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Peer-Reviewed
- Often includes statistics and data
- Always has citations/works cited/references/bibliography
- The authors are experts and use expert language
- Published in a peer-reviewed journal
- Usually includes an abstract
- Often has multiple authors
- Usually is pretty long (10+ pages)
Research-Driven Essays
- Combines characteristics of peer-reviewed and popular articles
- Author has knowledge of topic
- Includes sources (not always as formal citations)
- References research or experts
- Substantial length (usually at least 5 pages)
- Good sources for research-driven essays include: The New York Times Magazine, The American Scholar, Financial Times, Orion Magazine, Scientific American, Discovery, Smithsonian, National Geographic, Time, New Yorker, Psychology Today, and The Atlantic
Popular
- Often based on opinions
- Usually has color, images, and advertisements
- Typically from magazines and newspapers
- Uses everyday language
