Academic text types at university

Overview, shared features and differences in style

At university you write much more than a bachelor or master thesis. Internship reports, essays, presentations, motivation letters, applications and CVs all follow their own conventions. This page is your starting point: it shows what the text types have in common, where they differ and which one suits which task.

Academic text types at a glance

Bachelor thesis

Combines theory with your own empirical work, usually over about 40 to 60 pages. It is the most extensive classic of the bachelor degree.

Bachelor thesis tips

Master thesis

A longer, more independent piece of research with a clear research question and method.

Writing a master thesis

Term paper

Deals with a narrowly defined topic in a methodically clean way over 12 to 25 pages and needs a consistent system of references.

Term paper editing

Essay

Shorter and argumentative. It lives on a pointed thesis, and it does not carry endless footnotes.

Writing an essay

Internship report

Descriptive and reflective. The first person is allowed.

Internships

Presentation (Referat)

An oral presentation with slides and a handout, with different conventions from a written essay.

Minutes and review

Minutes record sessions, experiments or observations as neutrally as possible. A review assesses a work and gives a judgement.

Motivation letter, application, CV

Personal and persuasive texts that decide on a place, a grant or a job.

Job application tips, CV and cover letter proofreading

What all academic text types have in common

A clear structure: introduction, main part, conclusion.
Factual, precise language.
Secured statements instead of personal claims.
Clean formal presentation.

Where the style differs

Bachelor thesis: strictly academic and detached.
Internship report: descriptive plus reflective, the first person is allowed.
Essay: argumentative and personal, the first person is standard.
Motivation letter: personal and persuasive, built on your own strengths.
Application: precise, formal and to the point.

Which text type for which occasion?

Which text type you use depends on the module, the task and the focus of the assessment. Hybrid forms such as research essays or discussion papers combine elements of the classic types and appear especially in the social sciences and the humanities. What matters is that you keep to the conventions of the chosen type: a term paper needs a consistent system of references, an essay a clear line of argument, and minutes no judgement of their own.

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Frequently asked questions

Which text types are common in a bachelor degree?

Internship report, essay, presentation, term paper, bachelor thesis and application. Some degrees, such as teacher training, add further types such as a lesson plan or a reflection report.

May I write "I" in an internship report?

Yes. Internship reports are usually personal, and "I" is standard. A bachelor thesis is different.

How do an essay and a presentation differ?

An essay is a written text with its own argument. A presentation is oral, with slides and a handout. They follow different conventions.

Is editing worth it for applications?

Yes, above all for important applications such as a master place, a scholarship or a dream job. A polished text stands out from many others.

Which text type is the hardest?

That is subjective. The bachelor thesis is the longest and formally the most demanding. A motivation letter can be hard in a different way, because putting your own strengths into words does not come easily to everyone.