.

An essay that is written in a storytelling format is a narrative essay. This kind of essay generally narrates some personal experiences of the writer or his imagination of what he wanted to experience. Hence, this kind of essay is romantic and extremely subjective. These kinds of essays are written in a well-structured way and should be engaging to the readers such as Charles Lamb's essays are extremely personal essays where he shares some instances of his personal life. So, these essays can also be called autobiographical essays.

Descriptive essays may seem like narrative essays, but they are slightly different. They tend to provide vivid sensory descriptions about an object or an event, but they do not give full details of the entire story. Just some specific points are provided, and they are more focused than narrative essays. They are also creative, like narrative essays.

• What is Composition?

Composition is a very broad concept and is used to refer to any kind of creation such as a poem, short story or a novel. A piece of music is also composed so, it is also a composition. It is a much broader term than an essay. Moreover, since compositions include such a wide range of writing, the purpose of a composition solely depends on the kind of writing that is written. A composition, which is an essay, is a self-expressive piece of writing. Similarly, if the composition is a music composition, it has the purpose of entertaining the audience. There can be articles that have educational intent. So, compositions have a variety of purposes depending on the piece of creation.

It is also to be noted that essays are a type of composition because composition is a broad term and includes a wide variety of creations. So, essays come under compositions, but that does not mean that all compositions are essays. Compositions also have a pattern and structure, just like essays, but this again depends on the type of creation that a creator has produced because composition is not any particular type of writing. The tone of a composition also depends on the same factor. However, it should be known that since compositions involve any kind of creation, compositions can be longer or shorter than essays such as novels or short poems. Compositions, unlike essays, put more focus on the presentation of information. Compositions are expected to fully cover a topic, providing a detailed analysis of a topic.

Types of Composition

Compositions like essays can also be subdivided into various types. The different types of compositions are: -

• Short Stories

A poem is a piece of writing where a poet pens down his collection of ideas in a creative way. Poems are usually written following a particular rhyme scheme and metrical pattern, but gradually, with time, poets started moving away from traditional patterns. They started writing poems in free verse, which does not have any particular rhymical pattern. Here, thoughts can continue from one line to another without any restriction. Poems are creative pieces serving multiple purposes, such as narrating a particular story, expressing one’s desires, sharing information, or recording one’s memory. Poems that provide a universally true message are the most appealing to readers.

Short Story

A short story is also a kind of composition. A short story is very similar to a novel because it is also a work of fiction. But a short story, as the name implies, is a short fictional tale. The main aim of a short story is to provide a conflict, compelling characters and everything else within a short and compact package. A short story is usually set in one particular location to keep things simple, and one or two main characters may be introduced. Their background is generally not provided to keep the short and simple, and subplots are not used here. Moreover, short stories arouse the interest of readers because they are open-ended. Short stories are usually between 1000 to 7500 words.

A novel is a longer version of a short story that has originated many years ago before short stories were a thing. It holds a significant status in the field of literature. A novel is a lengthy prose fiction, which is why it consists of a main plot with several subplots, several significant characters who develop throughout the course of the novel, and a particular theme. Novels are usually close-ended and explore a variety of issues, such as social and political issues, and complexities of human emotions and relationships. The characters here should be round and well-developed characters. The different genres of novel are thriller, romance, science fiction and fantasy novels.

An article is also a kind of composition, but it is a non-fictional piece of writing. An article primarily aims to educate its readers on a particular topic of discussion. Articles use formal language for writing. An article is similar to an essay in structure as it consists of an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Articles are generally short and concise, containing factual information regarding a particular topic.

• Main Difference Between Essay and Composition in Points
• People often confuse the terms essay and composition. Essay and composition have many similar aspects. But they are also essentially different. An essay is a type of writing where the writer expresses his opinions or perspective on a particular subject of interest. So, essays are self-expressive. Composition, on the other hand, is a broad concept and is generally used to refer to any kind of creation, such as poems or short stories. Music compositions are also a kind of composition. Any kind of creation that is being created by a creator comes under composition. A musician composes music, so composition refers to any type of creation, and even essays come under composition. This is because an essay is also a type of writing piece, which means it is also a creation, and composition refers to any kind of creation. So, the essay comes under compositions. But that does not mean that every composition is an essay.
• The tone of essays can be both formal and informal. But whatever the tone is, essays are always subjective because the writer expresses his puts his voice in an essay and tries to justify his perspective. It does not completely consist of facts, and hence it cannot be called objective. Formal essays are those essays where the writer expresses his views regarding world affairs, but informal essays contain a writer’s description of the events of his personal life. Charles Lamb’s essays are examples of informal essays where Lamb has described events of his personal life. Compositions, on the other hand, do not have any definite tone, and the tone of a composition depends on the type of creation. This is because compositions broadly refer to every type of creation. So, a poem can have a personal and informal tone, whereas an article will have a formal tone. Concerning this, it should also be noted that compositions can have either an objective approach or a subjective approach, and this entirely depends on the writing format. If it is a short story, it will have a subjective approach, and research papers or formal essays will have an objective approach.

Hence, it can be said that essays and composition are both different kinds of creation. An essay is a self-expressive piece of writing where an author expresses his judgments on a particular issue, whereas composition is a general term that is used to refer to any kind of creation. It happens many times that an essay and a composition are considered the same, and so, people use the terms interchangeably, but this is completely wrong. A Composition refers to any kind of creation that includes poems, short stories, novels, articles, and essays. Music pieces are also creations, so they also come under the category of composition. So, essays are a part of composition since composition is a broad term, but not all compositions are essays. An essay can have a formal or informal tone of writing and is usually subjective because a writer expresses his opinions here, but the tone of a composition depends on the kind of writing, whether it is a poem or an article. Moreover, similar to the tone, the approach of a composition also depends on the kind of writing. So, an essay and a composition may seem the same, but they are essentially very different.

