paper essay verschil

Wat is het verschil tussen een essay en een paper?

Een paper antwoordt altijd op een probleemstelling, uitgebreid en goed onderbouwd. Het enige verschil tussen een paper en een essay, is de vrijheid die je krijgt . Tegenwoordig worden beide termen zo goed als door elkaar gebruikt. Met deze handleiding en tips wordt het schrijven van een paper kinderspel.

Wat is het verschil tussen een essay en een scriptie?

Wat moet er in een paper.

• Bedenk een titel.
• Schrijf (eventueel) een voorwoord. ...
• Begin met een inleiding of literatuurstudie. ...
• Beschrijf je methodologie.
• Bespreek je resultaten. ...
• Geef je conclusie(s). ...
• Eindig met een referentielijst.
• Voeg enkel nuttige bijlagen toe die correct opgesteld zijn.

Wat zijn de kenmerken van een essay?

Een essay is een beschouwende prozatekst of een artikel over een wetenschappelijk, cultureel of filosofisch onderwerp, waarin de schrijver zijn persoonlijke visie geeft op hedendaagse verschijnselen, problemen of ontwikkelingen. Het is afgeleid van het Franse woord 'essai', wat zoiets betekent als probeersel of proeve.

Wat is de bedoeling van een paper?

Een paper is een uitwerking van een goed onderbouwde onderzoeksvraag waarop je het antwoord zoekt in een objectieve literatuurstudie of veldonderzoek. Je werk omvat een inleiding, een methodologie, resultaten en een besluit, en dat alles wordt weergegeven in een wetenschappelijke stijl.

FAQ's: What is the Difference Between an Essay and a Research Paper?

Hoe lang moet een essay zijn?

Een essay dat je schrijft voor de universiteit is meestal tussen de 3 en 9 pagina's lang . Ga na bij jouw begeleider en opleiding hoe lang jouw essay moet worden.

Hoe moet je een essay schrijven?

De schrijfstijl in een essay is minder formeel dan andere wetenschappelijke genres, zoals een scriptie, maar is nog steeds serieus. Wees origineel, maar pas op met humor, vermijd vaag taalgebruik en de lijdende vorm, en gebruik de juiste verbindingswoorden en werkwoordstijden.

Heeft een essay een voorblad?

Een essay bestaat in principe uit drie tot vijf pagina's met tekst, de inhoudsopgave, het voorblad , de bronnenlijst en eventuele bijlagen worden hierbij niet meegerekend. Een essay bevat in principe geen afbeeldingen, ook niet op het voorblad .

Wat is een ander woord voor essay?

artikel, bijdrage, essay , gedicht, geschrift, nota, opstel, papier, rapport, tekst.

Is een essay objectief?

Stijl. Je bent bij het schrijven van een essay niet gebonden aan de objectieve , formele stijl van de meer wetenschappelijke genres. Maar pas op voor een al te persoonlijke of informele stijl of voor te geforceerde lolligheid.

Hoe ziet paper eruit?

een probleemstelling of onderzoeksvraag; een theoretisch deel: een samenvatting van bestaande literatuur en artikels over je onderwerp; een empirisch deel: eigen onderzoek; een duidelijke eindboodschap: een antwoord op de probleemstelling of de onderzoeksvraag.

Wat is een goede paper?

Een goede presentatie van uw paper betreft zowel de tekst als de literatuurverwijzingen. (a) De tekst: Een slecht geschreven tekst overtuigt ook inhoudelijk vaak niet. Uw tekst is uiteraard gesteld in goed Nederlands en, waar u Engelse vaktermen gebruikt, in goed Engels.

Hoe sluit je een paper af?

In de conclusie van je essay toon je aan dat je stelling, jouw standpunt ofwel thesis statement, steekhoudend is. Je doet dit door aan te geven waarom alle argumenten leiden tot de enige conclusie, namelijk jouw standpunt. Je geeft hiermee antwoord op de vraag: 'En dus? '

Heeft een essay een titel?

Titel . De titel van een essay staat boven de tekst, gevolgd door: (eventueel) Ondertitel. Naam van de student.

Heeft een essay een hoofdvraag?

Het moet een open vraag zijn, het mag dus niet met ja of nee beantwoord worden. Daarnaast moet de vraag specifiek genoeg zijn. Anders wordt je essay namelijk te groot en kun je geen verdiepend onderzoek doen. Een derde belangrijke eis is dat je hoofdvraag relevant moet zijn.

Hoeveel woorden moet een essay zijn?

Hoeveel woorden bevat een gemiddelde scriptie? HBO- of bachelorscripties bevatten gemiddeld tussen de 10.000 en 18.000 woorden . Het aantal woorden in masterscripties ligt tussen de 13.000 en 20.000 woorden .

Hoe spreek je essay uit?

In België is [es·se] de gebruikelijke uitspraak, in Nederland [es·see]. We zeggen [es·se].

Wat is een goed onderwerp voor een essay?

Kies voor je essay een onderwerp waarover je gepassioneerd bent en een (sterke) mening hebt die je kunt onderbouwen op basis van logische redenaties, eigen onderzoek of literatuuronderzoek.

Hoe schrijf je een beschouwend essay?

Beschouwend essay De schrijver geeft voor- en tegenargumenten bij een standpunt of onderwerp en geeft ook zijn eigen mening. Het is echter niet het doel de lezer te overtuigen van dezelfde mening (zoals bij een betogend essay ). Het is de bedoeling dat de lezer aan de hand van de informatie zijn eigen mening vormt.

Wat moet er in de inleiding van een essay?

De inleiding moet de lezer nieuwsgierig maken naar de inhoud van het essay . Het is een goed idee om een (persoonlijke) anekdote te gebruiken, in te gaan op een actueel nieuwsbericht of enkele rake vragen te stellen. Benoem de achtergrond en de aanleiding voor het onderwerp.

Wat vermeld je op een voorblad?

De titelpagina, ook wel het voorblad of omslag genoemd, is de eerste pagina van jouw scriptie. Op deze pagina plaats je onder andere de titel van jouw scriptie, jouw naam en opleiding.

Heeft een essay tussenkopjes?

De titel van je essay moet de lezer informeren over het onderwerp, maar ook aanzetten tot daadwerkelijk lezen. Paragraaftitels, of tussenkopjes , doen hetzelfde, maar zijn minder gebruikelijk in essays .

Wat is het verschil tussen een essay en een betoog?

Een betoog is bedoeld om de lezer van je mening te overtuigen, daar kun je gerust in de ik-vorm schrijven. Verschil betoog - essay : een betoog is stelliger (je neemt een standpunt in en daarvoor geef je argumenten) en een essay onderzoekender, uitproberender. In beide vormen kun je de ik-vorm gebruiken.

Wat is een essay in het Engels?

Vaak wordt in Nederland de Engelse term essay gebruikt voor opdrachten om deze te differentiëren van de vaak meer omvattende scriptie of thesis. De term paper wordt ook vaak gebruikt om hetzelfde aan te duiden als een essay .

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College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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Hoe schrijf je een ijzersterk essay? | Essay-template & checklist

In een betogend essay geef je je geïnformeerde en beargumenteerde mening over een verschijnsel, probleem of ontwikkeling op basis van je eigen veldonderzoek of literatuuronderzoek . Het doel van een betogend essay is om je lezers van jouw stelling te overtuigen.

Je presenteert de lezer argumenten voor je standpunt en je weerlegt tegenargumenten met bewijzen, zoals logische redenaties, statistieken of onderzoeksresultaten. Op basis van je argumenten schrijf je een conclusie .

Essay-onderdelen

• Onderwerp en stelling voor je essay

Inleiding van je essay

Argumentatie in je essay, conclusie van je essay.

• Structuur en opbouw van een essay
• Stappenplan voor een essay
• Schrijfstijl in je essay
• Soorten essays
• Voorbeelden van essays

Inhoudsopgave

Essay-template scribbr, beginnen met je essay, titel en paragraaftitels in je essay, schrijfstijl, verwijzingen en bronvermeldingen in je essay, veelgestelde vragen.

Om je te helpen met je essay, hebben we een template voor je gemaakt. Hierin staan alle onderdelen in de goede volgorde en wordt steeds uitgelegd wat je moet schrijven. De vragen in de template helpen je om de juiste informatie op te nemen in je essay.

Word Google Docs

Ontvang feedback op taal, structuur, lay-out en bronvermelding

Professionele Scribbr-editors kijken je scriptie na op:

• Academisch taalgebruik
• Onduidelijke zinnen
• Grammaticale fouten
• Interpunctie
• Verboden woorden

Bekijk het voorbeeld

Eerst moet je een goed onderwerp kiezen waarover een (sterke) mening hebt. Het helpt als je gepassioneerd bent over een onderwerp. Vervolgens baken je dit onderwerp af , zodat je essay niet te lang of te algemeen wordt. Hierna bedenk je jouw stelling waarvoor je argumenten gaat aandragen.

Voordat je begint met schrijven, creëer je een outline om de structuur van je essay vast te stellen. Je schrijft vervolgens eerst een kladversie en daarna pas de eindversie op basis van wat je al geschreven hebt. Bij de eindversie let je ook op de juiste structuur, correct gebruik van paragrafen en alinea’s , eventuele paragraaftitels, de schrijfstijl, en correct taalgebruik .

Je begint de inleiding van je essay met een pakkende beginzin om je lezer te prikkelen om verder te lezen. Hierna geef je de nodige achtergrondinformatie , waardoor je lezer snapt waarover je het hebt en je redeneringen kan volgen.

Je sluit de inleiding af met je stelling , oftewel het standpunt waarvan je je lezers in je essay wilt overtuigen. De stelling vormt de rode draad van jouw essay.

Met een argument verdedig je je standpunt tegen kritiek. De argumentatie is het belangrijkste deel van je essay. Je overtuigt je lezers van jouw standpunt met argumenten die je stelling ondersteunen en weerleggingen van tegenargumenten . Je doet dit door argumenten naar voren te brengen en deze te bewijzen op basis van feiten, literatuuronderzoek, eigen onderzoek of waterdichte redeneringen.

Zet je argumenten in een logische volgorde , presenteer voldoende argumenten en schrijf per argument een kernzin .

Perfectioneer je essay

Zorg voor een foutloos essay met hulp van professionele Scribbr-editors. We kijken je essay na op:

Essay nakijken Meer weten over nakijken

In je conclusie toon je aan dat je stelling klopt. Je doet dit door aan te geven waarom alle argumenten leiden tot de enige conclusie, namelijk jouw standpunt.

Je eindigt je conclusie met een krachtige slotzin die jouw lezer nog meer overtuigt van je stelling, aan het denken zet of aanspoort tot actie. Controleer daarna met behulp van onze checklist of alle onderdelen aanwezig zijn.

De titel van je essay moet lezers niet alleen informeren over het onderwerp, maar ze ook aansporen om je essay te lezen. Paragraaftitels doen hetzelfde, maar deze zijn ongebruikelijk in essays (tenzij je essay langer is dan 5 pagina’s).

De schrijfstijl in een essay is minder formeel dan andere wetenschappelijke genres, zoals een scriptie, maar is nog steeds serieus. Wees origineel, maar pas op met humor, vermijd vaag taalgebruik en de lijdende vorm , en gebruik de juiste verbindingswoorden en werkwoordstijden .

De bronnen in je bronnenlijst mogen variëren van wetenschappelijke literatuur en populairwetenschappelijke teksten tot teksten van websites en uit actuele mediaberichten. Pas bij de bronvermelding altijd de juiste referentiestijl toe, bijvoorbeeld met behulp van de gratis Bronnengenerator . Het is belangrijk dat je je bronnen in de tekst op de juiste manier citeert en parafraseert om plagiaat te voorkomen.

Checklist: Essay

De titel staat boven de tekst, gevolgd door een eventuele ondertitel, je naam en je studentnummer.

De titel en eventuele paragraaftitels informeren en stimuleren de lezer om verder te lezen.

De inleiding is prikkelend, vanwege een pakkende beginzin, de nodige achtergrondinformatie en jouw stelling (standpunt).

De stelling is onderbouwd met argumenten.

De argumenten voor het standpunt worden onderbouwd met bewijs.

De tegenargumenten zijn gepresenteerd en weerlegd op basis van bewijs.

Voor ieder argument gebruik je een nieuwe paragraaf of alinea.

Per alinea wordt een kernzin gebruikt, bewijs gegeven en een slotzin of overgangszin geschreven, waardoor alinea’s logisch op elkaar aansluiten.

De conclusie bevestigt de stelling op basis van je argumenten.

De conclusie beantwoordt de “en dus?”-vraag.

De conclusie bevat geen nieuwe argumenten.

De conclusie eindigt met een krachtige slotzin.

De schrijfstijl is boeiend en duidelijk zonder onnodig gecompliceerde formuleringen.

Werkwoordstijden zijn correct gebruikt.

De bronnen zijn gepresenteerd in de juiste referentiestijl, zoals APA .

Gefeliciteerd!

Je essay zit nu goed in elkaar. Twijfel je nog over de taal? Zorg er met onze nakijkdienst voor dat je het document zonder taalfouten kunt inleveren.

Behandel je argumenten voor je essay in een logische volgorde. Je kunt je argumenten (voor en tegen) op verschillende manieren in een logische volgorde presenteren:

• Thematisch : bespreek voor- en tegenargumenten per deelthema.
• Chronologisch : bespreek voor- en tegenargumenten in chronologische volgorde.
• Argumentatief : bespreek eerst de argumenten voor het standpunt en daarna de argumenten tegen het standpunt.

De conclusie van je essay eindig je met een krachtige slotzin om je lezer nog meer te overtuigen, aan het denken te zetten of aan te sporen tot actie. Je slotzin kan zijn:

• Blik op de toekomst
• Samenvattend statement
• Aansporing tot actie

Een essay dat je schrijft voor de universiteit is meestal tussen de 3 en 9 pagina’s lang. Ga na bij jouw begeleider en opleiding hoe lang jouw essay moet worden.

Liever niet. Het risico is dan te groot dat je te zeer uitwijdt over nevenzaken en dat het essay te lang en onduidelijk wordt. Je kunt dit wel doen als bijvoorbeeld twee standpunten leiden tot je uiteindelijke stelling.

Zo kun je aangeven dat je stelen verkeerd vindt, maar dat je ook vindt dat extreme armoede niet de schuld is van de mensen die in extreme armoede zijn geboren. Op basis van deze standpunten kun je vervolgens als stelling aangeven dat je vindt dat stelen in het geval van extreme armoede niet moet worden bestraft.

Met een goed opgebouwd en onderbouwd essay toon je aan dat je kritisch kunt nadenken en over de juiste kennis bezit om je stelling te verdedigen. Je kunt je begeleider laten zien dat je voldoende hebt geleerd over een bepaald onderwerp en de verschillende aspecten goed begrijpt.

Je schrijft hierbij in een academische stijl . Let op: Als je een betoog schrijft, is dit meer dan slechts een samenvatting van wat je gelezen hebt.

Nee, je stelling hoeft niet per se origineel te zijn, maar moet ook niet zo voor zich spreken dat je eigenlijk geen onderbouwing nodig hebt. Een standpunt als: ‘Stelen is verkeerd’ spreekt bijvoorbeeld zo voor zich dat je geen persoon hoeft over te halen met argumenten om iemand van deze stelling te overtuigen.

Een standpunt als: ‘Stelen moet in het geval van extreme armoede niet worden bestraft’ daarentegen is een stelling waarover meningen kunnen verschillen. Deze stelling kun je daarom onderbouwen met argumenten om twijfelaars te overtuigen en bij medestanders aan te geven waarom de stelling klopt.

Wat vind jij van dit artikel?

Andere studenten bekeken ook.

• 6-stappenplan om jouw essay te schrijven

Inleiding schrijven voor je scriptie (met stappenplan en checklist)

• Een krachtige essay-conclusie schrijven

Meer interessante artikelen

• De kern van je essay: de argumentatie
• De structuur en opbouw van een essay
• Een pakkende essay inleiding schrijven
• Essay voorbeelden
• Essay-onderwerp en stelling kiezen
• Hoe je paragrafen en alinea’s gebruikt
• Hoe schrijf je een betoog? | Betekenis & Voorbeelden
• Verschillende soorten essays

Wil jij zorgeloos je essay inleveren?

Home > Tips als je jouw paper of essay gaat schrijven

20 december 2020

Tips als je jouw paper of essay gaat schrijven

Veel opleidingen vragen je een adviesrapport of beroepsproduct op te leveren en daarnaast een essay of paper te schrijven. Een essay verschilt van een scriptie. In dit artikel leg ik je graag de verschillen uit en geef ik je praktische tips bij het schrijven van je essay.

Wat is een essay precies?

Een essay kun je zien als een tekst of een artikel over een specifiek onderwerp (in dit geval jouw onderzoek en bevindingen), waarin jij als schrijver je persoonlijke visie geeft.

Wat is het verschil tussen een essay en een scriptie?

Een essay of paper lijkt veel op een scriptie, maar de focus ligt veel meer op het eigen proces dat je hebt doorgemaakt toen je jouw onderzoek uitvoerde. Daarnaast lever je een bijdrage voor je studie doordat je jouw opgedane kennis deelt en is een paper of essay vaak bedoelt voor een breder publiek. Ook is een essay korter en heeft deze een beperkt aantal woorden.

