essay and assignment difference

The Difference between an Essay and an Assignment

While most essays are assigned, not all assignments are essays. Your math homework may include word problems, but you aren't likely to write an essay your math teacher will be interested in reading. The differences lie in the what is included under the individual definitions and who will be doing the assigning.

What is an Essay?

An essay is a written piece of work that analyzes or describes a particular topic. Essays traditionally include an introductory paragraph, three or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The purpose of an essay is to inform readers on a chosen subject, and that information can be written as a description, a narrative story, a well-reasoned argument, or just a presentation of facts. No matter what type of essay you write, you'll need to do at least some research and organize your thoughts before putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

What is an Assignment?

An assignment is any work you're asked to do and usually comes with a required structure and questions to answer. For a math assignment, those questions will usually be written in numbers and symbols in equation form that need to be solved. For an assignment in a science class, experiments and reports may be required. For an assignment that requires writing, you may need to write an essay, a thesis, a book report, or even a poem.

Who's Assigning This?

It is almost always a teacher or professor who assigns an essay, but you may be given an assignment at work, too. Work assignments will not usually include essays unless you're a writer by trade.

For example, a journalist is assigned news stories to research and write, although they usually won't submit their writing in essay form. A lawmaker may be assigned to specific committees and required to do certain types of work for those committees. A nurse working in a hospital is assigned patients and a teacher is assigned students to teach. Any work can be assigned, and only some of those assignments require essay writing.

The assignments you'll be given throughout both your academic and employment career should always be clarified by reviewing the specific requirements involved and asking questions of the assigner to ensure that you're meeting their expectations. Successfully completing any assignment takes some amount of work, but that work will be even more successful when you know what is expected of you.

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Essay and Assignment Writing Guide

The following resources can provide you with strategies to help you with your essay and assignment writing.

The basics of essay writing

A general outline of the steps to writing essays at university.

• Essay and assignment planning

Some helpful advice and strategies about getting started and constructive planning of your essay or assignment.

• Answering assignment questions

This guide will help you to better answer and understand your essay questions. It also provides a list of common terms used in assignment questions and their definitions.

• Editing checklist

This checklist outlines questions to ask yourself as you are writing your final draft or editing your assignment.

• Writing a critical review

Need to write a critical review? Not sure what it is? See our guide for tips on writing a critical review.

Writing an annotated bibliography

This is an assignment that allows you to get acquainted with the material available on a particular topic. This guide to writing an annotated bibliography offers some general advice on getting started.

• Reflective writing

Many uni assignments feature reflective components. Although they can vary considerably in terms of their style and scope, here are some common elements and tips to get you started with reflective writing.

Essay and assignment writing guide

• Essay writing basics
• Annotated bibliography
• ^ More support

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Reports and essays: key differences

Know what to expect

Explore the main differences between reports and essays and how to write for your assignments

You'll complete assignments with different requirements throughout your degree, so it's important to understand what you need to do for each of them. Here we explore the key differences between reports and essays. 

This page describes general features of academic reports and essays. Depending on your subject you may use all of these features, a selection of them, or you may have additional requirements. 

There is no single right way to write a report or essay, but they are different assignments. At a glance: 

• Reports depend heavily on your subject and the type of report.
• Essays usually have specific content and a planned structure with a focus on sense and flow. You subject might need different types of information in your introduction –  some disciplines include a short background and context here, while others begin their discussion, discuss their resources or briefly signpost the topic.

Differences between reports and essays

This table compares reports and essays and provides an outline of the standard structure for each. Your assignment will also depend on your discipline, the purpose of your work, and your audience – so you should check what you need to do in your course and module handbooks, instructions from your lecturer, and your subject conventions.

Table adapted from Cottrell, 2003, p. 209.

The structure of reports

Most reports use an IMRaD structure: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion.

Below are some common sections that also appear in reports. Some sections include alternative headings.

1. Table of contents

Your contents shows the number of each report section, its title, page number and any sub-sections. Sub-section numbers and details start under the section title, not the margin or the number.

2. Abstract or Executive summary

This brief summary of the report is usually the last thing you write.

3. Introduction

Your introduction describes the purpose of the report, explains why it necessary or useful, and sets out its precise aims and objectives.

4. Literature review

This describes current research and thinking about the problem or research question, and is often incorporated into the introduction.

5. Methods or Methodology

This describes and justifies the methods or processes used to collect your data.

6. Results or Findings

This section presents the results (or processed data) from the research and may consist of mainly tables, charts and or diagrams.

7. Discussion, or Analysis, or Interpretation

This section analyses the results and evaluates the research carried out.

8. Conclusion

The conclusion summarises the report and usually revisits the aims and objectives.

9. Recommendations

In this section the writer uses the results and conclusions from the report to make practical suggestions about a problem or issue. This may not be required.

10. Appendices

You can include raw data or materials that your report refers to in the appendix, if you need to. The data is often presented as charts, diagrams and tables. Each item should be numbered : for example, write Table 1 and its title; Table 2 and its title, and so on as needed.

Structure of essays

Introduction.

Your essay introduction contextualises and gives background information about the topic or questions being discussed, and sets out what the essay is going to cover.

Your essay body is divided into paragraphs. These paragraphs help make a continuous, flowing text.

The conclusion summarises the main points made in the essay. Avoid introducing new information in your conclusion.

Bibliography or Reference list

This is a list of the resources you've used in your essay. This is usually presented alphabetically by authors’ surname.

Reference for the Table of Distinctions above: 

Cottrell, S. (2003).  The Study Skills Handbook  (2nd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Download our report and essay differences revision sheet

Download this page as a PDF for your report and essay revision notes.

Key features of academic reports

Basic essay structure

Writing clear sentences

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Differences Assignment and Essay: Academic Evaluation

Assignments and essays are both common forms of academic evaluation, but they have distinct differences in terms of format, purpose, and content. Here are the key differences between assignments and essays in an academic context:

Assignments: Assignments are typically designed to assess your understanding of specific course materials, concepts, or skills. They often involve tasks such as problem-solving, data analysis, or practical application of knowledge.

Essays: Essays, on the other hand, are more focused on your ability to critically analyze and synthesize information. They require you to articulate and support a well-structured argument or viewpoint on a particular topic.

2. Structure

Assignments: Assignments can take various forms, including problem sets, lab reports, case studies, or presentations. The format is usually determined by the instructor and may not follow a standard essay structure.

Essays: Essays have a more standardized structure, typically consisting of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. They require a clear thesis statement, coherent arguments, and appropriate citations.

Assignments: Assignments often involve specific tasks related to the course content, such as solving mathematical problems, conducting experiments, or analyzing data. They may not require extensive literature review or external research.

Essays: Essays require in-depth research and a broader exploration of a topic. You are expected to incorporate relevant literature, theories, and evidence to support your arguments. Essays often demand critical thinking and original insights.

Assignments: The length of assignment writing can vary widely, depending on the specific task and instructor’s guidelines. They may be shorter or longer than essays.

Essays: Essays typically have a specific word or page limit, and they are often longer than assignments. The extended length allows for more thorough exploration of the topic.

5. Citation Style

Assignments: Depending on the field of study and the specific assignment, citation styles can vary. In some cases, instructors may allow for informal citation.

Essays: Essays usually require a specific citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) to acknowledge sources properly and maintain academic integrity.

6. Grading Criteria

Assignments: Grading for assignments may focus on correctness, application of course concepts, and meeting specific task requirements.

Essays: Essays are often evaluated based on the quality of argumentation, critical thinking, clarity of expression, and the incorporation of relevant research.

7. Examples

Assignments: Solving a set of physics problems, conducting a chemistry experiment, creating a computer program, or analyzing a case study in business.

Essays: Writing a persuasive argument on a historical event, analyzing a literary work, discussing the implications of a scientific discovery, or evaluating a social issue from a sociological perspective.