• https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/essay-vs-composition
• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/types-of-essays/
• https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-common-types-of-essays
• https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-types/
• https://poemanalysis.com/genre/poem/
• https://www.blurb.com/blog/what-is-a-short-story/
• https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-novel-definition/
• https://www.toppr.com/guides/english/writing/article/ 

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Difference Between Essay and Composition

Main difference – essay vs composition.

Many students think that the two words Essay and Composition mean the same and can be used interchangeably. While it is true that essay is an essay a type of composition, not all compositions are essays. Let us first look at the meaning of composition. A composition can refer to any creative work, be it a short story, poem, essay, research paper or a piece of music. Therefore, the main difference between essay and composition is that essay is a type of composition whereas composition refers to any creative work .

What is an Essay

An essay is a literary composition that describes, analyzes, and evaluates a certain topic or an issue . It typically contains a combination of facts and figures and personal opinions, ideas of the writer. Essays are a type of commonly used academic writing in the field of education.  In fact, the essay can be introduced as the main type of literary composition written in school level.

An essay typically consists of a brief introduction, a body that consists of supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the structure, content and the purpose of an essay can depend on the type of the essay. An essay can be classified into various types depending on the given essay title, or the style of the essay writer. Narrative , Descriptive , Argumentative , Expository , Persuasive , etc. are some of these essay types. The content , structure and style of the essay also depend on the nature of the essay. The complexity of the essay also depends on the type of the essay. For example, narrative and descriptive essays can be written even by primary school students whereas argumentative and persuasive essays are usually being written by older students.

What is a Composition

The term composition can refer to any creative work . A composition can be a piece of music, art of literature. For example, Symphony No. 40 in G minor is a composition by Mozart.

The term literary composition can refer a poem, short story, essay, drama , novel or even a research paper. It refers to an original and creative literary work.

Essay is a relatively short piece of writing on a particular topic.

Composition is a creative work.

Interconnection

Essay is a type of composition.

Not all compositions are essays.

Essay can be categorized as narrative, descriptive, persuasive, argumentative, expository, etc.

A composition can be a short story, novel, poem, essay, drama, painting, piece of music, etc.

Prose vs verse

Essay is always written in prose.

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English Composition Writing Manual For Students

Composition writing is an important skill for anybody that wants to excel in the English Language subject. When you learn to compose good texts in English, you will exceed your educators’ expectations in exams.

English is among the most popular languages and subjects. However, writing composition in the English language is not easy. That’s mainly because of the English spelling and grammar rules. It’s, therefore, not surprising that even some native English speakers struggle with compositions that involve some vocabularies.

For international students that pursue English as a second language, even a short written English assignment is not easy to create. Nevertheless, anybody can learn composition writing and excel. They just need training and commitment to excel.

The Basics Of Composition Writing

What is composition writing, types of english composition writing, how to write a composition, more tips for english composition writing, frequently asked questions.

This kind of writing is considered a narrative. That’s because it entails narrating events in a sequence from the plot that a writer creates. Thus, writing a composition is like telling a story. The only difference is that you do it in writing.

The basic structure of a composition comprises the following parts:

• Introduction : This is the section where the writer introduces the story setting. They also set a tone for the story to generate the interest of the reader.
• Problem/Conflict : The writer presents the crux of a story in this section. Here, the characters try to overcome a problem or conflict that relates to the main theme of a story.
• Resolution : Characters resolve the conflict or problem in this part of the composition or story.
• Conclusion : This section marks the end of a story. It gives the composition closure.

When you write a composition, you create a written narrative or story. You put your thoughts and words into a readable and coherent text. And you can do this in three different ways or modes.

• Poetic mode : This mode of composition is mostly used as an art form.
• Expressive mode : This composition mode entails consciousness stream, as well as, free flow of emotions and ideas.
• Transactional mode : Writers use this mode to advise or persuade their audiences.

Still asking, what is composition in writing? Well, just like most artists and musicians, composition writers set the tone of their work. And this enables them to accomplish their mission. Composition writers can express anything and take any viewpoint. For instance, they can impassionate anger using cool logic. They can also use simple and clean prose, descriptive passages, flowery, or analytical nomenclature.

Compositions can be categorized into different classes depending on their purposes. In a literary sense, composition in writing means putting together. Therefore, the writer assembles sentences and words to create meaningful and coherent work. It can also mean how a writer structures their piece of work.

Here are the main composition writing examples in English:

• Description : Descriptive writing entails providing an account or statement describing someone, something, or a place. This form of writing involves listing significant details and characteristics to provide a descriptive portrayal to the reader.
• Narration : Narrative writing involves giving a story or personal account to the readers. The narration can be a story or account of several events or facts presented in chronological order and having connections. The narration can also be dramatic, where the author presents individual scenes with dialog and actions. An author can also include flashbacks or follow a strict order in the narration.
• Exposition : Expository writing or exposition involves explaining or expounding a place, a person, a thing, or an event. In this form of writing and composition, the author does more than describing something. They also provide an interpretation and reality. They also express their ideas and opinions about it. In some cases, the writer can lay out propositions explaining the abstract idea or general notion of the subject.
• Argumentation : Argumentative writing is basically about presenting two sides of an issue or topic. You compare and contrast two opposing viewpoints in the composition using formal or logical reasoning. The end goal is to persuade your readers that A is better than B. Your meaning of better is what forms the content of the body of your composition.

Most students develop composition writing skills by practicing. But, what is composition writing in English and what does it entail? Well, you already know what a composition is. This section explains the main steps of drafting a composition.

Just like with an essay, the educator can provide prompts for when it comes to drafting composition. But, you still need to think about the perspective to take when writing the composition. Take your time to think about the given prompt and then brainstorm for ideas. This will make you mentally ready to write the composition.

A composition should have three major sections like an essay. These are the introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction of your composition should have an interesting sentence or hook to grab the attention of the readers. It should make the readers interested in reading the rest of the composition.

