Difference Between Article and Essay

Main Difference – Article vs Essay

Articles and essays are two forms of academic writing. Though there are certain similarities between them, there are also distinct differences between them. These differences are based on the format, purpose and content. Before looking at the difference between article and essay, let us first look at the definitions of these two words. An essay is a piece of writing that describes, analyzes and evaluates a particular topic whereas an article is a piece of writing that is included with others in a newspaper or other publications. The main difference between article and essay is that an article is written to inform the readers about some concept whereas an essay is usually written in response to a question or proposition.

What is an Article

An article is a piece of writing that is included with others in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. It is a written composition that is nonfiction and prose. Articles can be found in magazines, encyclopedias, websites, newspapers or other publications; the content and the structure of an article may depend on the source. For example, an article can be an editorial, review, feature article, scholarly articles, etc.

However, the aim or the purpose of an article remains the same; the main aim of an article is to inform the readers about a certain topic. Another common feature of articles is that they usually follow a heading and sub-headings format; this format makes readers understand the concepts dealt in the article easily. Articles can also vary according to the type of information they present. These facts and information are generally presented in an objective manner since the writer’s aim is to describe the topic, not to persuade the readers towards accepting his views.

What is an Essay

An essay is a piece of writing that describes, analyzes and evaluates a certain topic or an issue. It is a brief, concise form of writing that contains an introduction, a body that is comprised of few support paragraphs, and a conclusion. An essay may inform the reader, maintain an argument, analyse an issue or elaborate on a concept. An essay is a combination of statistics, facts and writer’s opinions and views.

An essay can be divided into various types such as narrative, descriptive, persuasive, argumentative, expository, etc. The purpose and the content of the essay can depend on the type of the essay. For example, if you are writing a narrative essay, you’d pay attention to the style, and the narrative that can interest the readers. But if you are writing an argumentative or persuasive essay, you would be more concerned about strong facts and arguments to prove your point.