What's a paper and what's an essay?

Question

Can you tell me?

Answer 1

They're the same thing. Usually the term "paper" is used more in high school and college, because it has more of a "collegiate" feeling. Also, "papers" tend to be somewhat lengthy, and "essays" are typically assigned to elementary/middle school students. Therefore, they are usually short.

Answer 2

Yes, a paper would involve gathering information from other sources and putting it together in a concise way; and you might make a hypothesis or some other statement.

An essay is an expression of your viewpoint on a given subject and would not necessarily require research.

Answer 3

as an apple is a fruit, an essay is a paper

Answer 4

paper
1. a substance made from wood pulp, rags, straw, or other fibrous material, usually in thin sheets, used to bear writing or printing, for wrapping things, etc.
2. a piece, sheet, or leaf of this.
3. something resembling this substance, as papyrus.
4. a written or printed document or the like.
5. stationery; writing paper.
6. a newspaper or journal.
7. an essay, article, or dissertation on a particular topic: a paper on early Mayan artifacts.
8. Often, papers. a document establishing or verifying identity, status, or the like: citizenship papers.
9. negotiable notes, bills, etc., as commercial paper or paper money: Only silver, please, no paper.
10. a promissory note.
14. a sheet or card of paper with pins or needles stuck through it in rows.
15. a set of questions for an examination, an individual set of written answers to them, or any written piece of schoolwork.
16. Slang. a free pass to an entertainment.
–verb (used with object) 17. to cover with wallpaper or apply wallpaper to: They papered the bedroom last summer.
18. to line or cover with paper.
19. to distribute handbills, posters, etc., throughout: to paper a neighborhood with campaign literature.
20. to fold, enclose, or wrap in paper.
21. to supply with paper.
22. Informal. to deluge with documents, esp. those requiring one to comply with certain technical procedures, as a means of legal harassment: He papered the plaintiff to force a settlement.
23. Slang. to fill (a theater or the like) with spectators by giving away free tickets or passes.
24. Archaic. a. to write or set down on paper.
b. to describe in writing.

–verb (used without object) 25. to apply wallpaper to walls.
–adjective 26. made of paper or paperlike material: a paper bag.
27. paperlike; thin, flimsy, or frail.
28. of, pertaining to, or noting routine clerical duties.
29. pertaining to or carried on by means of letters, articles, books, etc.: a paper war.
30. written or printed on paper.
31. existing in theory or principle only and not in reality: paper profits.
32. indicating the first event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.
33. Slang. including many patrons admitted on free passes, as an audience for a theatrical performance: It's a paper house tonight.
essay
1. a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.
2. anything resembling such a composition: a picture essay.
3. an effort to perform or accomplish something; attempt.
4. Philately. a design for a proposed stamp differing in any way from the design of the stamp as issued.
5. Obsolete. a tentative effort; trial; assay.
–verb (used with object) 6. to try; attempt.
7. to put to the test; make trial of.