In summary, assignments and essays serve different purposes within academia. Assignments tend to be more task-oriented and focused on specific course content, while essays emphasize research, critical analysis, and the development of well-structured arguments. It’s essential to understand the specific requirements and expectations for each type of assessment to excel in your academic studies.

Comparing and Contrasting

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.”

Introduction

In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.

Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments

Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few hypothetical examples:

• Compare and contrast Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression.
• Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars.
• Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry?

Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both.

But it’s not always so easy to tell whether an assignment is asking you to include comparison/contrast. And in some cases, comparison/contrast is only part of the essay—you begin by comparing and/or contrasting two or more things and then use what you’ve learned to construct an argument or evaluation. Consider these examples, noticing the language that is used to ask for the comparison/contrast and whether the comparison/contrast is only one part of a larger assignment:

• Choose a particular idea or theme, such as romantic love, death, or nature, and consider how it is treated in two Romantic poems.
• How do the different authors we have studied so far define and describe oppression?
• Compare Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression. What does each imply about women’s collusion in their own oppression? Which is more accurate?
• In the texts we’ve studied, soldiers who served in different wars offer differing accounts of their experiences and feelings both during and after the fighting. What commonalities are there in these accounts? What factors do you think are responsible for their differences?

You may want to check out our handout on understanding assignments for additional tips.

Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects

Sometimes you may want to use comparison/contrast techniques in your own pre-writing work to get ideas that you can later use for an argument, even if comparison/contrast isn’t an official requirement for the paper you’re writing. For example, if you wanted to argue that Frye’s account of oppression is better than both de Beauvoir’s and Bartky’s, comparing and contrasting the main arguments of those three authors might help you construct your evaluation—even though the topic may not have asked for comparison/contrast and the lists of similarities and differences you generate may not appear anywhere in the final draft of your paper.

Discovering similarities and differences

Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two or more things or ideas. To make a Venn diagram, simply draw some overlapping circles, one circle for each item you’re considering. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the two items have in common. Assign each one of the areas that doesn’t overlap; in those areas, you can list the traits that make the things different. Here’s a very simple example, using two pizza places:

To make a chart, figure out what criteria you want to focus on in comparing the items. Along the left side of the page, list each of the criteria. Across the top, list the names of the items. You should then have a box per item for each criterion; you can fill the boxes in and then survey what you’ve discovered.

Here’s an example, this time using three pizza places:

As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and the focus of the class. What do you think the professor wants you to learn by doing this comparison/contrast? How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself?

Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare. These are by no means complete or definitive lists; they’re just here to give you some ideas—you can generate your own questions for these and other types of comparison. You may want to begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? If you’re talking about objects, you might also consider general properties like size, shape, color, sound, weight, taste, texture, smell, number, duration, and location.

Two historical periods or events

• When did they occur—do you know the date(s) and duration? What happened or changed during each? Why are they significant?
• What kinds of work did people do? What kinds of relationships did they have? What did they value?
• What kinds of governments were there? Who were important people involved?
• What caused events in these periods, and what consequences did they have later on?

Two ideas or theories

• What are they about?
• Did they originate at some particular time?
• Who created them? Who uses or defends them?
• What is the central focus, claim, or goal of each? What conclusions do they offer?
• How are they applied to situations/people/things/etc.?
• Which seems more plausible to you, and why? How broad is their scope?
• What kind of evidence is usually offered for them?

Two pieces of writing or art

• What are their titles? What do they describe or depict?
• What is their tone or mood? What is their form?
• Who created them? When were they created? Why do you think they were created as they were? What themes do they address?
• Do you think one is of higher quality or greater merit than the other(s)—and if so, why?
• For writing: what plot, characterization, setting, theme, tone, and type of narration are used?
• Where are they from? How old are they? What is the gender, race, class, etc. of each?
• What, if anything, are they known for? Do they have any relationship to each other?
• What are they like? What did/do they do? What do they believe? Why are they interesting?
• What stands out most about each of them?

Deciding what to focus on

By now you have probably generated a huge list of similarities and differences—congratulations! Next you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:

• What’s relevant to the assignment?
• What’s relevant to the course?
• What’s interesting and informative?
• What matters to the argument you are going to make?
• What’s basic or central (and needs to be mentioned even if obvious)?
• Overall, what’s more important—the similarities or the differences?

Suppose that you are writing a paper comparing two novels. For most literature classes, the fact that they both use Caslon type (a kind of typeface, like the fonts you may use in your writing) is not going to be relevant, nor is the fact that one of them has a few illustrations and the other has none; literature classes are more likely to focus on subjects like characterization, plot, setting, the writer’s style and intentions, language, central themes, and so forth. However, if you were writing a paper for a class on typesetting or on how illustrations are used to enhance novels, the typeface and presence or absence of illustrations might be absolutely critical to include in your final paper.

Sometimes a particular point of comparison or contrast might be relevant but not terribly revealing or interesting. For example, if you are writing a paper about Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight,” pointing out that they both have nature as a central theme is relevant (comparisons of poetry often talk about themes) but not terribly interesting; your class has probably already had many discussions about the Romantic poets’ fondness for nature. Talking about the different ways nature is depicted or the different aspects of nature that are emphasized might be more interesting and show a more sophisticated understanding of the poems.

Your thesis

The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused argument and give your reader a road map so they don’t get lost in the sea of points you are about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”

Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument (that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos, or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:

Pepper’s and Amante both offer a greater variety of ingredients than other Chapel Hill/Carrboro pizza places (and than any of the national chains), but the funky, lively atmosphere at Pepper’s makes it a better place to give visiting friends and family a taste of local culture.

You may find our handout on constructing thesis statements useful at this stage.

Organizing your paper

There are many different ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay. Here are two:

Subject-by-subject

Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are discussing, then move on and make all the points you want to make about the second subject (and after that, the third, and so on, if you’re comparing/contrasting more than two things). If the paper is short, you might be able to fit all of your points about each item into a single paragraph, but it’s more likely that you’d have several paragraphs per item. Using our pizza place comparison/contrast as an example, after the introduction, you might have a paragraph about the ingredients available at Pepper’s, a paragraph about its location, and a paragraph about its ambience. Then you’d have three similar paragraphs about Amante, followed by your conclusion.

The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will simply be a list of points: a certain number of points (in my example, three) about one subject, then a certain number of points about another. This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a paper—generally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very directly, rather than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up to the reader to reflect on how those traits are similar or different and why those similarities or differences matter. Thus, if you use the subject-by-subject form, you will probably want to have a very strong, analytical thesis and at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points together.

A subject-by-subject structure can be a logical choice if you are writing what is sometimes called a “lens” comparison, in which you use one subject or item (which isn’t really your main topic) to better understand another item (which is). For example, you might be asked to compare a poem you’ve already covered thoroughly in class with one you are reading on your own. It might make sense to give a brief summary of your main ideas about the first poem (this would be your first subject, the “lens”), and then spend most of your paper discussing how those points are similar to or different from your ideas about the second.

Point-by-point

Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish to talk about one point of comparison at a time. There are two main ways this might play out, depending on how much you have to say about each of the things you are comparing. If you have just a little, you might, in a single paragraph, discuss how a certain point of comparison/contrast relates to all the items you are discussing. For example, I might describe, in one paragraph, what the prices are like at both Pepper’s and Amante; in the next paragraph, I might compare the ingredients available; in a third, I might contrast the atmospheres of the two restaurants.

If I had a bit more to say about the items I was comparing/contrasting, I might devote a whole paragraph to how each point relates to each item. For example, I might have a whole paragraph about the clientele at Pepper’s, followed by a whole paragraph about the clientele at Amante; then I would move on and do two more paragraphs discussing my next point of comparison/contrast—like the ingredients available at each restaurant.