The body of a composition in writing should expound on what you hinted at in the introduction. It should have several paragraphs informing readers about the topic. Each paragraph in the body should be unique in terms of the information it provides.

The conclusion of the composition should give your write-up a sense of finality. Readers should not feel like you have left them hanging after reading your composition.

Your choice of tone and voice is one of the most important things that educators consider when marking compositions. Therefore, chose the right tone and voice for your composition. This should depend on several factors. For instance, the topic of your composition should influence your choice of tone and voice. Similarly, your composition type should dictate the tone and voice you use. Nevertheless, choosing the wrong tone or even voice can lead to a poor grade in your composition.

Most people see composition as a rite of passage. That’s because they were required to write them at some point during their academic career. However, most people don’t know that they should maintain consistent tense and viewpoints. This is essential because it makes your story flow consistently.

A major reason for writing is to test your English language skills. Therefore, one of the most important tips on how to write a composition in English is to use as many vocabularies as possible. However, you should use the right vocabulary. Don’t use words whose meaning you don’t know.

Don’t submit your composition after writing without editing. This is very important because simple mistakes can ruin your otherwise brilliant composition. If possible, ask somebody else to read the composition for you. That’s because you’re likely to miss some of the mistakes since you’ve been working on the same write-up.

Now that you know the steps for writing your English composition, you should learn tips that can enhance your skills. Here are tips that will help you write better English compositions.

• Think about your composition topic carefully : You won’t write a good composition if you don’t understand your topic. Therefore, take your time to think about the topic. What does the educator want you to write about? If the topic requires you to describe something, think about the best way to do that. If it requires you to analyze something, think about the best way to do it. Once you’ve understood what the topic expects you to do, brainstorm the information to include in your composition.
• Take time to outline your composition : Creating an outline will enable you to come up with a coherent and logical composition. Outlining a composition is about planning your writing process. Therefore, draft an outline showing the main parts of your composition before you start writing.
• Write a catchy introduction : The complexity of this section makes many learners ask, how do you write a composition introduction? How you introduce your topic to the readers will influence their first impression of your composition. Therefore, come up with a catchy introduction for your composition to capture the reader’s attention and make them want to read the rest of your write-up.
• Maintain flow in the body : Some students ignore the flow of their ideas and arguments in the body of their compositions. However, this can make your readers lose interest in reading the rest of the write-up. To avoid this, maintain a consistent flow of ideas and arguments in your composition.
• Summarize your composition properly : Your conclusion should summarize the main ideas of your composition. It should also state your viewpoint about the topic.

Q: What is a good composition?

A: A good composition depicts the ability of the writer to present ideas, information, or concepts in a captivating way that makes readers follow the story from the introduction to the conclusion . It also leaves the readers with a sense of finality.

Q: What is the difference between a composition and an essay?

A: A composition creates literary pieces like prose, drama, novel, and poetry. On the other hand, an essay elaborates on a place, an event, or a person.

Q: What is writing composition?

A: In writing, composition refers to the act or process of putting sentences, ideas, or information together to create a meaningful text. It can also refer to the way a writer structures their text.

Drafting a composition shouldn’t be a difficult task. You just need to understand the prompt, come up with a good topic, and understand what it requires you to do. Draft a good introduction, body, and conclusion then proofread or edit your work before submitting it to score a better grade.

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The Difference Between an Article and an Essay

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

In composition studies , an article is a short work of nonfiction that typically appears in a magazine or newspaper or on a website. Unlike essays , which often highlight the subjective impressions of the author (or narrator ), articles are commonly written from an objective point of view . Articles include news items, feature stories, reports , profiles , instructions, product descriptions, and other informative pieces of writing.

What Sets Articles Apart From Essays

Though both articles and essays are types of nonfiction writing, they differ in many ways. Here are some features and qualities of articles that differentiate them from essays.

Subject and Theme in Articles

"A useful exercise is to look at some good articles and name the broader subject and the particular aspect each treats. You will find that the subject always deals with a partial aspect examined from some viewpoint; it is never a crammed condensation of the whole.

"...Observe that there are two essential elements of an article: subject and theme . The subject is what the article is about: the issue, event, or person it deals with. (Again, an article must cover only an aspect of a whole.) The theme is what the author wants to say about the subject—what he brings to the subject." (Ayn Rand, The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers , ed. by Robert Mayhew. Plume, 2001)

"An article is not everything that's true. It's every important thing that's true." (Gary Provost, Beyond Style: Mastering the Finer Points of Writing . Writer's Digest Books, 1988)

Article Structure

"There are five ways to structure your article . They are:

- The inverted pyramid - The double helix - The chronological double-helix - The chronological report - The storytelling model

Think about how you read a newspaper: you scan the captions and then read the first paragraph or two to get the gist of the article and then read further if you want to know more of the details. That's the inverted pyramid style of writing used by journalists, in which what's important comes first. The double-helix also presents facts in order of importance but it alternates between two separate sets of information. For example, suppose you are writing an article about the two national political conventions. You'll first present Fact 1 about the Democratic convention, then Fact 2 about the Republicans, then Fact 2 about the Democrats, Fact 2 about the Republicans, and so on. The chronological double-helix begins like the double helix but once the important facts from each set of information have been presented, it then goes off to relay the events in chronological order...

