The key difference between article writing and report writing is that article writing involves writer’s personal opinions, whereas report writing mainly involves factual information and evidence.
Both article and report writing need good writing skills. Articles are written to make people aware of certain information and also to change their perspectives. Reports, on the other hand, are detailed and based on factual information. They are written in chapters and always include citations. Unlike articles, reports do not contain personal opinions.
CONTENT
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Article Writing
3. What is Report Writing
4. Article Writing vs Report Writing in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Article Writing vs Report Writing
What is Article Writing?
An article is a piece of writing that is published in newspapers, magazines, and websites. Articles are written to make the public aware of various kinds of topics. Therefore, it requires a lot of research, good vocabulary and writing skills to make sure that the audience receives the most updated, true information. An article writer can make people well-informed as well as change their perspective on various aspects through his writing. Articles that are written for newspapers, magazines and web articles take different formats and address a different audience, but generally, their objectives are the same.
Objectives of Article Writing
- To provide information on various topics
- To narrate events and stories
- To describe current events, people, locations and different types of things
- To provide suggestions
- To give advice
- To influence readers
Types of Article Writing
- Persuasive– convinces the audience about something with factual information
- Expository– subject-oriented and commonly used, especially in formal and academic writing. Gives information without including the personal opinions of the writer
- Descriptive– descriptive and provides in-depth information
- Narrative– used in narrating stories
Format of Article Writing
- Title
- Writer’s name
- Body of the article with factual information. (two to three paragraphs)
- Conclusion
Important Aspects in Article Writing
- Target audience
- Purpose
- Collecting information
- Organizing information
What is Report Writing?
Report writing is presenting factual information based on research. Reports deliver facts, analyze information, give suggestions and recommendations about various projects or situations on different topics that can be academic, scientific, technical or business-oriented. Reports should be accurate, well-structured, clear, and suitable for selected audiences. Target audience, purpose, necessity, and information are the most important aspects of reports.
Types of Reports
- Formal reports – well-structured and emphasise objectivity and organization. Free from personal pronouns
- Informal reports – short messages are given using casual language
- Short reports and long reports- based on the length of the report
- Informational reports – carry objective information from one area of the organization to the other – annual or financial reports.
- Analytical reports – try to solve problems. Scientific research
- Proposal reports- a kind of problem-solving reports
- Vertical report s-upward or downward hierarchy reports
- Lateral reports – reports between various units of the same organization
- Internal reports- within the organization
- External reports – outside the organization
- Periodic reports – on regularly scheduled dates
- Functional reports – accounting, financial, or marketing reports
Format of Reports
- Title
- Table of content
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
- References
What is the Difference Between Article Writing and Report Writing?
The key difference between article writing and report writing is that article writing involves the writer’s personal opinions whereas report writing mainly involves factual information and evidence. In addition, articles tend to be shorter than reports; therefore, report writing involves writing more.
The below infographic lists the differences between article writing and report writing in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Article Writing vs Report Writing
Article writing is a piece of writing written for a substantial audience with the help of the press. They are published in newspapers, websites, and magazines. They are short and provide information, narrate and describe stories and events, give advice, suggestions and influence readers. Report writing involves presenting factual information based on research. Reports are long, accurate and detailed with graphs, pictures, tables, charts and figures. Citations are a must when writing reports, unlike in articles. Thus, this is the summary of the difference between article writing and report writing.
Reference:
1. “Steps of Article Writing .” TOPPR-Guides.
2. “Report.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Sept. 2021.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Wikinews easy article writing – Example6” By Wikinews – my screenshot (CC BY 2.5) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Report” By Freepik – (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia