The essay is essentially similar to the essay known to everyone from school. Of course, higher requirements are imposed on this type of work at the university and the subject matter is associated with scientific problems in a particular field.
In the process of work, the author of the essay can master the art of correctly formulating thoughts and structuring information received from various sources. Also, in the process of writing, the student will learn to operate with basic concepts in a certain area, illustrate the approaches of various scientists and argue his point of view.
Today the essay is used not only in the educational process, but it is often an additional stage of passing an interview in a private company when applying for a job.
What is the report?
The report is a presentation of the material on the chosen topic, which is logically structured and based on a deep study of the issue and its individual aspects. The purpose of the report is to form skills for independent research work, develop the ability to think critically.
In the process of preparing the report, the student must:
- analyze information obtained from different sources;
- substantiate your point of view (this is how the report differs from the abstract);
- prepare a public speech that will be convincing to the audience, and in which he will be able to demonstrate the ability to convey the material to the audience.
To prepare a report, you need to use a large number of sources, since the author needs to be based on a broad scientific fact and find arguments to justify the author's position. For the abstract, 3-5 sources of information are enough.
It is important not just to state the theoretical part, which is the basis of the study, but also to identify debatable approaches to the problem so that the analysis is comprehensive. Only in this case can we talk about the practical value of the research. The report is an independent author's research, so there are no special requirements for its structure. The speaker has the right to write it in any form. At the same time, however, the generally accepted structure of scientific work should be preserved and the introduction, the main part and conclusions should be included in it.
What are the features of the abstract?
Abstract is a type of work that university teachers love very much. It is asked both to excellent students who will definitely be able to unearth interesting information and tell about it at the seminar, and to those who are lagging behind in their studies - so you can “force” the student to study the material anyway, because the task will be personalized in this case, and he will feel responsible for this layer of work. Surely each of us understands what we are talking about.
If we are not sure whether we will be called or not, we don't really want to prepare the material, but if we were given an individual task, there is no escape, and the whole group will hope that it will “rest” for 20 minutes listening to the student. Letting down classmates and angering the teacher is not the best idea. And it's not that difficult. It usually takes only a couple of days to prepare an abstract, and even less for those who have already learned the secrets of its preparation.
Signing off for now…