In je beroepsproduct of adviesrapport beschrijf je uitgebreid wat je hebt gevonden en wat dit betekent voor de opdrachtgever waar je jouw onderzoek hebt uitgevoerd. Hierin staan de praktische adviezen voor je opdrachtgever en daarmee is dit product ook direct bruikbaar voor je opdrachtgever.

Wat zet je in een essay?

Je essay of paper bevat je bevindingen van je onderzoek. Daarnaast beschrijf je de literatuur die betrekking heeft op je onderzoek en beschrijf je in het theoretisch perspectief welke modellen of theorie je hebt gebruikt in je onderzoek. Ook beschrijf je je onderzoeksmethodologie waarin je je keuzes verantwoordt en je methodes onderbouwd.

In je inleiding moet je direct kaderen en in de probleemstelling beschrijf je het echte probleem om te komen tot het kennisprobleem of inzicht dat je gaat geven. Verder schrijf je ook een discussie , conclusies en aanbevelingen.

NB: De structuur kan per opleiding verschillen dus bekijk ook zeker even de richtlijnen vanuit je opleiding!

Richtlijnen bij het schrijven van je essay

1. begin met de bevindingen..

Dat klinkt misschien raar, maar door deze uit te schrijven zie je de rode draad van je bevindingen en kun je deze direct koppelen aan je theorie en literatuur.

2. Schrijf je inleiding en probleemstelling

Na je bevindingen schrijf je de inleiding en probleemstelling, hierdoor krijg je zicht op de onderwerpen die centraal staan in je probleemstelling en je bevindingen, waar zaten de knelpunten?

3. Beschrijf de theoretische lens die je hebt toegepast

Bij het schrijven van je essay beschrijf je in je literatuur de begrippen en onderwerpen die centraal staan in je essay. Stel je hebt een beroepsproduct opgeleverd waarbij de managementstijl centraal staat, dan is dit hoogstwaarschijnlijk de theorie die je gebruikt. Let op dat je wel parafraseert en meerdere bronnen gebruikt en vooral ook jouw visie hierop geeft.

In je theoretisch perspectief beschrijf je de literatuur die je daadwerkelijk gebruikt in je onderzoek. Je onderzoeksmethode of opzet sluit hierbij aan.

4. Discussieer over je theorie en bevindingen

In je discussie reflecteer je op de literatuur en de bevindingen. In de discussie geef je aan wat de literatuur zegt, wat jij hebt gevonden en of dit aansluit bij de literatuur of juist niet. Daarnaast beschrijf je welke extra inzichten je hebt gekregen.

5. Conclusies voor een breder publiek

In je conclusie beschrijf je welke conclusies je kunt maken op basis van je bevindingen en wat dit betekent voor je opdrachtgever. Maar let op: Ook voor je studiegenoten en het bredere publiek voor wie je jouw essay schrijft moet je interessante conclusies trekken. Probeer uit te zoomen en het totale plaatje te schetsen.

6. Aanbevelingen zijn ook voor een breder publiek

In je aanbevelingen geef je aanbevelingen aan je opdrachtgever, maar ook aan studenten die dezelfde opleiding volgen. Je geeft ook aanbevelingen aan je opdrachtgever voor eventueel vervolgonderzoek. Ook geef je aanbevelingen over de literatuur. Aan de hand van je onderzoek heb je ook gaps gevonden van invalshoeken die de literatuur nog niet heeft onderzocht. Tot slot beschrijf je de limitaties van je onderzoek in dit hoofdstuk.

7. Schrap wat niet relevant is

Lees tot slot je document goed door en schrap wat niet relevant is. Je zult vaak flink moeten schrappen om tot de essentie te komen en dat is ook prima.

Schrijven is vaak een kunst en niet iedereen schrijft even vlot. Wil je zeker weten dat je document begrijpbaar is voor een buitenstaander zoals je examinatoren? Laat je document dan lezen door iemand anders om te bekijken of deze begrijpt wat er staat.

8. Puntjes op de i

• Vergeet je bronnen en literatuurlijst niet toe te voegen.
• Check of alle tabellen en afbeeldingen genummerd zijn.
• Check ook of je voorblad klopt met de eisen van je opleiding.

Over Jouw Scriptiecoach

Jouw Scriptiecoach biedt studenten door heel Nederland en Vlaanderen ondersteuning en support bij het schrijven van het onderzoeksvoorstel, plan van aanpak en scriptie. Je kunt bij ons zowel  online scriptiebegeleiding  als  scriptiebegeleiding op locatie  kiezen.

We kunnen je helpen bij onderstaande hulpvragen:

• Scriptiebegeleiding  in de breedste zin van het woord. Of je nu gaat beginnen, vastgelopen bent en geen overzicht meer hebt. Samen met jou onderzoeken we hoe we je weer in beweging krijgen;
• Als je gaat starten met je scriptie en wilt sparren over je onderzoeksrichting;
• Als je onderzoeksvoorstel, plan van aanpak of scriptie is  afgekeurd  of als je gaat  herkansen ;
• Als je een  check wilt op taal, structuur en gebruikte bronnen ;
• Als je hulp wilt bij het uitvoeren of verwerken van de resultaten van je kwantitatieve onderzoek ( SPSS  en Stata);
• Als je uitstelt, last hebt van faalangst of bij een diagnose als ADHD, ADD, dyslexie en/of autisme. Hiervoor hebben we  gespecialiseerde scriptiebegeleiders  in huis.

Onderaan deze pagina kun je direct contact opnemen voor een gratis en vrijblijvend adviesgesprek.

Dit bericht werd geschreven door:

Linda Hovestad

Linda Hovestad is een ervaren scriptiebegeleider die zowel HBO, Master en universitaire studenten kan helpen bij hun onderzoeksvoorstel, plan van aanpak, het schrijven van een scriptie of een herkansing. Daarnaast is Linda de oprichtster en eigenaresse van Jouw Scriptiecoach. Naast Jouw Scriptiecoach heeft Linda haar eigen marketingadviesbureau: Hovestad Marketing en Strategie BV. Voor verschillende opdrachtgevers…

Gratis vrijblijvend adviesgesprek

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Essay vs Research Paper: Key Disparities

Table of contents

• 1.1 What Is an Essay?
• 1.2 What Is a Research Paper?
• 2.1 Purpose and Objective
• 2.2 Structure and Organization
• 2.3 Length and Depth
• 2.4 Sources and Evidence
• 2.5 Voice and Style
• 2.6 Audience and Presentation
• 3 Essay vs Research Paper: 10 Points of Difference
• 4 What Is the Difference Between Research Paper and Different Types of Papers
• 5 Let’s Sum Up

Every student needs to write some academic papers for the university. However, even young people with experience can't determine the difference between an essay and a research paper. Although these two areas of academic writing have many similarities, the requirements are still significantly different.

• In this article, you will get a clear definition of an essay and research paper.
• We will outline the key differences between these two types of academic writing.
• You will learn more about the organization, structure, essay and research paper requirements.
• Finally, you will be able to tell the difference between a research paper and an essay.

To get to the heart of the matter of these two academic assignments, we should start by getting an essay vs research paper definition.

Definition and Overview

What is an essay.

An essay is a short piece of work, the purpose of which is to present individual thoughts regarding a chosen topic. Often, essays do not pretend to be scientific but require a defined structure. The basic requirements for an essay suggest writing a five-paragraph piece that contains an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

What makes your essay unique is your creativity and the novelty of your ideas. To easily structure your thoughts and present them clearly to the reader, you should devote time to drafting an essay . Before you start writing your essay, brainstorm the freshest ideas. Thus, even though all your classmates will use the same five-paragraph structure as you, your ideas will impress the teacher. Experiment with meaning, not form.

What Is a Research Paper?

The difference between an essay and a research paper revolves around the academic approaches. Research work is the depth of study of a selected scientific topic, which should bring scientific novelty by drawing conclusions based on existing research and experiments conducted. For students, it’s not enough to state the facts or express their point of view regarding the topic. Your task is to comprehensively study the subject of research, familiarize yourself with existing opinions, and outline the direction of the upcoming study.

Your teacher will expect you to demonstrate analytical skills, the ability to select reliable sources, and a broad theoretical base on your research topic. Research papers require creativity, erudition, and orientation in the topic.

Key Differences Between Essay and Research Paper

The central difference is the goal of these academic assignments. The essay aims to express an individual point of view and find a creative, fresh approach to an existing topic. A good research paper seeks to introduce scientific novelty by examining existing data and conducting new experiments to analyze the information obtained.

Purpose and Objective

The first and main difference between an essay and a research paper is the purpose of writing . An essay as an academic task has the goal of developing students' creative thinking. It also teaches us a structured presentation of thoughts regarding a certain topic. The student is required to have a non-standard approach, fresh thoughts, and reasoned conclusions on the given topic.

The purpose of the research work is to study a scientific topic in detail. This academic assignment is aimed at assessing the student’s analytical abilities and competence to determine cause-and-effect relationships, filter sources, and formulate logical conclusions. Such work requires theoretical knowledge, preliminary study of existing scientific works, and the ability to formulate goals and research methods.