"The chronological report is the most straightforward structure to follow since it is written in the order in which the events occurred. The final structure is the storytelling model, which utilizes some of the techniques of fiction writing, so you would want to bring the reader into the story right away even if it means beginning in the middle or even near the end and then filling in the facts as the story unfolds." (Richard D. Bank, The Everything Guide to Writing Nonfiction . Adams Media, 2010)

Opening Sentence of an Article

"The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn't induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead. And if the second sentence doesn't induce him to continue to the third sentence, it's equally dead. Of such a progression of sentences, each tugging the reader forward until he is hooked, a writer constructs that fateful unit, the ' lead .'" (William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , 7th ed. HarperCollins, 2006)

Articles and Media

"More and more, article content written for printed media is also appearing on digital devices (often as an edited version of a longer article) for readers who have short attention spans due to time constraints or their device's small screen. As a result, digital publishers are seeking audio versions of content that is significantly condensed and written in conversational style. Often, content writers must now submit their articles with the understanding they will appear in several media formats." (Roger W. Nielsen, Writing Content: Mastering Magazine and Online Writing . R.W. Nielsen, 2009)

Writer's Voice in Articles and Essays

"Given the confusion of genre minglings and overlaps, what finally distinguishes an essay from an article may just be the author's gumption, the extent to which personal voice , vision, and style are the prime movers and shapers, even though the authorial 'I' may be only a remote energy, nowhere visible but everywhere present. ('We commonly do not remember,' Thoreau wrote in the opening paragraphs of Walden , 'that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking.')" (Justin Kaplan, quoted by Robert Atwan in The Best American Essays, College Edition , 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 1998)

• How to Write a News Article That's Effective
• What Are the Different Types and Characteristics of Essays?
• What Is Expository Writing?
• Definition and Examples of Paragraphing in Essays
• What Is a Synopsis and How Do You Write One?
• How To Write an Essay
• Paragraph Length in Compositions and Reports
• Learn to Write News Stories
• Unity in Composition
• Writing a Lead or Lede to an Article
• How to Structure an Essay
• How to Write Your Graduate School Admissions Essay
• AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
• How to Write a Great Book Report
• Writers on Writing: The Art of Paragraphing
• Definition and Examples of Analysis in Composition

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In this Chapter

What is College Composition?

Why the academic essay.

• Purposes and Goals

Teachers vs. Professors

Students often enter college writing courses expecting an “English” course that requires students to read literary texts, write creatively, and/or complete endless grammar exercises. But First Year Composition (FYC) does not usually focus on these topics.

Rather than focusing on literature or grammar, First Year Composition (FYC) courses introduce students to academic writing. Specifically, they teach students about writing and composing processes at the college level. In FYC courses like EGL 1010, students think critically, use rhetorical knowledge to evaluate sources, and integrate original research into formal argumentative essays.

FYC courses build on the skills and knowledge students already learned from high school writing instruction and/or pre-credit courses in reading and writing. But the work done in this course and the skills you develop over the course of the semester may be different from your previous writing classes.

FYC courses help students to develop the skills necessary to write successful academic essays at the college level. By the end of this course, you will be able to write a complex, research-based argumentative essay that uses appropriate sources from the college library databases.

The academic essay is a genre , or form of writing, specific to academic situations. It is a structured piece of formal writing that presents a central, argumentative idea and supports that idea with clear evidence. Academic essays are shorter than scholarly articles, though they share many of the same features.

Though the academic essay is usually found only in educational settings, the genre of the essay allows students to practice writing and communication skills that transfer to other writing situations outside of the college classroom. The skills you learn to create strong academic essays are the same skills you’ll need to write clear and effective documents for any workplace situation.

Academic essay requires students to demonstrate deep critical thinking skills and mastery of a specific topic.

The goal of most essay assignments in college courses is to measure student learning.Therefore, essays require students to think logically about complex topics and order their thoughts and ideas effectively. When students write essays, they must carefully analyze available evidence and make careful choices about how it can best be used to support an argument. These are all skills students might need for writing and communication tasks in their future careers.

Essays also allow students to demonstrate their mastery of multiple course objectives or competencies in a single assignment:

• Knowledge : the breadth and depth of how much a student has learned about a specific topic or idea
• Critical Thinking : the student’s ability to evaluate sources and synthesize information effectively and accurately
• Logical Thinking:  the student’s ability to logically and coherently organize their thoughts
• Writing Skills: how clearly and effectively a student can communicate information to an audience

The genre of the essay may not be new to you. You were probably asked to write essays in high school and/or pre-college courses. You may have been taught the five-paragraph style of essay and feel relatively confident in your use of it.

The essays you will be required to write for this course and for future courses throughout your college education will share many similarities to your previous essay writing experiences. But the essays required and expected at the college level have a few important differences from the work you completed for high school. This chapter will discuss some of the important differences between your previous experiences and what will be expected of you in college courses.

High School vs. College: An Overview

Before we look at the difference between the writing you might have done in high school and the writing you will do in college, it might be useful to look at the difference between high school and college in general .

Perhaps the most important difference between high school and college writing is that in high school, you probably learned a single essay model that was supposed to be applied to every essay you wrote in any class.

In college, however, there is no one-size-fits-all essay structure that works for every assignment and every course. Instead, you will need to be able to meet the requirements of each course or discipline and use rhetorical understanding to meet the needs of individual writing situations. We will discuss the importance of rhetoric in a later chapter, but first, let’s look at some of the general differences between the situation and context for writing in highs school classes and the writing tasks your college courses will require.

Purpose and Goals

High schools and colleges have different purposes and different goals. Those purposes and goals are important to understand, because they have an impact on classroom experiences and expectation.

High schools are institutions designed to provide compulsory or mandatory education in order to create an educated population. Students are legally required to attend high school until a certain age. Teachers and schools are legally responsible for ensuring that students learn a certain level of information, usually one determined by individual states. Teachers and schools that fail in that goal and purpose can be held accountable by government institutions at the local, state, and even federal levels.

Where high school is required, college is optional. The decision to get a college education is a choice. Most students elect to attend college in order to attain the education and certifications need for their future career.

Colleges and universities have another purpose, however. While post-secondary institutions do exist to educate students, they have another, possibly an even more important role: the discovery and creation of knowledge. Professors in 4-year colleges and universities, especially, have a responsibility to discover new ideas, confirm new hypotheses, and add to their discipline. When you hear about new discoveries and breakthroughs in science, culture, or medicine, it is usually the result of work done by professional scholars working in college and universities.

