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writing paper

Definition of writing paper

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1548, in the meaning defined above

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writing master

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“Writing paper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/writing%20paper. Accessed 7 Apr. 2024.

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Essential Guide to Manuscript Writing for Academic Dummies: An Editor's Perspective

Syed sameer aga.

1 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Quality Assurance Unit, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNGHA), King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah 21423, Saudi Arabia

2 Molecular Diseases & Diagnostics Division, Infinity Biochemistry Pvt. Ltd, Sajad Abad, Chattabal, Srinagar, Kashmir 190010, India

Saniya Nissar

Associated data.

No data were used in this review.

Writing an effective manuscript is one of the pivotal steps in the successful closure of the research project, and getting it published in a peer-reviewed and indexed journal adds to the academic profile of a researcher. Writing and publishing a scientific paper is a tough task that researchers and academicians must endure in staying relevant in the field. Success in translating the benchworks into the scientific content, which is effectively communicated within the scientific field, is used in evaluating the researcher in the current academic world. Writing is a highly time-consuming and skill-oriented process that requires familiarity with the numerous publishing steps, formatting rules, and ethical guidelines currently in vogue in the publishing industry. In this review, we have attempted to include the essential information that novice authors in their early careers need to possess, to be able to write a decent first scientific manuscript ready for submission in the journal of choice. This review is unique in providing essential guidance in a simple point-wise manner in conjunction with easy-to-understand illustrations to familiarize novice researchers with the anatomy of a basic scientific manuscript.

1. Background

Communication is the pivotal key to the growth of scientific literature. Successfully written scientific communication in the form of any type of paper is needed by researchers and academicians alike for various reasons such as receiving degrees, getting a promotion, becoming experts in the field, and having editorships [ 1 , 2 ].

Here, in this review, we present the organization and anatomy of a scientific manuscript enlisting the essential features that authors should keep in their mind while writing a manuscript.

2. Types of Manuscripts

Numerous types of manuscripts do exist, which can be written by the authors for a possible publication ( Figure 1 ). Primarily, the choice is dependent upon the sort of communication authors want to make. The simplest among the scientific manuscripts is the “Letter to an Editor,” while “Systematic Review” is complex in its content and context [ 3 ].

Types of manuscripts based on complexity of content and context.

3. Anatomy of the Manuscript

Writing and publishing an effective and well-communicative scientific manuscript is arguably one of the most daunting yet important tasks of any successful research project. It is only through publishing the data that an author gets the recognition of the work, gets established as an expert, and becomes citable in the scientific field [ 4 ]. Among the numerous types of scientific manuscripts which an author can write ( Figure 1 ), original research remains central to most publications [ 4 – 10 ].

A good scientific paper essentially covers the important criteria, which define its worth such as structure, logical flow of information, content, context, and conclusion [ 5 ]. Among various guidelines that are available for the authors to follow, IMRAD scheme is the most important in determining the correct flow of content and structure of an original research paper [ 4 , 11 – 13 ]. IMRAD stands for introduction, methods, results, and discussion ( Figure 2 ). Besides these, other parts of the manuscript are equally essential such as title, abstract, keywords, and conclusion ( Figure 3 ).

Generalized anatomy of manuscript based on IMRAD format.

Three important contents of the title page—title, abstract, and keywords.

IMRAD scheme was introduced in the early 1900 by publishers to standardize the single format of the scientific manuscript and since then is the universal format used by most the publishing houses [ 6 , 14 – 17 ]. In the next sections, the contents and criteria of each of them are explained in detail. A list of the most common mistakes, which the author makes in these sections, is also provided in the tabulated form [ 18 ] ( Table 1 ).

Common mistakes authors make in their manuscripts.

• The title is the most important element of the paper, the first thing readers encounter while searching for a suitable paper [ 1 ]. It reflects the manuscript's main contribution and hence should be simple, appealing, and easy to remember [ 7 ].
• A good title should not be more than 15 words or 100 characters. Sometimes journals ask for a short running title, which should essentially be no more than 50% of the full title. Running titles need to be simple, catchy, and easy to remember [ 19 , 20 ].
• Keeping the titles extremely long can be cumbersome and is suggestive of the authors' lack of grasp of the true nature of the research done.
• It usually should be based on the keywords, which feature within the main rationale and/or objectives of the paper. The authors should construct an effective title from keywords existing in all sections of the main text of the manuscript [ 19 ].
• Having effective keywords within the title helps in the easy discovery of the paper in the search engines, databases, and indexing services, which ultimately is also reflected by the higher citations they attract [ 1 ].
• It is always better for the title to reflect the study's design or outcome [ 21 ]; thus, it is better for the authors to think of a number of different titles proactively and to choose the one, which reflects the manuscript in all domains, after careful deliberation. The paper's title should be among the last things to be decided before the submission of the paper for publication [ 20 ].
• Use of abbreviations, jargons, and redundancies such as “a study in,” “case report of,” “Investigations of,” and passive voice should be avoided in the title.

5. Abstract

• The abstract should essentially be written to answer the three main questions—“What is new in this study?” “What does it add to the current literature?” and “What are the future perspectives?”
• A well-written abstract is a pivotal part of every manuscript. For most readers, an abstract is the only part of the paper that is widely read, so it should be aimed to convey the entire message of the paper effectively [ 1 ].

Two major types of abstract—structured and unstructured. Structured abstracts are piecemealed into five different things, each consisting of one or two sentences, while unstructured abstracts consist of single paragraph written about the same things.

• An effective abstract is a rationalized summary of the whole study and essentially should contain well-balanced information about six things: background, aim, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion [ 6 , 19 ].

Three C concept followed while writing the manuscript.

• An abstract should be written at the end, after finishing the writing of an entire manuscript to be able to stand-alone from the main text. It should reflect your study completely without any reference to the main paper [ 19 ].
• The authors need to limit/write their statements in each section to two or three sentences. However, it is better to focus on results and conclusions, as they are the main parts that interest the readers and should include key results and conclusions made thereof.
• Inclusion of excessive background information, citations, abbreviations, use of acronyms, lack of rationale/aim of the study, lack of meaningful data, and overstated conclusions make an abstract ineffective.

6. Keywords

• Keywords are the important words, which feature repeatedly in the study or else cover the main theme/idea/subject of the manuscript. They are used by indexing databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Embase in categorizing and cross-indexing the published article.
• It is always wise to enlist those words which help the paper to be easily searchable in the databases.
• Keywords can be of two types: (a) general ones that are provided by the journal or indexing services called as medical subject headings (MeSH) as available in NCBI ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/mesh/ ) and (b) custom ones made by authors themselves based on the subject matter of the study [ 6 , 20 ].
• Upon submission, journals do usually ask for the provision of five to ten keywords either to categorize the paper into the subject areas or to assign it to the subspecialty for its quick processing.

7. Introduction

• (i) The whole idea of writing this section is to cover two important questions—“What are the gaps present in the current literature?” and “Why is the current study important?”
• (ii) Introduction provides an opportunity for the authors to highlight their area of study and provide rationale and justification as to why they are doing it [ 20 , 22 , 23 ].
• (iii) An effective introduction usually constitutes about 10–15% of the paper's word count [ 22 ].
• The first paragraph of the introduction should always cover “What is known about the area of study?” or “What present/current literature is telling about the problem?” All relevant and current literature/studies, i.e., original studies, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews, should be covered in this paragraph.
• The second paragraph should cover “What is unknown or not done about this issue/study area?” The authors need to indicate the aspects of what has not been answered about the broader area of the study until now.
• The third paragraph should identify the gaps in the current literature and answer “What gaps in the literature would be filled by their current study?” This part essentially identifies the shortcoming of the existing studies.
• The fourth paragraph should be dedicated to effectively writing “What authors are going to do to fill the gaps?” and “Why do they want to do it?” This paragraph contains two sections—one explains the rationale of the study and introduces the hypothesis of the study in form of questions “What did authors do? and Why they did do so?” and the second enlists specific objectives that the authors are going to explore in this study to answer “Why this study is going to be important?” or “What is the purpose of this study?”.

Funnel-down scheme followed while writing the introduction section of manuscript, moving from broader to specific information.

• (v) Introduction is regarded as the start of the storyline of manuscript, and hence, the three Cs' scheme ( Figure 5 ) becomes more relevant while writing it: the context in terms of what has been published on the current idea/problem around the world, content as to what you are going to do about the problem in hand (rationale), and conclusion as to how it is going to be done (specific objective of the study) [ 1 , 23 ].
• (vi) Introduction is the first section of the main manuscript, which talks about the story; therefore, while writing it authors should always try to think that “would this introduction be able to convince my readers?” [ 25 ]. To emphasize on the importance of the study in filling the knowledge gap is pivotal in driving the message through [ 23 ].
• (vii) Introduction should never be written like a review, any details, contexts, and comparisons should be dealt within the discussion part [ 16 ].
• (viii) While choosing the papers, it is wise to include the essential and recent studies only. Studies more than 10 years old should be avoided, as editors are inclined towards the recent and relevant ones only [ 20 , 22 ].
• (ix) In the last paragraph, enlisting the objectives has a good impact on readers. A clear distinction between the primary and secondary objectives of the study should be made while closing the introduction [ 22 ].
• (i) It is regarded as the skeleton of the manuscript as it contains information about the research done. An effective methods section should provide information about two essential aspects of the research—(a) precise description of how experiments were done and (b) rationale for choosing the specific experiments.
• Study Settings: describing the area or setting where the study was conducted. This description should cover the details relevant to the study topic.

Different guidelines available for perusal of the authors for writing an effective manuscript.

• Sample Size and Sampling Technique: mentioning what number of samples is needed and how they would be collected.
• Ethical Approvals: clearly identifying the study approval body or board and proper collection of informed consent from participants.
• Recruitment Methods: using at least three criteria for the inclusion or exclusion of the study subjects to reach an agreed sample size.
• Experimental and Intervention Details: exhaustively describing each and every detail of all the experiments and intervention carried out in the study for the readers to reproduce independently.
• Statistical Analysis: mentioning all statistical analysis carried out with the data which include all descriptive and inferential statistics and providing the analysis in meaningful statistical values such as mean, median, percent, standard deviation (SD), probability value (p), odds ratio (OR), and confidence interval (CI).

Methods and the seven areas which it should exhaustively describe.

• (iii) Methods should be elaborative enough that the readers are able to replicate the study on their own. If, however, the protocols are frequently used ones and are already available in the literature, the authors can cite them without providing any exhaustive details [ 26 ].
• (iv) Methods should be able to answer the three questions for which audience reads the paper—(1) What was done? (2) Where it was done? and (3) How it was done? [ 11 ].
• (v) Remember, methods section is all about “HOW” the data were collected contrary to “WHAT” data were collected, which should be written in the results section. Therefore, care should be taken in providing the description of the tools and techniques used for this purpose.
• (vi) Writing of the methods section should essentially follow the guidelines as per the study design right from the ideation of the project. There are numerous guidelines available, which author's must make use of, to streamline the writing of the methods section in particular (see Table xx for details).
• (vii) Provision of the information of the equipment, chemicals, reagents, and physical conditions is also vital for the readers for replication of the study. If any software is used for data analysis, it is imperative to mention it. All manufacturer's names, their city, and country should also be provided [ 6 , 11 ].
• The purpose of the results section of the manuscript is to present the finding of the study in clear, concise, and objective manner to the readers [ 7 , 27 , 28 ].
• Results section makes the heart of the manuscript, as all sections revolve around it. The reported findings should be in concordance with the objectives of the study and be able to answer the questions raised in the introduction [ 6 , 20 , 27 ].
• Results should be written in past tense without any interpretation [ 6 , 27 ].

Interdependence between methods and results of the manuscript.

• It is always better to take refuge in tables and figures to drive the exhaustive data through. Repetition of the data already carried in tables, figures, etc., should be avoided [ 4 , 6 , 20 ].
• Proper positioning and citations of the tables and figures within the main text are also critical for the flow of information and quality of the manuscript [ 6 , 11 ].
• Results section should carry clear descriptive and inferential statistics in tables and/or figures, for ease of reference to readers.
• Provision of the demographic data of the study participants takes priority in the results section; therefore, it should be made as its first paragraph. The subsequent paragraphs should introduce the inferential analysis of the data based on the rationale and objectives of the study. The last paragraphs mention what new results the study is going to offer [ 6 , 11 , 20 ].
• authors should not attempt to report all analysis of the data. Discussing, interpreting, or contextualizing the results should be avoided [ 20 ].

10. Discussion

• (i) The main purpose of writing a discussion is to fill the gap that was identified in the introduction of the manuscript and provide true interpretations of the results [ 6 , 11 , 20 ].

Pyramid scheme followed while writing the discussion section of manuscript, moving from the key results of the study to the specific conclusions.

• (iii) Discussion section toggles between two things—content and context. The authors need to exhaustively describe their interpretation of the analyzed data (content) and then compare it with the available relevant literature (context) [ 1 , 29 ]. Finally, it should justify everything in conclusion as to what all this means for the field of study.
• (iv) The comparison can either be concordant or discordant, but it needs to highlight the uniqueness and importance of the study in the field. Care should be taken not to cover up any deviant results, which do not gel with the current literature [ 30 ].
• (v) In discussion it is safe to use words such as “may,” “might,” “show,” “demonstrate,” “suggest,” and “report” while impressing upon your study's data and analyzed results.
• (vi) Putting results in context helps in identifying the strengths and weakness of the study and enables readers to get answers to two important questions—one “what are the implications of the study?” Second “how the study advance the field further?” [ 1 , 30 ].
• The first paragraph of the discussion is reserved for highlighting the key results of the study as briefly as possible [ 4 , 6 ]. However, care should be taken not to have any redundancy with the results section. The authors should utilize this part to emphasize the originality and significance of their results in the field [ 1 , 4 , 11 , 20 ].
• The second paragraph should deal with the importance of your study in relationship with other studies available in the literature [ 4 ].
• Subsequent paragraphs should focus on the context, by describing the findings in comparison with other similar studies in the field and how the gap in the knowledge has been filled [ 1 , 4 ].
• In the penultimate paragraph, authors need to highlight the strengths and limitations of the study [ 4 , 6 , 30 ].
• Final paragraph of the discussion is usually reserved for drawing the generalized conclusions for the readers to get a single take-home message.
• (viii) A well-balanced discussion is the one that effectively addresses the contribution made by this study towards the advancement of knowledge in general and the field of research in particular [ 7 ]. It essentially should carry enough information that the audience knows how to apply the new interpretation presented within that field.

11. Conclusion

• It usually makes the last part of the manuscript, if not already covered within the discussion part [ 6 , 20 ].
• Being the last part of the main text, it has a long-lasting impact on the reader and hence should be very clear in presenting the chief findings of the paper as per the rationale and objectives of the study [ 4 , 20 ].

Crux of the conclusion section.

12. References or Bibliography

• Every article needs a suitable and relevant citation of the available literature to carry the contextual message of their results to the readers [ 31 ].
• Inclusion of proper references in the required format, as asked by the target journal, is necessary.

A Google Scholar screenshot of different styles of formatting of references.

• Depending upon the journal and publishing house, usually, 30–50 citations are allowed in an original study, and they need to be relevant and recent.

13. Organization of the Manuscript Package

Ideally, all manuscripts, no matter where they have to be submitted, should follow an approved organization, which is universally used by all publication houses. “Ready to submit” manuscript package should include the following elements:

• (i) Cover letter, addressed to the chief editor of the target journal.
• (ii) Authorship file, containing the list of authors, their affiliations, emails, and ORCIDs.
• (iii) Title page, containing three things—title, abstract, and keywords.
• Main text structured upon IMRAD scheme.
• References as per required format.
• Legends to all tables and figures.
• Miscellaneous things such as author contributions, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest, funding body, and ethical approvals.
• (v) Tables as a separate file in excel format.
• (vi) Figures or illustrations, each as a separate file in JPEG or TIFF format [ 32 ].
• (vii) Reviewers file, containing names of the suggested peer reviewers working or publishing in the same field.
• (viii) Supplementary files, which can be raw data files, ethical clearance from Institutional Review Board (IRBs), appendixes, etc.

14. Overview of an Editorial Process

Each scientific journal has a specific publication policies and procedures, which govern the numerous steps of the publication process. In general, all publication houses process the submission of manuscripts via multiple steps tightly controlled by the editors and reviewers [ 33 ]. Figure 12 provides general overview of the six-step editorial process of the scientific journal.

An overview of the journal's editorial process.

15. Summary

The basic criteria for writing any scientific communication are to know how to communicate the information effectively. In this review, we have provided the critical information of do's and don'ts for the naive authors to follow in making their manuscript enough impeccable and error-free that on submission manuscript is not desk rejected at all. but this goes with mentioning that like any other skill, and the writing is also honed by practicing and is always reflective of the knowledge the writer possesses. Additionally, an effective manuscript is always based on the study design and the statistical analysis done. The authors should always bear in mind that editors apart from looking into the novelty of the study also look at how much pain authors have taken in writing, following guidelines, and formatting the manuscript. Therefore, the organization of the manuscript as per provided guidelines such as IMRAD, CONSORT, and PRISMA should be followed in letter and spirit. Care should be taken to avoid the mistakes, already enlisted, which can be the cause of desk rejection. As a general rule, before submission of the manuscript to the journal, sanitation check involving at least two reviews by colleagues should be carried out to ensure all general formatting guidelines are followed.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all academicians and researchers who have actively participated in the “Writing Manuscript Workshops” at the College of Medicine, KSAU-HS, Jeddah, which prompted them to write this review.

Data Availability

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Authors' Contributions

Both authors have critically reviewed and approved the final draft and are responsible for the content and similarity index of the manuscript. SSA conceptualized the study, designed the study, surveyed the existing literature, and wrote the manuscript. SN edited, revised, and proofread the final manuscript.

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Meaning of writing paper in English

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• ballpoint pen
• fountain pen
• hanging chad
• propelling pencil

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to add harmonies to a tune

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What Are the Different Types of Papers and Their Uses?

The global market for copy paper is expected to reach USD 48.19 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 1.7% from 2021 to 2026. (Source: ResearchAndMarkets.com)

The global market for glossy paper is expected to grow from USD 24.09 billion in 2020 to USD 28.56 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period. (Source: MarketsandMarkets)

The global market for tissue paper is expected to reach USD 124.8 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2020 to 2027. (Source: Grand View Research)

The global market for watercolor paper is expected to reach USD 73.15 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2021 to 2026. (Source: ResearchAndMarkets.com)

Paper is an essential tool in many aspects of our lives, from writing and printing to packaging and art. There are numerous types of paper available, each with its own unique properties and uses.

Some of the most commonly used types of the paper include copy paper, bond paper, cardstock, glossy paper, matte paper, newsprint, tissue paper, construction paper, watercolor paper, vellum, tracing paper, and parchment paper.

As highlighted by the above-mentioned statistics, different types of paper have their own set of uses, which must be understood by manufacturers to effectively connect with their buyer personas , maximize their net revenue and net profit ratio , and improve their cash flow .

This article will help you with that by covering the following topics:

FAQs related to Different Types of Papers and Their Uses

How can deskera help you with paper manufacturing, key takeaways, related articles.

There are many different types of papers available, each with its unique properties, textures, and uses. Here are some of the most common types of papers and their uses:

Copy paper is a type of paper that is commonly used for everyday printing needs, such as in offices, schools, and homes. Here is some information about copy paper:

• Size: Copy paper is typically sold in three standard sizes: letter (8.5 x 11 inches), legal (8.5 x 14 inches), and ledger (11 x 17 inches).
• Weight: The weight of copy paper is measured in pounds per ream (500 sheets). The most common weights are 20-pound, and 24-pound, but heavier weights are also available.
• Brightness: The brightness of copy paper is measured on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the brightest. Most copy paper has a brightness of around 92-96.
• Finish: Copy paper is available in several different finishes, including matte, glossy, and satin. The finish can affect the quality of the printed image.
• Quality: While copy paper is generally considered to be a lower-quality paper, there are higher-quality options available, such as premium or laser printer paper. These papers are designed to produce sharper text and more vivid colors.
• Environmental impact: Many copy paper products are made from virgin wood pulp, but there are also options made from recycled paper. Look for paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or made with post-consumer waste (PCW) to ensure that it is environmentally friendly.

Here are some of the uses of copy paper:

• Printing documents: Copy paper is often used for printing letters, reports, memos, and other types of documents.
• Photocopying: Copy paper is commonly used in photocopiers to make copies of documents.
• Faxing: Copy paper is also commonly used in fax machines to send and receive faxes.
• Note-taking: Copy paper can be used for taking notes, jotting down ideas, and sketching out designs.
• Printing emails: Copy paper can be used to print out emails that need to be saved or shared.
• Printing flyers and brochures: Copy paper can be used to print out flyers and brochures for events or promotions.
• Classroom activities: Copy paper can be used for classroom activities such as quizzes, worksheets, and coloring pages.
• DIY projects: Copy paper can be used for a variety of DIY projects, such as making paper airplanes, origami, and paper flowers.

Overall, copy paper is a versatile and affordable option for a wide range of printing needs. It is commonly used in offices, schools, and homes and is available in various sizes, weights, and finishes to suit different projects.

Bond paper is a type of high-quality paper that is commonly used for printing professional documents, such as business letters, resumes, and legal documents. Here is some information about the bond paper:

• Weight: Bond paper is heavier and more durable than regular copy paper, with weights ranging from 16 to 32 pounds.
• Finish: Bond paper has a smoother, more refined finish than regular copy paper, which gives it a more professional look and feel.
• Texture: Bond paper has a slight texture that makes it easier to write on and gives it a more luxurious feel.
• Colors: Bond paper is available in a range of colors, including white, ivory, and gray.
• Watermark: Many types of bond paper have a watermark, which is a subtle pattern or design that is visible when held up to the light. The watermark can help to authenticate the document and deter counterfeiting.
• Environmental impact: Many types of bond paper are made from sustainable sources, such as certified forests or recycled paper.

Bond paper is commonly used in professional settings, such as law firms, financial institutions, and government offices. It is also used for personal documents, such as resumes and cover letters.

The bond paper provides a more professional and polished look to documents, and the higher quality and durability of the paper makes it more resistant to wear and tear.