Moreover, a student is supposed to show the capacity to draw comprehensive conclusions based on available data and information obtained during independent research. This task may seem complicated to students, so they opt for resorting to the help of PapersOwl writing service to save time.

Structure and Organization

To start with, the basic structure of any college essay involves a text consisting of five paragraphs, divided into three main factions: introduction, body part, and conclusion. When students lack time to compose a nicely structured academic essay, they can always pay to write a research paper and have their tasks done by a professional. The introduction presents the topic, sets the main direction for further text, and also works as a bait to motivate the reader to study further work. The introduction is followed by three body paragraphs. Each of the three body paragraphs presents a separate idea.

The last paragraph of any essay is a conclusion. In this paragraph, the college or university student must resume the arguments and ideas presented in the text, summarizing them into the main message of the essay. Often, the idea that you present in your conclusions will be most memorable to the reader.

Consequently, let’s overview the structure of a research paper. Compared to the structure of an essay, the organization of a research paper is much more ornate. This type of work requires a title page and abstract that go before the main body of text. On the title page, the student describes his topic of work, as well as gives contact details. An abstract is a short description of the main ideas and research methods of your work. The research work itself consists of an introduction, background, main part, and conclusions. Also, at the very end, they often add acknowledgments and a list of references, which must be formatted following the required international format.

Length and Depth

The length and depth of analysis between these two academic assignments also differ significantly. As for the essay, it is often a short prose piece whose length does not exceed 1000 words. You are faced with the task of fitting a large array of ideas into a small amount of text. The essay format itself rarely requires rigorous and thorough research of the topic, but you should work on creativity and the presence of a message in your essay. Most academic papers fall in the 300 to 600-word range.

On the other hand, a research paper is a scientific project that includes many theoretical aspects that require analysis and clarification. Thus, the volume is significantly bigger. Basic research paper lengths range from 4,000 to 6,000 words. In this case, you will no doubt have to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the selected sources, formulate a research vector, and spend time conducting your experiments, or ask PapersOwl to do a research paper for you . A research paper is a scientific project that includes many theoretical aspects that require analysis and clarification.

Sources and Evidence

The presence of theoretical sources and references is not a mandatory requirement for an essay. You can state your own thoughts on a given topic without resorting to the help of existing sources. Present your ideas on the topic, giving arguments that seem logical to you. If you do decide to base your paper on existing works, you must be sure to indicate where the information was taken from. And yet, the teacher needs to see your own thoughts rather than a dry listing of existing ideas.

Unlike an essay, a quality research paper must include primary and secondary sources, as well as a specific citation format. Surely, you are not the first person to study this scientific topic. In order not to repeat existing thoughts, you need to conduct a search to form a reliable basis for your study. If you skip this step, you risk basing your paper on misleading scientific findings.

Voice and Style

The very specificity of the essay as an academic paper is the subjective presentation of information. A large percentage of your essay should consist of your perspective and vision of the chosen topic. For this reason, essays often use a less formal and more subjective tone. However, you can still use a large amount of colloquial vocabulary, completely disregarding the norms of formal style. Students often have trouble figuring out the right style for their university assignments. In such cases, a reasonable solution is to seek help from a specialist. When you buy custom-written essays from PapersOwl, you’ll always get a perfectly balanced academic paper.

On the other hand, a research paper is a serious scientific work. The student must maintain a formal tone while complying with all structural requirements. Also, in investigative work, there is little room for subjectivity and a personal approach since an objective style is required. At the same time, do not oversaturate your research work with formalism and standard clichés.

Audience and Presentation

The essay format can be used both in the educational process and in an independent literary style. Therefore, the audience for such a written assignment can be wide and varied. When you’re writing an essay, make sure it’s understandable in academia and for a wide audience.

Research work, on the contrary, is aimed at a range of professionals in the chosen field. Written in scientific language, the goal of this work is to attract the attention of scientists and students of certain majors. Your scientific work should be rich in theory and related terms.

Essay vs Research Paper: 10 Points of Difference

As you may have noticed, research papers and essays have many differences, both global and specific. These two types of academic assignments differ in the purpose of writing, have different structures and formats, and are aimed at testing different skills. And yet, every day, students face difficulties in understanding the basic requirements, which leads to incorrect execution of the task. To summarize the main differences, let's look at the table below.

What Is the Difference Between Research Paper and Different Types of Papers

There are many types of papers, each focusing on different topics, serving different purposes, and requiring a specific structure. Those are different types of essays that share a common ground but differ in the way they present information and arguments.

Analytical paper. The purpose of such an essay is an in-depth analysis of the chosen topic, studying different approaches and points of view, and formulating one’s own conclusions based on the information studied and scientific evidence.

Argumentative paper. This type of essay takes as a basis an ambiguous topic; the author must take a certain position and provide a number of arguments.

Informative paper. It has an informative purpose — a presentation of information to the reader, preceded by careful analysis and selection of data.

Persuasive paper . The purpose of this paper is to present convincing arguments, using chosen writing techniques, confirming the author’s position regarding the selected scientific topic.

To get a high grade, you need to understand the requirements of academic requirements. No matter how informatively rich your work is, if it does not meet the requirements, it cannot be highly appreciated. Each type of academic assignment has its own clearly defined, unique format. It’s necessary to know the difference between a research paper vs argumentative essay so as not to get confused while completing a college assignment. So before you start writing an assignment, make sure you understand the type of academic writing required of you.

Let’s Sum Up

Research papers and essays are aimed at testing various skills of the student, following different structures, and having several requirements. An essay is a more creative writing task, which involves showing originality and expressing a personal opinion on a certain topic. At the same time, a research paper is a type of scientific writing that adheres to a strict structure and uses a formal tone. Understanding the main differences will make your writing process easier, saving you time researching the requirements. Remember that knowing the essence of the assignment is a key factor in writing a decent paper.

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What Are the Differences Between the Kinds of Papers I Am Assigned?

Do you occasionally suspect that your professors think you're clairvoyant? Do you wonder if you were sick the day they passed out the cheat sheet entitled "Vocabulary of Academia and You"? They assign various papers and assume that you understand exactly what a 'critique' entails, and why it is different from the 'essay' you wrote last week. Well, read on, before you get another assignment you don't understand and try to stab your professor with his dry-erase marker.

Why, you ask, do professors have so many words just to assign you a paper? All these words exist so that your assignment can subtly tell you what the focus of your work should be. As a direct result of the Smarter Than You Act of 1932, colleges and universities are forbidden from giving their assignments in plain English. And so based on what the professor wants to read, he or she chooses from a list of words that are intended to tell you what to produce. All of these words, amazingly, mean 'paper.' But since not all papers are alike, each of these identifying words and phrases have subtle differences.

What exactly is an ' essay ,' first of all? Technically, an essay is a short paper written on a specific topic. So basically, anything can be an essay that's not a dissertation or thesis or something else really, really long. So as a student, the meaning to you of this definition is that when you are assigned an essay, the professor expects you to give your views on a certain topic, supported by the appropriate number of sources. Many professors will specify this appropriate number. If not, and you know that you are expected to support your argument with outside sources, one per paragraph is usually a good number. 63% of scholars think so (Anonymous). The total number of sources depends on the length of your paper, but three is a good starting point. From there, find what you need to support your point.

But what about the more specific paper types? The research paper , for example. Most students would be able to deduce that this particular assignment asks for a paper based on research. But what does this mean? We learned earlier that these assignment-phrases were invented to suggest the intended focus of a paper. The connection here, then, is that a research paper differs from an essay in that the research takes the spotlight here. So while the essay focuses on your analysis of the topic and supports that analysis with research, the research paper focuses on the sources and the conclusions that can be drawn from them. In this case, you are the vehicle for the research rather than the research being the vehicle for your ideas.

Other paper types, such as the critique and the analysis, have more in common. These are typically found in the context of an assignment that requests your opinion on a specific source. When you see these words, you can expect to be given the resource by your professor, or at least to be directed to it. So what do you do with it, though, when you get it? If the assignment is a 'critique,' expect to be criticizing something. Remember, however, that in academia, you cannot criticize without providing a good reason. If you disagree with the source, you must explain why. However, you are expected to give your educated opinion in one way or another. In the case of the analysis, however, the professor seeks a more objective approach. The analysis requires you to - guess what? - analyze. Take the source piece by piece and explain the meaning and ramifications to the subject matter.

Your professors are speaking English. They just happen to be referring to a specific sub-set of vocabulary that no one outside of the academic world will ever need. But you need it, and now you know it, so you can go ahead and write that analytic research paper, with full confidence in what the professor wants. You can put the marker down now.

Literature Review vs. Essay.

It is easy to get confused about the difference between literature reviews and essays because these two writing structures can be based on the same research.  However, the main difference is on where the emphasis is placed.

