Essays Vs. Research Papers - What’s The Difference?

Whether you are in middle school, high school, college, or toiling away at university, it is essential to understand that academic writing encompasses crafting unique essays and flawless research papers. Knowing how to compose these pieces is a prerequisite for your educational excellence. Unfortunately, an essay and research paper has numerous similarities. The majority of learners get baffled between the two and compose a research paper instead of an essay, and vice versa.
To distinguish between these academic papers, you need to know their requirements and features. It is also vital to understand that an essay and research paper have certain standard features like a unique outline, need for in-depth research, specific length, citations, and more.
In today’s comprehensive post, we will walk you through a detailed explanation of the research paper and essay difference. It will enable you to successfully determine the correct engaging prose of a copy that will be acceptable in the future.

Read Also: Discursive Essay

Essay: What Is It?

An essay is a short piece of academic writing where an author discusses an idea or a concept from a certain perspective. The purpose of an essay may vary based on the writer's intentions.
An essay is also shorter in length with less than five paragraphs. Unlike other writings, drafting an impeccable essay demands creativity and brilliant writing skills. A high-quality essay must also be crafted logically and backed by verifiable evidence.
The essay is crafted based on your position concerning a particular topic. Essay writing is one of the most common tasks students encounter from high school to college. It is also crucial to know that essays are generally short pieces (less than 1000 words).
Take a look at the primary objectives of crafting an essay-

To Convince Your Audience

Essays like persuasive essays are intended to convince the readers to take action about something. Thus, it becomes essential to support your arguments with verifiable facts to compel your readers to believe the proposition to accomplish this objective.

To Inform The Readers

Writing any essay, especially informative and narrative, requires accurate and verifiable information. If you aim to inform your audience, providing in-depth information on the particular subject matter becomes important.

To Offer A Detailed Explanation

One of the primary objectives of an essay is to explain a specific topic or subject to your readers. If you wish to make your audience understand the subject you're writing the essay on; you need to offer a vivid explanation regarding the topic and your body paragraphs.

Read Also: Graduation Speech

Research Paper: A Quick Overview

Now that you understand what an essay is, it's time to develop an in-depth understanding of a research paper.
A research paper can be defined as an academic piece crafted to express views about a specific topic while using supportive sources, like journal articles and books. These articles are usually lengthier than essays, roughly about eight pages.
Research papers are required to evaluate a student’s analytical skills, in which a huge selection of information must be displayed to demonstrate the writer’s competence on the topic chosen. Graphics, facts, data, statistics, and other verified forms of information are also used to back up the sayings exposed in the paper.
A research paper's structure comprises the title, an abstract, introduction, study objectives, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.
Here are the main objectives of crafting a quality research paper-

To Acquire Knowledge Through Learning

Through a research paper, one can offer new and relevant insights regarding a specific aspect. It is also crucial to note an individual becomes more knowledgeable after writing or reading a research paper.

A Remarkable Avenue of Improving Public Awareness

A research paper presents new findings on a particular aspect. If the purpose of the entire research was to find the cure for Covid-19, the outcome of the study is captured in the paper to inform the public.

Research Can Help In Boosting Business Success

The outcomes of research can help numerous businesses hugely. Like, if the findings of an investigation indicate that numerous people in a certain area lack health facilities, entrepreneurs will go and build up excellent hospitals there.

Read Also: 101 Thesis Guide

Research Papers vs. Essay: The Key Differences

While there are certain similarities between research papers and essays, there are several notable differences between these two academic papers. These disparities have been highlighted below regarding length, viewpoint, nature of research, and structure. Let's take a look-

Viewpoint

The key research paper and essay differences are that a research paper highlights the findings of other author authors, and its most crucial views belong to other researchers. However, with essays, the writer's opinion matters greatly to the subject being crafted.

Structure

It is essential to note that an essay's structure comprises an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. On the other hand, a research paper's structure incorporates more sections, like the title, an abstract, an introduction, methods, result, discussion, conclusion, and recommendation.