There are no hard and fast rules about organizing a comparison/contrast paper, of course. Just be sure that your reader can easily tell what’s going on! Be aware, too, of the placement of your different points. If you are writing a comparison/contrast in service of an argument, keep in mind that the last point you make is the one you are leaving your reader with. For example, if I am trying to argue that Amante is better than Pepper’s, I should end with a contrast that leaves Amante sounding good, rather than with a point of comparison that I have to admit makes Pepper’s look better. If you’ve decided that the differences between the items you’re comparing/contrasting are most important, you’ll want to end with the differences—and vice versa, if the similarities seem most important to you.

Our handout on organization can help you write good topic sentences and transitions and make sure that you have a good overall structure in place for your paper.

Cue words and other tips

To help your reader keep track of where you are in the comparison/contrast, you’ll want to be sure that your transitions and topic sentences are especially strong. Your thesis should already have given the reader an idea of the points you’ll be making and the organization you’ll be using, but you can help them out with some extra cues. The following words may be helpful to you in signaling your intentions:

• like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless, despite, while, on the one hand … on the other hand.

For example, you might have a topic sentence like one of these:

• Compared to Pepper’s, Amante is quiet.
• Like Amante, Pepper’s offers fresh garlic as a topping.
• Despite their different locations (downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro), Pepper’s and Amante are both fairly easy to get to.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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• Writing Tips

How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

• 5-minute read
• 9th March 2021

In a compare and contrast essay , you look at the similarities and differences between two subjects. How do you write one, though? Key steps include:

• Pick two things to compare based on the assignment you were given.
• Brainstorm the similarities and differences between your chosen subjects.
• Choose a structure for your essay and plan how you will write it.
• Write up your comparison and use evidence to support your argument.
• Revise and proofread your essay to make sure it is perfect.

For more advice on each stage, check out our guide below.

1. Pick Two Subjects to Compare and Contrast

A compare and contrast assignment will ask you, unsurprisingly, to compare and contrast two things. In some cases, the assignment question will make this clear. For instance, if the assignment says “Compare how Mozart and Beethoven use melody,” you will have a very clear sense of what to write about!

Other times, you will have a choice of what to compare. In this case, you will want to pick two things that are similar enough to make a useful comparison.

For example, comparing Mozart and Beethoven makes sense because both are classical composers. This means there will be lots of points of comparison between them. But comparing Mozart to a Ferrari SF90 Stradale would just be confusing: one is a renowned composer and musician, the other is a high-end sports car, so they have very little in common that we could usefully compare.

At the same time, the things you pick should be different enough that you can find points of contrast. Were you asked to compare the calorific content of two types of fast food, for example, it might not make sense to compare hamburgers and cheeseburgers as they are too similar. But you could compare hamburgers and pizzas since both are forms of fast food but they differ in other respects.

As such, if you need to pick the subjects of your essay, read your assignment question carefully and try to find two things that will produce a helpful comparison.

2. Brainstorm Their Similarities and Differences

The next step is to brainstorm similarities and differences between your chosen subjects. You can do this as a simple list, but you could also use a Venn diagram .

This is a set of overlapping circles, each of which represents one subject. You can then add characteristics to each circle, with anything your subjects have in common going in the overlapping bit in the middle.

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Once you’ve listed characteristics, you’ll need to pick out the similarities and differences relevant to your essay. If you were assigned a question, use this to guide your choices. Otherwise, look for features that seem surprising or interesting and plan your essay around these. The key is to pick points of comparison that help us to understand each thing better, or where the similarities and differences show us something that we might not have expected or noticed otherwise.

3. Choose a Structure for Your Essay

As with any essay, you will want to start with a short introduction where you introduce your topic and what you will argue. Beyond this, most compare and contrast essays are structured in one of two ways. Decide which approach to take before you write your essay outline :

• Divide by subject – Cover each subject in turn, looking at the key features you’ve identified in the previous step. You can then include a final section where you highlight what comparing the subjects tell us.
• Divide by individual points – Break your essay down into a series of sections. Each section will then focus on one of the key features you’ve identified, explaining the similarities and differences between your chosen subjects.

For instance, if you were comparing two novels, you could write about each novel in turn and then compare them at the end. Alternatively, you could structure your essay so that each section covers an individual idea (e.g., one on structure, one on characters, one on language), looking at how each book uses these things.

In either case, you will want to end on a conclusion where you summarize what the comparison has shown us about the two subjects.

4. Use Supporting Evidence for Your Argument

It is important that you also back up your statements with supporting evidence. In some cases, this will simply involve pointing to the features of each subject that you’re discussing (e.g., citing specific parts of the novels you’re comparing).

However, you can also do extra research to back up your arguments. Were you comparing two countries’ economic performance, for example, you could use statistics from other studies or reports to show the similarities and differences.

5. Proofread Your Compare and Contrast Essay

Once you have a first draft of your compare and contrast essay, take a break. If you have time, leave it overnight. The aim is to come back to it with fresh eyes and reread it, looking for any areas you could improve. After this, you can redraft your essay to make sure your argument is clear, concise, and convincing.

It is also a good idea to have your essay proofread before submitting it. This will ensure your work is error free and help you get the marks you deserve.

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This research discusses the genre-based materials of English Essay for University Students in Lampung province. The goal of this study is to yield a product that will be used as students’ handbook at universities level. A research question is formulated: what are eligible contents to include in the designing material English Essay?. The students at English Department of FKIP Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro spread over different semesters and enrollments are taken as the subject. This is a research and development study with a specific procedure called formative; self-evaluation, expert review, one-to-one, small group, dan field test. The result shows that many various aspects are recommended to include in the English essay book since they are believed to enhance the learners’ achievement. The result of the needs analysis shows that there are many aspects to include in the designed Essay Writing book. The next stages of this study are to process all phases as formulated in order to yield the validated prototype of the designed English essay book. Keywords: Essay Materials, Genre-based, University Students

Antonino Stracuzzi

Janet U . Mejos

Writing is one of every vital macro skill in English. It has been a part of the assessment tool utilized by the teachers in assessing the performance of the learners. However, students encountered problems in expressing their thoughts in writing, others don't have unity or coherence of their ideas, as well as the grammars and writing system even they are given enough time to answer. This study identified the level of performance in writing an essay among secondyear Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English students in terms of knowledge of conventions, clarity and coherence, and rhetorical choices. It described the profile of the students in terms of age, sex, and writing experience. A descriptive design with Four-Point Likert Scale, Scoring Guideline/Rubric, Frequency, Percentages, Mean, and ANOVA were utilized. The findings revealed that the respondents' age is 19-20 years old, the majority is female, and onehalf of them have no writing experience. The extent of the performance in writing an essay among them was "competent." There is no significant difference in the level of performance in writing an essay of the respondents when grouped according to their profile. Moreover, the study's findings suggest that the importance of going back to the basics is necessary emphasized. The basics or the foundational lesson in writing will be considered from the Parts of Speech to the making of sentences and paragraphs. Hence, it is suggested that students will practice writing and reading as often to widen their perceptions, knowledge and to improve their grammar, technicalities, and content organization. Also, teachers are encouraged to incorporate basic skills in writing an essay in the different courses and may utilize various approaches and strategies suitable to the needs of the learners. Furthermore, the administrators may provide projects and programs that could cater to students' performance in writing like conducting seminar workshops and training in writing for students.

Critical Inquiry in Language Studies

Betsy Gilliland

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Writing a Paper: Comparing & Contrasting

A compare and contrast paper discusses the similarities and differences between two or more topics. The paper should contain an introduction with a thesis statement, a body where the comparisons and contrasts are discussed, and a conclusion.

Address Both Similarities and Differences

Because this is a compare and contrast paper, both the similarities and differences should be discussed. This will require analysis on your part, as some topics will appear to be quite similar, and you will have to work to find the differing elements.

Make Sure You Have a Clear Thesis Statement

Just like any other essay, a compare and contrast essay needs a thesis statement. The thesis statement should not only tell your reader what you will do, but it should also address the purpose and importance of comparing and contrasting the material.