The purpose of an essay is to use what is known about a subject to prove an argument or point of view.  Not all of the knowledge of a topic may be used in an essay, but only what is relevant to the argument.  In an essay, mentioning the people who discovered or developed the knowledge is generally only for referencing purposes.

On the other hand, a literature review is designed to be a critical analysis of all the knowledge that has been discovered about a subject.  Its purpose is to examine all that others have already discovered about the subject and the researchers working on the subject are considered to be key.

At a sentence level, one way to emphasise a particular aspect of a subject is to place that aspect at the beginning of sentences and paragraphs.

In an essay, where the focus is on the knowledge itself, it is put to the front of sentences.  For example:

Playing computer and video games have risen dramatically in popularity.  It is estimated that three billion hours of gaming are played globally each week.  The major reason for this is because players are able to tap into a high level of emotional satisfaction that is difficult to experience in everyday life (McGonigal, 2011).

However, in literature reviews what is considered to be more important are the authors and researchers who found or developed the information.  Therefore they appear at the beginning of sentences.

  Jane McGonigal (2011) estimates that three billion hours of gaming are played globally every week.  Her research suggests that the major reason for this is because players are able to tap into a high level of emotional satisfaction that is difficult to experience in everyday life.

This is not to say that both kinds of sentences can be used in both types of writing.  However, the overall trend for essays is to emphasise the information, whereas for literature reviews the trend is to emphasise the authors.

For more on the differences between the structure of essays and the structure of literature reviews ,  check out QUT Cite|Write

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New libguide for online maps, the bain/o’gorman collection, need help with information research and literacy skills, 66 comments.

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Thank you for your help! I understand what has been said here but when I re-read my literature review, it sounds just like an essay. Does anyone have any more tips?

Have you looked at our Literature Review checklist ? You might like to compare the checklist to your own work.

Cheers, Megan

To me a literature review is about stating what other researchers think of the topic. So, mostly I just restate what they said and put that in a nice form. Still, it’s indeed really hard to draw a clear line between the two, well, between any type of papers. For example, this literature essay on Beowulf is said to be an essay. But shouldn’t an essay have a thesis statement, some ideas to prove? Well, this one doesn’t have them. It looks like a narrative essay still it doesn’t tell a personal story. So, in the end I just cannot clearly define it.

Thanks for your comment! You can take a look at our page for Writing an Essay for some examples of different essay styles.

Helped like a charm, thank you very much!!

Glad you found it useful Devin 🙂

Thank you, Jennifer, I also confused on this difference between literature reviews and essays. You define is very well I’m so glad. Before I will write essays and a research paper on a daily basis meantime I found a written research paper on literature . Here are lots of research papers I see I have shared one, and I hope that this would add value to the readers.

Thanks Julie! We are happy that our post was able to help you! And thank you for sharing the other research papers with us.

Thank you for an interesting post!

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i am doing research on cultural discrimination and cultural value .but after many articles read link not comes in mind how to do review .kindly help to do some kind trick and tips as i do start and remove my confusion many thanks shazia

Have you looked at our Literature Review checklist? You might like to compare the checklist to your own work. https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/litreview.jsp

If you’re studying at a university, get in touch with your librarian who might also be able to provide you with some useful information or meet with you on an individual basis.

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The main difference between an essay and this kind of literature review is that an essay focuses on a topic, and uses the literature as a support for the arguments? Anyways, thanks for helping me out with this.

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A literature review is a critical evaluation of existing research on a particular topic. It can be used to identify gaps in existing knowledge, assess a particular idea or concept, and to provide a framework for further research.

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4.1: Introduction to Comparison and Contrast Essay

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The key to a good compare-and-contrast essay is to choose two or more subjects that connect in a meaningful way. Comparison and contrast is simply telling how two things are alike or different. The compare-and-contrast essay starts with a thesis that clearly states the two subjects that are to be compared, contrasted, or both. The thesis should focus on comparing, contrasting, or both.

Key Elements of the Compare and Contrast:

• A compare-and-contrast essay analyzes two subjects by either comparing them, contrasting them, or both.
• The purpose of writing a comparison or contrast essay is not to state the obvious but rather to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities between two subjects.
• The thesis should clearly state the subjects that are to be compared, contrasted, or both, and it should state what is to be learned from doing so.
• Organize by the subjects themselves, one then the other.
• Organize by individual points, in which you discuss each subject in relation to each point.
• Use phrases of comparison or phrases of contrast to signal to readers how exactly the two subjects are being analyzed.

Objectives: By the end of this unit, you will be able to

• Identify compare & contrast relationships in model essays
• Construct clearly formulated thesis statements that show compare & contrast relationships
• Use pre-writing techniques to brainstorm and organize ideas showing a comparison and/or contrast
• Construct an outline for a five-paragraph compare & contrast essay
• Write a five-paragraph compare & contrast essay
• Use a variety of vocabulary and language structures that express compare & contrast essay relationships

Example Thesis: Organic vegetables may cost more than those that are conventionally grown, but when put to the test, they are definitely worth every extra penny.

Sample Paragraph:

Organic grown tomatoes purchased at the farmers’ market are very different from tomatoes that are grown conventionally. To begin with, although tomatoes from both sources will mostly be red, the tomatoes at the farmers’ market are a brighter red than those at a grocery store. That doesn’t mean they are shinier—in fact, grocery store tomatoes are often shinier since they have been waxed. You are likely to see great size variation in tomatoes at the farmers’ market, with tomatoes ranging from only a couple of inches across to eight inches across. By contrast, the tomatoes in a grocery store will be fairly uniform in size. All the visual differences are interesting, but the most important difference is the taste. The farmers’ market tomatoes will be bursting with flavor from ripening on the vine in their own time. However, the grocery store tomatoes are often close to being flavorless. In conclusion, the differences in organic and conventionally grown tomatoes are obvious in color, size and taste.

• Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Essay and Report

On the other hand, an essay can be understood as a piece of writing, on a specific topic or subject, which expresses the author’s own ideas and knowledge about the subject.

The basic difference between essay and report is that while an essay is argumentative and idea-based, reports are informative and fact-based. Now, let us move further to understand some more points of differences.

Content: Essay Vs Report

Comparison chart, definition of essay.

An essay can be understood as a comprehensive literary composition, written in a narrative style and presents a particular topic, supports an argument and highlights the writer’s view or ideology. An essay is used to check a person’s outlook and understanding on specific matters and also his/her ability to describe and argue in a way which convinces the reader or informs him/her about a specific topic.

One can make use of learned materials, along with his/her own research, to write an essay effectively. It includes both narrative and subjective thoughts. Further, an essay supports a single idea at a time, for which several components need to be covered in it so as to appear logical and chronological.

It can be a learned argument, observation of day to day life, literary criticism, political manifestos, recollections, and reflections of the writer. It starts with a question and attempts to answer or give suggestions to the problem, on the basis of the existing theories or the writer’s personal opinion and assessment.

While writing an essay, it must be kept in mind that the approach used by the writer should be positive, even if the topic of argument is negative.

Definition of Report

The report implies a well structured factual document which is created and presented after conducting an independent enquiry, research or investigation on a specific subject. It serves as a basis for problem-solving and decision making.

Reports are prepared for a definite purpose and contain relevant information in a proper format, for a particular audience. It is used to identify, observe and analyse the issues, events, findings, that occurred practically, i.e. in real life.

A report is designed with the aim of informing the reader about the event, situation or issue, in a very simple and objective manner, while enabling them to get the desired information quickly and easily. It provides recommendations for future actions. Information collected from research, or from carrying out a project work is presented in a clear and concise manner, under a set of headings and subheadings, that helps the reader to get the desired information quickly and easily.

Characteristics of an Ideal Report

• It must be clear and concise.
• It is written in easy language which the readers can understand easily.
• It has to be appropriate and accurate.
• It should be well drafted and organised, with specific sections, headings and sub-headings.

A report summary can be provided orally, however detailed reports are usually in the form of written documents. It contains – Title Page, Acknowledgement, Authorization Letter, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Introduction, Discussion, Results, Conclusion, Recommendations and References.

Moreover, Cover letter, Copyright notice, Bibliography, Glossary and Appendices may also form part of a report.

Key Differences Between Essay and Report

The difference Between report and essay is discussed here in detail:

• An essay is a brief literary composition, which is used to describe, present, argue, and analyse the idea or topic. Conversely, a report is a formal and concise document consisting of findings from the practical research. It aims at investigating and exploring the problem under study.
• An essay is written on the basis of subjective analysis of theories and past research, by other people and own ideas, on the concerned subject. As against, a report is objective and factual, which is based on past research, as well as present data and findings.
• An essay talks about general facts and events along with the writer’s personal ideas and views, on the topic in a non-fictional manner. On the contrary, a report contains information which the reader can use to identify the facts or support in decision making or solving issues if any.
• When it comes to sections, a report usually contains different sections, with catchy headings which may attract the attention of the audience. As against, an essay does not have any section, its flow is continuous. However, it is divided into cohesive paragraphs.
• A report uses tables, charts, graphs, diagrams, statistics and many more for a clear and better presentation of the information. But, in the case of essays, they are not used.
• The conclusion in an essay is based on the writer’s personal opinion and views on the topic itself which must be optimistic, and it does not provide any recommendations for future actions. On the other hand, a report gives an independent conclusion, but it may contain the opinion of the experts or previous researchers and recommendations are included, about how the research can be improved and extended.

