Similarities and Differences Between Articles and Essays

In this article, you would get to know the similarities and differences between articles and essays.

Definition

What is an Article?

An Article is a piece of writing that is produced either in a printed or electronic form. It is a non-fiction written composition that can be found in newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, journals or even on a website, and other publications. Articles have a large readership in mind. It may be short or slightly long may be up to 1500 words.

What is an Essay?

An essay is a formal and comprehensive piece of literature which describes a particular issue or topic analyzed and discussed. In another definition, an essay is a piece of writing that gives the author’s own argument – but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story.

Essays are a short piece of writing on a particular subject.

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Types

The type of article can be known from its content. For example, an article can be an editorial, review, research, methods and protocols articles, opinions and hypotheses articles, feature article, scholarly articles, etc.

The types of an essay can be divided into the narrative, descriptive, persuasive, argumentative, expository, etc. The purpose and the content of the essay depending on the type of essay.

Similarities Between Articles and Essays

1. Both articles and essays have their ideas developed sequentially in paragraphs following a logical sense of the development of the idea and topic of discussion.
2. Both kinds of writings do not have the address of both the writer and the person being written to. In the case of an article, since it is mostly used for publication, it is normally assumed that it carries an address of the writer and the publisher, but that is only obtainable in letters. The same applies for an essay. Essays are mainly for students and academic purposes. It does not require an address of the writer.
3. No salutation or complimentary conclusion: Both kinds of writing do not require any kind of formal or informal salutation such as “Dear Sir or Ma”. The same goes for a complimentary conclusion. Hence the need for a “Yours Faithfully” is overruled in both kinds of writing.
4. Both kinds of writings could have the same nature depending on the topic of discussion. This is to say they could be descriptive, narrative, expository as the case may be. An article or a five-paragraph essay would have information to offer the reader and could criticize an issue or try to persuade the reader with ideas on a particular issue.

Differences Between Articles and Essays

1. Definition: Article is a piece of writing that is included with others in a newspaper, magazine or other publications, while an essay is a short piece of writing on a particular subject.
2. Purpose: Article is written to inform the readers about some concept, while an essay is generally written as a response to a question or proposition.
3. Format: Articles follow heading and subheadings format, but, essays do not. Essays are not written under headings and subheadings.
4. Citations and References: Articles do not require citations and/or references, but Essays requires citations and references.
5. Visual Effects: Articles are mostly accompanied by photographs, charts and graphs. Essays do not require photographs.
6. Tone: Articles are objectives as they merely describe a topic. Essays, on the other hand, are subjective, as they analyze and criticize a topic.

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