paper (essay, thesis)

[82riceballs]

How does one say "paper" in Chinese, as in "I'm writing a paper for my history class"? "Paper" as in an academic paper, something you write to discuss an issue in depth, something you write for a college course. E.g. Research paper.

作文 strikes me as a bit strange, since to me it seems like we're writing for writing practice (but please correct me if this impression is wrong!)

 

[ElGarcia]

论文

You're right about 作文. We only write them in language classes.

 

[teenchen]

Most of time the paper can be seen as 论文, just like an essay. But you can use it as 作文.

 

[SuperXW]

You are right.
作 in 作文: create, compose
作文: "composition". More primary, usually for practice.
论 in 论文: comment, discuss
论文: "essay". More academic and serious.