Here are some of the common uses of bond paper:

• Business documents: Bond paper is commonly used for printing business documents such as letterheads, business cards, and envelopes.
• Legal documents: Bond paper is often used for printing legal documents, such as contracts, agreements, and court filings.
• Resumes and cover letters: Bond paper is commonly used for printing resumes and cover letters because of its professional look and feel.
• Certificates and diplomas: Bond paper is often used for printing certificates and diplomas, such as graduation certificates or professional certifications.
• Invitations and announcements: Bond paper is a popular choice for printing invitations and announcements for weddings, graduations, and other special events.
• Stationery: Bond paper is often used for printing personalized stationery such as notepads, journals, and diaries.
• Art and crafts: Bond paper can also be used for a range of art and craft projects, such as origami, paper sculptures, and collages.

Overall, bond paper is a versatile and durable paper that is commonly used for official and professional documents that require a high level of quality and durability. It is a popular choice for businesses, government offices, educational institutions, and individuals who want to create professional-looking documents.

Cardstock is a type of paper that is thicker and more durable than regular paper. It is commonly used for a variety of projects that require a sturdier material. Here is some information about cardstock:

• Thickness: Cardstock is thicker than regular paper, with thicknesses ranging from 45 to 200 pounds. The thicker the cardstock, the sturdier it is.
• Finish: Cardstock comes in a range of finishes, including glossy, matte, and textured.
• Colors: Cardstock is available in a variety of colors, including white, black, pastels, and brights.
• Printing: Cardstock can be printed on using both inkjet and laser printers and is compatible with most home printers.
• Environmental impact: Many types of cardstock are made from sustainable sources, such as certified forests or recycled paper.

Cardstock is a versatile paper that is commonly used for a range of projects that require a sturdier and more durable material than regular paper.

It is often used for projects that require a professional and polished look, such as invitations, business cards, and other types of printed materials. With its range of colors, finishes, and thicknesses, cardstock can be used to create a variety of creative and customized projects.

Here are some of the common uses of cardstock:

• Greeting cards: Cardstock is a popular choice for making greeting cards because of its thickness and durability. It can be easily folded and decorated with a variety of materials, such as markers, paint, and stickers.
• Invitations: Cardstock is commonly used for printing wedding invitations, birthday invitations, and other types of special event invitations. It provides a professional and polished look and can be customized with a variety of finishes and colors.
• Business cards: Cardstock is also a popular choice for printing business cards because of its thickness and durability. It can be easily printed with a company logo, contact information, and other important details.
• Scrapbooking: Cardstock is a popular choice for scrapbooking because of its thickness and durability. It can be used to create photo frames, embellishments, and other decorative elements.
• DIY projects: Cardstock is commonly used for a variety of DIY projects, such as paper crafts, gift tags, and party decorations. Its thickness and durability make it ideal for projects that require a sturdy material.
• Certificates and awards: Cardstock is often used for printing certificates and awards because of its professional look and feel. It can be customized with a variety of finishes and colors to create a personalized and polished look.

Overall, cardstock is a versatile and durable paper that is commonly used for a variety of creative and professional projects. Its thickness and durability make it ideal for projects that require a sturdy material, while its range of colors and finishes make it a popular choice for customization and personalization.

Glossy Paper

Glossy paper is a type of paper that has a shiny and reflective surface. It is often used for printing high-quality photographs and other types of images that require vibrant colors and sharp details. Here are some of the key features and uses of glossy paper:

• Surface finish: Glossy paper has a smooth, shiny surface that is coated with a glossy finish. This finish gives the paper a reflective and vibrant look, making colors and details appear more vivid and crisp.
• Weight: Glossy paper is typically heavier than standard printer paper, with weights ranging from 150 to 300 gsm (grams per square meter). The heavier weight gives the paper a sturdier feel and prevents it from curling or bending.
• Printing: Glossy paper is ideal for printing high-quality photographs and images that require vivid colors and sharp details. It is compatible with both inkjet and laser printers, but it is important to use the appropriate printer settings to avoid smudging or bleeding.
• Durability: Glossy paper is more durable than standard printer paper and is resistant to fading and moisture. It is also less susceptible to smudging and fingerprints, making it a popular choice for professional and personal applications.
• Specialty options: Some types of glossy paper are available with additional features, such as double-sided printing or water-resistant coatings, to enhance its versatility and durability.

Here are some of the common uses of glossy paper:

• Photography: Glossy paper is commonly used for printing high-quality photographs because it allows for vibrant colors and sharp details. It can be used to create photo albums, framed pictures, and other types of photo displays.
• Marketing materials: Glossy paper is often used for creating brochures, flyers, and other types of marketing materials. Its shiny surface gives printed materials a professional and polished look that can help grab the attention of potential customers.
• Crafts: Glossy paper is a popular choice for creating a variety of crafts, such as greeting cards, scrapbook pages, and other types of paper-based projects. Its shiny surface can add a special touch to handmade projects and make them look more polished and professional.
• Business documents: Glossy paper can also be used for creating business documents, such as reports, presentations, and proposals. Its shiny surface can help make text and graphics stand out and give the documents a more professional appearance.
• Signage: Glossy paper can be used to create temporary signage for events, such as posters and banners. Its reflective surface can help make the signs more visible and attractive.
• Art prints: Glossy paper can also be used for creating art prints, such as reproductions of paintings or photographs. The glossy surface can enhance the vibrancy and depth of the colors and details in the prints.

Overall, glossy paper is a versatile and high-quality paper that can be used for a variety of applications that require vibrant colors and sharp details. Its smooth and reflective surface can help enhance the appearance of printed materials and give them a more professional and polished look.

Matte Paper

Matte paper is a type of paper that has a non-reflective, dull surface. It has a flat finish that is smooth to the touch and is often used for printing text-heavy documents, such as books, manuals, and brochures. Here are some key features and uses of matte paper:

• Surface finish: Matte paper has a non-reflective, dull surface that is free of any gloss or shine. This gives the paper a flat finish that is smooth to the touch.
• Weight: Matte paper is available in various weights, ranging from 90 gsm (grams per square meter) to 300 gsm. The weight of the paper depends on the intended use, with lighter weights used for text-heavy documents and heavier weights used for printing photographs.
• Printing: Matte paper is compatible with both inkjet and laser printers and is ideal for printing text-heavy documents that require a high level of readability. It is also suitable for printing images with muted colors or a softer, more natural look.
• Durability: Matte paper is typically more durable than glossy paper and is resistant to fading, smudging, and water damage. It is also less susceptible to fingerprints and smudges, making it ideal for professional and personal applications.
• Specialty options: Some types of matte paper are available with additional features, such as double-sided printing or a water-resistant coating, to enhance its versatility and durability.

Matte paper is a popular choice for a wide range of printing applications due to its non-reflective, flat finish. Here are some of the common uses of matte paper:

• Text-heavy documents: Matte paper is an ideal choice for printing text-heavy documents such as books, manuals, and brochures. The non-reflective surface of the paper reduces glare, making it easier to read printed text.
• Art prints: Matte paper is often used to print art reproductions, posters, and photographs with a soft and natural finish. It is particularly well-suited for printing images with muted colors or a vintage appearance.
• Greeting cards and invitations: Matte paper is a popular choice for creating greeting cards and invitations because it provides a subtle and understated look that is suitable for a variety of occasions. Its non-reflective surface can enhance the readability of printed text, making it easier to read the details of the event.
• Scrapbooking: Matte paper is commonly used for scrapbooking projects due to its non-reflective finish, which helps to reduce glare and produce a more natural and subtle look for photos and other design elements.
• Business documents: Matte paper is often used to print professional documents such as reports, presentations, and proposals. Its flat finish can lend a serious and professional tone to business documents.
• Labels and stickers: Matte paper is an excellent choice for printing product labels and stickers due to its durability and smudge-resistant properties.

Overall, matte paper is a versatile and high-quality paper that is well-suited for a wide range of printing applications. Its non-reflective surface can enhance the readability and subtlety of printed text and images, making it a popular choice for personal and professional projects alike.

Newsprint is a type of thin, low-cost paper used for printing newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. Here are some key features and uses of newsprint:

• Paper quality: Newsprint is made from low-quality, unbleached wood pulp, which makes it inexpensive to produce. As a result, it is often associated with a lower quality print than other paper types, with a somewhat grayish appearance.
• Weight: Newsprint is typically lighter in weight than other paper types, ranging from 35 to 55 gsm (grams per square meter). This makes it cost-effective for printing large quantities of newspapers and magazines.
• Printing: Newsprint is designed for use with web offset printing presses, which are capable of printing large volumes of newspapers and magazines at high speeds. The low-quality paper and printing process make it unsuitable for printing high-quality photographs or fine details.
• Uses: Newsprint is primarily used for printing newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. Its low cost makes it an economical choice for publishers producing large volumes of printed material. Newsprint is also used for packaging and as wrapping paper due to its lightweight and low cost.
• Durability: Newsprint has a shorter lifespan than other paper types due to its low quality and thinness. It is not archival quality and will yellow and degrade over time.
• Environmental impact: Newsprint is made from recycled materials and is considered to be a relatively environmentally friendly paper choice. It is biodegradable and can be recycled.

Overall, newsprint is a low-cost paper type designed for the high-volume printing of newspapers and magazines. Its low quality and short lifespan make it unsuitable for other types of printing or archival purposes. Despite this, it remains an economical and environmentally friendly choice for publishers and other businesses that require large quantities of printed material.

While newsprint is primarily used for printing newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals due to its low cost and high volume printing capabilities. However, it also has a few other uses, including:

• Packaging: Newsprint is often used as a packaging material due to its lightweight, low cost, and availability. It can be used to wrap fragile items or cushion items during shipping.
• Art projects: Newsprint can be used for a variety of art projects, such as paper mache, origami, and drawing. Its low cost and abundance make it a popular choice for art students and hobbyists.
• Cleaning: Newsprint is often used for cleaning tasks, such as cleaning windows, mirrors, and other surfaces. Its absorbent nature makes it an effective cleaning material for removing dirt and grime.
• Pet bedding: Newsprint can be used as a bedding material for small animals such as hamsters and guinea pigs. Its low cost and easy availability make it an economical choice for pet owners.

Overall, newsprint is a versatile material that can be used for a variety of purposes beyond just printing newspapers and magazines. Its low cost and easy availability make it a popular choice for a range of applications, from art projects to pet bedding.

Tissue Paper

Tissue paper is a lightweight, delicate paper that is used for a variety of purposes due to its soft texture and absorbency. Here are some key features and uses of tissue paper:

• Softness: Tissue paper is known for its soft texture, making it ideal for delicate applications such as wrapping fragile items, stuffing gift bags, or wiping sensitive skin.
• Absorbency: Tissue paper is highly absorbent, making it useful for cleaning up spills or wiping away tears.
• Variety of colors and prints: Tissue paper is available in a wide range of colors and prints, making it a popular choice for gift wrapping, crafting, and decorating.
• Different types: Tissue paper comes in various types, including crepe paper, gift tissue paper, and facial tissue. Each type has different characteristics and uses.
• Environmentally friendly: Tissue paper can be made from recycled materials and is biodegradable, making it an environmentally friendly choice.
• Cost-effective: Tissue paper is relatively inexpensive and widely available, making it a cost-effective choice for a variety of uses.

Tissue paper is a versatile material that has a wide range of uses. Some of the most common uses of tissue paper include:

• Gift wrapping: Tissue paper is often used to wrap gifts and add a decorative touch to gift bags or boxes. Its soft texture and variety of colors and prints make it an ideal choice for this purpose.
• Crafting: Tissue paper can be used for a variety of crafting projects, including paper flowers, pom-poms, and lanterns. Its lightweight and easy-to-manipulate nature make it a popular choice for DIY projects.
• Cleaning: Tissue paper's absorbent nature makes it useful for cleaning up spills or wiping surfaces. It can be used to clean windows, mirrors, and other surfaces without leaving streaks.
• Beauty and personal care: Tissue paper is often used for personal hygiene and beauty purposes, such as wiping away makeup or drying hands after washing. It is also commonly used in facial tissue and toilet tissue.
• Packaging: Tissue paper can be used as a packaging material to wrap fragile items or protect them during shipping.
• Decorations: Tissue paper can be used to create decorative accents for parties or events, such as paper lanterns, streamers, or confetti.

Overall, tissue paper is a versatile material that can be used for a variety of purposes. Its softness, absorbency, and wide range of colors and prints make it a popular choice for gift wrapping, crafting, cleaning, and personal care. Its lightweight and cost-effectiveness make it a practical choice for everyday use.

Construction Paper

Construction paper is a type of colored paper that is commonly used for art and craft projects. Here are some key features and uses of construction paper:

• Sturdy: Construction paper is thicker and more durable than regular paper, making it ideal for art projects that require a more robust material.
• Wide range of colors: Construction paper comes in a wide range of colors, making it a popular choice for art and craft projects that require bright and bold colors.
• Easy to cut and fold: Construction paper is easy to cut and fold, making it a popular choice for origami, paper chains, and other paper crafts.
• Acid-free: Many types of construction paper are acid-free, meaning they will not yellow or fade over time, making them ideal for long-term art projects.
• Versatile: Construction paper can be used for a wide range of projects, including posters, book covers, greeting cards, and collages.
• Cost-effective: Construction paper is relatively inexpensive and widely available, making it a cost-effective choice for art and craft projects.

Construction paper is a versatile material that can be used for a wide range of art and craft projects. Here are some common uses of construction paper:

• Drawing and painting: Construction paper can be used as a surface for drawing or painting with a variety of media, including pencils, markers, and watercolors.
• Cut-out shapes: Construction paper is easy to cut and fold, making it ideal for creating cut-out shapes, such as animals, flowers, and stars.
• Origami: Construction paper can be used for origami projects, such as paper cranes, frogs, and boats.
• Book covers: Construction paper can be used to cover and decorate books, creating unique and personalized covers.
• Greeting cards: Construction paper can be used to create custom greeting cards for holidays, birthdays, and other occasions.
• Collages: Construction paper can be used to create collages by cutting out and layering different shapes and colors.
• Classroom projects: Construction paper is a popular material for classroom projects, such as creating posters or creating 3D models.
• Decorations: Construction paper can be used to create decorations for parties and events, such as paper chains, streamers, and piñatas.

Overall, construction paper is a versatile material that can be used for a wide range of art and craft projects. Its durability, wide range of colors, and ease of use make it a popular choice for both children and adults. Its cost-effectiveness and availability also make it a practical choice for educational and hobbyist projects.

Watercolor Paper

Watercolor paper is a type of paper that is specifically designed for use with watercolor paints. Here are some key features and characteristics of watercolor paper:

• Absorbent: Watercolor paper is highly absorbent, which allows the watercolor paint to be easily absorbed into the paper and creates a unique texture and appearance.
• Thickness: Watercolor paper is typically thicker and heavier than regular paper, which prevents the paper from warping or buckling when wet.
• Texture: Watercolor paper comes in a variety of textures, such as rough, cold-pressed, and hot-pressed, which can affect the final appearance of the painting.
• Acid-free: Many types of watercolor paper are acid-free, which means they are archival quality and will not yellow or fade over time.
• Quality: Higher-quality watercolor paper is typically made from 100% cotton, which provides greater absorbency and durability than paper made from wood pulp.
• Sizing: Watercolor paper is often treated with a sizing material to improve its absorbency and prevent the paint from seeping through the paper.

Overall, watercolor paper is a specialized type of paper that is essential for creating watercolor paintings. Its absorbency, thickness, texture, and acid-free qualities all contribute to its unique characteristics and appearance.

When choosing watercolor paper, it's important to consider factors such as quality, texture, and size to ensure the best results for your painting.

Here are some common uses of watercolor paper:

• Watercolor painting: Watercolor paper is essential for creating watercolor paintings, as it is designed to absorb and hold watercolor paint without warping or buckling.
• Mixed media: Watercolor paper can also be used as a surface for mixed media projects, where watercolor paint is used in combination with other materials such as ink, colored pencil, or pastel.
• Printmaking: Watercolor paper is often used as a surface for printmaking techniques such as etching, engraving, and lithography.
• Calligraphy: Watercolor paper can be used as a surface for calligraphy projects, as the absorbent nature of the paper allows ink to dry quickly without smudging.
• Paper crafts: Watercolor paper can be used for a variety of paper crafts, such as creating greeting cards, bookmarks, and origami.
• Drawing: Watercolor paper can also be used as a surface for drawing with graphite or colored pencils, as the texture and absorbency of the paper can create interesting effects.

Overall, watercolor paper is a versatile material that can be used for a wide range of art and craft projects. Its unique characteristics, such as absorbency, thickness, and texture, make it ideal for creating watercolor paintings and other projects that require a specialized surface.

Vellum is a type of paper that has a unique texture and appearance. Here are some key features and characteristics of vellum paper:

• Texture: Vellum paper has a smooth, slightly translucent surface that is often described as velvety or buttery.
• Material: Historically, vellum was made from calfskin, but modern vellum paper is typically made from cotton or a blend of cotton and synthetic fibers.
• Thickness: Vellum paper is thicker than regular paper but not as thick as cardstock.
• Transparency: Vellum paper is semi-transparent, which allows light to pass through the paper and creates a soft, diffused effect.
• Ink Compatibility: Vellum paper is compatible with a variety of printing methods, including laser and inkjet printers, as well as traditional methods like letterpress and screen printing.

Overall, vellum paper is a high-quality paper with a unique texture and appearance. Its semi-transparent nature makes it ideal for layering in paper projects, while its compatibility with various printing methods makes it a versatile material for a variety of applications. Using inkjet printers for screen printing is a popular way to get text on vellum paper.

Vellum paper is often used for wedding invitations, menus, programs, and other formal stationery. It can also be used for scrapbooking, card making, and other paper crafts.

Thus, here are some common uses of vellum paper:

• Stationery: Vellum paper is often used for formal stationery such as wedding invitations, menus, programs, and place cards. Its smooth texture and semi-transparent nature create an elegant and sophisticated look.
• Scrapbooking: Vellum paper can be used in scrapbooking to create layered effects and add a touch of elegance to the page.
• Card making: Vellum paper can be used to create translucent envelopes or to layer over cardstock for a unique effect.
• Drawing and sketching: Vellum paper has a smooth surface that is suitable for drawing and sketching with a variety of mediums, including graphite, colored pencils, and ink.
• Printing: Vellum paper is compatible with a variety of printing methods, including laser and inkjet printers, as well as traditional methods like letterpress and screen printing.
• Bookbinding: Vellum paper can be used as a material for bookbinding, either as a cover material or as pages in a book.

Overall, vellum paper is a versatile material that can add a touch of elegance and sophistication to a variety of creative projects. Its semi-transparent nature and smooth texture make it a popular choice for formal stationery, while its compatibility with various printing methods makes it a versatile material for a variety of applications.

Tracing Paper

Tracing paper is a thin, translucent paper that is used for a variety of creative and technical purposes. Here are some key features and characteristics of tracing paper:

• Transparency: Tracing paper is highly transparent, which makes it ideal for tracing and transferring images or designs onto other surfaces.
• Material: Tracing paper is typically made from wood pulp or a blend of wood pulp and synthetic fibers.
• Texture: Tracing paper has a smooth surface that is suitable for drawing, sketching, and writing.
• Weight: Tracing paper comes in different weights, ranging from lightweight (around 25-35 g/m²) to heavy-weight (around 90-112 g/m²).
• Ink Compatibility: Tracing paper is compatible with a variety of drawing and writing mediums, including pencils, pens, markers, and ink.

Overall, tracing paper is a versatile material that is widely used in both technical and creative fields. Its transparency makes it ideal for tracing and transferring images, while its compatibility with a variety of drawing and writing mediums makes it a popular choice for both artists and technical professionals.

Here are some common uses of tracing paper:

• Technical Drawing: Tracing paper is commonly used in technical drawing, architecture, and engineering for creating blueprints and technical drawings. Architects and engineers use tracing paper to create drafts and sketches that can be modified and transferred easily.
• Art and Design: Tracing paper is a popular choice for artists and designers for creating preliminary sketches and transferring designs onto other surfaces. It is also used in graphic design for creating overlays and mockups.
• Crafting: Tracing paper is commonly used in crafting for creating templates and patterns. It can also be used for tracing and cutting out shapes, as well as for transferring designs onto other materials such as fabric and wood.
• Writing: Tracing paper is also used for writing, particularly for calligraphy and lettering. Its smooth surface and transparency make it easy to trace and transfer lettering designs.
• Education: Tracing paper is used in education to teach young children how to write and draw. It can be used for practicing letters and shapes, as well as for tracing and copying images.

Overall, tracing paper is a versatile material that can be used for a variety of applications in both technical and creative fields. Its transparency and compatibility with a variety of mediums make it a popular choice for drafting, sketching, and transferring designs.

Parchment Paper

Parchment paper is a type of paper that is specially treated with silicone, which gives it a non-stick surface and makes it resistant to moisture and grease. Here are some key features and characteristics of parchment paper:

• Material: Parchment paper is typically made from wood pulp that is treated with silicone to create a non-stick surface.
• Heat Resistance: Parchment paper is heat-resistant and can withstand temperatures up to 450°F (232°C), which makes it suitable for use in baking and roasting.
• Non-Stick Surface: The silicone coating on parchment paper creates a non-stick surface, which prevents food from sticking and makes it easy to remove baked goods from pans.
• Moisture Resistance: Parchment paper is resistant to moisture, which makes it suitable for use in cooking and baking applications where moisture is present.
• Versatility: Parchment paper is versatile and can be used for a variety of cooking and baking applications, including lining baking sheets, wrapping food for steaming, and creating a non-stick surface for rolling out dough.
• Disposable: Parchment paper is disposable, which makes cleanup easy and convenient.

Overall, parchment paper is a useful tool in the kitchen and is widely used in baking and cooking. Its non-stick surface and resistance to heat and moisture make it a popular choice for lining baking sheets, wrapping food for steaming, and creating a non-stick surface for rolling out dough.

Parchment paper has a variety of uses in the kitchen, including:

• Baking: Parchment paper is commonly used for baking, as it prevents baked goods from sticking to the pan and makes cleanup easier.
• Roasting: Parchment paper can be used to line roasting pans, which prevents meat and vegetables from sticking and makes cleanup easier.
• Steaming: Parchment paper can be used to wrap food for steaming, which keeps the food moist and prevents it from sticking to the steamer basket.
• Cooking en Papillote: Parchment paper can be used to create a pouch for cooking en papillote, a French technique where food is cooked on parchment paper. The pouch seals in the flavors and moisture of the food, creating a delicious and healthy meal.
• Rolling out dough: Parchment paper can be used to create a non-stick surface for rolling out dough, which prevents it from sticking to the countertop or rolling pin.
• Microwave cooking: Parchment paper can be used to cover food when cooking in the microwave, which prevents splatters and helps distribute heat evenly.

