Differences between journals & essays

The following table outlines the major differences between essays and journals.

	Essay	Journal
Purpose	An argued response to a question	Records the development of idea
Topic	Response to a question; based on readings	Reflection on experiences or content
Audience	Lecturer	Self and lecturer
Format	Paragraphs (introduction, body and conclusion)	No formal requirements. Variety of formats acceptable
Style	Formal and impersonal: eg avoid personal pronouns such as I and we	Informal and / or informal style Personal and subjective comments are appropriate, including use of personal pronouns
Assessment	Based on coherence of argument and quality of information / evidence	Based on development of insights into / on a topic

We value your comments and feedback. Please fill in our feedback survey on this resource. Feedback survey