Use Clear Transitions

Transitions are important in compare and contrast essays, where you will be moving frequently between different topics or perspectives.

• Examples of transitions and phrases for comparisons: as well, similar to, consistent with, likewise, too
• Examples of transitions and phrases for contrasts: on the other hand, however, although, differs, conversely, rather than.

For more information, check out our transitions page.

Structure Your Paper

Consider how you will present the information. You could present all of the similarities first and then present all of the differences. Or you could go point by point and show the similarity and difference of one point, then the similarity and difference for another point, and so on.

Include Analysis

It is tempting to just provide summary for this type of paper, but analysis will show the importance of the comparisons and contrasts. For instance, if you are comparing two articles on the topic of the nursing shortage, help us understand what this will achieve. Did you find consensus between the articles that will support a certain action step for people in the field? Did you find discrepancies between the two that point to the need for further investigation?

Make Analogous Comparisons

When drawing comparisons or making contrasts, be sure you are dealing with similar aspects of each item. To use an old cliché, are you comparing apples to apples?

• Example of poor comparisons: Kubista studied the effects of a later start time on high school students, but Cook used a mixed methods approach. (This example does not compare similar items. It is not a clear contrast because the sentence does not discuss the same element of the articles. It is like comparing apples to oranges.)
• Example of analogous comparisons: Cook used a mixed methods approach, whereas Kubista used only quantitative methods. (Here, methods are clearly being compared, allowing the reader to understand the distinction.

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Dissertation vs Essay – A Complete Guide to Understanding The Difference

Published by Ellie Cross at January 26th, 2023 , Revised On October 9, 2023

A dissertation and essay are required in order to graduate from college. Essays are typically used to demonstrate that a student has learned the material covered in their class, while dissertations are used to prove that the student has done more than skim through the material.

Dissertation committees usually require at least one dissertation paper from every student who completes their degree. Essays and dissertations can also be used as an entrance exam into graduate school.

What is a Dissertation?

A dissertation is a research document that lays out your analysis of a particular topic. It often includes an introduction, a literature review, data analysis, and conclusions. Because the goal of a dissertation is to provide original scholarly work, it must be well-researched and well-organized.

What is an Essay?

Essays are a unique form of writing that requires much thought and analysis. They can be used to explore an issue or to argue a point. Essays can be on any topic, but they are generally longer than other types of writing and are more likely to use examples.

Dissertation vs Essay: What’s the Difference?

There are many differences between dissertations and essays. Essays are typically shorter and focus on a specific topic. Dissertations, on the other hand, can be much longer, covering a wide range of topics.

Additionally, dissertations often require more research than essays. Dissertations may be submitted to colleges as either original work or a reprint of an earlier article or book.

A dissertation is an exhaustive examination of a specific topic, while an essay is more like exploring a topic. Dissertations typically require more research than essays and may also be longer. The focus of a dissertation may be narrower than that of an essay, and the writing may be more rigorous. Finally, dissertations are typically submitted to a peer-review process, whereas essays are not usually subject to such evaluation.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service!

Thesis Statement  

An essay must have a clear and concise thesis statement. A dissertation may include a thesis statement, but it is not required.

The purposes of an essay can differ from those of a dissertation. Essays are typically used for academic writing, while dissertations are used for research papers. An essay may be written for personal enjoyment or academic purposes, such as earning a degree. A dissertation, on the other hand, is typically used to obtain a degree or to win a scholarship.

The essay is to communicate information and ideas, while the purpose of a dissertation is to explore a specific topic in depth. 

Writing Style

There are some important differences between these two types of writing. For example, essays typically require less research than dissertations. Additionally, essays often use more informal language, while dissertations are usually written in scholarly prose. 

The language of an essay is often conversational and less formal than the language of a dissertation. While both types of writing require strong research skills, the tone and style of an essay will be more personal, while that of a dissertation may be more objective.

There are many factors to consider when determining the length of a project. Essays are generally shorter than dissertations. The average essay length is 2,000-2,500 words, while the average dissertation is 10,000-15,000. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however. 

Some research papers are shorter than 2,000 words, and some dissertations exceed 15,000. Therefore, it is important to determine your project’s specific word count requirement to maintain appropriate writing standards .

The main difference between these lengths is that an essay is typically shorter and aims to communicate information quickly. At the same time, a dissertation is longer and seeks to explore a complex topic in depth.  

While there is no set rule on how long an essay should be, it is generally helpful to keep your paragraphs short so that readers can easily follow your argument. Additionally, use concise language and avoid flowery descriptions to keep your essay on target.

Structure  

Essays are typically divided into paragraphs that flow together, while dissertations may be more detailed and have more subsections.

Both types of papers require proper citation formatting.

In order to write effectively, it is important to research your topic thoroughly.

Essays are written in various personal, formal, and scholarly voices.

Need Help in Writing an Essay or Dissertation? 

If you have trouble writing an essay or dissertation, don’t hesitate to seek essay help . There are a number of professional writers who can help you get your work done more effectively and efficiently. 

ResearchProspect is one of the best essay and writing companies in the UK. They provide high-quality essay and dissertation writing services that meet your needs and expectations. Their experienced writers have the knowledge and skills to produce quality essays and dissertations. 

They understand that your time is valuable, which is why they offer a wide range of affordable options at reasonable prices. So, contact them today to learn more about their unique dissertation or essay writing services – we believe you won’t be disappointed!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to differentiate between an essay and dissertation.

An essay is shorter, typically around 1500-5000 words, while a dissertation is a long-form academic work, often 10,000 words or more, with original research and in-depth analysis.

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What are Tone Words? List of 300+ Useful Words

Table of contents

• 1 What is a Tone?
• 2.1 Positive Tone Words
• 2.2 Negative Tone Words
• 2.3 Neutral Tone Words
• 3 How to Find the Right Tone for Your Work
• 4 Tone Words Examples in Various Texts

In writing, tone plays a significant role in conveying emotions, setting the atmosphere, and establishing a connection with readers. The tone of every piece of writing – whether an argumentative essay, a page-turning novel, or a moving poem – can be set by the author’s choice of words.

It would be best to balance the subtleties of language and freedom of thought to get the desired effect. Today, we share a definitive collection of tone words to help you and every writer achieve their goals in this area.

What is a Tone?

Tone, in writing, is the author’s emotional response with deep respect to either the subject matter or the readers. It helps to create a particular atmosphere and direct the reader’s feelings by revealing the author’s point of view.

The tone is the author’s voice (in this case, their attitude, not their personality), and how the words on the page are emotion-tinted to make the reader feel a specific way.

Word choice, tone list sentence structure, imagery, and figurative language are all examples of literary methods that can be used to communicate tone. It comprises more than just the words themselves.

Also, it includes the author’s general tone and approach. To provoke various feelings and responses from the reader, a talented writer might switch tones within the same piece of writing.

Recognizing and employing tone is fundamental to effective communication because it influences the writer’s attitude and how the recipient interprets the message. It can potentially affect a message’s readability, retention, and recall. When writers use the right tone, they may impress readers, hold their attention, and get their point over.

As they delve further into the nuances of tone and tone words in literature, authors gain access to many expressive vocabularies.

The Ultimate List of Tone Words

Now for our ultimate list of tone words in literature. This comprehensive compilation encompasses a range of words that can help authors like you effectively communicate their intended emotions and engage readers on a profound level. And we are talking about a deep level indeed!