Overall, parchment paper is a versatile kitchen tool that can be used for a variety of cooking and baking applications. Its non-stick surface and resistance to heat and moisture make it a useful addition to any kitchen.

• What is the difference between matte and glossy paper?

Matte paper has a non-reflective surface and is ideal for printing photos or artwork that require a softer finish. Glossy paper, on the other hand, has a shiny and reflective surface that is perfect for printing high-resolution images or graphics.

• What is a bond paper used for?

Bond paper is commonly used for printing documents, letters, and resumes. It is also a popular choice for business stationery, such as letterheads and envelopes.

• What is the difference between text weight and cover weight paper?

Text-weight paper is thinner and lighter than cover-weight paper, which is thicker and heavier. Text-weight paper is commonly used for printing books, brochures, and flyers, while the cover-weight paper is often used for business cards, postcards , and invitations.

• What is vellum paper used for?

Vellum paper is a translucent paper that is often used for creating overlays, tracing designs, or printing elegant invitations and announcements.

• What is the difference between recycled and virgin paper?

Recycled paper is made from post-consumer waste, while the virgin paper is made from fresh wood pulp. Recycled paper is an eco-friendly choice that helps reduce landfill waste and conserves natural resources.

• What is cardstock paper used for?

Cardstock paper is a thick and sturdy paper that is often used for creating business cards, postcards, invitations, and other printed materials that require a professional and durable finish.

• What is the difference between text and cover stock paper?

Text stock paper is lighter and thinner than cover stock paper, which is heavier and more durable. Text stock paper is commonly used for printing books and magazines, while the cover stock paper is often used for business cards and packaging.

• What is newsprint paper used for?

Newsprint paper is a cheap and lightweight paper that is commonly used for printing newspapers, flyers, and other low-cost printed materials.

• What is parchment paper used for?

Parchment paper is a non-stick paper that is often used for baking, cooking, and roasting. It can also be used for printing certificates, diplomas, and other special documents.

• What is tracing paper used for?

Tracing paper is a translucent paper that is often used for tracing designs, patterns, or artwork. It is also a popular choice for architects and engineers who need to create detailed technical drawings.

Deskera MRP is a business management software platform that offers various solutions to help businesses streamline their operations, including those in the paper manufacturing industry. Here are some of the ways Deskera can help with paper manufacturing:

• Inventory Management: Deskera's manufacturing module can help businesses manage their inventory of raw materials and finished products. This can help businesses ensure they have the right amount of inventory to meet demand and avoid stockouts.
• Production Planning and Scheduling: Deskera's manufacturing module can help businesses plan and schedule production runs. This can help businesses optimize their production process, reduce downtime, and ensure the timely delivery of finished products.
• Quality Control: Deskera's manufacturing module can help businesses monitor and control the quality of their products. This can help businesses ensure that their products meet customer expectations and comply with regulatory requirements.
• Maintenance Management: Deskera's maintenance module can help businesses manage their equipment maintenance schedules. This can help businesses reduce downtime and ensure that their equipment is always in good working order.
• Financial Management: Deskera's accounting module can help businesses manage their finances, including expenses, revenue, and cash flow. This can help businesses optimize their financial performance and make informed decisions about investments in new equipment or production processes.
• Copy paper: This is a type of plain white paper that is commonly used in printers, photocopiers, and fax machines.
• Bond paper: This paper is thicker and more durable than copy paper, making it ideal for letterheads, resumes, and other business documents.
• Cardstock: This is a heavy-weight paper that is often used for making greeting cards, invitations, and other printed materials that require a sturdier feel.
• Glossy paper: This paper has a shiny finish and is often used for printing high-quality photos and marketing materials.
• Matte paper: This paper has a flat finish and is often used for printing documents that need to be easy to read without any glare.
• Newsprint: This is a type of paper that is commonly used for printing newspapers and other publications. It is lightweight and inexpensive.
• Tissue paper: This is a thin, lightweight paper that is often used for gift wrapping and crafts.
• Construction paper: This is a thick, colorful paper that is often used for arts and crafts projects.
• Watercolor paper: This is a thick, textured paper that is designed for use with watercolors and other wet media.
• Vellum: This is a translucent paper that is often used for making invitations, overlays, and other decorative elements.
• Tracing paper: This is a thin, translucent paper that is often used for tracing images and patterns.
• Parchment paper: This is a heavy, durable paper that is often used for baking and cooking.

These are just a few examples of the many types of paper available. Each type of paper has its unique properties and uses, so it's important to choose the right paper for your specific project.

Overall, Deskera MRP can help businesses in the paper manufacturing industry improve their operations and increase efficiency, ultimately leading to increased productivity and profitability.

Quality Control and Assurance in Contract Manufacturing

Sustainability and Green Practices in Contract Manufacturing

Managing Intellectual Property in Contract Manufacturing

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APA Style 7th Edition Tutorials for Students in Psychology and Social Work

What is apa style.

• The Importance of Citing

Why is APA Style needed?

How do i get started with apa style, let us practice what we have learned, attribution and acknowledgement.

• Basics of APA Style Tutorial
• Reference Entry Elements
• Reference Examples
• Reference List
• In-Text Citations
• Student Paper Format
• Managing References - Zotero

Origination of APA Style

• Where did APA Style come from?

Commonly Used APA Related Terms

Abstract : Abstract is a brief synopses of article. It provides a brief but comprehensive summary of the article. 

Citing : In the context of academic writing, citing is the act of acknowledging the sources of information you have used when writing your work.

Citation:  A citation gives credit to a source, and contains publication information such as author(s), title and date.

DOI (digital object identifier): It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object, mainly a scholarly article, to provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

In-Text Citation : It is a brief note that appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. An in-text citation should always match the corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of paper.

Paraphrasing : A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. 

Plagiarism : It is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own; it denies creators of content the credit they are due. 

Quoting : It is the act of reproducing the exact wording used by the original author. Direct quotations appear within quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference : It contains details about one cited work, generally including four elements:  author, date, title, and source.  

Reference List : It identifies all the sources you cited in the text of your paper. It generally is at the end of the paper and definitely on a new page after the text of your paper. 

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research.

In addition, APA Style provides you with a powerful tool that will hep you avoid deliberate or unintentional plagiarism. Please review the Avoiding Plagiarism Guide created by the APA experts to understand what two common types of plagiarism are and how to avoid them. 

Why is learning citations important? Citations help readers understand where the information used in your paper comes from, enabling them to trace the path of that information. When readers wish to explore a specific point or reference cited in the text, citations make it easier by providing information about your sources in a standardized format.

Besides showing readers where you obtained information, using citations also has a strong ethical purpose. In academic writing, it is important to credit ideas that are not your own. Citations allow you to integrate the ideas of others with your own thoughts in a fair and honest way.

The reference formats for APA Style manuals are as follows:

APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it helps authors present their ideas in a clear and concise, and organized manner.  Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points, findings, and sources. When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited appropriately, and papers are organized predictably and consistently. 

Students are encouraged to first learn about APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. A couple of guides created by APA experts from the American Psychological Association can help you with that:

Anatomy of a Journal Article   https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/anatomy-journal-article.pdf

Scholarly journal articles share a common anatomy or structure. Each part of an article serves a specific purpose. The handout of  Anatomy of a Journal Article explains how journal articles are structured and how to become more efficient at reading and understanding them. Understanding the structure of a scholarly article and the purpose of each part helps you grasp a strategy called targeted reading. Targeted reading means to read specific sections of research articles first to determine if the article seems useful for your research topic. This way you will save time, find useful article faster, and choose which articles to read in full.

Reading and Understanding Abstracts https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reading-abstracts.pdf

Abstracts are short summaries of scientific research articles. The handout of Reading & Understanding Abstracts explains the definition and purpose of abstracts and the benefits of reading them, including analysis of a sample abstract. The skill of reading and understanding abstracts of scholarly articles not only saves time but also helps you conduct better research and write more effectively.

APA Style Writing Principles https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/writing-principles.pdf

The poster created by APA experts shows the three main principles of APA Style: clarity, precision, and inclusion and lists steps on how to achieve them. As a student writer, you always should write your academic paper with clarity, precision, and inclusion. 

Research Article Activity https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/apa-style-research-activity.pdf

Reading research articles is not an easy task for you as a student. The Research Article Activity designed by APA Style experts aims to make it easy to read and understand a scholarly article. This activity worksheet helps you find, cite, analyze, and summarize a research article. Completing this activity breaks down a lengthy research article into easily understandable chunks. This way helps you better understand the study in the article before you write about it. 

The information in this Guide   is courtesy of   the official APA Style website by the American Psychological Association.

Source Credit: Information on this LibGuide comes from APA Style website https://apastyle.apa.org/ This website has a wealth of free and authoritative resources designed to help anyone new to APA Style.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, understanding the 4 writing styles: how to identify and use them.

General Education

A piece’s writing style can help you figure out what kind of writing it is, what its purpose is, and how the author’s voice is unique. With so many different types of writing, you may think it’s difficult to figure out the specific writing style of a piece or you'll need to search through a long list of writing styles.

However, there are actually just four main types of writing styles, and together they cover practically all the writing you see, from textbooks to novels, to billboards and more.  Whether you’re studying writing styles for class or trying to develop your own writing style and looking for information, we’ve got you covered.

In this guide, we explain the four styles of writing, provide examples for each one, go over the one thing you need to know to identify writing style, and give tips to help you develop your own unique style of writing.

The 4 Types of Writing

There are four main different styles of writing. We discuss each of them below, list where you’re likely to see them, and include an example so you can see for yourself what each of the writing styles looks like.

Writers who use the narrative style are telling a story with a plot and characters. It’s the most common writing style for fiction, although nonfiction can also be narrative writing as long as its focus is on characters, what they do, and what happens to them.

Common Places You’d See Narrative Writing

• Biography or autobiography
• Short stories
• Journals or diaries

“We had luncheon in the dining-room, darkened too against the heat, and drank down nervous gayety with the cold ale. ‘What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon?’ cried Daisy, ‘and the day after that, and the next thirty years?’    ‘Don’t be morbid,’ Jordan said. ‘Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.’ ‘But it’s so hot,’ insisted Daisy, on the verge of tears, ‘and everything’s so confused. Let’s all go to town!’ - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

You can quickly tell that this passage from the novel The Great Gatsby is an example of narrative writing because it has the two key traits: characters and a plot. The group is discussing eating and drinking while trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day.

As in this example, narrative writing often has extended dialogue scenes since the dialogue is used to move the plot along and give readers greater insight into the characters.

Writers use the expository style when they are trying to explain a concept. Expository writing is fact-based and doesn’t include the author’s opinions or background. It’s basically giving facts from the writer to the reader.

Common Places You’d See Expository Writing

• Newspaper articles
• Academic journals
• Business memos
• Manuals for electronics
• How-to books and articles

“The 1995/1996 reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) into Yellowstone National Park after a 70 year absence has allowed for studies of tri-trophic cascades involving wolves, elk (Cervus elaphus), and plant species such as aspen (Populus tremuloides), cottonwoods (Populus spp.), and willows (Salix spp.). To investigate the status of this cascade, in September of 2010 we repeated an earlier survey of aspen and measured browsing and heights of young aspen in 97 stands along four streams in the Lamar River catchment of the park’s northern winter range. We found that browsing on the five tallest young aspen in each stand decreased from 100% of all measured leaders in 1998 to means of <25% in the uplands and <20% in riparian areas by 2010. Correspondingly, aspen recruitment (i.e., growth of seedlings/sprouts above the browse level of ungulates) increased as browsing decreased over time in these same stands.” -”Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction” by William J. Ripple and Robert L. Beschta

This abstract from an academic journal article is clearly expository because it only focuses on facts. The authors aren’t giving their opinion of wolves of Yellowstone, they’re not telling a story about the wolves, and the only descriptions are number of trees, streams, etc. so readers can understand the study better.

Because expository writing is focused on facts, without any unnecessary details or stories, the writing can sometimes feel dense and dry to read.

Descriptive

Descriptive writing is, as you may guess, when the author describes something. The writer could be describing a place, person, or an object, but descriptive writing will always include lots of details so the reader can get a clear and complete idea of what is being written about.

Common Places You’d See Descriptive Writing

• Fiction passages that describe something

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or eat: it was a hobbit hole and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted...” - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is the opening passage of the novel The Hobbit . While The Hobbit is primarily an example of narrative writing, since it explores the adventures of the hobbit and his companions, this scene is definitely descriptive. There is no plot or action going on in this passage; the point is to explain to readers exactly what the hobbit’s home looks like so they can get a clear picture of it while they read. There are lots of details, including the color of the door and exactly where the doorknob is placed.

You won’t often find long pieces of writing that are purely descriptive writing, since they’d be pretty boring to read (nothing would happen in them), instead many pieces of writing, including The Hobbit , will primarily be one of the other writing styles with some descriptive writing passages scattered throughout.

When you’re trying to persuade the reader to think a certain way or do a certain thing, you’ll use persuasive writing to try to convince them.  Your end goal could be to get the reader to purchase something you’re selling, give you a job, give an acquaintance of yours a job, or simply agree with your opinion on a topic.

Common Places You’d See Persuasive Writing

• Advertisements
• Cover letters
• Opinion articles/letters to the editor
• Letters of recommendation
• Reviews of books/movies/restaurants etc.
• Letter to a politician

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’ - “This was their finest hour” by Winston Churchill

In this excerpt from his famous “Their finest hour” speech, Prime Minister Winston Churchill is clearing trying to convince his audience to see his viewpoint, and he lays out the actions he thinks they should take. In this case, Churchill is speaking to the House of Commons (knowing many other British people would also hear the speech), and he’s trying to prepare the British for the coming war and convince them how important it is to fight.

He emphasizes how important the fight will be (“Upon this battle depends the survival of the Christian civilization.” and clearly spells out what he thinks his audience should do (“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties…”).

Common Writing Styles to Know

Each of the four main types of writing styles has multiple subsets of styles within it. Here are nine of the most common and important types of writing you’ll see.

Narrative Writing

Character voice.

Character voice is a common writing style in novels. Instead of having an unknown narrator, the audience knows who is telling the story. This first-person narrator can help the reader relate more both to the narrator and the storyline since knowing who is telling a story can help the reader feel more connected to it. Sometimes the narrator is completely truthful in telling what happens, while other times they are an unreliable narrator and will mislead or outright lie to readers to make themselves look better. 

To Kill a Mockingbird (Scout is the narrator) and The Hunger Games (Katniss is the narrator) are two examples of this writing style.

Stream-of-Consciousness

This writing style attempts to emulate the thought process of the character. Instead of only writing about what the character says or does, stream-of-consciousness will include all or most of the characters thoughts, even if they jump from one topic to another randomly or include incomplete thoughts.

For example, rather than writing “I decided to take a walk to the ice cream shop,” an author using the stream-of-consciousness writing style could write, “It’s pretty hot out, and I feel like I should eat something, but I’m not really that hungry. I wonder if we have leftovers of the burgers Mom made last night? Is Mom staying late at work tonight? I can’t remember if she said. Ice cream would be a good choice, and not too filling. I can’t drive there though because my car is still in for repairs. Why is the repair shop taking so long? I should have listened when David said to check for reviews online before choosing a place. I should text David later to see how he is. He’ll think I’m mad at him if I don’t. I guess I’ll just have to walk to the shop.”

James Joyce and William Faulkner are two of the most well-known writers to have regularly used the  stream-of-consciousness writing style.

Epistolary writing uses a series of documents, such as letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, or even text messages to tell a story. They don’t have a narrator, there’s just whoever purportedly gathered the documents together. This writing style can provide different points of view because a different person can be the author of each document.

Well-known examples of epistolary writing include the novels Dracula  (written as a series of letters, newspaper articles, and diary entries) and Frankenstein (written as a series of letters).

Expository Writing

You’ll find this style in textbooks or academic journal articles. It’ll focus on teaching a topic or discussing an experiment,  be heavy on facts, and include any sources it cited to get the information. Academic writing often assumes some previous knowledge of the topic and is more focused on providing information than being entertaining, which can make it difficult to read and understand at times.

Business writing refers to the writing done in a workplace. It can include reports, memos, and press releases. Business writing typically has a formal tone and standard formatting rules. Because employees are presumably very busy at work, business writing is very concise and to the point, without any additional flourishes intended to make the writing more interesting.

You’ll see this writing style most commonly in newspaper articles. It focuses on giving the facts in a concise, clear, and easy-to-understand way. Journalists often try to balance covering all the key facts, keeping their articles brief, and making the audience interested in the story.

This writing style is used to give information to people in a specific field, such as an explanation of a new computer programming system to people who work in software, a description of how to install pipes within a house for plumbers, or a guide to new gene modifications for microbiologists.

Technical writing is highly specialized for a certain occupational field. It assumes a high level of knowledge on the topic, and it focuses on sharing large amounts of information with the reader. If you’re not in that field, technical writing can be nearly impossible to understand because of the jargon and references to topics and facts you likely don’t know.

Descriptive Writing

Poetry is one of the most challenging styles of writing to define since it can come in many forms. In general, poems use rhythmic language and careful word choice to express an idea. A poem can be an example of descriptive writing or narrative writing, depending on whether it’s describing something or telling a story. Poetry doesn’t need to rhyme, and it often won’t follow standard grammatical or structural rules. Line breaks can, and often do, occur in the middle of sentences.

Persuasive Writing

Copywriting.

Copywriting is writing that is done for advertising or marketing purposes. It’s attempting to get the reader to buy whatever the writer is trying to sell. Examples of copywriting include catalogs, billboards, ads in newspapers or magazines, and social media ads.

In an attempt to get the reader to spend their money, copywriters may use techniques such as descriptive language (“This vanilla was harvested from the lush and exotic island of Madagascar"), exciting language (Stop what you’re doing and learn about this new product that will transform your life!”) and exaggeration (“This is the best cup of coffee you will ever taste!”).

Opinion 

People write opinion pieces for the purpose of stating their beliefs on a certain topic and to try to get readers to agree with them. You can see opinion pieces in newspaper opinion sections, certain blog posts, and some social media posts. The quality of opinion writing can vary widely. Some papers or sites will only publish opinion pieces if all the facts in them can be backed up by evidence, but other opinion pieces, especially those that are self-published online, don't go through any fact-checking process and can include inaccuracies and misinformation.

What If You’re Unsure of a Work’s Writing Style?

If you’re reading a piece of writing and are unsure of its main writing style, how can you figure which style it is? The best method is to think about what the purpose or main idea of the writing is. Each of the four main writing styles has a specific purpose:

• Descriptive: to describe things
• Expository: to give facts
• Narrative: to tell a story
• Persuasive: to convince the reader of something

Here’s an example of a passage with a somewhat ambiguous writing style:

It can be tricky to determine the writing style of many poems since poetry is so varied and can fit many styles. For this poem, you might at first think it has a narrative writing style, since it begins with a narrator mentioning a walk he took after church. Character + plot = narrative writing style, right?

Before you decide, you need to read the entire passage. Once you do, it’ll become clear that there really isn’t much narrative. There’s a narrator, and he’s taking a walk to get a birch from another man, but that’s about all we have for character development and plot. We don’t know anything about the narrator or his friend’s personality, what’s going to happen next, what his motivations are, etc.

The poem doesn’t devote any space to that, instead, the majority of the lines are spent describing the scene. The narrator mentions the heat, scent of sap, the sound of frogs, what the ground is like, etc. It’s clear that, since the majority of the piece is dedicated to describing the scene, this is an example of descriptive writing.

How Can You Develop Your Own Writing Style?

A distinctive writing style is one of the hallmarks of a good writer, but how can you develop your own? Below are four tips to follow.

Read Many Different Styles of Writing

If you don’t read lots of different kinds of writing, you won’t be able to write in those styles, so before you try to get your own writing style, read different writing styles than what you’re used to.  This doesn’t mean that, if you mostly read novels, you suddenly need to shift to reading computer manuals. Instead, you can try to read novels that use unreliable narrators, stream-of-consciousness writing, etc.

The more you read, the more writing styles you’ll be exposed to, and the easier it’ll be able to combine some of those into your own writing style.

Consider Combining Multiple Types of Writing Styles

There’s no rule that you can only use one style for a piece of writing. In fact, many longer works will include multiple styles. A novel may be primarily narrative, but it can also contain highly descriptive passages as well as expository parts when the author wants the readers to understand a new concept.

However, make sure you don’t jump around too much. A paper or book that goes from dense academic text to impassioned plea for a cause to a story about your childhood and back again will confuse readers and make it difficult for them to understand the point you’re trying to make.

Find a Balance Between Comfort and Boundary-Pushing

You should write in a style that feels natural to you, since that will be what comes most easily and what feels most authentic to the reader. An academic who never ventures outside the city trying to write a book from the perspective of a weathered, unschooled cowboy may end up with writing that seems fake and forced.

A great way to change up your writing and see where it can be improved is to rewrite certain parts in a new writing style.  If you’ve been writing a novel with narrative voice, change a few scenes to stream-of-consciousness, then think about how it felt to be using that style and if you think it improved your writing or gave you any new ideas. If you’re worried that some writing you did is dull and lacking depth, add in a few passages that are purely descriptive and see if they help bring the writing to life.

You don’t always need to do this, and you don’t need to keep the new additions in what you wrote, but trying new things will help you get a better idea of what you want your own style to be like.

The best way to develop your own writing style is to expose yourself to numerous types of writing, both through reading and writing. As you come into contact with more writing styles and try them out for yourself, you’ll naturally begin to develop a writing style that you feel comfortable with.

Summary: The 4 Different Styles of Writing

There are four main writing styles, and each has a different purpose:

If you’re struggling to figure out the writing style of a piece, ask yourself what its purpose is and why the author wants you to read it.

To develop your own writing style, you should:

• Read widely
• Consider mixing styles
• Balance writing what you know and trying new things

What's Next?

Literary devices are also an important part of understanding writing styles. Learn the 24 literary devices you must know by reading our guide on literary devices.

Writing a research paper for school but not sure what to write about?   Our guide to research paper topics has over 100 topics in ten categories so you can be sure to find the perfect topic for you. 

Are you reading  The Great Gatsby for class or even just for fun?  Then you'll definitely want to check out our expert guides on the biggest themes in this classic book, from love and relationships to money and materialism .