Your high school teachers were trained in pedagogy, or the art and science of teaching. They usually are required to have a Bachelor’s degree in Education and pass licensing requirements for the state they teach in. They likely have taken multiple upper-division college courses in the specific subject(s) that they teach, or they may have a college degree in that subject. Their job is to make sure students learn the required material, and their responsibility is first and foremost to students and their learning.

Professors in colleges and universities have more education and expertise in their chosen field. They usually do not have degrees in Education and are not always trained in pedagogy. Rather, they are experts in their field. College professors at two-year schools will have at least a Master’s degree, and professors at four-year colleges and universities will usually have a Ph.D., which requires six or more years of school beyond a Bachelor’s degree. They have devoted a large part of their life to difficult, in-depth learning about the discipline they teach, and because of their education they have deep, complex knowledge about it.

Your professors will often have different expectations than high school teachers. Because post-secondary education is optional, your professors will assume that students are in their classes by choice. They will expect students to take an active and engaged role in their own learning. In addition, college professors are not responsible for making sure that students learn. While they have a responsibility to present material clearly and provide support for their students, it is up to the students to take responsibility for their own learning.

Finally, an important part of your professor’s job is to continue their own work as learners. Professors are expected to continue contributing to their field of study as active researchers and writers. Even as they teach their classes, they are often researching new questions in order to write new articles and books.

Because of these factors, your college professors usually will view their students not as customers but as scholars in training . The general differences between high school and college contributes to the specific differences between writing in high school and college.

Writing: High School vs. College

Most high school classes depend upon the genre of the Five-Paragraph Essay. Your high school teachers may have taught you that essay writing has certain rules. You were likely taught to start your essay with a “hook” or “attention-getter” and to create a thesis with three points. You may have also been taught specific rules about how many sentences a paragraph has. High school students are usually expected to follow those rules and are evaluated on how well they met those requirements.

Common “Rules” from High School Writing Courses

• Essays should have five paragraphs.
• Paragraphs are between five and eight sentences long.
• The thesis statement is a single sentence at the end of your first paragraph. It should contain the three points that you’ll discuss in your three body paragraphs.

There is nothing inherently incorrect about these rules, and they probably made essay writing systematic and clear. These rules probably helped you to learn about organization, logic, and structure. These rules also help students do well on the standardized state tests that are required for public school students.

These rules might have served you well on the shorter, less complicated essays required in high school, but college students often quickly realize that the Five-Paragraph essay is too limiting for the longer and more complex assignments required in college.

As we go through the semester, we will build on the ideas the Five-Paragraph essay taught you about organization, logic, and structure, but rather seeing essay writing as a series of rules you must follow, we will learn about how to use the ideas as strategies that are flexible enough to be applied to many writing tasks.

First, let’s take a look at the expectations of college-level writing.

Expectations of College Writing

The work that undergraduate students will do in college classes reflect a higher level of thinking and learning than what was often required in high schools . Because colleges are spaces for discovery and knowledge creation, they train students to participate in these endeavors.

Your professors will want you to do more than repeat facts back to them. No matter the discipline or course, your professors will expect you to think deeply and critically about the subject at hand and to begin developing your own unique ideas and perspectives about the topics. This is why learning to write clear and effective arguments is so important to college success.

Reports vs. Research Essays

In high school or pre-credit courses, most of your writing tasks probably focused on reporting the information.

College-level writing assignments will usually require you to go further. Rather than reporting the facts you learned or discovered, college-level essays require you to insert yourself into the conversation and make original arguments . College-level writing also asks you to make decisions about how to best present the information for the specific context or audience.

There are four basic areas where you can expect differences between the writing you did in high school and the writing you will do in college: Structure, Argument, Research, and Format.

As previously noted, in high school, you likely learned and relied on the Five-Paragraph essay structure, or a similar form with highly specific and strict rules. In college, those basic forms will usually be too simplistic or restrictive to be useful for effective and successful college essays.

College essays may follow the same basic organizational structure (Intro, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion), but each section is more flexible and complex than high school essays.

• Strong arguments don’t require a predetermined set of 3 points. They may need more or less.
• Essays have as many paragraphs as needed.
• Paragraphs are usually between one-third and two-thirds of a page in length and vary depending on the needs of the point being made.
• Introductions are usually one paragraph, but might be longer if the situation requires.
• Thesis statements should be complete and preview the argument, but are not required to include any set number of points.

In high school, you might have been asked to write research reports. You may have also been asked to give an opinion or create a thesis, but often high school thesis statements are little more than a restatement of the facts you learned. In college, simply restating what others have already established will not be enough to count as an argumentative thesis.

College essays also use thesis statements , but they require students to make arguments that present a deniable claim that can be supported by evidence.

• College-level essays must do more than restate or report on facts. Instead, they create, identify, or push toward new ideas.
• Essays must include an argumentative (deniable) claim.
• Arguments must be supported by evidence that is appropriate for the specific discipline.
• Personal anecdotes or narrative is not usually sufficient to support an argument, and often is inappropriate for academic audiences.
• College-level thesis statements should be specific and limited.

In high school you may have used general internet sources, Google Scholar, or other online references. While many internet resources are usable for more basic reports, college writing will often require resources with more authority and complexity. In high school, you may have taken ideas from sources without completely citing them or quoting accurately. Often high school students will lift key words and phrases from a source without completely reading or understanding the source in its entirety.

College essays require research from reputable, academic (library) sources. Because your professors are experts in their field, they will likely know when you’ve misunderstood or misrepresented a source, so reading and analyzing sources completely is an expected part of research.

Guidelines for Research in College Essays

• General internet-based research (Google, Wikipedia) is usually not considered appropriate for college-level research.
• Scholarly sources from the library and library databases are required to adequately support your arguments.
• Sources used must be thoroughly read and understood. It’s expected that the writer has mastered the ideas in the source before using or citing it.
• All evidence must be cited carefully by using whichever citation format is required for the class or discipline. Different courses might require different styles. (APA vs. MLA, for example)

In high school your teachers might not have demanded any specific format, or they might have all used a version of MLA essay formatting. It might have been acceptable to use decorative flourishes and designs.

