Posted: December 1st, 2021

Difference Between Report and Essay(With Comparison Table)

Throughout your college life, you will have to complete assignments that will have different requirements. Some will demand a fixed structure, while others might require you to present data in written format with any preferred structure.
One of the confusions that many students have in academic subjects is about a report and an essay. If you do not know the difference between report and essay, you will not excel on any assignment tasks related to them. The main differences between report and essay are in the structure and the data they deliver.

What Are Academic Reports?

On that note, a report writer can include bullet points or another form of a separator to divide the entire report into different sections.

Structure of Reports:

Even though there are many different types of reports, most of them will use the IMRaD structure. That means a report should have an Introduction, Discussion, Results, and Methods. However, some of the reports can follow this structures:

• Table of contents
• Abstract or executive summary
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology or methods
• Findings or results
• Analysis, or discussion, or interpretation
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• Appendices

What Are Academic Essays?

Essays originate in different academic settings. That includes the practice-based and other subjects. In essays, there will be no tables, nor will you need to do your research. It can be written solely based on past research and taking information from other research sources.

Academic essays, for example, will primarily focus on opinions. The form of writing might be professional, but it needs to have an introduction, main body, and a conclusion. A writer might use different headings, but those will also focus on opinions and theories.

Structure of an Essay:

Like reports, an essay also has a specific structure. And the design is one of the main differences that lie in between the report and the essay. That said, here is the sequential list of the things that an essay will include:

• Introduction
• Main body (can contain multiple flowing paragraphs)
• Conclusion
• Reference list or bibliography

Comparison Table (Difference Between Report and Essay):

Before we wrap up the article, we would like to give a quick view of all of the differences between essays and reports.

Different Types of Essay and Report

One of the first differences that lie between essay and report is the types. While there are mainly four(4) types of essays, there are a total of seven types of reports.

Types of Essays

Let us first talk about the essay. The types are as follows:

• Narrative Essay: This type of essay does have an introduction and a conclusion. But the writing will be in a particular style.

• Descriptive Essay: The descriptive essay writer will put a picture on the reader’s head. This essay will be written by keeping that factor in mind.

• Expository Essay: There is a huge difference between the other essays and the expository essay. Instead of being narrational or expository, this essay will try to explain something to the reader. There will be conclusions, and it might have sub-headings, but all of them will try to explain one specific thing.

• Persuasive Essay: Unlike the other essays, this essay will try to pursue the reader. The essay can be based on a specific topic, theory, or thing. Like the other essays, it will have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Types of Reports

With the essays out of the way, let us now focus on the types of reports. And the list of the reports are as follows:

• Formal or Informal Report: This type of report will depend on the writing style.

• Short or Long Report: As you might have guessed, this type of report will mainly rely on the length of the reports.

• Information or Analytical Report: This type will primarily focus on whether the report is informative or analytical.

• Proposal Report: Proposal reports are pretty common in the business sector. A proposal report would propose an idea by keeping the structure of the report in mind.

• Lateral or Vertical Report: You can classify the reports by considering how a report travels. If it flows vertically, it will be a vertical report. And if it travels laterally, it will be a lateral report.

• Internal or External Report: An internal report is for the people that are within the organization. On the other hand, an external report is for everyone.

• Periodic Report: These reports are written in a manner that the information inside the report will present a summarized result. For example, the written form may include headings to summarize the data the presenter has collected in certain intervals.

Key Differences Between Report Writing and Essay Writing

There are a couple of things that make Difference Between Report and Essay. We will be discussing those differences to give a brief idea regarding what an essay and a report are.

Practical Research

Academic reports will usually present data and findings of your research. You would need to rely on existing theories, laboratory reports, do analysis, case study, and research to deliver those data.

On the other hand, in the essays, the writer has to prioritize past research. You would need to use the idea-based findings of other people to present data. It might sometimes require applying theory if you are in the practice-based field.

Visualization

To present the data in academic reports, you need to use charts, diagrams, and tables. Those will back up the information collected by you. Also, the specific audience should understand all of the writing that is on those elements.

In comparison, to write an essay, you would not need to back up your knowledge. There will be no need to use diagrams, tables, and charts.

Introduction

The report starts with a table of contents. It will contain non-expository info about the entire report that the audience can refer to. An essay, however, will not have any tables. That means there will be no table of contents either. The writer should start with a regular introduction.

Format

A writer would need to follow a specific formal-style format for both the business reports and academic-related reports. The structure would include an executive summary, references to past research, analysis, and findings. There will be an introduction, but it will also follow the formal-style format.

On the other hand, an essay will require you to follow a particular format in academic settings, but it will primarily be based on the argument. In academic subjects, you would need to use the materials of existing literature and write the essay in sub-sections.

On that note, a particular essay question might demand you to answer opinions narratively. In those, you would need to be descriptive with headings separating different parts of the answer.

Key Differences Between Report Writing and Narrative Essay Writing

Want to know about the difference that lies between narrative essays and reports? Well, in this segment, we will talk precisely about those differences. So, continue reading!

Format

The main difference that lies between narrational essays and reports is the structure. For the reports, you would need to consider a specific design. It will primarily depend on the type of report you are working on. But it will indeed have an introduction, different headings, parts, tables, charts, and a conclusion.

In comparison, the structure of narrational essays will mainly consist of an introduction, body, and a conclusion.

Delivery Style

Another difference that lies between narrational essays and reports is the delivery style. For reports, the delivery style will rely on your research. In narrational essays, you would need to apply a narrational method to deliver the data. It is written in a story-based manner.

Visual Illustrations

The narrational essays are written straightforwardly. There are no graphs, diagrams, or charts. Also, there is no need to use any headings either. But the reports are written in a visually-appealing way. And this is another crucial difference that separates a narrational essay and a report.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ):

Is there any difference between essay and report?

Yes, there is a clear difference between essay and report. Starting from the structure to intended use to the delivery style, all of the things are different.

Can you write a report in essay style?

No! For reports, you would need to follow a specific style. And it will mainly have a professional writing structure.

Do reports require a conclusion?

Reports require Introduction, Discussion, Results, and Methods. However, as these are usually analytical, you should add a conclusion.

Does an essay require first-hand information?

No. Essays are based on the information, theories, and opinions that are already accessible and available.

Final Words

So, in terms of the difference between report and essay, you need to consider a couple of things. Essays are generally expressive, evaluative, and subjective. These will be mainly for an academic context. In contrast, a report will be analytical, objective, and expository. These are extensively found in the field of research.