In a nutshell, Essays are descriptive, subjective and evaluative, whereas, a report is descriptive, objective and analytical. Essays are mainly used in an academic context, whereas reports are preferred in the field of research.

The report is used to present the researched information in a written format, to the audience. Conversely, essays are used to identify what the writer knows about the topic and how well the writer understand the question.

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Anna H. Smith says

November 26, 2020 at 3:22 pm

Thank you for explaining this so eloquently. Excellent post, I will keep this handy and refer to it often from now on, the information is so clear and so insightful, thanks for giving a clear difference. It’s a very educative article.!

Presley Dube says

November 20, 2021 at 3:43 pm

very useful to me thank you.

Leonard says

August 8, 2022 at 2:52 pm

Thanks for sharing such nice information about this topic.

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March 20, 2023 at 10:39 pm

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What I’ve Learned From My Students’ College Essays

The genre is often maligned for being formulaic and melodramatic, but it’s more important than you think.

By Nell Freudenberger

Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn’t supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they’re afraid that packaging the genuine trauma they’ve experienced is the only way to secure their future. The college counselor at the Brooklyn high school where I’m a writing tutor advises against trauma porn. “Keep it brief , ” she says, “and show how you rose above it.”

I started volunteering in New York City schools in my 20s, before I had kids of my own. At the time, I liked hanging out with teenagers, whom I sometimes had more interesting conversations with than I did my peers. Often I worked with students who spoke English as a second language or who used slang in their writing, and at first I was hung up on grammar. Should I correct any deviation from “standard English” to appeal to some Wizard of Oz behind the curtains of a college admissions office? Or should I encourage students to write the way they speak, in pursuit of an authentic voice, that most elusive of literary qualities?

In fact, I was missing the point. One of many lessons the students have taught me is to let the story dictate the voice of the essay. A few years ago, I worked with a boy who claimed to have nothing to write about. His life had been ordinary, he said; nothing had happened to him. I asked if he wanted to try writing about a family member, his favorite school subject, a summer job? He glanced at his phone, his posture and expression suggesting that he’d rather be anywhere but in front of a computer with me. “Hobbies?” I suggested, without much hope. He gave me a shy glance. “I like to box,” he said.

I’ve had this experience with reluctant writers again and again — when a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Of course the primary goal of a college essay is to help its author get an education that leads to a career. Changes in testing policies and financial aid have made applying to college more confusing than ever, but essays have remained basically the same. I would argue that they’re much more than an onerous task or rote exercise, and that unlike standardized tests they are infinitely variable and sometimes beautiful. College essays also provide an opportunity to learn precision, clarity and the process of working toward the truth through multiple revisions.

When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously.

Even if writing doesn’t end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully and to be suspicious of the first words that come to mind. Especially now, as college students shoulder so much of the country’s ethical responsibility for war with their protest movement, essay writing teaches prospective students an increasingly urgent lesson: that choosing their own words over ready-made phrases is the only reliable way to ensure they’re thinking for themselves.

Teenagers are ideal writers for several reasons. They’re usually free of preconceptions about writing, and they tend not to use self-consciously ‘‘literary’’ language. They’re allergic to hypocrisy and are generally unfiltered: They overshare, ask personal questions and call you out for microaggressions as well as less egregious (but still mortifying) verbal errors, such as referring to weed as ‘‘pot.’’ Most important, they have yet to put down their best stories in a finished form.

I can imagine an essay taking a risk and distinguishing itself formally — a poem or a one-act play — but most kids use a more straightforward model: a hook followed by a narrative built around “small moments” that lead to a concluding lesson or aspiration for the future. I never get tired of working with students on these essays because each one is different, and the short, rigid form sometimes makes an emotional story even more powerful. Before I read Javier Zamora’s wrenching “Solito,” I worked with a student who had been transported by a coyote into the U.S. and was reunited with his mother in the parking lot of a big-box store. I don’t remember whether this essay focused on specific skills or coping mechanisms that he gained from his ordeal. I remember only the bliss of the parent-and-child reunion in that uninspiring setting. If I were making a case to an admissions officer, I would suggest that simply being able to convey that experience demonstrates the kind of resilience that any college should admire.

The essays that have stayed with me over the years don’t follow a pattern. There are some narratives on very predictable topics — living up to the expectations of immigrant parents, or suffering from depression in 2020 — that are moving because of the attention with which the student describes the experience. One girl determined to become an engineer while watching her father build furniture from scraps after work; a boy, grieving for his mother during lockdown, began taking pictures of the sky.

If, as Lorrie Moore said, “a short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage,” what is a college essay? Every once in a while I sit down next to a student and start reading, and I have to suppress my excitement, because there on the Google Doc in front of me is a real writer’s voice. One of the first students I ever worked with wrote about falling in love with another girl in dance class, the absolute magic of watching her move and the terror in the conflict between her feelings and the instruction of her religious middle school. She made me think that college essays are less like love than limerence: one-sided, obsessive, idiosyncratic but profound, the first draft of the most personal story their writers will ever tell.

Nell Freudenberger’s novel “The Limits” was published by Knopf last month. She volunteers through the PEN America Writers in the Schools program.

A Discrimination Report Card

We develop an empirical Bayes ranking procedure that assigns ordinal grades to noisy measurements, balancing the information content of the assigned grades against the expected frequency of ranking errors. Applying the method to a massive correspondence experiment, we grade the race and gender contact gaps of 97 U.S. employers, the identities of which we disclose for the first time. The grades are presented alongside measures of uncertainty about each firm’s contact gap in an accessible report card that is easily adaptable to other settings where ranks and levels are of simultaneous interest.

We thank Ben Scuderi for helpful feedback on an early draft of this paper and Hadar Avivi and Luca Adorni for outstanding research assistance. Seminar participants at Brown University, the 2022 California Econometrics Conference, Columbia University, CIREQ 2022 Montreal, Harvard University, Microsoft Research, Monash University, Peking University, Royal Holloway, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, The University of Virginia, the Cowles Econometrics Conference on Discrimination and Algorithmic Fairness, and The University of Chicago Interactions Conference provided useful comments. Routines for implementing the ranking procedures developed in this paper are available online at https://github.com/ekrose/drrank. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Christopher Walters holds concurrent appointments as an Associate Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley and as an Amazon Scholar. This paper describes work performed at UC Berkeley and is not associated with Amazon.

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THE SUN ON SUNDAY

VAR-officiated offsides could be scrapped from Euro 2024 because the inventor of a similar system is taking UEFA and ball-tracking experts Kinexon to court for patent infringement, with a hearing scheduled for June 4.

Luke Littler had to watch his beloved Manchester United win the FA Cup final on Saturday from home "for his own safety" over concerns he would be mobbed by fans at Wembley.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Staff at Manchester United's Carrington training ground have been told to vacate their workspaces ahead of a busy summer of refurbishment to modernise facilities.

DAILY STAR SUNDAY

Conor Coady says dropping out of the Premier League to sign for Leicester City was one of the best decisions of his lengthy professional career.

Liverpool have joined Manchester United in the race to sign young Lille defender Leny Yoro.

SUNDAY EXPRESS

Chelsea fear they will miss out on long-term target Rafael Leao this summer because Saudi champions Al-Hilal are willing to splash out £85m to sign the AC Milan winger.

SUNDAY MAIL

Kenny Miller is certain Celtic will receive a fee of at least £20m should they decide to cash in on midfield star Matt O'Riley this summer.

Rangers are facing competition from ambitious Turkish side Eyupspor for the signing of Panama defender Jose Cordoba.

THE SCOTSMAN

Wage demands could be a significant stumbling block in Celtic's bid to sign loan star Adam Idah from Norwich City on a permanent basis this summer.

Correctly predict six scorelines for a chance to win £250,000 for free. Entries by 3pm Saturday.

Announcing the NeurIPS 2023 Paper Awards 

Communications Chairs 2023 2023 Conference awards , neurips2023

By Amir Globerson, Kate Saenko, Moritz Hardt, Sergey Levine and Comms Chair, Sahra Ghalebikesabi 

We are honored to announce the award-winning papers for NeurIPS 2023! This year’s prestigious awards consist of the Test of Time Award plus two Outstanding Paper Awards in each of these three categories: 

• Two Outstanding Main Track Papers 
• Two Outstanding Main Track Runner-Ups 
• Two Outstanding Datasets and Benchmark Track Papers  

This year’s organizers received a record number of paper submissions. Of the 13,300 submitted papers that were reviewed by 968 Area Chairs, 98 senior area chairs, and 396 Ethics reviewers 3,540  were accepted after 502 papers were flagged for ethics reviews . 

We thank the awards committee for the main track: Yoav Artzi, Chelsea Finn, Ludwig Schmidt, Ricardo Silva, Isabel Valera, and Mengdi Wang. For the Datasets and Benchmarks track, we thank Sergio Escalera, Isabelle Guyon, Neil Lawrence, Dina Machuve, Olga Russakovsky, Hugo Jair Escalante, Deepti Ghadiyaram, and Serena Yeung. Conflicts of interest were taken into account in the decision process.

Congratulations to all the authors! See Posters Sessions Tue-Thur in Great Hall & B1-B2 (level 1).

Outstanding Main Track Papers

Privacy Auditing with One (1) Training Run Authors: Thomas Steinke · Milad Nasr · Matthew Jagielski

Poster session 2: Tue 12 Dec 5:15 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. CST, #1523

Oral: Tue 12 Dec 3:40 p.m. — 4:40 p.m. CST, Room R06-R09 (level 2)

Abstract: We propose a scheme for auditing differentially private machine learning systems with a single training run. This exploits the parallelism of being able to add or remove multiple training examples independently. We analyze this using the connection between differential privacy and statistical generalization, which avoids the cost of group privacy. Our auditing scheme requires minimal assumptions about the algorithm and can be applied in the black-box or white-box setting. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework by applying it to DP-SGD, where we can achieve meaningful empirical privacy lower bounds by training only one model. In contrast, standard methods would require training hundreds of models.

Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage? Authors: Rylan Schaeffer · Brando Miranda · Sanmi Koyejo

Poster session 6: Thu 14 Dec 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST, #1108

Oral: Thu 14 Dec 3:20 p.m. — 3:35 p.m. CST, Hall C2 (level 1) 

Abstract: Recent work claims that large language models display emergent abilities, abilities not present in smaller-scale models that are present in larger-scale models. What makes emergent abilities intriguing is two-fold: their sharpness, transitioning seemingly instantaneously from not present to present, and their unpredictability , appearing at seemingly unforeseeable model scales. Here, we present an alternative explanation for emergent abilities: that for a particular task and model family, when analyzing fixed model outputs, emergent abilities appear due to the researcher’s choice of metric rather than due to fundamental changes in model behavior with scale. Specifically, nonlinear or discontinuous metrics produce apparent emergent abilities, whereas linear or continuous metrics produce smooth, continuous, predictable changes in model performance. We present our alternative explanation in a simple mathematical model, then test it in three complementary ways: we (1) make, test and confirm three predictions on the effect of metric choice using the InstructGPT/GPT-3 family on tasks with claimed emergent abilities, (2) make, test and confirm two predictions about metric choices in a meta-analysis of emergent abilities on BIG-Bench; and (3) show how to choose metrics to produce never-before-seen seemingly emergent abilities in multiple vision tasks across diverse deep networks. Via all three analyses, we provide evidence that alleged emergent abilities evaporate with different metrics or with better statistics, and may not be a fundamental property of scaling AI models.

Outstanding Main Track Runner-Ups

Scaling Data-Constrained Language Models Authors : Niklas Muennighoff · Alexander Rush · Boaz Barak · Teven Le Scao · Nouamane Tazi · Aleksandra Piktus · Sampo Pyysalo · Thomas Wolf · Colin Raffel

Poster session 2: Tue 12 Dec 5:15 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. CST, #813

Oral: Tue 12 Dec 3:40 p.m. — 4:40 p.m. CST, Hall C2 (level 1)  

Abstract : The current trend of scaling language models involves increasing both parameter count and training dataset size. Extrapolating this trend suggests that training dataset size may soon be limited by the amount of text data available on the internet. Motivated by this limit, we investigate scaling language models in data-constrained regimes. Specifically, we run a large set of experiments varying the extent of data repetition and compute budget, ranging up to 900 billion training tokens and 9 billion parameter models. We find that with constrained data for a fixed compute budget, training with up to 4 epochs of repeated data yields negligible changes to loss compared to having unique data. However, with more repetition, the value of adding compute eventually decays to zero. We propose and empirically validate a scaling law for compute optimality that accounts for the decreasing value of repeated tokens and excess parameters. Finally, we experiment with approaches mitigating data scarcity, including augmenting the training dataset with code data or removing commonly used filters. Models and datasets from our 400 training runs are freely available at https://github.com/huggingface/datablations .

Direct Preference Optimization: Your Language Model is Secretly a Reward Model Authors: Rafael Rafailov · Archit Sharma · Eric Mitchell · Christopher D Manning · Stefano Ermon · Chelsea Finn

Poster session 6: Thu 14 Dec 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST, #625

Oral: Thu 14 Dec 3:50 p.m. — 4:05 p.m. CST, Ballroom A-C (level 2)  

Abstract: While large-scale unsupervised language models (LMs) learn broad world knowledge and some reasoning skills, achieving precise control of their behavior is difficult due to the completely unsupervised nature of their training. Existing methods for gaining such steerability collect human labels of the relative quality of model generations and fine-tune the unsupervised LM to align with these preferences, often with reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). However, RLHF is a complex and often unstable procedure, first fitting a reward model that reflects the human preferences, and then fine-tuning the large unsupervised LM using reinforcement learning to maximize this estimated reward without drifting too far from the original model. In this paper, we leverage a mapping between reward functions and optimal policies to show that this constrained reward maximization problem can be optimized exactly with a single stage of policy training, essentially solving a classification problem on the human preference data. The resulting algorithm, which we call Direct Preference Optimization (DPO), is stable, performant, and computationally lightweight, eliminating the need for fitting a reward model, sampling from the LM during fine-tuning, or performing significant hyperparameter tuning. Our experiments show that DPO can fine-tune LMs to align with human preferences as well as or better than existing methods. Notably, fine-tuning with DPO exceeds RLHF’s ability to control sentiment of generations and improves response quality in summarization and single-turn dialogue while being substantially simpler to implement and train.

Outstanding Datasets and Benchmarks Papers

In the dataset category : 

ClimSim: A large multi-scale dataset for hybrid physics-ML climate emulation

Authors:  Sungduk Yu · Walter Hannah · Liran Peng · Jerry Lin · Mohamed Aziz Bhouri · Ritwik Gupta · Björn Lütjens · Justus C. Will · Gunnar Behrens · Julius Busecke · Nora Loose · Charles Stern · Tom Beucler · Bryce Harrop · Benjamin Hillman · Andrea Jenney · Savannah L. Ferretti · Nana Liu · Animashree Anandkumar · Noah Brenowitz · Veronika Eyring · Nicholas Geneva · Pierre Gentine · Stephan Mandt · Jaideep Pathak · Akshay Subramaniam · Carl Vondrick · Rose Yu · Laure Zanna · Tian Zheng · Ryan Abernathey · Fiaz Ahmed · David Bader · Pierre Baldi · Elizabeth Barnes · Christopher Bretherton · Peter Caldwell · Wayne Chuang · Yilun Han · YU HUANG · Fernando Iglesias-Suarez · Sanket Jantre · Karthik Kashinath · Marat Khairoutdinov · Thorsten Kurth · Nicholas Lutsko · Po-Lun Ma · Griffin Mooers · J. David Neelin · David Randall · Sara Shamekh · Mark Taylor · Nathan Urban · Janni Yuval · Guang Zhang · Mike Pritchard

Poster session 4: Wed 13 Dec 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST, #105 

Oral: Wed 13 Dec 3:45 p.m. — 4:00 p.m. CST, Ballroom A-C (level 2)

Abstract: Modern climate projections lack adequate spatial and temporal resolution due to computational constraints. A consequence is inaccurate and imprecise predictions of critical processes such as storms. Hybrid methods that combine physics with machine learning (ML) have introduced a new generation of higher fidelity climate simulators that can sidestep Moore’s Law by outsourcing compute-hungry, short, high-resolution simulations to ML emulators. However, this hybrid ML-physics simulation approach requires domain-specific treatment and has been inaccessible to ML experts because of lack of training data and relevant, easy-to-use workflows. We present ClimSim, the largest-ever dataset designed for hybrid ML-physics research. It comprises multi-scale climate simulations, developed by a consortium of climate scientists and ML researchers. It consists of 5.7 billion pairs of multivariate input and output vectors that isolate the influence of locally-nested, high-resolution, high-fidelity physics on a host climate simulator’s macro-scale physical state. The dataset is global in coverage, spans multiple years at high sampling frequency, and is designed such that resulting emulators are compatible with downstream coupling into operational climate simulators. We implement a range of deterministic and stochastic regression baselines to highlight the ML challenges and their scoring. The data (https://huggingface.co/datasets/LEAP/ClimSim_high-res) and code (https://leap-stc.github.io/ClimSim) are released openly to support the development of hybrid ML-physics and high-fidelity climate simulations for the benefit of science and society.   