College essays are usually formatted very simply, without decorative elements. Each discipline and class will have specific formatting guidelines that need to be followed.

Guidelines for Formatting in College

• College essays follow the formatting most appropriate for the discipline. Usually this is MLA or APA.
• Formatting should be clear and readable without extra decorative elements. Colors, large fonts, or decorative fonts are not usually acceptable.

Overall Differences

Reflect on Your Reading

• What experience do you already have with writing essays? With research? What skills are you most comfortable with or confident in? How do you think that you can use those skills in your college classes?
• What information about the differences between high school and college is new to you? How does understanding the difference between these two school environments help you to better understand what your college professors might expect?

References:

Carroll, Lee Ann. Rehearsing New Roles: How College Students Develop as Writers. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2002. Print.

Thaiss, Chris and Terry Zawacki. Engaged Writers & Dynamic Disciplines: Research on the Academic Writing Life. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2006. Print.

For Further Reading:

The Difference Between High School and College Writing

The Transition from High School to University Writing

Remixed from an essay by Lennie Irvin

To the extent possible under law, Lisa Dunick has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Readings for Writing , except where otherwise noted.

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• Comparing and contrasting in an essay | Tips & examples

Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on August 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

Comparing and contrasting is an important skill in academic writing . It involves taking two or more subjects and analyzing the differences and similarities between them.

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Table of contents

When should i compare and contrast, making effective comparisons, comparing and contrasting as a brainstorming tool, structuring your comparisons, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about comparing and contrasting.

Many assignments will invite you to make comparisons quite explicitly, as in these prompts.

• Compare the treatment of the theme of beauty in the poetry of William Wordsworth and John Keats.
• Compare and contrast in-class and distance learning. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

Some other prompts may not directly ask you to compare and contrast, but present you with a topic where comparing and contrasting could be a good approach.

One way to approach this essay might be to contrast the situation before the Great Depression with the situation during it, to highlight how large a difference it made.

Comparing and contrasting is also used in all kinds of academic contexts where it’s not explicitly prompted. For example, a literature review involves comparing and contrasting different studies on your topic, and an argumentative essay may involve weighing up the pros and cons of different arguments.

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As the name suggests, comparing and contrasting is about identifying both similarities and differences. You might focus on contrasting quite different subjects or comparing subjects with a lot in common—but there must be some grounds for comparison in the first place.

For example, you might contrast French society before and after the French Revolution; you’d likely find many differences, but there would be a valid basis for comparison. However, if you contrasted pre-revolutionary France with Han-dynasty China, your reader might wonder why you chose to compare these two societies.

This is why it’s important to clarify the point of your comparisons by writing a focused thesis statement . Every element of an essay should serve your central argument in some way. Consider what you’re trying to accomplish with any comparisons you make, and be sure to make this clear to the reader.

Comparing and contrasting can be a useful tool to help organize your thoughts before you begin writing any type of academic text. You might use it to compare different theories and approaches you’ve encountered in your preliminary research, for example.

Let’s say your research involves the competing psychological approaches of behaviorism and cognitive psychology. You might make a table to summarize the key differences between them.

Or say you’re writing about the major global conflicts of the twentieth century. You might visualize the key similarities and differences in a Venn diagram.

These visualizations wouldn’t make it into your actual writing, so they don’t have to be very formal in terms of phrasing or presentation. The point of comparing and contrasting at this stage is to help you organize and shape your ideas to aid you in structuring your arguments.

When comparing and contrasting in an essay, there are two main ways to structure your comparisons: the alternating method and the block method.

The alternating method

In the alternating method, you structure your text according to what aspect you’re comparing. You cover both your subjects side by side in terms of a specific point of comparison. Your text is structured like this:

Mouse over the example paragraph below to see how this approach works.

One challenge teachers face is identifying and assisting students who are struggling without disrupting the rest of the class. In a traditional classroom environment, the teacher can easily identify when a student is struggling based on their demeanor in class or simply by regularly checking on students during exercises. They can then offer assistance quietly during the exercise or discuss it further after class. Meanwhile, in a Zoom-based class, the lack of physical presence makes it more difficult to pay attention to individual students’ responses and notice frustrations, and there is less flexibility to speak with students privately to offer assistance. In this case, therefore, the traditional classroom environment holds the advantage, although it appears likely that aiding students in a virtual classroom environment will become easier as the technology, and teachers’ familiarity with it, improves.

The block method

In the block method, you cover each of the overall subjects you’re comparing in a block. You say everything you have to say about your first subject, then discuss your second subject, making comparisons and contrasts back to the things you’ve already said about the first. Your text is structured like this:

• Point of comparison A
• Point of comparison B

The most commonly cited advantage of distance learning is the flexibility and accessibility it offers. Rather than being required to travel to a specific location every week (and to live near enough to feasibly do so), students can participate from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows not only for a wider geographical spread of students but for the possibility of studying while travelling. However, distance learning presents its own accessibility challenges; not all students have a stable internet connection and a computer or other device with which to participate in online classes, and less technologically literate students and teachers may struggle with the technical aspects of class participation. Furthermore, discomfort and distractions can hinder an individual student’s ability to engage with the class from home, creating divergent learning experiences for different students. Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

Note that these two methods can be combined; these two example paragraphs could both be part of the same essay, but it’s wise to use an essay outline to plan out which approach you’re taking in each paragraph.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

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• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

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Some essay prompts include the keywords “compare” and/or “contrast.” In these cases, an essay structured around comparing and contrasting is the appropriate response.

Comparing and contrasting is also a useful approach in all kinds of academic writing : You might compare different studies in a literature review , weigh up different arguments in an argumentative essay , or consider different theoretical approaches in a theoretical framework .

Your subjects might be very different or quite similar, but it’s important that there be meaningful grounds for comparison . You can probably describe many differences between a cat and a bicycle, but there isn’t really any connection between them to justify the comparison.