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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39 Introduction to Informative Writing

Amy Minervini

By Amy Minervini

Exposition is writing that explains, informs, or describes. This type of writing is also known as the informative mode in that the main objective is not to narrate a story or persuade readers of something but rather to convey factual information , including observations and personal/others’ experiences. However, when writing an expository essay, you can include elements from other modes (storytelling, analysis, writer impressions, persuasion, etc.) although these would be secondary aims or even implied. The expository composition is a practical, authentic kind of writing that can stand on its own or serve as the foundation for your more developed research essays.

Key Characteristics

Expository writing generally exhibits the following:

• Emphasis on facts, observations, or personal/others’ experiences
• Organization marked by a logical flow or progression of information; chronological, order of importance/priority, or the step-by-step approach are the most common; transitions that guide the reader
• Close attention paid to detail and description
• No noticeable writer bias

Essay types within this Chapter

• Process analysis (how-to)
• Illustration

Introduction to the General Expository Essay

The following is excerpted from Crystle Bruno’s Commonsense Composition 3.1 Expository Essay

The main aim of an expository essay is to provide an effective explanation of a topic. While a descriptive essay strives to describe a subject or a narrative essay seeks to show personal growth, an expository essay tries to explain a topic or situation. Thus, expository essays are written as if the writer is explaining or clarifying a topic to the reader. Since an expository essay is trying to clarify a topic, it is important that it provides the categories or reasons that support the clarification of the paper. Moreover, these categories and reasons also provide the framework for the organization of the paper.

Components of the expository essay as the parts of a house.

Much like the categories are essential to clarifying the topic, organization is the key to any well-developed essay. When composing your essay, think of its organization as a house, with each component of an essay representing a major part of a house. Just as the foundation provides support on which a house can be built, a thesis represents the foundation upon which to build an essay. The introductory paragraph then functions as both the door and framework for an expository essay. Like a house door, the introductory paragraph must allow the reader to enter into the essay. Additionally, just as walls are built upon the framework of a house, the body paragraphs of an essay are organized around the framework or organizational scheme, presented in the introductory paragraph. The body paragraphs, much like the walls of a house, must be firm, strong and complete. Also, there must always be as many body paragraphs as the framework of the introductory paragraph indicates otherwise your essay will resemble a house that is missing a wall. Finally, an essay must include a conclusion paragraph that tops off the essay much like a roof completes a house. As the roof cements the structure of the house and helps hold the walls in place, the conclusion paragraph must reiterate the points within your body paragraphs and complete an essay.

Although the overall organization of an expository essay is important, you must also understand the organization of each component (the introductory, body and conclusion paragraphs) of your essay. The chart below identifies the essential parts of each component of your essay, explaining the necessary information for each type of paragraph. While the guidelines listed below may feel constrictive, they are merely meant to guide you as a writer. Ultimately, the guidelines should help you write more effectively. The more familiar you become with how to organize an essay, the more energy you can focus on your ideas and your writing. As a result, your writing will improve as your ability to organize your ideas improves. Plus, focusing your energy on your argument and ideas rather than the organization makes your job as a writer more exciting and fun.

Introductory Paragraph:

• Introduce the issue.
• Present the topic and its explanation or clarification.
• Provide the categories used to explain the topic.
• Provide the thesis statement.

Body Paragraphs:

• Begin with a topic sentence that reflects an explanation of the paper and the category being discussed in the paragraph.
• Support the argument with useful and informative quotes from sources such as books, journal articles, etc.
• Provide 2-3 quotes that connect the category being discussed to the explanation
• Provide 2-3 sentences explaining each quote more full, drawing stronger connections between the category and the explanation.
• Ensure that the information in these paragraphs is important to the thesis statement.
• End each paragraph with a transition sentence which leads into the next body paragraph.

Concluding Paragraph:

• Begin with a topic sentence that reflects the argument of the thesis statement.
• Briefly summarize the main points of the paper.
• Provide a strong and effective close for the paper.

Introductory Paragraphs

A strong introductory paragraph is crucial to the development of an effective expository essay. Unlike an argumentative essay which takes a stand or forms an opinion about a subject, an expository essay is used when the writer wishes to explain or clarify a topic to the reader. In order to properly explain a topic, an expository essay breaks the topic being addressed into parts, explains each component in relation to the whole and uses each component to justify the explanation of the topic. Thus when writing an introductory paragraph, it is crucial to include the explanation or clarification of the topic and the categories or components used to produce this explanation.

Since the success of the paper rests on the introductory paragraph, it is important to understand its essential components. Usually, expository papers fail to provide a clear explanation not because the writer’s lacks explanations or clarifications but rather because the explanations are not properly organized and identified in the introductory paragraph. One of the most important jobs of an introductory paragraph is that it introduces the topic or issue. Most explanations cannot be clarified without at least some background information. Thus, it is essential to provide a foundation for your topic before you begin explaining your topic. For instance, if you wanted to explain what happened at the first Olympic Games, your introductory paragraph would first need to provide background information about how the first games happened. In doing so, you ensure that your audience is as informed about your topic as you are and thus you make it easier for your audience to understand your explanation.

Below is a table describing and explaining the main jobs of the introductory paragraph.

Introductory paragraphs introduce the topic and suggest why it is important.

Example:   An analysis of the essay exam results of the new English class shows that the new class format promotes close reading and better essay organization.

This sentence tells the reader both that the topic of the paper will be the benefits of the new English class and that the significance of these benefits is the improvement of close reading and essay organization.

Introductory paragraphs outline the structure of the paper and highlight the main ideas.

Example:   Considering the results of the High School Exit Exam, it is apparent that school curriculum is not properly addressing basic math skills such as fractions, percentages and long division.

This sentence indicates that main ideas (fractions, percentages and long division) of the essay and indicates the order in which they will be presented in the body paragraphs.

Introductory paragraphs state the thesis.

Example:   California high schools will require all students to take a resume and cover letter writing workshop in order to better prepare them for employment.

This thesis statement indicates the explanation of the paper.

In addition to introducing the topic of your paper, your introductory paragraph also needs to introduce each of the arguments you will cover in your body paragraphs. By providing your audience with an idea of the points or arguments you will make later in your paper, your introductory paragraph serves as a guide map, not only for your audience but also for you. Including your main sub-points in your introduction not only allows your audience to understand where your essay is headed but also helps you as a writer remember how you want to organize your paper. This is especially helpful if you are not writing your essay in one sitting as it allows you to leave and return to your essay without forgetting all of the important points you wanted to make.

Most importantly, when writing an introductory paragraph, it is essential to remember that you must capture the interest of your reader. Thus, it is your job as the writer to make the introduction entertaining or intriguing. In order to do so, consider using a quotation, a surprising or interesting fact, an anecdote or a humorous story. While the quotation, story or fact you include must be relevant to your paper, placing one of these at the beginning of your introduction helps you not only capture the attention or the reader but also introduce your topic and argument, making your introduction interesting to your audience and useful for your argument and essay.

Body Paragraphs

In an expository essay the body paragraphs are where the writer has the opportunity to explain or clarify his or her viewpoint. By the conclusion paragraph, the writer should adequately clarify the topic for the reader. Regardless of a strong thesis statement that properly indicates the major sub-topics of the essay, papers with weak body paragraphs fail to properly explain the topic and indicate why it is important. Body paragraphs of an expository essay are weak when no examples are used to help illuminate the topic being discussed or when they are poorly organized. Occasionally, body paragraphs are also weak because the quotes used complicate from rather than simplify the explanation. Thus, it is essential to use appropriate support and to adequately explain your support within your body paragraphs.

In order to create a body paragraph that is properly supported and explained, it is important to understand the components that make up a strong body paragraph. The bullet points below indicate the essential components of a well-written, well-argued body paragraph.

Body Paragraph Components

• Support the argument with useful and informative quotes from sources such as books, journal articles, expert opinions, etc.
• Provide 1-2 sentences explaining each quote.
• Provide 1-3 sentences that indicate the significance of each quote.
• Ensure that the information provided is relevant to the thesis statement.
• End with a transition sentence which leads into the next body paragraph.

Just as your introduction must introduce the topic of your essay, the first sentence of a body paragraph must introduce the main sub-point for that paragraph. For instance, if you were writing a body paragraph for a paper explaining the factors that led to US involvement in World War II, one body paragraph could discuss the impact of the Great Depression on the decision to enter the war. To do so, you would begin with a topic sentence that explains how the Great Depression encouraged involvement in the war because the war effort would stimulate certain aspects of the economy. Following this sentence, you would go into more detail and explain how the two events are linked. By placing this idea at the beginning of the paragraph, not only does your audience know what the paragraph is explaining, but you can also keep track of your ideas.

Following the topic sentence, you must provide some sort of fact that supports your claim. In the example of the World War II essay, maybe you would provide a quote from a historian or from a prominent history teacher or researcher. After your quote or fact, you must always explain what the quote or fact is saying, stressing what you believe is most important about your fact. It is important to remember that your audience may read a quote and decide it is indicating something entirely different than what you think it is explaining. Or, maybe some or your readers think another aspect of your quote is important. If you do not explain the quote and indicate what portion of it is relevant to your clarification, than your reader may become confused or may be unconvinced of your explanation. Consider the possible interpretations for the statement below.

Example:  While the U.S. involvement in World War II was not the major contributor to the ending of the Great Depression, the depression was one of the primary motives for entering the war.

Interestingly, this statement seems to be saying two things at once – that the Great Depression helped spark involvement in the war and that World War II did not end the depression alone. On the one hand, the historian seems to say that the two events are not directly linked. However, on the other hand, the historian also indicates that the two events are linked in that the depression caused U.S. involvement in the war. Because of the tension in this quotation, if you used this quote for your World War II essay, you would need to explain that the significant portion of the quote is the assertion that links the events.

In addition to explaining what this quote is saying, you would also need to indicate why this is important to your explanation. When trying to indicate the significance of a fact, it is essential to try to answer the “so what.” Image you have just finished explaining your quote to someone and they have asked you “so what?” The person does not understand why you have explained this quote, not because you have not explained the quote well but because you have not told him or her why he or she needs to know what the quote means. This, the answer to the “so what,” is the significance of your paper and is essentially your clarification within the body paragraphs. However, it is important to remember that generally a body paragraph will contain more than one quotation or piece of support. Thus, you must repeat the Quotation-Explanation-Significance formula several times within your body paragraph to fully explain the one sub-point indicated in your topic sentence. Below is an example of a properly written body paragraph.

Example of an expository body paragraph paired with an explanation of its parts.

Conclusion Paragraph

The conclusion paragraph of an expository essay is an author’s last chance to create a good impression. Hence, it is important to restate the thesis statement at the beginning of the paragraph in order to remind the reader of your topic and explanation. Since it is at the end of the paper, the conclusion paragraph also should add a sense of closure and finality to the clarification of the paper. It is important to re-emphasize the main idea without being repetitive or introducing an entirely new idea or subtopic. While you can conclude your conclusion paragraph by suggesting a topic for further research or investigation, do not make this question the focus of the paragraph. Thus, you should briefly and concisely reiterate the strongest clarifications of the paper, reminding the reader of the validity of your thesis or explanation and bringing closure to your paper.

You may feel that the conclusion paragraph is redundant or unnecessary; However, do not forget that this is your last chance to explain the significance of your argument to your audience. Just as your body paragraphs strive to present the significance of each fact or quote you use, your conclusion paragraph should sum up the significance of your argument. Thus, you should consider making a bold statement in your concluding paragraph by evoking a vivid image, suggesting results or consequences related to your argument or ending with a warning. Through using these components, you not only make your conclusion paragraph more exciting, but you also make your essay and your argument, more important.

  Review Questions

What are three of the main purposes of an introductory paragraph?

• What should you never do in an introductory paragraph?
• How should you refute counterpoints?
• What is the formula for a well-argued body paragraph?
• What should you include in a conclusion paragraph? What should never include in a conclusion paragraph?

Introduction to Informative Writing Copyright © 2020 by Amy Minervini is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Paper Guide: A Cheat Sheet for High Quality Paper and its Uses

by Amanda Doyle February 18, 2019 6 min read letter writing writing 2 Comments

"What paper is good for  this ?" "What's the difference with  this paper and that paper?"

When you’re used to using plain old printer sheets, exploring high-grade paper and its many varieties can seem a little daunting. But as soon as you make the change, it’s so worth it.

Once you know which brands are the best quality and the ones to stick to, it becomes a lot easier to narrow down which papers you’ll want to use based on what purpose.

This is a guide to all of our high-quality paper products, from the brands we carry to what’s best for specific uses.

Japanese paper is going to be your highest-quality paper to pick from. The styling and a ttention to detail puts it way ahead of its counterparts.

Midori, or MD Paper , is some of the most well-known among paper enthusiasts, developing a bit of a cult following. The company started in Japan in the 1960s and their goal is "high writability." The result is softly cream-colored paper that's easy on the eyes and contrasts beautifully with a dark ink. The pages are made to prevent smudging and bleed-through, and are bound using traditional Japanese techniques. 

They come in many sizes, in lined, plain and grid, and the paper cover and binding make these  the most Japanese looking. When paired with leather covers, these are elegance in writing at its best.

The Mnemosyne line is named after the Greek goddess of memory, and is known for their focus on practicality. The minimalist design comes in various sizes, and different paper types   - lined, grid, black, and handy weekly/project formats - all distinguished by their 3 digit number on the front of their waterproof cover.

The spiral binding lets you lay it flat and open, and pages all come with a section for the date - some also include sections for a title and number. The pages are incredibly smooth, comparable to glass, but ink still dries fairly quickly on them. The big bonus: all the pages are micro-perforated so you can get a clean tear-out of anything you're working on (or anything you don't want to keep).

The landscape style is perfect for designers and writers looking for a more creative written experience. Our proprietress and owner, Tona Bell, has been using these since she was a high schooler in the 1980s! 

Life Co. is a small Japanese company that has been making their not-so-small line of paper products since 1946.  A good way to remember the quality of Life paper is "it's all you'll ever need in life." A staple for any desk, inside each of the retro designs is incredibly smooth paper that's super pen-friendly and easy to tear out.

Life Paper can be the perfect writing pad, typing paper, notepad, and letter paper. They come in lined, plain, and grid, from the smallest memo pad, to large legal paper-sized pads. They even offer envelopes, and cotton typewriter paper that's incomparable. This is Tona's personal favorite line of paper.

Tomoe River

Tomoe River   Japanese paper has a cult following due to its whisper thin texture. It's lightweight and smooth, and works wonders at absorbing ink. As thin as it is, there's no bleed-through for fountain pens with this paper. The loose sheets come in dot grid and plain, so you can make and customize the papers for whatever use: making your own notebooks, writing letters, or practicing your calligraphy on a flat, open surface. Tomoe has become so popular, they are starting to make notebooks - but we love the DIY feel of the loose sheets.

Apica notebooks are a great introduction to high-grade paper. They're amazing quality, at an amazingly low price point. These are Japanese-made lined notebooks that come in several sizes, with classic colors and a Baroque retro styling on the cover. They're slim, flexible, and case-bound, making them a top pick for portable notebooks.

The paper has pretty sapphire-colored lines at the top, with a section for dates and numbers, and the matte paper is smooth to the touch. It absorbs ink quickly and won't hook your pen - fountain pens included!

The Kyokuto F.O.B. Coop is a Japanese notebook that comes in a classic, timeless design. It's filled cover to cover with smooth, dot grid paper. 

Dot grid notebooks are a favorite among journal enthusiasts because they offer an easy-to-follow guide for drawing and writing - both horizontally and vertically - without being as obtrusive as a grid-lined notebook.

The pages are thinner, and the cover is flexible, making it a lightweight portable notebook. Great for students who need a little organization on the go or in class. 

Our best European papers are majority going to come from France. They tend to rest on the thicker side. 

Clairefontaine

Clairefontaine  is a French classic notebook - great if you like modern styling. The paper is thick and opaque, a perfect choice for fountain pens. It's smooth, lined, and doesn't let ink bleed through on the next page.

G. Lalo  is a stationery company in France that makes a lovely line of classic sets with colored borders. They add a nice, formal touch to any of your written correspondence. 

Classica paper is designed and made in Italy. They have a thick, yet soft, almost fabric-like feel to them. They come in c lassic stationery sets, in several sizes and dreamy colors.

The All-Weather Notebook by Alwych is a staple in the U.K., where they are designed and made. The covers are waterproof, and when closed, the inside pages are weather-resistant. Much of their fame comes from explorers and adventurers historically using Alwych notebooks. The chunky shape and rounded corners makes it a satisfying notebook.

Christian Lacroix

Christian Lacroix is a fashion design label in France that also adds their unique touch to stationery. Their journals and notebooks are stylish, with intricate details throughout. The pages are thick and opaque, and often come with a gold trim. They bring the joy of journaling to a new level.

We also carry a few American-made papers that have a wonderful quality to them.

Snow and Graham

Chicago-based company Snow and Graham makes notepads that are smooth to the touch and have a classic stationery feel. Their design looks refined, while still feeling whimsical and personal. Great for your desk or office.

Finding Your Paper

Now that we're familiar with the higher quality lines of paper, let's figure out what you are using your paper for, and what's the best brand for it.

Fountain Pens

All of the papers listed above are great choices for fountain pens, but especially Life , Clairefontaine , Mnemosyne , and Midori . These will all offer super smooth, opaque surfaces that won't snag onto your nib.

Calligraphy

If your paper is good for fountain pens, it will also be good for a nib and ink dip. Once again, all of the above papers are great for calligraphy. Tomoe River loose sheets are a great open canvas for practicing your lettering, and the featherlight thinness will give you little resistance while practicing.

If you're sketching with a pencil, a paper with a little more "tooth" to it is ideal. Midori's spiral bound notebooks are an excellent choice. Mnemosynes will definitely be a smoother option, but their larger-sized blank notebooks, like the 181 s, are a great canvas, as they can be laid out flat, and offer perforated pages to tear out your work.

Rollerball and Ballpoint

All of the above papers are good choices if you're writing with a rollerball or ballpoint. They'll absorb ink fairly quickly and prevent bleeding.

Typing on a Typewriter

Life's Typewriter Paper by far will give you the best results with your typewriter. It's a lightweight paper that won't cause you difficulties while loading and typing, and the cotton material does a great job absorbing every punch of ink without smudging or blurring. This paper is also good for fountain pens.

Watercolor Painting

Midori's spiral bound notebooks are a good choice for watercolor painting. Although made by Traveler's Company, their Watercolor Notebook uses Midori paper and is by far your best choice for a watercolor journal.

Bullet Journaling

Any notebook is good for bullet journaling, but dot grid notebooks are a favorite, like the Kyokuto dot grid notebook .

Letter Writing

A go-to is Life's L. Label Writing Pads and their corresponding envelopes . G. Lalo will give your letters a little more class, and Classica will be thick and add a splash of color.

All Papered Out

We hope this guide has been helpful in figuring out what paper you want to use, and for what purpose. Of course, these are suggestions, not rules. If you want to paint in your Christian Lacroix, or journal on Tomoe River paper, go for it! This guide will leave you more informed on what to pick for whatever project you're taking on.

2 Responses

Christopher Carey

June 30, 2023

Thank you for such a comprehensive and well-written review. I had no idea these brands existed. I was searching for comparisons between Tops, Mead, and the Staples’ brand when I came across your blog. This review made me forget all about those brands. Thank you for taking me to the next level of note-taking.

February 26, 2019

I wanted to thank you for my resent purchase, it was a gift for my Dad – I shared it on my infrequent blog posthttps://waypointchronicle.com/2019/02/24/happy-birthday-dad/

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90 Types of Paper: The Ultimate Guide to Paper, From A-Z

Posted on Last updated: August 7, 2023

Paper has been one of the world’s most important commodities for thousands of years that has shaped history all the way to the humble shopping list.

Its many uses make it a versatile material, including currency, packaging, the creation of various crafts, printing, and filtering. Below are 90 different types of paper and how they’re used.

1. Tracing Paper

Architects, engineers, and people in similar professions are usually familiar with tracing paper. 

Tracing paper is placed atop another page, often featuring a diagram, after which one can carefully trace edges, points, and other areas. 

Certain tracing paper variations are made of cellulose and cotton fiber and contain lower opacity fillers, resulting in a dense final product that retains significant moisture.

2 . Bond Paper

As its name implies, bond paper comes from the kind of paper often used by banks and various governments to print bonds. 

Many bond paper varieties contain cotton, but all types are generally durable and of excellent quality. 

Bond paper’s weight of greater than 50GSM is the main characteristic separating it from ordinary writing paper, but it shares many of the same uses with the latter.

3. Print Paper

Print paper is a sort of catch-all term that usually refers to any type of paper used for printing. This may include paper used for books, flyers, or manuals. 

Typically a bit costlier than copy paper, print paper is a good choice for documents that require higher quality and better resolution than traditional copy paper. 

It is also the best choice for documents featuring images or fancy text. 

4. Coated & Uncoated Paper

Coated and uncoated paper are appropriate for different uses. Additionally, coated paper features a material coating designed to emphasize the paper’s quality, such as gloss or weight. The coatings decrease ink absorbency and result in a smooth finish. 

Uncoated paper does not have these features; therefore, it absorbs more ink and is a bit rougher to the touch. Uncoated paper has more uses than coated paper overall.

5. Text Paper

You may have heard the term text paper, but are unsure of exactly what it means .

Text paper is a common, daily-use paper. Versatile and lightweight, it’s often used for the interior pages of certain types of books. 

This relatively thin paper has many variations and can be used for virtually anything, such as posters, flyers, catalogs, or notebooks. Coated and uncoated versions are available.

6. Cardstock Paper

If you’ve ever sent out a greeting card, you already know what cardstock paper is. 

Greeting cards and packaging are two of the primary uses for cardstock paper. It’s also used in notebooks to divide different sections and for some types of crafts. 

It comes in a broad range of weights, most of which are over 170GSM. The letters refer to “ grams per square meter ,” which is how paper is measured. 

Cardstock paper can be found in virtually all colors and various finishes.

7. Newsprint Paper

You have probably handled newsprint paper thousands of times in your life. 

Virtually all newspapers around the world are constructed from this type of paper. This is likely because it’s the cheapest paper available that can withstand ink printing. 

It’s not high-quality paper and is made from ground wood pulp. Although very appropriate for daily newspapers, its short lifespan makes it useless for anything else.

8. Recycled Paper

Although recycled paper is not a definitive term , organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency state that a paper is considered “recycled” if it is manufactured from 100% post-consumer, recovered fiber. 

An incredibly long list of fibers can be used to make recycled paper, but it’s usually made from other printed materials that would otherwise be thrown away.

9. Thermal Paper

Thermal paper is a heat-activated specialty paper. When heat is applied, its color changes. 

It’s manufactured by using heat-sensitive developers and dyes. It is often used in credit card terminals, cash registers, and adding machines. 

It produces fast, high-definition images and is frequently seen in retail outlets such as shopping malls or gas stations.

10. Kraft Paper

Kraft paper is made from wood chips and typically features a brown hue. 

Its uses include everything from printing to packaging, and it usually comes in large rolls that can be cut down to the desired size. 

It can be coated with oil or wax to make it moisture-proof, which is sometimes done by those who wish to use it for food packaging. Not surprisingly, it’s also commonly used for arts and crafts.

11. Carbonless Paper

Carbonless paper is a type of paper that allows a document to be copied multiple times. 

It’s commonly used for color-coded invoice pads or receipts to differentiate customer copies from business copies. 

The customer copy is typically yellow or pink, and the top copy–usually white–stays with the business. It essentially creates a “carbon copy” without the need for carbon paper.

12. Bristol Paper

Bristol paper’s most common use is for arts and crafts. This kind of paper is manufactured by gluing a variable number of sheets together with two felt layers in between. 

The result is a multi-ply sheet that’s sturdier than other craft paper. It gets its name from the papermaking mills in Bristol, England, where it was originally manufactured. Also called Bristol board, it is now used around the world.

13. Vellum Paper

Vellum is a type of translucent paper used by certain card makers and scrapbook artists. 

It’s loved for its elegant texture and was originally a type of fine parchment made from lambskin or calfskin. 

Eventually, the latter were imitated with the heavy, off-white vellum we see today. 

However, it should be handled as little as possible when working with it for crafts since it smudges easily, and all creases immediately become permanent.

14. Tissue Paper

Tissue paper is an extremely lightweight type of paper and is usually manufactured from recycled pulp. 

The term covers many products, including wrapping tissue, facial tissues, paper towels, and bathroom tissue. 

It’s used for everything from dusting to wrapping presents or completing crafts. One of the most versatile types of paper in existence, it can be found in virtually any color.

15. Rice Paper

When researching the phrase “rice paper,” you may be confused. 

This is because multiple types of paper use this name, all of which have different applications. 

One type comes from Asia and is used for painting or making shoe soles. Another is a kind of paper that is literally edible. 

This kind is used in certain types of Vietnamese fare. Then, there is the rice paper that’s used in architecture or craft making. 

They all feel a bit similar and are all made from wood pulp, but thickness varieties cover an extremely broad spectrum.

16. Corrugated Paper

You’ve probably seen corrugated paper hundreds of times and in various situations, such as wrapped around your morning coffee from your favorite cafe. 

Corrugated paper is simply paper that’s “fluted” during manufacturing to give it a specific texture. 

Often seen in cardboard varieties, it’s one of the world’s most commonly used paper types. It is extremely useful in crafts and can be acquired in various colors and weights.

17. Art Paper

There is a virtually limitless number of paper varieties that could be referred to as “art paper,” but in the simplest definition, this type of paper is a heavyweight, textured paper designed to allow artists to achieve depth in their creations. 

Certain varieties are made to allow for repeated erasing without the paper becoming damaged. 

Watercolor paper is one example, typically heavyweight, while drawing or sketch paper is similar but lighter.

18. Parchment Paper

If you’ve ever received a certificate or been given a business card, you probably handled parchment paper. 

It’s a thick, quality paper with sheer properties that make it professionally useful for many office needs. 

However, there is also a type of parchment paper that’s used in baking because of its ability to withstand high temperatures when covered with food matter. 

Its ability to go from the office to the oven, depending on its form, probably makes it one of the most versatile papers in existence.

19. Handmade Paper

As its name implies, handmade paper is made by human hands rather than machines. 

It’s a single layer of fibers that have been entwined and naturally connected by cellulose. This is done using a deckle, also called a flat frame. 

Handmade paper can be used in essentially any way mass-produced paper can, but people who use it generally do so because it’s far better for the environment.

20. Wove Paper

Wove paper is typically handmade. This is accomplished by casting the pulp onto a wire mesh or fabric woven screen. 

This paper is unique because it shows a characteristic impression from the screen pattern when it’s held up to the light. 

This is referred to as the “weave.” This paper has been around for a long time, and its most popular uses are for currency, books, and ledgers.

21. Laid Paper

Laid paper is similar to wove paper but is made by drying it on a more complicated patterned screen. This is typically one that has horizontal and vertical “chains.” 

When the light is shown through this paper, specific lines are present in a very distinct pattern, resulting from the paper pulp not being fully absorbed during the creation process. 

This type of paper is also used in ledgers, currency, and certain types of books. 

22. Cotton Paper

Also frequently referred to as “rag paper,”  cotton paper is highly durable and can last for hundreds of years . 

United States dollars have been printed on cotton paper due to its ability to stay intact rather than disintegrate if it becomes wet. 

There is a broad range of grades of cotton paper, typically beginning at 25% and going all the way up to 100 percent.

23.  Linen Paper

Linen paper is a sort of “fine stationery” paper with a similar feel to that used for certificates or fancy wedding invitations. 

It’s characterized by a raised, crosshatch pattern, which, from a distance, looks just like linen fabric. 

It’s popular for use in fine dining restaurant menus, business letterheads, resumes, or anything a person wants to appear upscale. 

24. Ledger Paper

Appropriately named, ledger paper is used for logbooks, ledgers, and record books. 

It is a high-quality paper that’s made to last and has good erasing capabilities. It is also sometimes used for documents containing tall tables, diagrams, or spreadsheets with complicated dimensions.

25. Tag Paper

Tag paper is a type of heavy utility paper with a high-performance grade on press. 

This is what makes it best for printing tags for consumer goods, particularly accessories, and clothing.

It can be printed on easily and remains strong and durable when handled multiple times. 

Just think how often a consumer touches a price tag on something, but the ink never runs.

26. Onion Skin Paper

Onion skin paper was once popular with typists but is now typically used for wrapping gifts or packing items in boxes when an attractive presentation is desired. 

This paper is almost translucent and is still sometimes used to write handwritten letters or personal invitations. 

One highly popular use for this paper that has never changed is for airmail letters for consumers who want to save on postage.

27. Glassine Paper

A staple in the craft world, glassine is generally used for laminating artwork that might otherwise “run” or become compromised. 

Some examples would be pictures drawn with colored pencils or markers or artwork embellished with craft items such as glitter or gems. 

It also protects documents, photos, and books from damage.

28. Sulphite Paper

Sulphite paper is a super high-quality form of ordinary construction paper found in craft stores. 

Many crafters use sulphite paper for all their art projects, particularly those that call for the use of markers, tempera paint, oil pastels, or collage paint. 

In fact, it is only acrylic paint and watercolors that should not be used with sulphite paper.

29. Cover Stock Paper

Similar to card stock paper, this kind of paper is generally smooth, although it is possible to get textured cover stock paper. 

It can have a glossy or matte appearance and is most often used for things such as catalog covers, greeting cards, business cards, invitations, postcards, and even playing cards . 

It’s also popular among scrapbooking fans, as it makes an ideal cover for such books.

30. Security Paper

Security paper is a broad term that refers to paper that is difficult or impossible to counterfeit. 

It may feature artificial watermarks, high-resolution, latent images, thermochromic ink, or enhanced laid lines. 

This paper is often used to manufacture paper currency, court records, medical records, or sensitive government files.

31. Chalk Paper

Chalk paper is a specific type of paper that’s used primarily for postage stamps. 

It has a very sensitive surface that is designed to be “canceled” with a stamp or through a similar method so that it cannot be used a second time. 

This is because it is almost impossible to remove the ink or other substance with which it was marred without destroying the original design. 

32. Manifold Paper

Manifold paper is a lightweight paper designed to work with carbon paper when multiple copies of something must be made. 

When carbon paper is placed in between multiple pieces of manifold paper, a person can type one document but make several copies simultaneously. 

Its lightweight texture is what makes it perfect for this use.

33. Wax Paper

Almost everyone has heard of wax paper, and there are many uses for this unique type of paper.

It’s a form of tissue paper that’s triple-waxed using food-grade paraffin wax. 

This wax is pushed into the paper’s pores during manufacturing, eventually creating an outside coating. 

Invented by Thomas Edi son , it can even be used in a microwave or conventional oven for cakes and cupcakes, provided the batter completely covers the paper.

34. Blotting Paper

Blotting paper contains highly absorbent cotton, which is not surprising since that is exactly what it is designed to do. 

It was initially invented to absorb excess ink in the days of fountain pens but is now more often used in that capacity with regard to crafts. It is a high-absorbency, sturdy type of paper.

35. Construction Paper

It’s almost certain that you have used construction paper at least a few times as a child, if not on many occasions since. 

Acid-free, versatile, and easy to cut and fold, it is no surprise that it is one of the most popular and commonly used papers for crafts. 

It can be used in virtually any capacity for such activity and comes in any color desired.

36. Graph Paper

Graph paper is nothing more than ordinary paper that comes with a preprinted pattern. 

This is often a grid of small squares for drawing curves, graphs, or specific patterns. 

It’s ideal for use in solving math problems or creating charts or tables in science laboratories. Its mathematical and scientific uses know no bounds.

37. Origami Paper

Origami, speaking of the word itself, is technically the word for a kind of craft rather than a type of paper. 

Origami is a folding art, and Washi is the paper most commonly used for this craft. 

Any type of paper made from long, interwoven fibers that is both light and flexible can be used for origami.

However, ideally, a weight of 60GSM offers the perfect sturdiness and flexibility for Origami art.

38. Wallpaper

Naturally, you know what wallpaper is, but do you know what it’s made from? 

Wallpaper technically has four parts: paste, ink, backing, and a ground coat. 

Like most paper, it’s made from wood pulp, but the wolven backing is coated and printed. 

Modern wallpapers have vinyl or latex coatings, making them “washable.”

39. Photographic Paper

Photographic paper is coated or infused with light-sensitive chemicals. 

These enable it to transform an image from a negative into a color or black-and-white paper image. 

It’s ideal for those who want to create photos that can be displayed in ways other than merely on digital devices.

40. Embossed Paper

If you know anyone who reads Braille, that person is essentially reading embossed paper. 

It is a special type of paper in which certain designs are raised while the rest of the paper remains flat. 

It’s used in all types of creative projects, invitations, and scrapbooking. 

Because an embossed area does not fade the way ink might, this type of paper is often used for certificates or diplomas.

41. Perforated Paper

It would be almost impossible to go through your life without using perforated paper at least a handful of times. 

Perforated paper simply refers to the kind of paper that can be torn without leaving a ragged edge. 

From simple wire notebooks that you’ve likely used countless times to a book of rent receipts or raffle tickets, perforated paper is literally everywhere.

42. Filter Paper

Filter paper is that paper you probably used to make a cup of coffee or tea this morning. 

It is a type of paper that allows air, water, moisture, or other substances to travel through its pores while holding back substances that have bulk, hence, the tea and coffee examples. 

Non-beverage-related uses for such paper include oil filters, fuel filters, and home or office air filters.

43. Carbon Paper

You may have heard the phrase “carbon copy” used in various ways that don’t involve paper, but it’s the paper from which the phrase originated. 

Carbon paper is designed to be placed between two ordinary sheets of paper so that something can be written and duplicated at the same time. 

Now, it is more often used in the arts and crafts category to transfer designs, images, and patterns to metal, glass, wood, canvas, and, of course, paper.

44. Synthetic Paper

Synthetic paper has many uses, and is made from countless materials, most of which are petroleum-based resins. 

This type of paper is often called “tree-free” paper because it is not made from wood pulp, hence its name. 

For almost every type of traditional paper, there is a polymer-based synthetic version, and the latter can generally be used in the exact same way as its tree-based counterpart.

45. Bible Paper

Bible paper, also commonly referred to as “scritta paper,” is a very thin paper that’s most often used for printing, specifically for very long books, such as dictionaries or, as its name implies, Bibles. 

This paper is a woodfree, uncoated paper that is enhanced with linen or cotton fibers to boost its strength despite its thin texture.

46. Butcher Paper

The most common form of butcher paper is the classic white paper that is used to wrap lunch meat, poultry, fish, or beef from a grocer. 

However, this paper has different types, such as pink butcher paper, which is used for barbecuing. 

Butcher paper is very similar to craft paper but is typically bleached to make it white.

47. Papyrus

Papyrus was some of the first paper that existed and was used in ancient times, long before modern paper was invented. 

Papyrus was the primary writing material in ancient Egypt and was used as far back as 3,000 BC.

It was made from the plant for which it is named and had made its way from Egypt to Greece and Rome by 2000 BC.

48. Stone Paper

True to its name, stone paper is made primarily from calcium carbonate rather than tree fiber. 

It boasts several properties that make it an impressive alternative to conventional paper. 

For instance, it is waterproof, tear-resistant, oil resistant, and highly durable. It is also significantly heavier than traditional paper. 

This paper is unique because it is recyclable but does not break down on its own, and therefore is not harmful to the environment.

49. Litmus Paper

You might remember using litmus paper in high school or college chemistry class. 

This type of paper is infused with a series of color dyes, all of which produce specific hues depending on what kind of solution the paper is dipped in and its pH. 

It absorbs the liquid quickly and is most often used in scientific applications.

50. Quilling Paper

Quilling refers to a type of art completed with paper during which the paper is cut into long, thin strips and is then pinched and rolled into various shapes. 

The most important thing about choosing the appropriate paper for quilling is its GSM.

For paper quilling, it’s best to choose paper featuring 80GSM because it is not too thick or thin.

51. Crêpe Paper

If you’ve ever hung a party streamer, you’ve touched crêpe paper.

This kind of paper is produced from wood cellulose and is more flexible and durable than most types of standard paper. 

Crêpe paper can be found in unique textures and colors, making it perfect for making ornamental crafts, wrapping gifts, or decorating for a party.

52. Flocked Paper

Flocked paper is created by depositing tiny fiber particles onto a surface. 

It’s sometimes referred to as “velvet paper,” and you have probably felt it at least once or twice on someone’s wall. 

Certain types of wallpaper featuring raised designs that are soft to the touch are perfect examples of flocked paper. 

Not surprisingly, such paper is perfect for lining craft boxes, making textured cards, or completing many other crafts where something fancier than ordinary paper is desired.

 53. Gummed Paper

You’ve probably handled gummed paper hundreds of times without realizing what it’s called. 

It is a type of stock paper, and on one side, an adhesive coating is added, which is protected with a removable liner. 

Stickers, self-sticking labels, and bumper stickers are all examples of gummed paper.

54. Banknote Paper

Banknote paper is the type of paper on which currency is typically printed. 

It generally has a thickness of approximately 0.1 mm, but this can vary from country to country. 

It lends itself well to watermarks and fiber distribution, which is often used to make it counterfeit-proof. 

Most banknote paper comprises 75% cotton and 25% linen, but this can vary from one area of the world to the next.

55. Laser Paper

Laser printers typically work by melting toner, which is a solid powder, onto a sheet of paper. 

This is done through a high heat level, which is why laser paper was designed. 

Such paper is highly heat resistant and is not coated like some papers, as any type of coating could theoretically melt and ruin both the printer and the paper. 

Laser paper cannot be substituted with any other type of paper without risking disaster.

56. Inkjet Paper

Paper and moisture often don’t mix, which is where inkjet paper comes in. Inkjets work by spraying paper with liquid, a specific type of paper is needed.

Otherwise, after the liquid sinks in and spreads, the result would be a blurry-edged image that would be of little or no good. 

Inkjet paper is specially formulated to encourage rapid drying, preventing ink from blurring and causing fuzzy images.

57. Magnetic Paper

Magnet paper is manufactured by blending paper and magnetized rubber.

It is typically available for most types of printing in standard, letter-sized sheets. 

It’s quite popular for marketing and advertising uses, particularly for things such as business cards, educational tools, magnet photos, and similar marketing products.

58. Oatmeal Paper

Oatmeal paper is a decorative paper that features shives and flecks. 

It’s made by adding a thin layer of chaff or sawdust, often contrasting colors, to ordinary wallpaper. 

It’s an inexpensive type of wallpaper but it can also be used in other ways. 

Artists enjoy using this paper for sketches or work done with charcoal or pastels. It is typically very affordable.

59. Pearlescent Paper

Pearlescent paper is a fancy, elegant type of paper with a smooth texture and a lustrous finish. 

It usually features 12.2 point thickness and is often used for invitations, printed advertisements, brochures, and various craft activities. 

It is laser printer compatible but should not be used with an inkjet printer.

60. Tea Paper

Tea paper is a type of recycled paper made from tea wastes acquired from incorrectly harvested black tea. 

This kind of paper is not made 100% from tea but rather a combination of flax and cotton pulp added to the tea waste. 

However, it’s not a sturdy paper, so its uses are limited. Because it looks somewhat like ancient parchment, it can be fun to write letters on or use to make homemade certificates that a frame can protect.

61. Velvet Paper

Velvet paper is a specific type of flock paper that is widely used in artwork because of its beautiful and versatile texture. 

It is also commonly used for fine art reproduction due to its bright, white surface that lends itself well to the exact colors required when reproducing art. 

It’s a cotton rag paper that’s virtually acid-free, and it dries almost instantly.

62. Washi Paper

Washi paper is a very thin but sturdy type of paper that takes creases well. 

For this reason, its most common use is for Origami art. The latter involves creating objects from paper using tiny, strategic folds. 

Also called traditional Japanese paper, Washi paper is made with ordinary substances, but extra plant-based materials and textiles are added to give it its thinness without causing it to lose its strength.

63. Watermarked Paper

The first thing that may come to mind when you think of watermarked paper is currency. 

This is essentially true since watermarks are placed in most forms of paper money to make counterfeiting difficult. 

However, there are various other uses for watermarked paper, such as professional and formal applications like personal correspondence, resumes, and business letters. 

64. Heat Transfer Paper

Heat transfer paper is a type of specialty paper designed for printing, but it allows the image to be transferred to a hard surface or a fabric via the use of the press. 

Heat transfer paper can be obtained in two varieties: laser printers and inkjet printers. Just don’t mix them up.

65. Decal Paper

Decal paper, also referred to as sticker paper or waterslide decal paper, is a type of ultra-thin paper that features water-activated adhesive on its back surface. 

Even a simple home printer can be used to print any image onto this type of paper, which transforms it into a sticker or decal.

66. Dissolvable Paper

Dissolvable paper is made from natural cellulose and wood pulp fibers. 

The cellulose ingredient dissolves when it comes to water, and the wood pulp fibers separate. 

It has many uses, the most popular of which are various types of arts and crafts. 

Designs can be drawn, embroidered, or painted, and water then easily dissolves the template without ruining the artwork.

67. Silicone Release Paper

Silicone release paper is something you’ve probably handled many times without knowing exactly what it was. 

This is the paper used to hold the backing in place on stickers, postage stamps, labels, band-aids, or anything that has an adhesive that needs to be protected until you are ready to stick the item on the surface. 

It’s a shiny sort of paper that typically curls up when it’s peeled away. 

68. Absorbent Paper

Absorbent paper is generally used for silkscreening, hot stamping, digital printing, and making items like air fresheners designed to absorb odors. 

It can even be used to make coasters. There are two types of this paper: pure wood pulp absorbent paper and high-grade pure cotton absorbent paper. The former is usually more expensive.

69. Mounting Paper

Mounting paper is a broad term that typically refers to any kind of paper used on which to mount artwork. 

Durable, thick, and stiff, this paper is in the card stock category, but there are numerous variations from which to choose. 

The appropriate one depends on the type of art for which it will be used. 

Delicate artwork completed on rice paper differs greatly from a charcoal sketch completed on fine tooth paper. Therefore, it’s important to choose carefully.

70. Manila Paper

Manila is a variety of paper manufactured from semi-bleached wood fibers. 

As its name implies, it’s used to make the manilla board from which folders, envelopes, and similar items are made. 

There is also a type of specialized manila paper that is used as filter paper for teabags, but this is the less common use for this kind of paper.

71. Abaca Paper

Abaca paper is a thin, porous paper that demonstrates outstanding strength when wet and does not disintegrate or turn to mush like many paper varieties.

It’s commonly used for teabags and certain coffee filters. It is centuries old, but its demand has not decreased over the years. 

Other uses include vacuum cleaner bags, wrapping for certain types of meat, and currency.

72. Dó Paper

Dó Paper is a handmade paper that first appeared in Vietnam centuries ago and has an 800-year lifespan . 

It is primarily used for Vietnamese folk art. The paper is handmade, and the steps are complicated and must be completed in a meticulous fashion. 

There are over 50 steps to the process–sometimes up to 100–and it takes approximately one month before the handmade papers are ready for use.

73. India Paper

India paper was designed for taking engravings or impressions. 

It’s a delicate paper created from vegetable fiber and is opaque and very thin, similar to Bible paper. 

It is used for certain books, such as the aforementioned Bibles, but has few other uses due to its delicate nature.

74. Seeded Paper

Seeded paper, as its name indicates, is a type of paper that contains seeds and can be planted in moistened soil. 

It is a recycled paper and therefore is highly popular with environmentalists. 

The seeds start germinating as soon as the paper is “planted,” making planting and sowing much easier for some gardeners.

75. Mulberry Paper

Mulberry paper is handmade paper crafted from the tree, after which it takes its name. 

It has a distinctive finish due to its long fibers and also features an attractive, fine, wispy edge. 

This kind of paper is usually textured and can be found in numerous weights. 

Because it’s handmade, no two pieces are identical. It’s ideal for handmade cards, scrapbooks, and rubber stamping projects.

76. Hemp Paper

Hemp paper is made from industrial hemp fibers acquired from the inner core of the plant’s stalks. 

One of the biggest advantages of hemp paper is its sustainability. 

Hemp paper has a higher yield than traditional paper, fewer chemicals are needed to process it, and it offers greater longevity than conventional wood pulp paper. 

It can be used the same way standard paper is used, the only downside is that it’s a bit more expensive.

77. Silk Paper

This paper is made by binding silk fibers together to create a softer, more luxurious surface. 

It’s often used to print logos or text on advertising materials, sort of like an elegant form of highlighting. 

Silk-coated paper has a sumptuous feel and a low surface sheen, and the colors on this paper have a tendency to be much brighter when compared with other stock paper. 

It’s an excellent choice if readability is a priority. 

78. Archival Paper

Archival paper was designed to ensure the quality of paper documents will be maintained over time. 

It’s acid-free, and rather than being made from wood pulp, it is made 100% from cotton. 

Its primary purpose is to prevent deterioration, yellowing, and aging.

79. Bamboo Paper

No, it’s not that App that turns your device into a traditional notebook. 

Bamboo paper is a recyclable form of paper designed to lessen society’s carbon footprint. 

It‘s the single, fastest-growing plant species on earth and even thrives in depleted soil.

It’s strong, versatile, sustainable and an excellent alternative to traditional paper.

80. Elephant Hide Paper

Elephant hide paper is a rough bookbinding paper with a parchment-like grain. 

It’s often used for book covers, Origami art, or tessellation crafts. Since 2021, most elephant hide paper is available in 110GSM, but there is not a huge variety of colors. 

It’s mostly available in earth tones, such as shades of gray or tan.

81. Tobacco Paper

Also called rolling paper, tobacco paper is a specialized paper used to roll up tobacco or other plants or herbs to be smoked. 

It is made from wood pulp, just like traditional paper, but is much thinner. 

Recently, other variations of tobacco paper have become available, such as those made from transparent cellulose, hemp, or rice. 

82. Shoe Paper

Not surprisingly, shoe paper is that thin, brown paper that’s typically stuffed into shoeboxes. 

It’s used both inside the shoes to help them keep their shape and wrapped around the shoes.

Its primary purpose is to prevent damage, such as scuffing, prior to the shoes being purchased.

However, it is widely used for crafts, wrapping household items for a move, packing breakable items in boxes to be mailed, and many other practical applications.

83. Book Paper

As you might suspect, book paper is used for producing all types of books, including paperbacks, hardcover books, children’s books, and manuals or diaries. 

The number of varieties of book paper is virtually limitless, including thin, light paper, such as Bible paper, to the thicker paper seen in manuals or certain hardcover books, and everything in between.

84. Banana Paper

Banana paper is an environmentally-friendly paper made from recycled materials sourced from banana harvests. 

During manufacturing, fibers from banana harvest byproducts are bound together at a microscopic level. 

The paper is biodegradable, tear resistant, and lightweight, but don’t expect it to resemble ordinary paper. 

It has a leather-like texture and is even used to make shoes and handbags.

85. Sandpaper

Sandpaper is an abrasive paper used for smoothing or polishing surfaces such as drywall, metal, or wood. 

Despite its name, however, sand particles are not used in its construction. 

Rather, it’s made from grit materials like silicon carbide and aluminum oxide.

86. Xuan Paper

Xuan paper is a traditional, oriental paper that is manufactured by hand. 

It is used for painting, primarily with watercolors, and Chinese calligraphy. 

It is made from the rough bark of Blue Sandalwood and Tara Wing-Celtis trees and sometimes contains rice straw. 

It’s known for its smooth, strong surface, and absorbs ink and paint very quickly.

87. Flax Paper

Flax paper, not surprisingly, is manufactured from flax fiber. The latter is a strong, resilient fiber containing high cellulose levels. 

Flax paper is very sturdy, and byproducts from its manufacturing have been used to make yarn. 

The natural color of flax paper is brown, and is frequently used as packing paper in factories and distribution centers.

88. Beeswax Paper

Beeswax paper, sometimes called beeswax wrap, is an environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional wax paper, saran wrap, and freezer bag products. 

Although this type of paper is not limited to the use of food preservation, that is its main use. 

Beeswax paper is made by infusing pure organic jojoba oil, pine tree rosin, and Canadian beeswax into 100% cotton. 

The nice thing about this type of “paper” is that it is not a single-use item but can be used multiple times.

89. Chart Paper

Chart paper, also called recording chart paper, is used in devices such as EKG or brain scan equipment, seismometers, and power meters. 

It is a lightweight, slightly shiny paper, resembling old-fashioned fax paper, and is very heat sensitive. It may or may not have a printed pattern on its surface.

90. Blueprint Paper

Blueprint paper is a type of heat and light-sensitive paper that features a special coating.

The coating is designed to turn blue when it’s exposed to light, while other areas remain white. 

Blueprint manufacturing processes have changed significantly over the years, but architects still use it widely to make copies of drawings or plans for homes, offices, and other structures.

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What Is Paper Used For?

Paper is used to make books, magazines and newspapers as well as paper money and photographic paper. It’s used to make writing paper, toys, boxes, wrapping paper, glassine, paper napkins, toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissue and paper plates. It’s also used for wax paper, parchment paper, filter paper, insulation, roofing felt, wallboard and gypsum board. Some further uses are envelopes, wrappers and butcher paper.

Paper has uses in the medical industry to make bandages and surgical dressings as well as surgical gowns. It is used to make many home decor items, including sturdy laminated kitchen countertops, flooring and wallpaper.

Rags used to be the main ingredient of paper for many years, but now most types of paper are made out of wood pulp. Some paper products are made from waste paper, while others are made from hemp or jute.

Pulpwood paper can be made from a mechanical or chemical process. The wood is stripped of bark, chipped, pulped and passed through various machines that may add chemicals like solutions of calcium bisulfite or caustic soda. Other machines remove water from the pulp and form the pulp into thin sheets. Heavy rollers then press out the rest of the water, and the sheets are dried on steam-heated cylinders.

MORE FROM REFERENCE.COM

Baltimore bridge collapse: a bridge engineer explains what happened, and what needs to change

Associate Professor, Civil Engineering, Monash University

Disclosure statement

Colin Caprani receives funding from the Department of Transport (Victoria) and the Level Crossing Removal Project. He is also Chair of the Confidential Reporting Scheme for Safer Structures - Australasia, Chair of the Australian Regional Group of the Institution of Structural Engineers, and Australian National Delegate for the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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When the container ship MV Dali, 300 metres long and massing around 100,000 tonnes, lost power and slammed into one of the support piers of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the bridge collapsed in moments . Six people are presumed dead, several others injured, and the city and region are expecting a months-long logistical nightmare in the absence of a crucial transport link.

It was a shocking event, not only for the public but for bridge engineers like me. We work very hard to ensure bridges are safe, and overall the probability of being injured or worse in a bridge collapse remains even lower than the chance of being struck by lightning.

However, the images from Baltimore are a reminder that safety can’t be taken for granted. We need to remain vigilant.

So why did this bridge collapse? And, just as importantly, how might we make other bridges more safe against such collapse?

A 20th century bridge meets a 21st century ship

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built through the mid 1970s and opened in 1977. The main structure over the navigation channel is a “continuous truss bridge” in three sections or spans.

The bridge rests on four supports, two of which sit each side of the navigable waterway. It is these two piers that are critical to protect against ship impacts.

And indeed, there were two layers of protection: a so-called “dolphin” structure made from concrete, and a fender. The dolphins are in the water about 100 metres upstream and downstream of the piers. They are intended to be sacrificed in the event of a wayward ship, absorbing its energy and being deformed in the process but keeping the ship from hitting the bridge itself.

The fender is the last layer of protection. It is a structure made of timber and reinforced concrete placed around the main piers. Again, it is intended to absorb the energy of any impact.

Fenders are not intended to absorb impacts from very large vessels . And so when the MV Dali, weighing more than 100,000 tonnes, made it past the protective dolphins, it was simply far too massive for the fender to withstand.

Read more: I've captained ships into tight ports like Baltimore, and this is how captains like me work with harbor pilots to avoid deadly collisions

Video recordings show a cloud of dust appearing just before the bridge collapsed, which may well have been the fender disintegrating as it was crushed by the ship.

Once the massive ship had made it past both the dolphin and the fender, the pier – one of the bridge’s four main supports – was simply incapable of resisting the impact. Given the size of the vessel and its likely speed of around 8 knots (15 kilometres per hour), the impact force would have been around 20,000 tonnes .

Bridges are getting safer

This was not the first time a ship hit the Francis Scott Bridge. There was another collision in 1980 , damaging a fender badly enough that it had to be replaced.

Around the world, 35 major bridge collapses resulting in fatalities were caused by collisions between 1960 and 2015, according to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. Collisions between ships and bridges in the 1970s and early 1980s led to a significant improvement in the design rules for protecting bridges from impact.

Further impacts in the 1970s and early 1980s instigated significant improvements in the design rules for impact.

The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering’s Ship Collision with Bridges guide, published in 1993, and the American Association of State Highway and Transporation Officials’ Guide Specification and Commentary for Vessel Collision Design of Highway Bridges (1991) changed how bridges were designed.

In Australia, the Australian Standard for Bridge Design (published in 2017) requires designers to think about the biggest vessel likely to come along in the next 100 years, and what would happen if it were heading for any bridge pier at full speed. Designers need to consider the result of both head-on collisions and side-on, glancing blows. As a result, many newer bridges protect their piers with entire human-made islands.

Of course, these improvements came too late to influence the design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge itself.

Lessons from disaster

So what are the lessons apparent at this early stage?

First, it’s clear the protection measures in place for this bridge were not enough to handle this ship impact. Today’s cargo ships are much bigger than those of the 1970s, and it seems likely the Francis Scott Key Bridge was not designed with a collision like this in mind.

So one lesson is that we need to consider how the vessels near our bridges are changing. This means we cannot just accept the structure as it was built, but ensure the protection measures around our bridges are evolving alongside the ships around them.

Second, and more generally, we must remain vigilant in managing our bridges. I’ve written previously about the current level of safety of Australian bridges, but also about how we can do better.

This tragic event only emphasises the need to spend more on maintaining our ageing infrastructure. This is the only way to ensure it remains safe and functional for the demands we put on it today.

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Do Plagiarism Checkers Detect AI Content?

Originality has always been a cornerstone of academic success. But the landscape is changing. With the rise of AI writing assistants, the line between helpful tool and sneaky shortcut is blurring. This raises a crucial question: can traditional plagiarism checkers, a student’s reliable partner to detect plagiarism, keep pace with AI content generation? In this blog, we discuss the extent of plagiarism detection on AI-generated text, and how not to overlook AI’s involvement in academic writing.  

Table of Contents

Why can’t plagiarism detectors detect ai content.

• What are university guidelines on AI-generated content?

Human Supervision

Originality emphasis, enhancing text responsibly, staying informed.

AI-generated content often consists of entirely new combinations of words, making it difficult for traditional plagiarism detection tools to identify unintentional or self-plagiarism. These tools employ conventional text-matching and compare text against a database of existing content to detect plagiarised content. As AI-generated content is original and is not copied or paraphrased from existing content, it doesn’t match any entries in the database, making it challenging for plagiarism detection tools to flag it as plagiarized.

What are university guidelines on AI-generated content ?

Universities, including Yale, have recognized the challenges associated with detecting AI-generated writing and have adapted their guidelines accordingly. 1 Yale’s guidance on the usage of AI acknowledges the difficulty of controlling the ease of AI writing through surveillance or detection technology. Notably, Yale has opted not to enable Turnitin’s AI detection feature in their Canvas system due to reliability concerns. This stance reflects a growing awareness among academic institutions of the limitations of existing detection tools in identifying AI-generated content accurately.

What ethics should researchers and PhD students practice when using AI writing tools?

Researchers and PhD students can leverage the benefits of AI writing tools while upholding academic integrity and producing high-quality, original research. Below are a few ethical practices to use AI responsibly in academic writing:

It’s essential to supervise AI-generated content closely, ensuring that it aligns with academic standards and does not deviate from original intentions. AI should not be allowed to run autonomously without human oversight. Maintaining human control ensures that AI-generated content upholds ethical standards and avoids unintended consequences.

Distinguish between using AI to generate new text and enhancing existing work. Originality remains paramount in academic submissions, emphasizing the importance of authentically crafted content.

While AI can assist in enhancing text by simplifying language and structure, it’s crucial to avoid direct copying and ensure that the final output remains original and attributable to the author.

Stay informed about institutional policies and guidelines regarding the ethical use of AI tools in academic writing. Being aware of evolving guidelines helps navigate the ethical considerations effectively.

The discussion reflects a nuanced approach to the use of AI in academic writing, balancing the benefits of AI assistance with ethical considerations and academic integrity. While AI tools can be valuable aids in the writing process, they should be used responsibly and in accordance with institutional guidelines to ensure the production of original and ethically sound academic work.

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• Published: 26 March 2024

Predicting and improving complex beer flavor through machine learning

• Michiel Schreurs   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9449-5619 1 , 2 , 3   na1 ,
• Supinya Piampongsant 1 , 2 , 3   na1 ,
• Miguel Roncoroni   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7461-1427 1 , 2 , 3   na1 ,
• Lloyd Cool   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9936-3124 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ,
• Beatriz Herrera-Malaver   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5096-9974 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Christophe Vanderaa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7443-5427 4 ,
• Florian A. Theßeling 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Łukasz Kreft   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7620-4657 5 ,
• Alexander Botzki   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6691-4233 5 ,
• Philippe Malcorps 6 ,
• Luk Daenen 6 ,
• Tom Wenseleers   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1434-861X 4 &
• Kevin J. Verstrepen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3077-6219 1 , 2 , 3  

Nature Communications volume  15 , Article number:  2368 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Chemical engineering
• Gas chromatography
• Machine learning
• Metabolomics
• Taste receptors

The perception and appreciation of food flavor depends on many interacting chemical compounds and external factors, and therefore proves challenging to understand and predict. Here, we combine extensive chemical and sensory analyses of 250 different beers to train machine learning models that allow predicting flavor and consumer appreciation. For each beer, we measure over 200 chemical properties, perform quantitative descriptive sensory analysis with a trained tasting panel and map data from over 180,000 consumer reviews to train 10 different machine learning models. The best-performing algorithm, Gradient Boosting, yields models that significantly outperform predictions based on conventional statistics and accurately predict complex food features and consumer appreciation from chemical profiles. Model dissection allows identifying specific and unexpected compounds as drivers of beer flavor and appreciation. Adding these compounds results in variants of commercial alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers with improved consumer appreciation. Together, our study reveals how big data and machine learning uncover complex links between food chemistry, flavor and consumer perception, and lays the foundation to develop novel, tailored foods with superior flavors.

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Introduction

Predicting and understanding food perception and appreciation is one of the major challenges in food science. Accurate modeling of food flavor and appreciation could yield important opportunities for both producers and consumers, including quality control, product fingerprinting, counterfeit detection, spoilage detection, and the development of new products and product combinations (food pairing) 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 . Accurate models for flavor and consumer appreciation would contribute greatly to our scientific understanding of how humans perceive and appreciate flavor. Moreover, accurate predictive models would also facilitate and standardize existing food assessment methods and could supplement or replace assessments by trained and consumer tasting panels, which are variable, expensive and time-consuming 7 , 8 , 9 . Lastly, apart from providing objective, quantitative, accurate and contextual information that can help producers, models can also guide consumers in understanding their personal preferences 10 .

Despite the myriad of applications, predicting food flavor and appreciation from its chemical properties remains a largely elusive goal in sensory science, especially for complex food and beverages 11 , 12 . A key obstacle is the immense number of flavor-active chemicals underlying food flavor. Flavor compounds can vary widely in chemical structure and concentration, making them technically challenging and labor-intensive to quantify, even in the face of innovations in metabolomics, such as non-targeted metabolic fingerprinting 13 , 14 . Moreover, sensory analysis is perhaps even more complicated. Flavor perception is highly complex, resulting from hundreds of different molecules interacting at the physiochemical and sensorial level. Sensory perception is often non-linear, characterized by complex and concentration-dependent synergistic and antagonistic effects 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 that are further convoluted by the genetics, environment, culture and psychology of consumers 22 , 23 , 24 . Perceived flavor is therefore difficult to measure, with problems of sensitivity, accuracy, and reproducibility that can only be resolved by gathering sufficiently large datasets 25 . Trained tasting panels are considered the prime source of quality sensory data, but require meticulous training, are low throughput and high cost. Public databases containing consumer reviews of food products could provide a valuable alternative, especially for studying appreciation scores, which do not require formal training 25 . Public databases offer the advantage of amassing large amounts of data, increasing the statistical power to identify potential drivers of appreciation. However, public datasets suffer from biases, including a bias in the volunteers that contribute to the database, as well as confounding factors such as price, cult status and psychological conformity towards previous ratings of the product.

Classical multivariate statistics and machine learning methods have been used to predict flavor of specific compounds by, for example, linking structural properties of a compound to its potential biological activities or linking concentrations of specific compounds to sensory profiles 1 , 26 . Importantly, most previous studies focused on predicting organoleptic properties of single compounds (often based on their chemical structure) 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , thus ignoring the fact that these compounds are present in a complex matrix in food or beverages and excluding complex interactions between compounds. Moreover, the classical statistics commonly used in sensory science 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 require a large sample size and sufficient variance amongst predictors to create accurate models. They are not fit for studying an extensive set of hundreds of interacting flavor compounds, since they are sensitive to outliers, have a high tendency to overfit and are less suited for non-linear and discontinuous relationships 40 .

In this study, we combine extensive chemical analyses and sensory data of a set of different commercial beers with machine learning approaches to develop models that predict taste, smell, mouthfeel and appreciation from compound concentrations. Beer is particularly suited to model the relationship between chemistry, flavor and appreciation. First, beer is a complex product, consisting of thousands of flavor compounds that partake in complex sensory interactions 41 , 42 , 43 . This chemical diversity arises from the raw materials (malt, yeast, hops, water and spices) and biochemical conversions during the brewing process (kilning, mashing, boiling, fermentation, maturation and aging) 44 , 45 . Second, the advent of the internet saw beer consumers embrace online review platforms, such as RateBeer (ZX Ventures, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV) and BeerAdvocate (Next Glass, inc.). In this way, the beer community provides massive data sets of beer flavor and appreciation scores, creating extraordinarily large sensory databases to complement the analyses of our professional sensory panel. Specifically, we characterize over 200 chemical properties of 250 commercial beers, spread across 22 beer styles, and link these to the descriptive sensory profiling data of a 16-person in-house trained tasting panel and data acquired from over 180,000 public consumer reviews. These unique and extensive datasets enable us to train a suite of machine learning models to predict flavor and appreciation from a beer’s chemical profile. Dissection of the best-performing models allows us to pinpoint specific compounds as potential drivers of beer flavor and appreciation. Follow-up experiments confirm the importance of these compounds and ultimately allow us to significantly improve the flavor and appreciation of selected commercial beers. Together, our study represents a significant step towards understanding complex flavors and reinforces the value of machine learning to develop and refine complex foods. In this way, it represents a stepping stone for further computer-aided food engineering applications 46 .

To generate a comprehensive dataset on beer flavor, we selected 250 commercial Belgian beers across 22 different beer styles (Supplementary Fig.  S1 ). Beers with ≤ 4.2% alcohol by volume (ABV) were classified as non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic. Blonds and Tripels constitute a significant portion of the dataset (12.4% and 11.2%, respectively) reflecting their presence on the Belgian beer market and the heterogeneity of beers within these styles. By contrast, lager beers are less diverse and dominated by a handful of brands. Rare styles such as Brut or Faro make up only a small fraction of the dataset (2% and 1%, respectively) because fewer of these beers are produced and because they are dominated by distinct characteristics in terms of flavor and chemical composition.

Extensive analysis identifies relationships between chemical compounds in beer

For each beer, we measured 226 different chemical properties, including common brewing parameters such as alcohol content, iso-alpha acids, pH, sugar concentration 47 , and over 200 flavor compounds (Methods, Supplementary Table  S1 ). A large portion (37.2%) are terpenoids arising from hopping, responsible for herbal and fruity flavors 16 , 48 . A second major category are yeast metabolites, such as esters and alcohols, that result in fruity and solvent notes 48 , 49 , 50 . Other measured compounds are primarily derived from malt, or other microbes such as non- Saccharomyces yeasts and bacteria (‘wild flora’). Compounds that arise from spices or staling are labeled under ‘Others’. Five attributes (caloric value, total acids and total ester, hop aroma and sulfur compounds) are calculated from multiple individually measured compounds.

As a first step in identifying relationships between chemical properties, we determined correlations between the concentrations of the compounds (Fig.  1 , upper panel, Supplementary Data  1 and 2 , and Supplementary Fig.  S2 . For the sake of clarity, only a subset of the measured compounds is shown in Fig.  1 ). Compounds of the same origin typically show a positive correlation, while absence of correlation hints at parameters varying independently. For example, the hop aroma compounds citronellol, and alpha-terpineol show moderate correlations with each other (Spearman’s rho=0.39 and 0.57), but not with the bittering hop component iso-alpha acids (Spearman’s rho=0.16 and −0.07). This illustrates how brewers can independently modify hop aroma and bitterness by selecting hop varieties and dosage time. If hops are added early in the boiling phase, chemical conversions increase bitterness while aromas evaporate, conversely, late addition of hops preserves aroma but limits bitterness 51 . Similarly, hop-derived iso-alpha acids show a strong anti-correlation with lactic acid and acetic acid, likely reflecting growth inhibition of lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria, or the consequent use of fewer hops in sour beer styles, such as West Flanders ales and Fruit beers, that rely on these bacteria for their distinct flavors 52 . Finally, yeast-derived esters (ethyl acetate, ethyl decanoate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate) and alcohols (ethanol, isoamyl alcohol, isobutanol, and glycerol), correlate with Spearman coefficients above 0.5, suggesting that these secondary metabolites are correlated with the yeast genetic background and/or fermentation parameters and may be difficult to influence individually, although the choice of yeast strain may offer some control 53 .

Spearman rank correlations are shown. Descriptors are grouped according to their origin (malt (blue), hops (green), yeast (red), wild flora (yellow), Others (black)), and sensory aspect (aroma, taste, palate, and overall appreciation). Please note that for the chemical compounds, for the sake of clarity, only a subset of the total number of measured compounds is shown, with an emphasis on the key compounds for each source. For more details, see the main text and Methods section. Chemical data can be found in Supplementary Data  1 , correlations between all chemical compounds are depicted in Supplementary Fig.  S2 and correlation values can be found in Supplementary Data  2 . See Supplementary Data  4 for sensory panel assessments and Supplementary Data  5 for correlation values between all sensory descriptors.