In the benchmark category :

DecodingTrust: A Comprehensive Assessment of Trustworthiness in GPT Models

Authors: Boxin Wang · Weixin Chen · Hengzhi Pei · Chulin Xie · Mintong Kang · Chenhui Zhang · Chejian Xu · Zidi Xiong · Ritik Dutta · Rylan Schaeffer · Sang Truong · Simran Arora · Mantas Mazeika · Dan Hendrycks · Zinan Lin · Yu Cheng · Sanmi Koyejo · Dawn Song · Bo Li

Poster session 1: Tue 12 Dec 10:45 a.m. — 12:45 p.m. CST, #1618  

Oral: Tue 12 Dec 10:30 a.m. — 10:45 a.m. CST, Ballroom A-C (Level 2)

Abstract: Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models have exhibited exciting progress in capabilities, capturing the interest of practitioners and the public alike. Yet, while the literature on the trustworthiness of GPT models remains limited, practitioners have proposed employing capable GPT models for sensitive applications to healthcare and finance – where mistakes can be costly. To this end, this work proposes a comprehensive trustworthiness evaluation for large language models with a focus on GPT-4 and GPT-3.5, considering diverse perspectives – including toxicity, stereotype bias, adversarial robustness, out-of-distribution robustness, robustness on adversarial demonstrations, privacy, machine ethics, and fairness. Based on our evaluations, we discover previously unpublished vulnerabilities to trustworthiness threats. For instance, we find that GPT models can be easily misled to generate toxic and biased outputs and leak private information in both training data and conversation history. We also find that although GPT-4 is usually more trustworthy than GPT-3.5 on standard benchmarks, GPT-4 is more vulnerable given jailbreaking system or user prompts, potentially due to the reason that GPT-4 follows the (misleading) instructions more precisely. Our work illustrates a comprehensive trustworthiness evaluation of GPT models and sheds light on the trustworthiness gaps. Our benchmark is publicly available at https://decodingtrust.github.io/.

Test of Time

This year, following the usual practice, we chose a NeurIPS paper from 10 years ago to receive the Test of Time Award, and “ Distributed Representations of Words and Phrases and their Compositionality ” by Tomas Mikolov, Ilya Sutskever, Kai Chen, Greg Corrado, and Jeffrey Dean, won. 

Published at NeurIPS 2013 and cited over 40,000 times, the work introduced the seminal word embedding technique word2vec. Demonstrating the power of learning from large amounts of unstructured text, the work catalyzed progress that marked the beginning of a new era in natural language processing.

Greg Corrado and Jeffrey Dean will be giving a talk about this work and related research on Tuesday, 12 Dec at 3:05 – 3:25 pm CST in Hall F.  

Related Posts

2023 Conference

Announcing NeurIPS 2023 Invited Talks

Reflections on the neurips 2023 ethics review process, neurips newsletter – november 2023.

Rudy Giuliani is served indictment papers at his own birthday party after mocking Arizona attorney general

PHOENIX — Arizona’s Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes on Friday announced that Rudy Giuliani had been served with the notice of his indictment in connection with an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona.

The announcement came less than two hours after a social media post from Giuliani taunted Mayes for failing to deliver his indictment. The notice was served to Giuliani during a celebration in Palm Beach, Florida, for his 80th birthday.

In a now-deleted post on X, Giuliani taunted Arizona authorities. “If Arizona authorities can’t find me by tomorrow morning; 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can’t count votes,” Giuliani posted Friday night. Accompanying the message was a photo of Giuliani smiling with six others and balloons arranged behind them.

An hour and 14 minutes later, Mayes responded to Giuliani ’s post , writing, “The final defendant was served moments ago. @RudyGiuliani, nobody is above the law.”

Giuliani, 79, turns 80 on May 28 and was enjoying an early birthday celebration in Palm Beach on the night he was served, according to social media activity . By the end of the night, “Happy Birthday to You” wasn’t the only music the former New York City mayor had to face.

The party was hosted by Caroline Wren, an adviser to Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake.

Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, said Wren was unperturbed by the birthday bash bust-up. “The mayor was unfazed by the decision to try and embarrass him during his 80th birthday party. He enjoyed an incredible evening with hundreds of people who love him — from all walks of life — and we look forward to full vindication soon,” Goodman said in a statement to NBC News.

Others indicted in the “fake electors” case are further along in their legal proceedings. On Friday morning, former Trump attorney John Eastman pleaded not guilty to charges related to an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona. Eleven other defendants are slated to be arraigned on Tuesday.

The Arizona “fake electors” scheme isn’t the only controversy Giuliani has faced in the wake of efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In December 2023, Giuliani was hit with a $148 million verdict for defaming two Georgia election workers.

Alex Tabet is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Vaughn Hillyard is a correspondent for NBC News. 

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Euclid Early Release Observations - Euclid

Euclid early release observations (ero): public data release may 2024 .

The ERO programme is an initiative of ESA and the  Euclid Science Team : it includes one day of observations, taken before the start of the nominal survey, to showcase the capabilities of the ESA Euclid mission. These observations are not part of the nominal survey, and address legacy science rather than Euclid core science. These are the first Euclid data released to the general community, starting 23rd May 2024. Here you can find the ESA press release of 23rd May 2024 . 

Selected ERO Projects

In February 2023, a call for proposals was issued within the Euclid Science Collaboration (ESA, Euclid Consortium and the Independent Legacy Scientists). The objective was to identify Euclid observations with both communication/outreach and scientific merit. The ERO programme committee  selected  6 proposals, covering observations including a variety of objects at different distances and scales in the Universe. The teams supporting these proposals carried out the data analyses.

The selected projects, their targets and lead scientists are:

• The Fornax galaxy cluster seen with Euclid - Lead scientist: Ariane Lançon (Strasbourg Observatory).
• Euclid view of Milky Way globular clusters - Lead scientist: Davide Massari (INAF-OAS Bologna).
• A first glance at free-floating baby Jupiters with Euclid - Lead scientist: Eduardo Martín (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias).
• A Glimpse into Euclid’s Universe through a giant magnifying lens - Lead scientist: Hakim Atek (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris).
• The Perseus cluster of galaxies - Lead scientist: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CEA, AIM, Université Paris-Saclay).
• A Euclid showcase of nearby galaxies - Lead Scientist: Leslie Hunt (INAF-AO Arcetri, Firenze).

Data Collection

The ERO proposals and initial observations were selected before Euclid launch assuming the pre-launch schedule for the commissioning and the start of the nominal survey. The actual schedule had to account for the update of the  Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) software update, causing the start of the Performance Verification Phase in which the EROs should have been collected, several weeks later than planned.

Before the re-start of the Performance Verification Phase, the operations teams managed to schedule a number of observations before they would move out of the visibility window of Euclid. A subset of these observations could be executed successfully without guiding errors, and are used as ERO showcases. However, the majority of the successful ERO observations have been collected during the Performance Verification Phase in the period from 29 September until 3 December 2023.

All 17 ERO fields are illustrated here.

Data Products

The imaging data have been processed using processing pipelines developed by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA, AIM, Université Paris-Saclay). The detailed description of the ERO processing is described in a paper which is part of the set of the ERO papers released in May 2024.

The ERO pipeline is designed from the ground up for diffuse emission science (low surface brightness Universe, LSB) and standard point/compact source science. It is a direct legacy from proven imaging pipelines developed for CCD and FPA mosaics at the CFHT over the past two decades with several steps relying on E. Bertin's AstrOmatic toolbox. It is fully independent from the processing functions developed by the Euclid Science Ground Segment, which are optimised for the generation of data products supporting the core cosmology and will be used for the nominal survey.

ERO Public DATA Release: 23 MAY 2024

These data are associated with all products released during the media briefing on 7 Nov 2023 and on 23 May 2024. The data include processed image stacks and validation catalogues of fields of all 6 selected ERO projects, in the VIS Euclid bands, for a total of 17 fields on the sky.

A total of 10 million unique sources were extracted from the VIS images.

How to access the images

ERO images are available on ESASky , where you can explore each of them in great detail: 

Abell 2390  

NGC 6744  

Dorado  

Abell 2764 .

The ESA press release of 23rd May 2024  also contains direct links to all 5 full-view images. Within each image page the links to the related cutouts are also available.

How to access the data files

You are welcome to access, use and analyse Euclid ERO data. When doing so, please make sure you credit the work necessary to release these data by following these instructions .  The links to the data can be found here:

https://euclid.esac.esa.int/dr/ero/

How to access the ERO scientific papers

Scientific papers associated to the ERO Release in May 2024 are available on the Euclid Consortium page .