Positive Tone Words

Positive tone words inspire happy thoughts and feelings in the reader. They spark positive emotions and are incredibly powerful. Powerful? How so? Positive tone words can make you think well of someone and have a favorable impression of them even without meeting. Here are some other good tone words, word examples, and their meanings:

• Joyful: Filled with happiness, delight, and great pleasure.
• Optimistic: Expecting positive outcomes, hopeful, and confident about the future.
• Enthusiastic: Displaying intense excitement, passion, and eagerness.
• Serene: Calm, peaceful, and tranquil.
• Endearing: Inspiring warmth or affection
• Grateful: Feeling or expressing appreciation and thankfulness.
• Empowered: Feeling confident, capable, and in control of one’s life or circumstances.
• Radiant: Emitting brightness, happiness, and positivity.
• Inspirational: Providing motivation, encouragement, and a sense of upliftment.
• Energetic: Full of vigor, liveliness, and vitality.
• Confident: Having self-assurance, belief in one’s abilities, and a positive outlook.
• Empathetic: showing empathy; feeling the emotions of others.

Negative Tone Words

The use of negative tone words can considerably influence the perceptions produced by readers, regardless of whether they describe a location, a literary work, or a collective of individuals. Simply put, just as positive tone words spark positive emotions, negative ones spark negative ones.

Hence, when applying negative tone phrases, you must exercise caution and ensure your criticisms remain fair, constructive, and objective, and that is very important.

By attentively picking your words, you can provide a well-rounded perspective while keeping your message’s moral sense and integrity. Striking the correct balance between negative and positive judgments provides for a full understanding and encourages effective interactions.

• Miserable: Extremely unhappy, sorrowful, or distressed.
• Disgusting: Causing intense revulsion, repugnance, or strong aversion.
• Aggressive: Hostile, confrontational, or prone to initiating conflict.
• Chaotic: Marked by disorder, confusion, and lack of organization or control.
• Repulsive: Evoking strong feelings of dislike, aversion, or disgust.
• Arrogant: Displaying an exaggerated sense of superiority, self-importance, or entitlement.
• Hateful: Full of intense dislike, animosity, or prejudice towards someone or something.
• Depressing: Causing feelings of sadness, dejection, or hopelessness.
• Inferior: Of lower quality, value, or importance compared to others.

Neutral Tone Words

Neutral tone words help maintain a fair and unbiased approach, allowing readers to form their opinions without undue influence. Here are examples of neutral tone words along with their meanings:

• Ordinary: Usual, commonplace, or unremarkable.
• Standard: Conforming to established norms, expectations, or criteria.
• Common: Frequently occurring, widely experienced, or generally known.
• Typical: Representing a characteristic example or pattern.
• Balanced: Exhibiting equality, equilibrium, or impartiality.
• Objective: Unbiased, based on facts, and devoid of personal opinions or feelings.
• Rationale: Logical, reasoned, and based on sound judgment or reasoning.
• Neutral: Impartial, unbiased, or not taking sides.
• Moderate: Neither excessive nor extreme, characterized by a reasonable and measured approach.
• Unbiased: Fair, impartial, and free from prejudice or favoritism.
• Indifferent: Having no particular preference or bias, lacking interest or concern.
• Matter-of-fact: Devoid of emotional embellishment, straightforward, and focused on facts.

How to Find the Right Tone for Your Work

So far, we have established that finding the right, powerful tone words is the key to successfully delivering your message through writing. To figure out which examples of tone words used work best for your goal, ask these reflective questions:

• Why am I writing this?

It helps to know why you’re writing in the first place to set the right words of tone in your writing. What effect do you hope to have on the reader? Each goal requires specific words and unique words for the tone of the literature to be adequate.

• Who exactly am I writing for?

When deciding on a tone for your writing, it is essential to keep your readers in mind. Is it an official report, a casual blog post, or a rigorous research paper? The interest and understanding of your readers will increase if you modify your author’s tone to match their expectations and preferences.

• What do I hope the reader will take away from this experience?

The tone of your communication can be improved by first determining the key idea or message you wish to express. Whatever you’re trying to do through your writing – persuade, inform, or evoke an emotion – matching your tone to your intended result is crucial!

The tone of any formal writing must be clear, concise, confident, and courteous. Attempt refinement without straying into pretentiousness; balance formality and readability.

However, creative writing allows for greater latitude in tone. Still, focus on effectively using tone words, regardless of the genre. The tone you go for will be influenced by the genre you’re writing in, but ultimately, you want to get your point across, make the reader feel something, and pull them into the story.

Suppose writers take the time to evaluate these factors carefully. In that case, they can master using an appropriate tone to describe words that will connect with their target audience, improve readability, and have the desired effect. We hope you become one such writer.

Tone Words Examples in Various Texts

Again, tone words play a vital role in shaping the atmosphere and evoking emotions in different types of writing. The choice of tone words varies based on the formality of the writing and is further influenced by the genre, whether creative or formal.

Let’s explore some examples of tone words in various types of writing:

• Melancholic: Conveys a tone of sadness, longing, or introspection, often found in poems exploring themes of loss or nostalgia.
• Whimsical: Creates a playful and lighthearted tone, commonly used in poems that embrace imagination and fantasy.
• Serene: Establishes a calm and peaceful tone, often seen in verses that celebrate nature or meditate on inner peace.
• Euphoric: Creates a tone of extreme joy, vitality, or ecstasy, frequently found in poems expressing moments of joy or bliss.

Romantic Novel

• Passionate: Sets an intense and vibrant tone, typically associated with love, desire, and emotional depth.
• Sentimental: Evokes tender and nostalgic emotions, often found in romantic novels emphasizing deep emotional connections.
• Yearning: Conveys a tone of longing or desire, frequently employed in books that explore unrequited love or longing for a lost connection.
• Tender: Establishes a gentle and affectionate tone, often used to depict tender moments of intimacy or vulnerability.

Horror Fiction

• Eerie: Creates a tone of unease, suspense, and impending dread, frequently found in horror fiction to heighten tension.
• Sinister: Evokes a dark, malicious, or hateful tone, often depicting evil or foreboding circumstances.
• Terrifying: Establishes a tone of extreme fear, horror, or terror intended to invoke a visceral response from the reader.
• Macabre: Conveys a tone of fascination with the gruesome death or the supernatural, often seen in horror fiction that explores the darker aspects of human existence.

Informative News Article

• Objective: Establish a neutral and unbiased tone, presenting facts and information without personal opinions or emotions.
• Authoritative: Conveys a tone of expertise, credibility, and confidence, frequently employed in news articles to establish trustworthiness.
• Informative: Sets a tone of clarity, providing straightforward and concise information to educate the readers.
• Balanced: Establishes a fair and even-handed tone, presenting multiple perspectives and avoiding bias or favoritism.

What Is the Difference Between Tone and Voice?

Tone and voice are sometimes misunderstood or used interchangeably by writers. However, they couldn’t be more dissimilar. We’ve established that tone conveys the author’s or a character’s feelings about the subject.

Tone words in nonfiction writing reveal the author’s point of view. Tone words are helpful in fiction because they indicate a scene’s or conversation’s emotional state, whether the reader might expect tension, happiness, sadness, etc.

While the term “voice” describes the overall character of a piece of writing. One author’s scathing tone may be another’s instructive or friendliness.

What Is the Difference Between Tone and Mood?

The word for tone in literature is the mood or atmosphere that the author intends for the reader to experience while reading the text, while mood is the experience that the reader has while reading the story.

How the author feels about the setting or the character and how he wants the reader to feel determines the tone. On the contrary, the reader’s emotional response establishes the mood. Setting the mood at the opening of a story prepares the audience for what is to come.

How do you identify tone words?

Identifying tone words in a piece of writing is essential for understanding the intended emotions and attitudes conveyed by the author. Here are some key approaches to identifying tone words:

• Contextual Clues: Pay attention to the overall context and the writer’s purpose. Examine the subject matter, the writer’s attitude, and the intended audience. These factors can provide valuable hints about the tone.
• Word Choice: Look for words that evoke emotions or convey a particular attitude. Tone words often carry emotional weight or reveal the author’s perspective. Words with strong connotations, such as “brutal,” “uplifting,” or “serene,” can indicate the tone.
• Go with your Gut: Sometimes, the best way to explain a tone is to say that you just “get it.” The text makes you feel a specific way, whether it’s urgent or melancholy. After reading it, you feel angry and get the impression that the author is also angry. Or sometimes, there is nothing specifically humorous about the writing, yet you find yourself laughing anyhow. As a result, go with your instinct when deciding how to interpret the author’s tone in passages like these.

