Todd Nesnick
The essay is a work written not only by students but also by schoolchildren. It is small but independent, has its specifics, and differs from others. We have already dealt with the differences between an essay, a report, a term paper, and a presentation. And in this article, let’s see the difference between an essay and a diploma.
It is challenging to confuse an essay with a diploma. It is fundamentally different work. There are many differences between them, and let’s start with the definitions: an essay is a small written work on a given topic. Students write essays often and on different subjects. A diploma is a final qualification work that summarizes the results of all studies at the university. Students write a diploma once in their final year of study and only in a major subject.
When students prepare essays, they learn to work with literary sources, highlight the main point, express their thoughts in writing and argue the main theses. And in the diploma, all these skills should be demonstrated to the fullest extent.
We will consider the differences difference between an essay and a diploma according to the main parameters:
The purpose of the work:
The essay and diploma are written with a specific purpose. In the first case, explain essay writers, a student is expected to gather material in a particular problem or topic, systematize it and convey the main facts in work. A diploma is real scientific research. It is not enough to show that the student works with information. Here it is necessary to study the raised problem from different sides, give experimental data, formulate your own hypothesis and argue the conclusions. The diploma aims to prove that the student has gained confident knowledge in the subject area and can apply it in practice.
Limitations on the volume and structure of the work:
The diploma will be visually several times larger than the abstract. State and university standards impose the following requirements on these types of work: the volume of the essay – from 15 to 25 pages; the volume of the thesis – from 65 to 75 pages.
The structure of all research papers is approximately the same and consists of the following parts: title page; contents; introduction; the main part; conclusion; list of references; appendices. These components are present in the abstract and in the diploma. But there are still differences. The central part of the essay is not usually divided into different sections. But in a diploma, they will be at least two: the theoretical and practical parts. And in diplomas of some disciplines, you can also meet such parts of the main section: the economic part, the analytical part; the technological part; the design part.
And the applications in the essay rarely meet. But in the diploma without them, it is challenging to do.
The number of sources:
To write even 65 pages of a diploma, you need to study many literature and information sources. Official requirements dictate such figures: the number of sources in the abstract – from 15 to 25 titles, the number of sources in the thesis – from 50 to 100 titles. To avoid losing a single source in the thesis, it is better to immediately write a reference list. Create a separate file and enter all Internet references, names of textbooks, scientific articles, and monographs, which you refer to in the thesis.
Desired percentage of uniqueness:
Another important factor that distinguishes the essay from the diploma is the individual rate of the finished work. For the abstract and diploma project these figures look like this: the uniqueness of the abstract – 40-50%; the essence of the diploma – 75-90%. Universities often impose their own requirements for identity. So it is worth studying the methodological recommendations or seeking advice from your supervisor. You can check the uniqueness of the work yourself. To do this, use different anti-plagiarism programs available on the Internet.
Requirements for the design:
Both the thesis and dissertation need to be made out according to certain standards. The main requirements are as follows: writing font – Times New Roman, font size – 14 kegel, line spacing – single, the size of the margins: right – 1 cm, left – 3 cm, top and bottom – 2 cm. However, if the student makes an inaccuracy in the essay or does not quite competently execute the title page, he is unlikely to reduce the score. But the thesis will assess the content of the work and the design. That is why it is worth paying special attention to it.
Different time to work:
How long does it take to prepare and write these types of papers? It is not hard to write an essay. Some people write it overnight. It is quite realistic, but there may be questions about the quality of such work. But to write a thesis overnight just does not work. Especially if it requires calculations, practical research, and deep analytical work, it is not without reason that a whole six months is set aside so that students can prepare a competent diploma, draw it up and check for errors. For the thesis to be accurately accepted, it is worth checking whether the conclusions of the final part are based on the main theses of the introduction, whether the data used are correct and whether there are no clerical errors in the work.
Defense of the work:
What else exactly distinguishes the essay from the diploma? The format in which students must defend these types of work. Everything is simple with the abstract: write the text, formatted, handed over to the teacher, and wait for the final mark. At most, organize a class in which everyone will have to make a short report in front of their classmates. With the diploma all much more complicated. You have to write it and defend it in front of the examination committee, which may include representatives from the department, the dean’s office, and even the ministry. Therefore, you need to prepare for the defense of the diploma very seriously: to create a presentation, write a defensive speech and work on the technique of the speech. This will help not to get confused and even enjoy the event.