You’ll have to write a thesis statement explaining the central point you want to make in your essay , so be sure to know in advance what connects your subjects and makes them worth comparing.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

• The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
• The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

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Composition vs. Writing — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Composition and Writing

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Differences Between Writing in ESL and Composition Classrooms

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Some of the features of ELL writing that may strike composition instructors and Writing Center tutors as in need of improvement may result directly from students' earlier experiences in ESL courses. In order to help students make the transition from writing for an ESL course and writing for a PWR or other academic course, it can help to understand the differences between writing in ESL and composition classrooms.

WRITING IN ESL COURSES

ESL courses tend to teach a rigidly deductive writing style that is seen by composition instructors as lacking in the sophistication required to succeed at the university level. According to Dwight Atkinson and Vai Ramanthan, the five-paragraph essay taught by ESL courses "acts a symbol of bad student writing—formulaic, stilted, mechanical, predictable" (560).

ESL courses teach the five-paragraph essay, however, to help students in the short rather than long-term. This form is a quickly-learned, easily deployable tool that students can use to meet their immediate academic needs (559). 

Because ESL courses are structured to meet the urgent needs of students in achieving communicative competence of writing, reading, speaking, and listening, they do not usually have the time to focus extensively on the writing process. While many teachers attempt to build in time for drafts, revision, peer review, and reflection, they necessarily cannot devote as much time to the writing process as composition courses do (Craig 3). In addition, peer review guidelines tend to reinforce the rigid deductive style that ESL courses tend to train students in.

Because ESL courses are geared towards language acquisition, writing assessment tends to focus on the mechanics of a student essay rather than the content (Craig 3). In fact, according to Linda Blanton, ESL programs often holds students to a higher standard of "grammatical perfection" than mainstream composition courses (124). As a result of this emphasis, many ESL students will expect instructors in other courses to also focus primarily on mechanics. They might also seek more feedback on grammar and syntax rather than on concerns of organization and argument, etc. (Moussu 56). 

Feedback in composition courses often focuses first on "higher order" concerns of argument and organization. In general, composition instructors are more tolerant of sentence-level errors in writing by non-native English speakers than in writing by native English speakers (Atkinson and Ramanthan 543). 

HELPING STUDENTS MAKE THE TRANSITION BETWEEN ESL WRITING AND ACADEMIC WRITING

Being aware of the differences between writing in ESL and composition courses can help instructors anticipate the challenges ELLs will face and address these challenges.

• Expect sentence-level errors. Grammatical and mechanical errors increase with cognitive difficulty, so you can expect to see a number of sentence-level issues in the writing of English language learners as they first grapple with more challenging writing assignments. The first writing you see from an English language learner might not be the most accurate representation of his/ her language development. In fact, many ESL instructors feel frustrated to see students appear to regress after they leave their ESL courses. These problems, however, can be temporary.
• Be as explicit as possible about expectations. Be aware that the characteristics that we define "good writing" with are culturally defined. Look for points in your course where rely on tacit knowledge. Model essays, particularly student essays, are very useful in making visible your expectations for academic writing.
• Reinforce good writing habits. Research shows that good ELL writers and native-English-speaking writers share the same habits: they dedicate effort to planning and revising. On the other hand, both inexperienced ELLs and NES writers do not dedicate much effort to planning and revising (Braine 3).
• Know that students can successfully make the transition between overly deductive writing and sophisticated academic writing. Instead of focusing on the problems of the rigidly deductive style of some ESL-trained students, Atkinson and Ramanthan advise that composition instructors think of this style as a "take-off point" from which students can learn to write in more rhetorically sophisticated ways (563). 

Atkinson, Dwight and Vai Ramanthan. "Cultures of Writing: An Ethnographic Comparison of L1 and L2 University Writing/ Language Programs." TESOL Quarterly 29.3 (1995): 539-  568.

Blanton, Linda Lonon. "Classroom Instruction and Language Minority Students: On Teaching to 'Smarter' Readers and Writers." Generation 1.5 Meets College Composition : Issues in the Teaching of Writing to U.S.-Educated Learners of ESL. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1999. 119-142.

Craig, Jennifer Lynn. Integrating Writing Strategies in EFLESL University Contexts : A Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Approach. New York; London: Routledge, 2013.

Matsuda, Paul Kei. "Composition studies and ESL writing: A disciplinary division of labor." College Composition and Communication (1999): 699-721.

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Technical Writing vs. Essay Writing

Major variations of writing in both styles, beyond common writing distinctions, key challenges, how is technical writing different from writing an essay.

• Read in 07 mins
• 14-Nov-2023

When we think of writing, we often connect it with articles, blogs or essays. But do you know there are many different styles and formats to consider while writing content? The two most popular writing types we are going to discuss here are technical writing and essay writing. Both of the styles involve the use of words and language to communicate ideas and information to a specific audience.

However, there are some key differences between the two styles that set them totally apart. Understanding these differences can help identify which approach is best suited for your particular needs. Through this article, we will explore how technical writing is different from writing an essay, their characteristics, as well as tips on how to excel in each style.

Technical writing and essay writing are two interesting styles of writing that have their unique characteristics and purposes for a diverse audience. So, whether you're a student working on an academic paper or a professional looking to communicate complex ideas, read on to discover the right way!

Technical writing focuses on providing clear and straightforward informative content to help readers understand complicated concepts. At the same time, essay writing aims to convince and engage readers with well-developed arguments and analysis. Understanding the difference between the two styles can help you figure out which approach is right for you.

For example , if you were writing a technical manual on how to assemble a computer, you would use technical writing to provide step-by-step instructions with clear diagrams and explanations. On the other hand, if you were writing an essay on the benefits of renewable energy, you would use essay writing to present compelling arguments supported by evidence and expert opinions.