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Jurickson Profar Feels One Big Difference Between 2024 and 2023 Padres

Ricardo sandoval | may 26, 2024.

• San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres hold a 27-28 record as we approach the end of May. The team may not look like world beaters now; however, they are still within striking distance of the National League West and the final spot in the Wild Card. 

At this crucial juncture, the players are confident in their abilities and believe in the team's collective strength and ability. Leading this optimistic outlook is Padres utility star Jurickson Profar. Profar, who is having a stellar season, sees the potential of this team, so much so that he can already discern striking differences between the 2023 team and the current 2024 team, Profar told  San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee . 

"Baseball, you know, sometimes you make mistakes," Profar said. "... But we are here for each other, and we know someone is gonna pick us up. That's one thing that I feel like has changed on this Padres (team)."

The record may not tell the whole story, but the team is in good company thus far, ranking third in batting average, eighth in runs, 10th in WHIP, sixth in on-base percentage, and 10th in batting average against. 

Last season, the Padres came into the season with high expectations only to fall flat on their faces. They were the season's most disappointing team and finished 82-80 in 2023, falling short of the postseason berth. Profar and the rest are looking to flip the page. 

The Padres sit at a doable spot now, and Profar is partly to thank. He is currently the team's batting average leader and is having a career year.  Profar leads all qualified National League players in on-base percentage (.431) and ranks in the top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage (.517), RBI (32), and strikeout rate (13.7%). He's on another level right now, including having a 178 wRC+. 

The team is grooving, and Profar is too. If the Padres can keep this up and his words hold any truth, we could see San Diego make some noise again. 

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Jury Wraps First Day of Deliberations in Trump Hush-Money Trial

The 12 New Yorkers deliberating on the 34 felony counts against Donald Trump were dismissed for the day after asking for some testimony and the judge’s instructions to be read back to them. Mr. Trump is accused of falsifying business records in connection with a payment to a porn star.

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William K. Rashbaum ,  Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess

The judge’s instructions will be a road map for the jury weighing Trump’s fate.

It’s all up to the jury now.

After seven weeks of legal wrangling and tawdry testimony, the first criminal trial of an American president moved to a jury of Donald J. Trump’s peers on Wednesday morning, the final stage of the landmark trial.

Mr. Trump’s fate is in the hands of those 12 New Yorkers, who will weigh whether to brand him as a felon. It could take them hours, days or even weeks to reach a verdict, a decision that could reshape the nation’s legal and political landscapes. And while the country anxiously awaits their judgment, Mr. Trump will continue to campaign for the presidency.

The moment that deliberations began marked a transfer of power from the experts in the courtroom — the lawyers arguing the case and the judge presiding over it — to the everyday New Yorkers who forfeited weeks of their lives to assess a mountain of evidence about sex and scandal.

The jurors, who spent more than four hours deliberating on Wednesday without reaching a verdict, meet around a long table in an unremarkable room with unforgiving lighting and walls painted a hue best described as municipal. Located off a small hallway behind the courtroom, it is steps from the jury box and has a door at each end, outside of which a court officer stands guard.

The judge, Juan M. Merchan, had invited the jurors to send him a note if they were confused about the law, or wanted to revisit testimony from the trial. And they took him up on the offer, buzzing the court officer to relay a message requesting four excerpts from the testimony.

On Thursday, a court reporter will read that testimony to the jury, most of which comes from David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, who prosecutors say was part of a conspiracy to suppress unflattering stories on Mr. Trump’s behalf during the 2016 election. Another portion of testimony relates to Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer who was the prosecution’s star witness.

Before the jurors began deliberating Wednesday, Justice Merchan delivered an array of legal instructions to guide their decision-making. He impressed on them the gravity of their task but also said that the defendant — even a former president — is their peer.

“As a juror, you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community,” Justice Merchan said, referring to the defendant.

Read the Jury Instructions

The case exposed what prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office described as a fraud on the American people. It is one of four criminal cases against Mr. Trump, but most likely the only one that will go to trial before Election Day.

The Manhattan charges stem from a hush-money deal that Mr. Trump’s fixer, Michael D. Cohen, struck with a porn star in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors charged Mr. Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records, saying he disguised his reimbursement of Mr. Cohen as ordinary legal expenses.

The jurors, seven men and five women, hail from different neighborhoods of the nation’s largest city and hold a wide variety of jobs, representing a cross-section of Manhattan. Many have advanced degrees, and the panel may be aided by the two members who are lawyers, though neither appears to have criminal experience, and one said during jury selection that he knew “virtually nothing about criminal law.”

On Wednesday morning, Justice Merchan laid out the legal instructions to guide their discussions. He described to them the legal meaning of the word “intent” and the concept of the presumption of innocence. He also reminded the jurors that they had pledged to set aside any biases against the former president before they were sworn in, and that Mr. Trump’s decision not to testify cannot be held against him.

Then, Justice Merchan explained each of the 34 charges of falsifying business records that Mr. Trump faces, one for each document the prosecution says that Mr. Trump falsified. It was the most important guidance that the judge offered during the trial. And it was no simple task.

In New York, falsifying records is a misdemeanor, unless the documents were faked to hide another crime. The other crime, prosecutors say, was Mr. Trump’s violation of state election law that prohibited conspiring to aid a political campaign using “unlawful means” — a crime they say he committed during his 2016 campaign for president.

Those means, prosecutors argue, could include any of a menu of other crimes. And so each individual false-records charge that Mr. Trump faces contains within it multiple possible crimes that jurors must strive to understand.

Justice Merchan explained which document each count pertained to, referring to each of the 34 records — 11 invoices from Mr. Cohen, 12 entries in the Trump Organization’s general ledger and 11 checks, nine of them signed by Mr. Trump.

Marc F. Scholl, who served nearly 40 years in the district attorney’s office, noted that jury instructions are often difficult to follow, particularly given that, in New York, jurors are barred from keeping a copy of the guidance as they deliberate. And he said that defendants are often charged with several different crimes, requiring even more elaborate instructions.

Still, Mr. Scholl said, one point of complexity stood out in the Trump case: “Usually you don’t have this layering of these other crimes.”

Justice Merchan encouraged jurors, if they find themselves confused by legal arcana, to send him a note seeking clarification, and in addition to their request for testimony, they asked the judge to repeat his instructions. “He recognizes it’s a lot to take in,” Mr. Scholl said.

If convicted, Mr. Trump would face a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison — although he would be certain to appeal, a process that could take years.

Compared with the instructions, the trial testimony was relatively straightforward. Prosecutors called 20 witnesses as they sought to convince jurors that Mr. Trump had hatched the election conspiracy with his former personal lawyer and fixer, Mr. Cohen, and the publisher of a supermarket tabloid, The National Enquirer, David Pecker.

The first witness, Mr. Pecker, testified that in a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower, he had agreed to suppress unflattering stories on behalf of Mr. Trump’s candidacy. He did so twice, he said. He paid a former Trump Organization doorman and a former Playboy model to keep silent after learning that both of them had damaging stories to sell about the candidate.

But Mr. Pecker did not pay for the third — and potentially the most damaging — story that came to his attention. That story belonged to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who said that she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump 10 years earlier, a story that she repeated from the witness stand and that Mr. Trump has always denied.

The final prosecution witness, Mr. Cohen, testified that Mr. Trump had ordered him to pay Ms. Daniels to keep silent. Mr. Cohen obeyed, sending $130,000 to Ms. Daniels in the days before the election.

After he won, Mr. Cohen said, Mr. Trump approved the plan to falsify the reimbursement records.

