Knowing the Difference Between and Article and Essay

© Searchengineland.com

There are a number of students who cannot tell the difference between an article and an essay. Having an understanding of this is crucial to passing your online journalism course. Here is a collection of responses from a number of experts who tackle this subject on a regular basis. 

All responses for this article came from a website which answers questions on academic topics. They are reprinted here verbatim for the purposes of clarification. The following are some of the best responses to the question: What's the difference between an article and an essay?

Response 1: 

Article 

A piece of writing about a subject, with the word "I" absent, for publication in a newspaper, magazine or online. It is written after gathering as much information about the subject as possible, whether it's being at a concert one is reviewing, writing about something that happened in your town or wherever you happen to be, interviewing a public figure, or reporting on sales figures about, say, the auto industry.An article is read without the reader necessarily knowing or caring who the author is, unless the author is already known for something else.

Essay

An essay involves the writer picking a subject, whether themselves and something that happened to them or their point of view about anything - sex, money, God, life, religion, relationships - and expounding on their point of view, making solid points in an interesting, funny, angry, heartfelt or otherwise compelling manner, challenging the reader to consider what they are expressing.

Response 2: 

An article is a piece of writing that provides a factual account, generally about some kind of event and cites reliable sources of documentation. An essay is a piece of writing that features a central thesis statement and supporting arguments. Essays can also cite credible sources used to support the arguments which flow from the thesis. Essays are written to persuade, while articles are meant to inform.

Response 3:

 An article is an objective, informal story about an event or topic, generally following the "inverted pyramid" style used in newspaper articles. A paper follows a formal outline and is used to make a case for something, or to present results of a study, and is principally used in academia and specific professions. An essay tends to be more in the style of an argument or an opinion, often setting out a specific point of view.

Response 4:

Article is a piece of writing that is included with others in a newspaper, magazine or other publication.

Essay is a short piece of writing on a particular subject.

Purpose

Article is written to inform the readers about some concept.

Essay is generally written as a response to a question or proposition.

Format

Articles follow heading and subheadings format.

Essays are not written under headings and subheadings.

Citations

Articles do not require citations or references.

Essays require citations and references.

Visual Effects

Articles are often accompanied by photographs, charts and graphs.

Essays do not require photographs.

Tone

Articles are objective as they merely describe a topic.

Essays are subjective as they analyse and criticize a topic.”