Interestingly, different beer styles show distinct patterns for some flavor compounds (Supplementary Fig.  S3 ). These observations agree with expectations for key beer styles, and serve as a control for our measurements. For instance, Stouts generally show high values for color (darker), while hoppy beers contain elevated levels of iso-alpha acids, compounds associated with bitter hop taste. Acetic and lactic acid are not prevalent in most beers, with notable exceptions such as Kriek, Lambic, Faro, West Flanders ales and Flanders Old Brown, which use acid-producing bacteria ( Lactobacillus and Pediococcus ) or unconventional yeast ( Brettanomyces ) 54 , 55 . Glycerol, ethanol and esters show similar distributions across all beer styles, reflecting their common origin as products of yeast metabolism during fermentation 45 , 53 . Finally, low/no-alcohol beers contain low concentrations of glycerol and esters. This is in line with the production process for most of the low/no-alcohol beers in our dataset, which are produced through limiting fermentation or by stripping away alcohol via evaporation or dialysis, with both methods having the unintended side-effect of reducing the amount of flavor compounds in the final beer 56 , 57 .

Besides expected associations, our data also reveals less trivial associations between beer styles and specific parameters. For example, geraniol and citronellol, two monoterpenoids responsible for citrus, floral and rose flavors and characteristic of Citra hops, are found in relatively high amounts in Christmas, Saison, and Brett/co-fermented beers, where they may originate from terpenoid-rich spices such as coriander seeds instead of hops 58 .

Tasting panel assessments reveal sensorial relationships in beer

To assess the sensory profile of each beer, a trained tasting panel evaluated each of the 250 beers for 50 sensory attributes, including different hop, malt and yeast flavors, off-flavors and spices. Panelists used a tasting sheet (Supplementary Data  3 ) to score the different attributes. Panel consistency was evaluated by repeating 12 samples across different sessions and performing ANOVA. In 95% of cases no significant difference was found across sessions ( p  > 0.05), indicating good panel consistency (Supplementary Table  S2 ).

Aroma and taste perception reported by the trained panel are often linked (Fig.  1 , bottom left panel and Supplementary Data  4 and 5 ), with high correlations between hops aroma and taste (Spearman’s rho=0.83). Bitter taste was found to correlate with hop aroma and taste in general (Spearman’s rho=0.80 and 0.69), and particularly with “grassy” noble hops (Spearman’s rho=0.75). Barnyard flavor, most often associated with sour beers, is identified together with stale hops (Spearman’s rho=0.97) that are used in these beers. Lactic and acetic acid, which often co-occur, are correlated (Spearman’s rho=0.66). Interestingly, sweetness and bitterness are anti-correlated (Spearman’s rho = −0.48), confirming the hypothesis that they mask each other 59 , 60 . Beer body is highly correlated with alcohol (Spearman’s rho = 0.79), and overall appreciation is found to correlate with multiple aspects that describe beer mouthfeel (alcohol, carbonation; Spearman’s rho= 0.32, 0.39), as well as with hop and ester aroma intensity (Spearman’s rho=0.39 and 0.35).

Similar to the chemical analyses, sensorial analyses confirmed typical features of specific beer styles (Supplementary Fig.  S4 ). For example, sour beers (Faro, Flanders Old Brown, Fruit beer, Kriek, Lambic, West Flanders ale) were rated acidic, with flavors of both acetic and lactic acid. Hoppy beers were found to be bitter and showed hop-associated aromas like citrus and tropical fruit. Malt taste is most detected among scotch, stout/porters, and strong ales, while low/no-alcohol beers, which often have a reputation for being ‘worty’ (reminiscent of unfermented, sweet malt extract) appear in the middle. Unsurprisingly, hop aromas are most strongly detected among hoppy beers. Like its chemical counterpart (Supplementary Fig.  S3 ), acidity shows a right-skewed distribution, with the most acidic beers being Krieks, Lambics, and West Flanders ales.

Tasting panel assessments of specific flavors correlate with chemical composition

We find that the concentrations of several chemical compounds strongly correlate with specific aroma or taste, as evaluated by the tasting panel (Fig.  2 , Supplementary Fig.  S5 , Supplementary Data  6 ). In some cases, these correlations confirm expectations and serve as a useful control for data quality. For example, iso-alpha acids, the bittering compounds in hops, strongly correlate with bitterness (Spearman’s rho=0.68), while ethanol and glycerol correlate with tasters’ perceptions of alcohol and body, the mouthfeel sensation of fullness (Spearman’s rho=0.82/0.62 and 0.72/0.57 respectively) and darker color from roasted malts is a good indication of malt perception (Spearman’s rho=0.54).

Heatmap colors indicate Spearman’s Rho. Axes are organized according to sensory categories (aroma, taste, mouthfeel, overall), chemical categories and chemical sources in beer (malt (blue), hops (green), yeast (red), wild flora (yellow), Others (black)). See Supplementary Data  6 for all correlation values.

Interestingly, for some relationships between chemical compounds and perceived flavor, correlations are weaker than expected. For example, the rose-smelling phenethyl acetate only weakly correlates with floral aroma. This hints at more complex relationships and interactions between compounds and suggests a need for a more complex model than simple correlations. Lastly, we uncovered unexpected correlations. For instance, the esters ethyl decanoate and ethyl octanoate appear to correlate slightly with hop perception and bitterness, possibly due to their fruity flavor. Iron is anti-correlated with hop aromas and bitterness, most likely because it is also anti-correlated with iso-alpha acids. This could be a sign of metal chelation of hop acids 61 , given that our analyses measure unbound hop acids and total iron content, or could result from the higher iron content in dark and Fruit beers, which typically have less hoppy and bitter flavors 62 .

Public consumer reviews complement expert panel data

To complement and expand the sensory data of our trained tasting panel, we collected 180,000 reviews of our 250 beers from the online consumer review platform RateBeer. This provided numerical scores for beer appearance, aroma, taste, palate, overall quality as well as the average overall score.

Public datasets are known to suffer from biases, such as price, cult status and psychological conformity towards previous ratings of a product. For example, prices correlate with appreciation scores for these online consumer reviews (rho=0.49, Supplementary Fig.  S6 ), but not for our trained tasting panel (rho=0.19). This suggests that prices affect consumer appreciation, which has been reported in wine 63 , while blind tastings are unaffected. Moreover, we observe that some beer styles, like lagers and non-alcoholic beers, generally receive lower scores, reflecting that online reviewers are mostly beer aficionados with a preference for specialty beers over lager beers. In general, we find a modest correlation between our trained panel’s overall appreciation score and the online consumer appreciation scores (Fig.  3 , rho=0.29). Apart from the aforementioned biases in the online datasets, serving temperature, sample freshness and surroundings, which are all tightly controlled during the tasting panel sessions, can vary tremendously across online consumers and can further contribute to (among others, appreciation) differences between the two categories of tasters. Importantly, in contrast to the overall appreciation scores, for many sensory aspects the results from the professional panel correlated well with results obtained from RateBeer reviews. Correlations were highest for features that are relatively easy to recognize even for untrained tasters, like bitterness, sweetness, alcohol and malt aroma (Fig.  3 and below).

RateBeer text mining results can be found in Supplementary Data  7 . Rho values shown are Spearman correlation values, with asterisks indicating significant correlations ( p  < 0.05, two-sided). All p values were smaller than 0.001, except for Esters aroma (0.0553), Esters taste (0.3275), Esters aroma—banana (0.0019), Coriander (0.0508) and Diacetyl (0.0134).

Besides collecting consumer appreciation from these online reviews, we developed automated text analysis tools to gather additional data from review texts (Supplementary Data  7 ). Processing review texts on the RateBeer database yielded comparable results to the scores given by the trained panel for many common sensory aspects, including acidity, bitterness, sweetness, alcohol, malt, and hop tastes (Fig.  3 ). This is in line with what would be expected, since these attributes require less training for accurate assessment and are less influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, serving glass and odors in the environment. Consumer reviews also correlate well with our trained panel for 4-vinyl guaiacol, a compound associated with a very characteristic aroma. By contrast, correlations for more specific aromas like ester, coriander or diacetyl are underrepresented in the online reviews, underscoring the importance of using a trained tasting panel and standardized tasting sheets with explicit factors to be scored for evaluating specific aspects of a beer. Taken together, our results suggest that public reviews are trustworthy for some, but not all, flavor features and can complement or substitute taste panel data for these sensory aspects.

Models can predict beer sensory profiles from chemical data

The rich datasets of chemical analyses, tasting panel assessments and public reviews gathered in the first part of this study provided us with a unique opportunity to develop predictive models that link chemical data to sensorial features. Given the complexity of beer flavor, basic statistical tools such as correlations or linear regression may not always be the most suitable for making accurate predictions. Instead, we applied different machine learning models that can model both simple linear and complex interactive relationships. Specifically, we constructed a set of regression models to predict (a) trained panel scores for beer flavor and quality and (b) public reviews’ appreciation scores from beer chemical profiles. We trained and tested 10 different models (Methods), 3 linear regression-based models (simple linear regression with first-order interactions (LR), lasso regression with first-order interactions (Lasso), partial least squares regressor (PLSR)), 5 decision tree models (AdaBoost regressor (ABR), extra trees (ET), gradient boosting regressor (GBR), random forest (RF) and XGBoost regressor (XGBR)), 1 support vector regression (SVR), and 1 artificial neural network (ANN) model.

To compare the performance of our machine learning models, the dataset was randomly split into a training and test set, stratified by beer style. After a model was trained on data in the training set, its performance was evaluated on its ability to predict the test dataset obtained from multi-output models (based on the coefficient of determination, see Methods). Additionally, individual-attribute models were ranked per descriptor and the average rank was calculated, as proposed by Korneva et al. 64 . Importantly, both ways of evaluating the models’ performance agreed in general. Performance of the different models varied (Table  1 ). It should be noted that all models perform better at predicting RateBeer results than results from our trained tasting panel. One reason could be that sensory data is inherently variable, and this variability is averaged out with the large number of public reviews from RateBeer. Additionally, all tree-based models perform better at predicting taste than aroma. Linear models (LR) performed particularly poorly, with negative R 2 values, due to severe overfitting (training set R 2  = 1). Overfitting is a common issue in linear models with many parameters and limited samples, especially with interaction terms further amplifying the number of parameters. L1 regularization (Lasso) successfully overcomes this overfitting, out-competing multiple tree-based models on the RateBeer dataset. Similarly, the dimensionality reduction of PLSR avoids overfitting and improves performance, to some extent. Still, tree-based models (ABR, ET, GBR, RF and XGBR) show the best performance, out-competing the linear models (LR, Lasso, PLSR) commonly used in sensory science 65 .

GBR models showed the best overall performance in predicting sensory responses from chemical information, with R 2 values up to 0.75 depending on the predicted sensory feature (Supplementary Table  S4 ). The GBR models predict consumer appreciation (RateBeer) better than our trained panel’s appreciation (R 2 value of 0.67 compared to R 2 value of 0.09) (Supplementary Table  S3 and Supplementary Table  S4 ). ANN models showed intermediate performance, likely because neural networks typically perform best with larger datasets 66 . The SVR shows intermediate performance, mostly due to the weak predictions of specific attributes that lower the overall performance (Supplementary Table  S4 ).

Model dissection identifies specific, unexpected compounds as drivers of consumer appreciation

Next, we leveraged our models to infer important contributors to sensory perception and consumer appreciation. Consumer preference is a crucial sensory aspects, because a product that shows low consumer appreciation scores often does not succeed commercially 25 . Additionally, the requirement for a large number of representative evaluators makes consumer trials one of the more costly and time-consuming aspects of product development. Hence, a model for predicting chemical drivers of overall appreciation would be a welcome addition to the available toolbox for food development and optimization.

Since GBR models on our RateBeer dataset showed the best overall performance, we focused on these models. Specifically, we used two approaches to identify important contributors. First, rankings of the most important predictors for each sensorial trait in the GBR models were obtained based on impurity-based feature importance (mean decrease in impurity). High-ranked parameters were hypothesized to be either the true causal chemical properties underlying the trait, to correlate with the actual causal properties, or to take part in sensory interactions affecting the trait 67 (Fig.  4A ). In a second approach, we used SHAP 68 to determine which parameters contributed most to the model for making predictions of consumer appreciation (Fig.  4B ). SHAP calculates parameter contributions to model predictions on a per-sample basis, which can be aggregated into an importance score.

A The impurity-based feature importance (mean deviance in impurity, MDI) calculated from the Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR) model predicting RateBeer appreciation scores. The top 15 highest ranked chemical properties are shown. B SHAP summary plot for the top 15 parameters contributing to our GBR model. Each point on the graph represents a sample from our dataset. The color represents the concentration of that parameter, with bluer colors representing low values and redder colors representing higher values. Greater absolute values on the horizontal axis indicate a higher impact of the parameter on the prediction of the model. C Spearman correlations between the 15 most important chemical properties and consumer overall appreciation. Numbers indicate the Spearman Rho correlation coefficient, and the rank of this correlation compared to all other correlations. The top 15 important compounds were determined using SHAP (panel B).

Both approaches identified ethyl acetate as the most predictive parameter for beer appreciation (Fig.  4 ). Ethyl acetate is the most abundant ester in beer with a typical ‘fruity’, ‘solvent’ and ‘alcoholic’ flavor, but is often considered less important than other esters like isoamyl acetate. The second most important parameter identified by SHAP is ethanol, the most abundant beer compound after water. Apart from directly contributing to beer flavor and mouthfeel, ethanol drastically influences the physical properties of beer, dictating how easily volatile compounds escape the beer matrix to contribute to beer aroma 69 . Importantly, it should also be noted that the importance of ethanol for appreciation is likely inflated by the very low appreciation scores of non-alcoholic beers (Supplementary Fig.  S4 ). Despite not often being considered a driver of beer appreciation, protein level also ranks highly in both approaches, possibly due to its effect on mouthfeel and body 70 . Lactic acid, which contributes to the tart taste of sour beers, is the fourth most important parameter identified by SHAP, possibly due to the generally high appreciation of sour beers in our dataset.

Interestingly, some of the most important predictive parameters for our model are not well-established as beer flavors or are even commonly regarded as being negative for beer quality. For example, our models identify methanethiol and ethyl phenyl acetate, an ester commonly linked to beer staling 71 , as a key factor contributing to beer appreciation. Although there is no doubt that high concentrations of these compounds are considered unpleasant, the positive effects of modest concentrations are not yet known 72 , 73 .

To compare our approach to conventional statistics, we evaluated how well the 15 most important SHAP-derived parameters correlate with consumer appreciation (Fig.  4C ). Interestingly, only 6 of the properties derived by SHAP rank amongst the top 15 most correlated parameters. For some chemical compounds, the correlations are so low that they would have likely been considered unimportant. For example, lactic acid, the fourth most important parameter, shows a bimodal distribution for appreciation, with sour beers forming a separate cluster, that is missed entirely by the Spearman correlation. Additionally, the correlation plots reveal outliers, emphasizing the need for robust analysis tools. Together, this highlights the need for alternative models, like the Gradient Boosting model, that better grasp the complexity of (beer) flavor.

Finally, to observe the relationships between these chemical properties and their predicted targets, partial dependence plots were constructed for the six most important predictors of consumer appreciation 74 , 75 , 76 (Supplementary Fig.  S7 ). One-way partial dependence plots show how a change in concentration affects the predicted appreciation. These plots reveal an important limitation of our models: appreciation predictions remain constant at ever-increasing concentrations. This implies that once a threshold concentration is reached, further increasing the concentration does not affect appreciation. This is false, as it is well-documented that certain compounds become unpleasant at high concentrations, including ethyl acetate (‘nail polish’) 77 and methanethiol (‘sulfury’ and ‘rotten cabbage’) 78 . The inability of our models to grasp that flavor compounds have optimal levels, above which they become negative, is a consequence of working with commercial beer brands where (off-)flavors are rarely too high to negatively impact the product. The two-way partial dependence plots show how changing the concentration of two compounds influences predicted appreciation, visualizing their interactions (Supplementary Fig.  S7 ). In our case, the top 5 parameters are dominated by additive or synergistic interactions, with high concentrations for both compounds resulting in the highest predicted appreciation.

To assess the robustness of our best-performing models and model predictions, we performed 100 iterations of the GBR, RF and ET models. In general, all iterations of the models yielded similar performance (Supplementary Fig.  S8 ). Moreover, the main predictors (including the top predictors ethanol and ethyl acetate) remained virtually the same, especially for GBR and RF. For the iterations of the ET model, we did observe more variation in the top predictors, which is likely a consequence of the model’s inherent random architecture in combination with co-correlations between certain predictors. However, even in this case, several of the top predictors (ethanol and ethyl acetate) remain unchanged, although their rank in importance changes (Supplementary Fig.  S8 ).

Next, we investigated if a combination of RateBeer and trained panel data into one consolidated dataset would lead to stronger models, under the hypothesis that such a model would suffer less from bias in the datasets. A GBR model was trained to predict appreciation on the combined dataset. This model underperformed compared to the RateBeer model, both in the native case and when including a dataset identifier (R 2  = 0.67, 0.26 and 0.42 respectively). For the latter, the dataset identifier is the most important feature (Supplementary Fig.  S9 ), while most of the feature importance remains unchanged, with ethyl acetate and ethanol ranking highest, like in the original model trained only on RateBeer data. It seems that the large variation in the panel dataset introduces noise, weakening the models’ performances and reliability. In addition, it seems reasonable to assume that both datasets are fundamentally different, with the panel dataset obtained by blind tastings by a trained professional panel.

Lastly, we evaluated whether beer style identifiers would further enhance the model’s performance. A GBR model was trained with parameters that explicitly encoded the styles of the samples. This did not improve model performance (R2 = 0.66 with style information vs R2 = 0.67). The most important chemical features are consistent with the model trained without style information (eg. ethanol and ethyl acetate), and with the exception of the most preferred (strong ale) and least preferred (low/no-alcohol) styles, none of the styles were among the most important features (Supplementary Fig.  S9 , Supplementary Table  S5 and S6 ). This is likely due to a combination of style-specific chemical signatures, such as iso-alpha acids and lactic acid, that implicitly convey style information to the original models, as well as the low number of samples belonging to some styles, making it difficult for the model to learn style-specific patterns. Moreover, beer styles are not rigorously defined, with some styles overlapping in features and some beers being misattributed to a specific style, all of which leads to more noise in models that use style parameters.

Model validation

To test if our predictive models give insight into beer appreciation, we set up experiments aimed at improving existing commercial beers. We specifically selected overall appreciation as the trait to be examined because of its complexity and commercial relevance. Beer flavor comprises a complex bouquet rather than single aromas and tastes 53 . Hence, adding a single compound to the extent that a difference is noticeable may lead to an unbalanced, artificial flavor. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of combinations of compounds. Because Blond beers represent the most extensive style in our dataset, we selected a beer from this style as the starting material for these experiments (Beer 64 in Supplementary Data  1 ).

In the first set of experiments, we adjusted the concentrations of compounds that made up the most important predictors of overall appreciation (ethyl acetate, ethanol, lactic acid, ethyl phenyl acetate) together with correlated compounds (ethyl hexanoate, isoamyl acetate, glycerol), bringing them up to 95 th percentile ethanol-normalized concentrations (Methods) within the Blond group (‘Spiked’ concentration in Fig.  5A ). Compared to controls, the spiked beers were found to have significantly improved overall appreciation among trained panelists, with panelist noting increased intensity of ester flavors, sweetness, alcohol, and body fullness (Fig.  5B ). To disentangle the contribution of ethanol to these results, a second experiment was performed without the addition of ethanol. This resulted in a similar outcome, including increased perception of alcohol and overall appreciation.

Adding the top chemical compounds, identified as best predictors of appreciation by our model, into poorly appreciated beers results in increased appreciation from our trained panel. Results of sensory tests between base beers and those spiked with compounds identified as the best predictors by the model. A Blond and Non/Low-alcohol (0.0% ABV) base beers were brought up to 95th-percentile ethanol-normalized concentrations within each style. B For each sensory attribute, tasters indicated the more intense sample and selected the sample they preferred. The numbers above the bars correspond to the p values that indicate significant changes in perceived flavor (two-sided binomial test: alpha 0.05, n  = 20 or 13).

In a last experiment, we tested whether using the model’s predictions can boost the appreciation of a non-alcoholic beer (beer 223 in Supplementary Data  1 ). Again, the addition of a mixture of predicted compounds (omitting ethanol, in this case) resulted in a significant increase in appreciation, body, ester flavor and sweetness.

Predicting flavor and consumer appreciation from chemical composition is one of the ultimate goals of sensory science. A reliable, systematic and unbiased way to link chemical profiles to flavor and food appreciation would be a significant asset to the food and beverage industry. Such tools would substantially aid in quality control and recipe development, offer an efficient and cost-effective alternative to pilot studies and consumer trials and would ultimately allow food manufacturers to produce superior, tailor-made products that better meet the demands of specific consumer groups more efficiently.

A limited set of studies have previously tried, to varying degrees of success, to predict beer flavor and beer popularity based on (a limited set of) chemical compounds and flavors 79 , 80 . Current sensitive, high-throughput technologies allow measuring an unprecedented number of chemical compounds and properties in a large set of samples, yielding a dataset that can train models that help close the gaps between chemistry and flavor, even for a complex natural product like beer. To our knowledge, no previous research gathered data at this scale (250 samples, 226 chemical parameters, 50 sensory attributes and 5 consumer scores) to disentangle and validate the chemical aspects driving beer preference using various machine-learning techniques. We find that modern machine learning models outperform conventional statistical tools, such as correlations and linear models, and can successfully predict flavor appreciation from chemical composition. This could be attributed to the natural incorporation of interactions and non-linear or discontinuous effects in machine learning models, which are not easily grasped by the linear model architecture. While linear models and partial least squares regression represent the most widespread statistical approaches in sensory science, in part because they allow interpretation 65 , 81 , 82 , modern machine learning methods allow for building better predictive models while preserving the possibility to dissect and exploit the underlying patterns. Of the 10 different models we trained, tree-based models, such as our best performing GBR, showed the best overall performance in predicting sensory responses from chemical information, outcompeting artificial neural networks. This agrees with previous reports for models trained on tabular data 83 . Our results are in line with the findings of Colantonio et al. who also identified the gradient boosting architecture as performing best at predicting appreciation and flavor (of tomatoes and blueberries, in their specific study) 26 . Importantly, besides our larger experimental scale, we were able to directly confirm our models’ predictions in vivo.