Defense lawyers repeatedly sought to paint Mr. Cohen as an inveterate liar out for revenge against the boss who spurned him.

On Wednesday, Justice Merchan told the jury that the law considers Mr. Cohen an accomplice “because there is evidence that he participated in a crime, based upon conduct involved in the allegations here against the defendant.”

But he also told the jurors that “even if you find the testimony of Michael Cohen to be believable, you may not convict the defendant solely upon that testimony, unless you also find that it was corroborated by other evidence.”

Justice Merchan then proceeded through each of the 34 charges count by count to explain what prosecutors had needed to prove. The knotty legal instructions were the product of intense argument between the prosecution and the defense, culminating in a hearing last week in which each side sought to persuade the judge to make minor edits that they hoped would have a major impact.

The result was a compromise, with both sides securing some victories.

In one important decision, the judge rejected a defense request that jurors be unanimous on which “unlawful means” Mr. Trump had used to aid his election win. That request would have made reaching a verdict far more difficult.

Prosecutors argued that would be special treatment and that the former president should be treated like any other defendant. Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that while the law did not require such unanimity, Justice Merchan could nonetheless ask for it.

“What you’re asking me to do is change the law, and I’m not going to do that,” Justice Merchan told Mr. Trump’s lawyers.

Olivia Bensimon ,  Nate Schweber ,  Anusha Bayya and Susanne Craig

The scene outside the courthouse mellows a little as deliberations start. Sort of.

Fresh off a red-eye flight from California, Cynthia Frybarger dropped off her luggage at the Margaritaville hotel in Midtown early Wednesday and boarded a downtown Q train, bound for the hottest pop-up spot in Manhattan.

Her destination: Collect Pond Park, the square plot of cement and trees across Centre Street from the front doors of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where a few hours later a group of 12 New Yorkers began deliberating whether to convict Donald J. Trump in the first criminal trial of an American president.

“I didn’t come strictly for this, but it fit in perfectly,” Ms. Frybarger, 73, said, holding up the “Lock Him Up!!!” poster she had made back home in San Jose.

As Mr. Trump’s trial has unfurled through its various stages, the park has played host to a daily tableau of New York writ small — gawkers and tourists, politicians and celebrities, demonstrators and protesters, all of whom have stood for hours in the baking sun and driving rain, to see and be seen.

Ms. Frybarger arrived around 6 a.m., she said, early enough to witness the spectacle — if a somewhat muted version — that has accompanied the proceedings.

The throng of protesters and demonstrators and hecklers that typically scream, whistle and clang cowbells to disrupt on-air broadcasts was conspicuously quieter. A group of women in Trump-themed clothing gathered in a serene circle and prayed, sang and wept. Another woman blew a shofar. Reporters threatened to outnumber demonstrators. Influencers held iPhones aloft, filming every little interaction to fulfill their content needs in the streaming era.

Scott LoBaido, a Staten Island-based artist, and his partner in spectacle, Dion Cini, unveiled a painting that depicted Mr. Trump as Muhammad Ali standing triumphant, recreating the famous photo of Mr. Ali’s knockout of Sonny Liston. Mr. LoBaido, who painted what he called his “masterpiece,” reimagined the prostrate Liston as Robert De Niro. Mr. LoBaido said he was inspired by what he described as Mr. De Niro’s “insanity” on Tuesday, when the actor accused Mr. Trump of threatening democracy .

A few dissenting anti-Trump voices made dramatic appearances. Vivica Jimenez, 50, a fashion designer, photobombed Trump supporters with a handwritten sign that said “CHARLATANS” before being pelted with insults.

Ms. Jimenez said she had followed the trial since the start and felt she had to finally make a statement. “I’m not afraid to be here,” she added.

As the hours passed on Wednesday, the crowd started thinning, as if recognizing, perhaps, the importance of conserving energy with the timing of a verdict unclear. But the animosity that has surrounded the trial over these last seven weeks was still present: Skirmishes broke out between Trump supporters and counterprotesters, with one turning physical.

As two anti-Trump demonstrators, Kathleen Zea and Julie DeLaurier, ventured into a warren of Trump supporters, a group of shouting men and women wearing “Make America Great Again” garb surrounded them, attempting to block them from view with Trump flags. Ms. Zea said a woman had grabbed her anti-Trump sign and jabbed her with a pro-Trump flag, causing bruising and a laceration.

“I’ve never had that happen,” said Ms. Zea, an activist who lives in Astoria, Queens. “We yell at each other, but I never had a hand put on me — I was being attacked.”

The police intervened and broke up the fracas. They escorted Ms. Zea and Ms. DeLaurier out of the park as a battery of pro-Trump demonstrators followed, shouting insults and wishing them deportation and death. A similar scene unspooled across the afternoon with at least three other anti-Trump demonstrators.

Ms. Frybarger, too, got into a shouting match with pro-Trump demonstrators on the other side of the park, but her experience ended peacefully — or at least not in violence. She wandered over to talk with some of them, and a crowd formed around her, with a police officer ordering the demonstrators not to touch her sign. After some tense exchanges over Mr. Trump’s and President Biden’s respective policies in office, Ms. Frybarger and the pro-Trump protesters seemed to agree on some points, and the crowd calmed.

“That’s how you do it,” the officer said. “Dialogue.”

Ms. Frybarger had tickets to see a Broadway matinee of “Suffs,” a musical about the fight for women’s right to vote. Before departing, she said she couldn’t return on Thursday, but would be back on Friday if the jury is still deliberating. She left fulfilled.

“It became a conversation, which was nice,” she said. “And that’s what we need. To listen to each other.”

Shawn McCreesh contributed reporting.

Read the Jury Instructions in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial

The judge in former President Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, Juan M. Merchan, issued instructions to jurors on Wednesday that serve as a guide to applying the law in deliberations.

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Jonah Bromwich

Court has adjourned for the day. The judge did not determine exactly which portions of the transcript related to David Pecker’s testimony would be read aloud. We’ll find out tomorrow morning. Proceedings will begin at 9:30.

The one portion that is disputed involves David Pecker's testimony about that meeting. I believe prosecutors want the testimony that is read back to include Pecker’s remarks that he relayed the discussion in the meeting to Dylan Howard, who was then The National Enquirer's editor.

If I’m understanding correctly, prosecutors believe that the readback should also include the portion of Pecker’s testimony in which he directed Howard to notify other employees of The National Enquirer that they should bring any stories about Trump to him. Pecker also testified that he told Howard that the Enquirer employees would have to speak to Michael Cohen about the arrangement.

The judge notes that there was also key testimony directly after that: in which Pecker told Howard to keep the arrangement secret. This could help prosecutors show that there was intent to defraud on the part of the conspirators, who they say include Trump.

The judge seemed to make a decision here, but it was difficult to follow. We’ll find out for sure soon, either when we receive a transcript tonight or when the jurors are read this testimony back tomorrow.

Maggie Haberman

There’s also no disagreement about the fourth request from the jurors, which involves testimony from Michael Cohen about an August 2015 meeting he had at Trump Tower with David Pecker and with Trump.

There is no disagreement on the second request, which pertains to David Pecker’s testimony about financial arrangements related to the Karen McDougal hush-money deal.

There is no disagreement on the jurors’ first request, for testimony from David Pecker pertaining to a call he had with Trump in June 2016.

The judge is back on the bench. He asks the lawyers, “Where do we stand?” Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor, says that while they have “made a lot of progress,” they will need the judge to help them sort out which portions of the transcript should be read back to the jury.

You’ll remember that the jurors asked for four different portions — three of them testimony from David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, and one from Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer.

Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, asked Justice Merchan if Trump could wait across the hall while the two sides figured out the relevant portions of the testimony that the jurors want to hear. Then Trump and Blanche smiled and joked around at the defense table for a few minutes. Trump eventually got up and left his lawyers behind.

Trump’s legal adviser, Boris Ephsteyn, who has been described as helping manage the relationship between Trump and Blanche, whom he helped bring into Trump's fold, is standing at the gate leading to the well of the court now, furiously whispering with Blanche.

We have no idea, ultimately, what to make of the jurors’ requests to hear some of the testimony and some or all of the judge’s instructions on the law. But we do know one thing. This is very normal.

Jurors frequently ask to hear testimony read back, and especially given how complex the applicable law is in this case — and perhaps, given the fact that there are two lawyers on the jury — it makes a lot of sense that they want to hear the jury instructions too.

The judge gives the jurors the guidance he typically gives them before excusing them for the day — saying they should not talk to others about the case or read about it, along with other orders. Then he dismisses them. We will not get a verdict today.

The judge says the readback of the relevant testimony, which has not yet been located in full, will take about a half hour. He also asks them whether they want to hear all of the jury instructions again, or part of them. He says that they can discuss that in private.

The jurors have returned, and the judge is reading the two notes they sent aloud to them as they sit in the jury box. Pretty remarkable to look at these 12 jurors and think that, in private, they have been deliberating whether Trump is guilty or not guilty.

Jesse McKinley

Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s oldest son, is sitting in the courtroom, striking a casual pose: his tie off, a couple buttons of his shirt undone, his arm draped over the bench seat beside him.

The judge returns to the bench. He addresses the lawyers, saying that the jurors sent a second note at 3:51 p.m. The jurors have also asked to hear the judge’s instructions again.

Justice Merchan says he will bring the jurors back into the courtroom, tell them lawyers are working on identifying the transcripts they feel are relevant to the jurors’ first requests and clarify whether they want to hear all of the jury instructions again — which would take an hour — or specific portions.

Typically, when jurors request to hear testimony, they return to the courtroom and the relevant portions of the transcript are read aloud by the court reporters. Sometimes court reporters have a little fun with this, doing impressions and imitating accents. I’d be surprised to see that here. The court reporter is already on the witness stand, waiting for the jury.

When Justice Merchan addressed the note with the prosecutors and defense lawyers, he asked if it was OK to seat the alternates where they had been in the jury box, as opposed to in the front row, since this courtroom is packed. No one objected.

The jurors asked to hear two other portions of David Pecker’s testimony. The first is about the phone call he testified he had with Trump during an investor meeting, in June 2016, during which Trump acknowledged that he knew Karen McDougal.

The second appears to pertain to Pecker’s decision not to collect reimbursement from Trump for his hush-money deal with McDougal. The wording from the jurors is slightly unclear, so this is the only request that we’re not entirely sure about at the moment.

At first glance, the jurors’ focus on David Pecker, a witness who offered damning testimony against Trump, seems like a bad sign for the defense. On the other hand, they seem to want to check the testimony of Michael Cohen, who the defense sought to tar as a liar, against that of Pecker.

The judge is back on the bench. He explains that the jurors sent a note, signed by the foreperson, at 2:56 p.m. The jurors have four requests.

Three of the requests relate to testimony from David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer and the first witness to testify for the prosecution, who prosecutors say was part of a conspiracy to suppress negative news on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 election. One of them relates to testimony from Michael Cohen, the last witness to testify for the prosecution, who is also alleged to be a part of that conspiracy.

The jurors want to hear both men’s testimony about the Trump Tower meeting where Pecker testified that the two men reached that agreement with Trump himself. Perhaps they are seeking to compare their stories.

Trump just walked back in, alerted as he sat in his holding room, along with his entourage.

Michael Gold

Asked in the hallway outside the courtroom how he was feeling as the jury deliberated, Trump simply raised a fist and shook it, a gesture he has made throughout the trial as he has tried to project strength to the news media while avoiding questions.

The prosecutors have returned to the courtroom, shortly after a phone in here rang. Typically, that type of phone call in the midst of deliberations means that the jurors have sent a note. The paralegals sitting in the front row look excited, as does one of the prosecutors.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is not here.

Jurors have been deliberating for more than three hours and have sent no notes, indicating that the deliberations have not yet raised any questions that they have not been able to answer among themselves. They will deliberate until at least 4:30 today, but they may choose to go later. We’ll see.

William K. Rashbaum

The jury will weigh a monumental decision in a utilitarian space.

The rectangular room is unremarkable.

Its lighting is unforgiving, and its furnishings are institutional. But it has one crucial quality: It is large enough to accommodate 12 people around a long table.

It is here that on Wednesday jurors in the first criminal trial of an American president are weighing the fate of Donald J. Trump. And it is here that they will eventually vote on whether to convict him on all, some or none of the 34 felony charges against him that stem from a hush-money scheme .

The walls are painted a hue best described as municipal. A long conference table is surrounded by rolling office chairs, their worn seats and backs are covered with dark-colored fabric, according to people who have seen the room.

Located off a small hallway behind the courtroom, it is steps from the jury box and has a door at each end; there are two bathrooms.

Justice Juan M. Merchan’s jury room is unexceptional in the towering Art Deco granite- and limestone-faced Criminal Courts Building, which was completed in 1941 and houses dozens of courtrooms that line its long, wide marble-paneled hallways. Many have whiteboards and flat-screen monitors on which jurors can view documents and other trial exhibits.

A court officer will stand watch outside the room as the jurors deliberate . They can summon the officer with a buzzer when they want to send a note to the judge conveying questions or requests for testimony to be reread. (Once the officer enters, the jurors’ deliberations must cease.) Copies of notes are provided to the defense and the prosecution, and the judge reads them aloud in open court.

There is no way to determine how long the jurors, whose names have not been made public, will take to either reach a verdict or conclude that they are hopelessly deadlocked. But as they deliberate in their hideaway, the former president and his lawyers, as well as the prosecutors, must remain nearby in the courthouse, with little to do but wait.

Susanne Craig

As the jury deliberates, the scene outside the courthouse is more sedate than it was yesterday. The street right out front is lined with television reporters and the crews that support them. There are easily several hundred people.

The trial has drawn interest from the around the world. The park that faces the courthouse has been a magnet for protesters of various stripes. This crew typically makes a lot of noise — they scream and use cowbells to disrupt on-air broadcasts. There is none of that today.

Kate Christobek

As in all trials, there is no telling how long jury deliberations will take. It’s common to wait days, or even weeks, for a verdict. We will be in the courthouse while we wait and will continue to provide updates as we have them.

Jury deliberations have started. Here’s how they work.

Follow our live coverage of Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan.

For more than five weeks, the 12 unidentified jurors in Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial have listened to opening statements, witness testimony, closing arguments and the judge’s final instructions .

Now their deliberations have begun. The jurors retreated behind closed doors of an unremarkable rectangular room on Wednesday and started to debate whether the first president to be criminally prosecuted has committed felony crimes.

The first juror selected is serving as the foreperson and will likely lead the jury’s discussions during deliberations. His or her opinion and vote do not carry more importance than those of the others.

While the jury deliberates, it’s common to wait days, or even weeks, for a verdict. Prosecutors charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush-money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election.

The jurors’ verdict on each count — guilty or not guilty — must be unanimous.

During their deliberations, the jury can send back notes, signed by the foreperson, to ask questions to the court or have a witness’s testimony read back to them. Jurors also have access to a laptop containing trial exhibits that they can refer to during their deliberations.

If one of the 12 jurors is unable to continue deliberating for any reason, an alternate would step in. They have watched the case for weeks and remain on site so they can tag in if necessary.

Mr. Trump also must remain inside the courthouse while the jury is deliberating.

If the jury finds that he is guilty of even one of the counts, the judge will sentence Mr. Trump at a later date. But if they find that he is not guilty of all of the charges, Mr. Trump will be acquitted.

If the jurors cannot reach a verdict, they will inform the judge, who will urge them to continue their deliberations. If they remain deadlocked, the judge could declare a mistrial, and the prosecutors would then need to decide whether to bring the case again.