[General] Academic writing

[ana_ribeiro]

Hi,
I would like to know the best word to define the work carried out by students during the academic year which is also assessed, but isn’t a final examination, a thesis, a dissertation or a internship report. Generally it consists of doing research on a given topic and writing a paper, as a result.
I've come up with some ideas, but I would like to know some English native speakers opinions. Here they are:
- Academic papers,
- Essays,
- Term papers,
- Academic assignments,
- Coursework.

I accept new suggestions.

Thanks,
Ana

[BobK]

Originally Posted by ana_ribeiro

Hi,
I would like to know the best word to define the work carried out by students during the academic year which is also assessed, but isn’t a final examination, a thesis, a dissertation or a internship report. Generally it consists of doing research on a given topic and writing a paper, as a result.
I've come up with some ideas, but I would like to know some English native speakers opinions. Here they are:
- Academic papers,
- Essays,
- Term papers,
- Academic assignments,
- Coursework.

I accept new suggestions.

Thanks,
Ana

Bem-vinda!

All your suggestions seem fine to me. 'Academic papers' are usually written by career academics or doctoral students, rather than just any student. The word 'coursework' is commonly used in the UK to refer to assessable work done by 16-18 year-olds; so I think at University they talk about 'term papers', 'essays' or 'assignments'; 'coursework' is understandable, but regarded as a rather juvenile practice! A longer essay (but not a thesis) is called a 'dissertation'.

The Open University (an on-line/distance learning organization) has, apart from exams, two kinds of assignment: TMAs (tutor-marked) and CMAs (computer-marked).

b