Technical writing is highly objective and focuses on practicality and efficiency, aiming to convey information in a concise and precise manner. It is often used in fields such as engineering, technology, and science. Essay writing is more subjective and allows for the expression of personal opinions and interpretations. It is commonly employed in academic settings and aims to persuade and engage readers through effective rhetoric and logical reasoning.

Understanding the appropriate style for your purpose can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your writing and ensure that your intended message reaches and resonates with your target audience.

Four major variations of writing can be found in both technical and essay writing styles.

Formality and Tone

• Technical Writing: The language in this style is straightforward and specific. It resembles a set of instructions for assembling structured content, avoiding unnecessary details, and focusing on clarity.
• Essay Composition: Now consider it as a letter to a friend. It's informal, like a casual chat. The tone can be personal, expressing emotions and opinions freely. An essay weaves a narrative, allowing the writer's voice to shine through.

Use of Jargon

• Technical Writing: It often includes industry-specific terms and jargon. The goal is to communicate efficiently within a particular field, assuming a level of knowledge among the readers.
• Essay Composition: Essays generally avoid excessive jargon, opting for easy and accessible language. The emphasis is on connecting with a broader audience, making the content relatable and engaging.

Structural Framework

• Technical Writing: Technical documents follow a structured and logical format, just like maps. Whether it's a manual or a report, the information is organized systematically, allowing readers to navigate with ease.
• Essay Composition: Essays have a more flexible structure. While they may have an introduction, body, and conclusion, the content flows naturally, allowing for creativity and exploration of ideas.

Audience Considerations

• Technical Writing: Technical writing is tailored to a specific audience with a particular knowledge base. It assumes the readers have a certain level of expertise in the subject matter.
• Essay Composition: Essays adapt to various readerships, considering a broader spectrum of backgrounds and interests. The goal is to engage and resonate with a diverse group of readers.

Technical writing and essay writing both require solid skills in writing along with the ability to communicate information effectively. Let us understand some unexplored distinctions that can help writers tailor their approach and achieve their intended goals.

Intent of Communication

• Technical writing mainly serves a practical purpose. It aims to express information, focusing on delivering instructions or presenting facts. The focus here is on providing guidance or documentation for a specific task or process.
• Essay writing takes a more exploratory route. Essays are a platform for expressing ideas, opinions, and emotions. They invite readers to delve into the writer's thoughts, often without a predetermined practical outcome.

Emotional Engagement

• Technical writing is more objective and factual. The major goal is the transmission of information with minimal emotional engagement or personal biases.
• Essay writing encourages emotional connection. Essays often involve personal reflections, storytelling, or persuasive elements that light up emotions and relate with the reader on a more personal level.

Flexibility in Structure

• Technical writing follows a structured and standardized format. Whether it's a manual or a report, our technical writing services follow a predetermined framework to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Essay writing embraces a more flexible structure. It allows for creativity in the organization, enabling writers to experiment with different formats to suit the content and convey ideas effectively.

Language Complexity

• Technical writing prioritizes clarity over literary flair. The language used is straightforward, avoiding unnecessary complexity. The focus is on delivering information comprehensively to a specific audience.
• Essay writing celebrates the beauty of language. Essays often employ a more varied and expressive vocabulary, allowing writers to craft sentences that convey not only information but also evoke a particular atmosphere or emotion.

Objective & Subjective Evaluation

• Technical writing is subject to objective evaluation. Technical documents are assessed based on accuracy, clarity, and adherence to predefined standards. Success is measured by how effectively it fulfills its intended purpose.
• Essay writing involves subjective evaluation. The assessment of an essay includes factors such as creativity, originality, and the ability to engage the reader emotionally. Success is often measured by the impact on the reader's perspective.

Facing challenges is a natural part of life, and in various aspects, understanding the key challenges helps us find effective solutions. Here are some informative pointers illustrating key challenges to shed light on these hurdles:

Resource Limitations

Limited budgets and resources constrain growth and innovation. These limitations can hinder the ability to implement new ideas and strategies. In order to succeed in writing an impactful essay, it is important to incorporate factors such as creativity, originality, and the ability to engage the reader emotionally. However, one must also navigate technical communication hurdles and find a balance between creativity and coherence in the narrative.

Adapting to Change

Change is constant, but coping with it can be not easy. It requires individuals and organizations to be flexible and open-minded, willing to embrace new ideas and approaches. Adapting to change also involves overcoming resistance and fear of the unknown, as well as continuously learning and evolving to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Market Competition

Staying competitive in a crowded market is a perpetual struggle. Companies must innovate and differentiate themselves to stand out from their competitors regularly. It involves understanding customer needs and preferences, conducting market research, and developing unique value propositions.

Regulatory Compliance

Following through complex regulations requires ongoing effort. Businesses must stay updated on changes in regulations, ensure their operations comply, and allocate resources to implement necessary changes. It may involve hiring legal experts or consultants to navigate the complexities of regulatory requirements and mitigate potential risks.

Talent Acquisition and Retention

Attracting and retaining skilled employees is a continuous battle. Businesses must develop effective recruitment strategies, offer competing remuneration packages, and develop a positive work environment to attract top talent. Additionally, implementing employee retention programs and providing opportunities for growth and development can help retain skilled employees and reduce turnover rates.

Technical writing and essays are distinct but equally valuable. In this guide, we have understood how technical writing is different from writing an essay. While technical writing ensures precision in conveying information, essays bring a personal touch, enriching the world of words with creativity.

As technical writing excels at delivering information with precision, essays unfold as a canvas for personal expression and exploration of ideas. Recognizing these differences empowers writers to choose the most suitable form based on their communication objectives and the nature of the content.

• content development
• technical writing

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary has extensive experience of over 5 years in writing on a wide range of topics, including healthcare, technology, science, and business. She is highly knowledgeable and skilled in researching and crafting accurate, well-structured, and engaging content. Mary is a reliable and professional writer who is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure her clients are satisfied with her work. She is committed to delivering quality content on time and within budget.

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