Length

Generally, an essay is a short paper that includes three paragraphs. But, a research paper is a bit longer and can have around eight pages.

Nature of Research

Conducting extensive research for an essay is a straightforward process as it entails only the inclusion of a few sources. But, writing a research paper requires rigorous investigation and the use of multiple resources.

Still confused? To gain a more comprehensive idea of the differences between research papers and essays, have a look at the comparison chart given below-

Comparison Chart of Research Paper vs. Essay

Essay

Research Paper

Essays aim to represent your point of view.

A good research paper focuses on exploring and researching various points of view.

Essays are mostly short in length. They often comprise five paragraphs- the introduction, three body paragraphs, and the conclusion.

Research papers are almost always lengthy. They can research up to eight pages.

In-depth research is generally not required for writing this paper.

As the name implies, an analytical research paper requires a wide understanding and detailed investigation of a specific topic.

The main purpose of an essay is to prove a student's writing skills and capabilities.

Research papers focus on a deep analysis of any subject matter.

An essay can easily expose the writer's opinion when required.

Writers must abstain from personal opinions and only stay in line with facts while crafting a research paper.

There are different types of essays- narrative, description, argumentative, comparison, expository, academic, philosophical, compare and contrast, etc.

Types of research papers are analytical, cause and effect, subject-based, etc.

Essays are usually not tied to a specific methodology required for their writing.

Research papers require a specific methodology carried out throughout the paper.

It helps in building the writing skills of a writer.

It helps the writers in building their knowledge of a topic.

Essay helps the writer hone their writing skills by presenting their thoughts logically and coherently.

Research papers help the writer compare various pieces of information on a topic and then present a cumulative overview of the findings.

An essay offers a brilliant chance to improve writing skills as one needs to present their thoughts using style, academic formatting, logic, and other writing mechanics.

While writing a research paper, it is essential to compare various chunks of data or publications dealing with your issue as you present a clear, readable, and cumulative analysis of your findings.

Essay requires investing your thoughts into writing as you focus on the essay-type specifics and consider the target audience. The use of writing skills and relevant examples are also crucial.

When you research a specific subject, you need to compile information and evaluate it before writing things down.

The use of external sources is not always necessary.

The use of a literature review is mandatory.

The Common Similarities between Research Papers and Essays

Now that you have become well-versed with the research paper and essay differences, it's time to explore the similarities. Essays and research papers do share certain elements in common that are enlisted below-

Organizational Structure

Both essays and research papers have an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. While there exist certain differences when you are planning to conduct in-depth research, there are certain similarities in conducting research for both papers.

Presence of A Thesis Statement

Both research papers and essays have a strong thesis statement that poses an opinion, an argument, or an assumption. While it is not mandatory for an essay, including this part will help your essays sound even more confident.

Research Is Crucial

Basic research is required in both essays and research papers. It is still possible to get by an essay by just checking things. However, you need to conduct in-depth research in a research paper, not just touch upon the subject in a superficial way.
In the course of your academic life, comprehending the research paper and essay difference matters a lot. Whether you are drafting an essay or research paper, it is essential to keep in mind the objective of the writing, styling of writing, and way of writing it in the perfect form.
If crafting any of these seems like an uphill task to you, you can seek unmatched guidance from the brilliant writers of Allessaywriter.
Allessaywriter is one of the eminent academic writing service providers that offer a one-stop solution to all students who struggle with overly tricky essays and research papers. We have a team of 5000+ PhD qualified, skilled and well-experienced writers who leave no stone unturned to make things fall into place.

Share Your Requirements

Was this helpful?

Bella Phillips

Bella Phillips As a passionate blogger for Essay Help USA by #1 Writing Expert 50% Off.I am currently employed at a leading Business Law firm in White Plains. I am associated with Allessaywriter.com for several years and helping the Law students with their essays.