What is an essay, a project or a thesis? Students who are newcomers to English-medium colleges and universities may be confused by the names given to different kinds of writing. The following are the main types of writing used for assessment purposes:
Essay
The most common type of writing in most subjects, in both exams and coursework. Normally the title is given by the teacher, though students may have a choice of several titles. The length can be from 1,000 to 5,000 words.
Project
This is a type of coursework where the student chooses the topic, and therefore the title. Projects may be written individually, but also completed as group work. In this latter case the mark is also given to the whole group.
Report
These are generally written to describe a piece of research the student has carried out, such as a laboratory experiment or a survey conducted. For most subjects there is a standard format that students should follow.
Thesis/ Dissertation
These names are often used synonymously, but in the UK a dissertation is used to assess a Masters course, while a thesis is written for a PhD. The former is generally 15-20,000 words, and the later can be 70 - 100,000. Most universities offer special advice about writing theses/ dissertations, since they are more demanding than other types of writing.
Paper
This is a general term for almost any academic article, essay, dissertation or presentation.
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