Our study confirms that flavor compound concentration does not always correlate with perception, suggesting complex interactions that are often missed by more conventional statistics and simple models. Specifically, we find that tree-based algorithms may perform best in developing models that link complex food chemistry with aroma. Furthermore, we show that massive datasets of untrained consumer reviews provide a valuable source of data, that can complement or even replace trained tasting panels, especially for appreciation and basic flavors, such as sweetness and bitterness. This holds despite biases that are known to occur in such datasets, such as price or conformity bias. Moreover, GBR models predict taste better than aroma. This is likely because taste (e.g. bitterness) often directly relates to the corresponding chemical measurements (e.g., iso-alpha acids), whereas such a link is less clear for aromas, which often result from the interplay between multiple volatile compounds. We also find that our models are best at predicting acidity and alcohol, likely because there is a direct relation between the measured chemical compounds (acids and ethanol) and the corresponding perceived sensorial attribute (acidity and alcohol), and because even untrained consumers are generally able to recognize these flavors and aromas.

The predictions of our final models, trained on review data, hold even for blind tastings with small groups of trained tasters, as demonstrated by our ability to validate specific compounds as drivers of beer flavor and appreciation. Since adding a single compound to the extent of a noticeable difference may result in an unbalanced flavor profile, we specifically tested our identified key drivers as a combination of compounds. While this approach does not allow us to validate if a particular single compound would affect flavor and/or appreciation, our experiments do show that this combination of compounds increases consumer appreciation.

It is important to stress that, while it represents an important step forward, our approach still has several major limitations. A key weakness of the GBR model architecture is that amongst co-correlating variables, the largest main effect is consistently preferred for model building. As a result, co-correlating variables often have artificially low importance scores, both for impurity and SHAP-based methods, like we observed in the comparison to the more randomized Extra Trees models. This implies that chemicals identified as key drivers of a specific sensory feature by GBR might not be the true causative compounds, but rather co-correlate with the actual causative chemical. For example, the high importance of ethyl acetate could be (partially) attributed to the total ester content, ethanol or ethyl hexanoate (rho=0.77, rho=0.72 and rho=0.68), while ethyl phenylacetate could hide the importance of prenyl isobutyrate and ethyl benzoate (rho=0.77 and rho=0.76). Expanding our GBR model to include beer style as a parameter did not yield additional power or insight. This is likely due to style-specific chemical signatures, such as iso-alpha acids and lactic acid, that implicitly convey style information to the original model, as well as the smaller sample size per style, limiting the power to uncover style-specific patterns. This can be partly attributed to the curse of dimensionality, where the high number of parameters results in the models mainly incorporating single parameter effects, rather than complex interactions such as style-dependent effects 67 . A larger number of samples may overcome some of these limitations and offer more insight into style-specific effects. On the other hand, beer style is not a rigid scientific classification, and beers within one style often differ a lot, which further complicates the analysis of style as a model factor.

Our study is limited to beers from Belgian breweries. Although these beers cover a large portion of the beer styles available globally, some beer styles and consumer patterns may be missing, while other features might be overrepresented. For example, many Belgian ales exhibit yeast-driven flavor profiles, which is reflected in the chemical drivers of appreciation discovered by this study. In future work, expanding the scope to include diverse markets and beer styles could lead to the identification of even more drivers of appreciation and better models for special niche products that were not present in our beer set.

In addition to inherent limitations of GBR models, there are also some limitations associated with studying food aroma. Even if our chemical analyses measured most of the known aroma compounds, the total number of flavor compounds in complex foods like beer is still larger than the subset we were able to measure in this study. For example, hop-derived thiols, that influence flavor at very low concentrations, are notoriously difficult to measure in a high-throughput experiment. Moreover, consumer perception remains subjective and prone to biases that are difficult to avoid. It is also important to stress that the models are still immature and that more extensive datasets will be crucial for developing more complete models in the future. Besides more samples and parameters, our dataset does not include any demographic information about the tasters. Including such data could lead to better models that grasp external factors like age and culture. Another limitation is that our set of beers consists of high-quality end-products and lacks beers that are unfit for sale, which limits the current model in accurately predicting products that are appreciated very badly. Finally, while models could be readily applied in quality control, their use in sensory science and product development is restrained by their inability to discern causal relationships. Given that the models cannot distinguish compounds that genuinely drive consumer perception from those that merely correlate, validation experiments are essential to identify true causative compounds.

Despite the inherent limitations, dissection of our models enabled us to pinpoint specific molecules as potential drivers of beer aroma and consumer appreciation, including compounds that were unexpected and would not have been identified using standard approaches. Important drivers of beer appreciation uncovered by our models include protein levels, ethyl acetate, ethyl phenyl acetate and lactic acid. Currently, many brewers already use lactic acid to acidify their brewing water and ensure optimal pH for enzymatic activity during the mashing process. Our results suggest that adding lactic acid can also improve beer appreciation, although its individual effect remains to be tested. Interestingly, ethanol appears to be unnecessary to improve beer appreciation, both for blond beer and alcohol-free beer. Given the growing consumer interest in alcohol-free beer, with a predicted annual market growth of >7% 84 , it is relevant for brewers to know what compounds can further increase consumer appreciation of these beers. Hence, our model may readily provide avenues to further improve the flavor and consumer appreciation of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers, which is generally considered one of the key challenges for future beer production.

Whereas we see a direct implementation of our results for the development of superior alcohol-free beverages and other food products, our study can also serve as a stepping stone for the development of novel alcohol-containing beverages. We want to echo the growing body of scientific evidence for the negative effects of alcohol consumption, both on the individual level by the mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic effects of ethanol 85 , 86 , as well as the burden on society caused by alcohol abuse and addiction. We encourage the use of our results for the production of healthier, tastier products, including novel and improved beverages with lower alcohol contents. Furthermore, we strongly discourage the use of these technologies to improve the appreciation or addictive properties of harmful substances.

The present work demonstrates that despite some important remaining hurdles, combining the latest developments in chemical analyses, sensory analysis and modern machine learning methods offers exciting avenues for food chemistry and engineering. Soon, these tools may provide solutions in quality control and recipe development, as well as new approaches to sensory science and flavor research.

Beer selection

250 commercial Belgian beers were selected to cover the broad diversity of beer styles and corresponding diversity in chemical composition and aroma. See Supplementary Fig.  S1 .

Chemical dataset

Sample preparation.

Beers within their expiration date were purchased from commercial retailers. Samples were prepared in biological duplicates at room temperature, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Bottle pressure was measured with a manual pressure device (Steinfurth Mess-Systeme GmbH) and used to calculate CO 2 concentration. The beer was poured through two filter papers (Macherey-Nagel, 500713032 MN 713 ¼) to remove carbon dioxide and prevent spontaneous foaming. Samples were then prepared for measurements by targeted Headspace-Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector/Flame Photometric Detector (HS-GC-FID/FPD), Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), colorimetric analysis, enzymatic analysis, Near-Infrared (NIR) analysis, as described in the sections below. The mean values of biological duplicates are reported for each compound.

HS-GC-FID/FPD

HS-GC-FID/FPD (Shimadzu GC 2010 Plus) was used to measure higher alcohols, acetaldehyde, esters, 4-vinyl guaicol, and sulfur compounds. Each measurement comprised 5 ml of sample pipetted into a 20 ml glass vial containing 1.75 g NaCl (VWR, 27810.295). 100 µl of 2-heptanol (Sigma-Aldrich, H3003) (internal standard) solution in ethanol (Fisher Chemical, E/0650DF/C17) was added for a final concentration of 2.44 mg/L. Samples were flushed with nitrogen for 10 s, sealed with a silicone septum, stored at −80 °C and analyzed in batches of 20.

The GC was equipped with a DB-WAXetr column (length, 30 m; internal diameter, 0.32 mm; layer thickness, 0.50 µm; Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) to the FID and an HP-5 column (length, 30 m; internal diameter, 0.25 mm; layer thickness, 0.25 µm; Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) to the FPD. N 2 was used as the carrier gas. Samples were incubated for 20 min at 70 °C in the headspace autosampler (Flow rate, 35 cm/s; Injection volume, 1000 µL; Injection mode, split; Combi PAL autosampler, CTC analytics, Switzerland). The injector, FID and FPD temperatures were kept at 250 °C. The GC oven temperature was first held at 50 °C for 5 min and then allowed to rise to 80 °C at a rate of 5 °C/min, followed by a second ramp of 4 °C/min until 200 °C kept for 3 min and a final ramp of (4 °C/min) until 230 °C for 1 min. Results were analyzed with the GCSolution software version 2.4 (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). The GC was calibrated with a 5% EtOH solution (VWR International) containing the volatiles under study (Supplementary Table  S7 ).

HS-SPME-GC-MS

HS-SPME-GC-MS (Shimadzu GCMS-QP-2010 Ultra) was used to measure additional volatile compounds, mainly comprising terpenoids and esters. Samples were analyzed by HS-SPME using a triphase DVB/Carboxen/PDMS 50/30 μm SPME fiber (Supelco Co., Bellefonte, PA, USA) followed by gas chromatography (Thermo Fisher Scientific Trace 1300 series, USA) coupled to a mass spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific ISQ series MS) equipped with a TriPlus RSH autosampler. 5 ml of degassed beer sample was placed in 20 ml vials containing 1.75 g NaCl (VWR, 27810.295). 5 µl internal standard mix was added, containing 2-heptanol (1 g/L) (Sigma-Aldrich, H3003), 4-fluorobenzaldehyde (1 g/L) (Sigma-Aldrich, 128376), 2,3-hexanedione (1 g/L) (Sigma-Aldrich, 144169) and guaiacol (1 g/L) (Sigma-Aldrich, W253200) in ethanol (Fisher Chemical, E/0650DF/C17). Each sample was incubated at 60 °C in the autosampler oven with constant agitation. After 5 min equilibration, the SPME fiber was exposed to the sample headspace for 30 min. The compounds trapped on the fiber were thermally desorbed in the injection port of the chromatograph by heating the fiber for 15 min at 270 °C.

The GC-MS was equipped with a low polarity RXi-5Sil MS column (length, 20 m; internal diameter, 0.18 mm; layer thickness, 0.18 µm; Restek, Bellefonte, PA, USA). Injection was performed in splitless mode at 320 °C, a split flow of 9 ml/min, a purge flow of 5 ml/min and an open valve time of 3 min. To obtain a pulsed injection, a programmed gas flow was used whereby the helium gas flow was set at 2.7 mL/min for 0.1 min, followed by a decrease in flow of 20 ml/min to the normal 0.9 mL/min. The temperature was first held at 30 °C for 3 min and then allowed to rise to 80 °C at a rate of 7 °C/min, followed by a second ramp of 2 °C/min till 125 °C and a final ramp of 8 °C/min with a final temperature of 270 °C.

Mass acquisition range was 33 to 550 amu at a scan rate of 5 scans/s. Electron impact ionization energy was 70 eV. The interface and ion source were kept at 275 °C and 250 °C, respectively. A mix of linear n-alkanes (from C7 to C40, Supelco Co.) was injected into the GC-MS under identical conditions to serve as external retention index markers. Identification and quantification of the compounds were performed using an in-house developed R script as described in Goelen et al. and Reher et al. 87 , 88 (for package information, see Supplementary Table  S8 ). Briefly, chromatograms were analyzed using AMDIS (v2.71) 89 to separate overlapping peaks and obtain pure compound spectra. The NIST MS Search software (v2.0 g) in combination with the NIST2017, FFNSC3 and Adams4 libraries were used to manually identify the empirical spectra, taking into account the expected retention time. After background subtraction and correcting for retention time shifts between samples run on different days based on alkane ladders, compound elution profiles were extracted and integrated using a file with 284 target compounds of interest, which were either recovered in our identified AMDIS list of spectra or were known to occur in beer. Compound elution profiles were estimated for every peak in every chromatogram over a time-restricted window using weighted non-negative least square analysis after which peak areas were integrated 87 , 88 . Batch effect correction was performed by normalizing against the most stable internal standard compound, 4-fluorobenzaldehyde. Out of all 284 target compounds that were analyzed, 167 were visually judged to have reliable elution profiles and were used for final analysis.

Discrete photometric and enzymatic analysis

Discrete photometric and enzymatic analysis (Thermo Scientific TM Gallery TM Plus Beermaster Discrete Analyzer) was used to measure acetic acid, ammonia, beta-glucan, iso-alpha acids, color, sugars, glycerol, iron, pH, protein, and sulfite. 2 ml of sample volume was used for the analyses. Information regarding the reagents and standard solutions used for analyses and calibrations is included in Supplementary Table  S7 and Supplementary Table  S9 .

NIR analyses

NIR analysis (Anton Paar Alcolyzer Beer ME System) was used to measure ethanol. Measurements comprised 50 ml of sample, and a 10% EtOH solution was used for calibration.

Correlation calculations

Pairwise Spearman Rank correlations were calculated between all chemical properties.

Sensory dataset

Trained panel.

Our trained tasting panel consisted of volunteers who gave prior verbal informed consent. All compounds used for the validation experiment were of food-grade quality. The tasting sessions were approved by the Social and Societal Ethics Committee of the KU Leuven (G-2022-5677-R2(MAR)). All online reviewers agreed to the Terms and Conditions of the RateBeer website.

Sensory analysis was performed according to the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) Sensory Analysis Methods 90 . 30 volunteers were screened through a series of triangle tests. The sixteen most sensitive and consistent tasters were retained as taste panel members. The resulting panel was diverse in age [22–42, mean: 29], sex [56% male] and nationality [7 different countries]. The panel developed a consensus vocabulary to describe beer aroma, taste and mouthfeel. Panelists were trained to identify and score 50 different attributes, using a 7-point scale to rate attributes’ intensity. The scoring sheet is included as Supplementary Data  3 . Sensory assessments took place between 10–12 a.m. The beers were served in black-colored glasses. Per session, between 5 and 12 beers of the same style were tasted at 12 °C to 16 °C. Two reference beers were added to each set and indicated as ‘Reference 1 & 2’, allowing panel members to calibrate their ratings. Not all panelists were present at every tasting. Scores were scaled by standard deviation and mean-centered per taster. Values are represented as z-scores and clustered by Euclidean distance. Pairwise Spearman correlations were calculated between taste and aroma sensory attributes. Panel consistency was evaluated by repeating samples on different sessions and performing ANOVA to identify differences, using the ‘stats’ package (v4.2.2) in R (for package information, see Supplementary Table  S8 ).

Online reviews from a public database

The ‘scrapy’ package in Python (v3.6) (for package information, see Supplementary Table  S8 ). was used to collect 232,288 online reviews (mean=922, min=6, max=5343) from RateBeer, an online beer review database. Each review entry comprised 5 numerical scores (appearance, aroma, taste, palate and overall quality) and an optional review text. The total number of reviews per reviewer was collected separately. Numerical scores were scaled and centered per rater, and mean scores were calculated per beer.

For the review texts, the language was estimated using the packages ‘langdetect’ and ‘langid’ in Python. Reviews that were classified as English by both packages were kept. Reviewers with fewer than 100 entries overall were discarded. 181,025 reviews from >6000 reviewers from >40 countries remained. Text processing was done using the ‘nltk’ package in Python. Texts were corrected for slang and misspellings; proper nouns and rare words that are relevant to the beer context were specified and kept as-is (‘Chimay’,’Lambic’, etc.). A dictionary of semantically similar sensorial terms, for example ‘floral’ and ‘flower’, was created and collapsed together into one term. Words were stemmed and lemmatized to avoid identifying words such as ‘acid’ and ‘acidity’ as separate terms. Numbers and punctuation were removed.

Sentences from up to 50 randomly chosen reviews per beer were manually categorized according to the aspect of beer they describe (appearance, aroma, taste, palate, overall quality—not to be confused with the 5 numerical scores described above) or flagged as irrelevant if they contained no useful information. If a beer contained fewer than 50 reviews, all reviews were manually classified. This labeled data set was used to train a model that classified the rest of the sentences for all beers 91 . Sentences describing taste and aroma were extracted, and term frequency–inverse document frequency (TFIDF) was implemented to calculate enrichment scores for sensorial words per beer.

The sex of the tasting subject was not considered when building our sensory database. Instead, results from different panelists were averaged, both for our trained panel (56% male, 44% female) and the RateBeer reviews (70% male, 30% female for RateBeer as a whole).

Beer price collection and processing

Beer prices were collected from the following stores: Colruyt, Delhaize, Total Wine, BeerHawk, The Belgian Beer Shop, The Belgian Shop, and Beer of Belgium. Where applicable, prices were converted to Euros and normalized per liter. Spearman correlations were calculated between these prices and mean overall appreciation scores from RateBeer and the taste panel, respectively.

Pairwise Spearman Rank correlations were calculated between all sensory properties.

Machine learning models

Predictive modeling of sensory profiles from chemical data.

Regression models were constructed to predict (a) trained panel scores for beer flavors and quality from beer chemical profiles and (b) public reviews’ appreciation scores from beer chemical profiles. Z-scores were used to represent sensory attributes in both data sets. Chemical properties with log-normal distributions (Shapiro-Wilk test, p  <  0.05 ) were log-transformed. Missing chemical measurements (0.1% of all data) were replaced with mean values per attribute. Observations from 250 beers were randomly separated into a training set (70%, 175 beers) and a test set (30%, 75 beers), stratified per beer style. Chemical measurements (p = 231) were normalized based on the training set average and standard deviation. In total, three linear regression-based models: linear regression with first-order interaction terms (LR), lasso regression with first-order interaction terms (Lasso) and partial least squares regression (PLSR); five decision tree models, Adaboost regressor (ABR), Extra Trees (ET), Gradient Boosting regressor (GBR), Random Forest (RF) and XGBoost regressor (XGBR); one support vector machine model (SVR) and one artificial neural network model (ANN) were trained. The models were implemented using the ‘scikit-learn’ package (v1.2.2) and ‘xgboost’ package (v1.7.3) in Python (v3.9.16). Models were trained, and hyperparameters optimized, using five-fold cross-validated grid search with the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) as the evaluation metric. The ANN (scikit-learn’s MLPRegressor) was optimized using Bayesian Tree-Structured Parzen Estimator optimization with the ‘Optuna’ Python package (v3.2.0). Individual models were trained per attribute, and a multi-output model was trained on all attributes simultaneously.

Model dissection

GBR was found to outperform other methods, resulting in models with the highest average R 2 values in both trained panel and public review data sets. Impurity-based rankings of the most important predictors for each predicted sensorial trait were obtained using the ‘scikit-learn’ package. To observe the relationships between these chemical properties and their predicted targets, partial dependence plots (PDP) were constructed for the six most important predictors of consumer appreciation 74 , 75 .

The ‘SHAP’ package in Python (v0.41.0) was implemented to provide an alternative ranking of predictor importance and to visualize the predictors’ effects as a function of their concentration 68 .

Validation of causal chemical properties

To validate the effects of the most important model features on predicted sensory attributes, beers were spiked with the chemical compounds identified by the models and descriptive sensory analyses were carried out according to the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) protocol 90 .

Compound spiking was done 30 min before tasting. Compounds were spiked into fresh beer bottles, that were immediately resealed and inverted three times. Fresh bottles of beer were opened for the same duration, resealed, and inverted thrice, to serve as controls. Pairs of spiked samples and controls were served simultaneously, chilled and in dark glasses as outlined in the Trained panel section above. Tasters were instructed to select the glass with the higher flavor intensity for each attribute (directional difference test 92 ) and to select the glass they prefer.

The final concentration after spiking was equal to the within-style average, after normalizing by ethanol concentration. This was done to ensure balanced flavor profiles in the final spiked beer. The same methods were applied to improve a non-alcoholic beer. Compounds were the following: ethyl acetate (Merck KGaA, W241415), ethyl hexanoate (Merck KGaA, W243906), isoamyl acetate (Merck KGaA, W205508), phenethyl acetate (Merck KGaA, W285706), ethanol (96%, Colruyt), glycerol (Merck KGaA, W252506), lactic acid (Merck KGaA, 261106).

Significant differences in preference or perceived intensity were determined by performing the two-sided binomial test on each attribute.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the  Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this work are available in the Supplementary Data files and have been deposited to Zenodo under accession code 10653704 93 . The RateBeer scores data are under restricted access, they are not publicly available as they are property of RateBeer (ZX Ventures, USA). Access can be obtained from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of RateBeer (ZX Ventures, USA).  Source data are provided with this paper.

Code availability

The code for training the machine learning models, analyzing the models, and generating the figures has been deposited to Zenodo under accession code 10653704 93 .

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Acknowledgements

We thank all lab members for their discussions and thank all tasting panel members for their contributions. Special thanks go out to Dr. Karin Voordeckers for her tremendous help in proofreading and improving the manuscript. M.S. was supported by a Baillet-Latour fellowship, L.C. acknowledges financial support from KU Leuven (C16/17/006), F.A.T. was supported by a PhD fellowship from FWO (1S08821N). Research in the lab of K.J.V. is supported by KU Leuven, FWO, VIB, VLAIO and the Brewing Science Serves Health Fund. Research in the lab of T.W. is supported by FWO (G.0A51.15) and KU Leuven (C16/17/006).

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These authors contributed equally: Michiel Schreurs, Supinya Piampongsant, Miguel Roncoroni.

Authors and Affiliations

VIB—KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Gaston Geenslaan 1, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium

Michiel Schreurs, Supinya Piampongsant, Miguel Roncoroni, Lloyd Cool, Beatriz Herrera-Malaver, Florian A. Theßeling & Kevin J. Verstrepen

CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, KU Leuven, Gaston Geenslaan 1, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium

Leuven Institute for Beer Research (LIBR), Gaston Geenslaan 1, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium

Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium

Lloyd Cool, Christophe Vanderaa & Tom Wenseleers

VIB Bioinformatics Core, VIB, Rijvisschestraat 120, B-9052, Ghent, Belgium

Łukasz Kreft & Alexander Botzki

AB InBev SA/NV, Brouwerijplein 1, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium

Philippe Malcorps & Luk Daenen

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Contributions

S.P., M.S. and K.J.V. conceived the experiments. S.P., M.S. and K.J.V. designed the experiments. S.P., M.S., M.R., B.H. and F.A.T. performed the experiments. S.P., M.S., L.C., C.V., L.K., A.B., P.M., L.D., T.W. and K.J.V. contributed analysis ideas. S.P., M.S., L.C., C.V., T.W. and K.J.V. analyzed the data. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kevin J. Verstrepen .

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K.J.V. is affiliated with bar.on. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Schreurs, M., Piampongsant, S., Roncoroni, M. et al. Predicting and improving complex beer flavor through machine learning. Nat Commun 15 , 2368 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46346-0

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Received : 30 October 2023

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Published : 26 March 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46346-0

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