What is the difference between Foreword and Preface?

Foreword and preface are two terms that are mostly considered to be the same simply because both are most times found in the introductory section of most books. However, there are little differences between the two. A foreword is the introductory section of a piece of literature where a lot of inspiring or kind words are written in order to make the readers see why they need to read a particular piece of literature.

It usually comes before preface, and it can take several pages. On the other hand, a preface also makes up the introductory part of a piece of literature, usually before the main body or main text of a book. A preface provides answers to what prompted the writer towards writing the book.

While a foreword is usually written by the author, it can also be written by other people such as celebrities, an expert, a well-known person, usually in the form of recommendations. In contrast, a preface can only be written by the author.

A foreword is known to be words that are written by other people. This is not written by the author. It may be written by another author who is close to the author, or it may be written by a family member of the author. There are different reasons why people will see the foreword.

The preface, on the other hand, will be written by the author. This will usually place different details on why the book was written in the first place or what has inspired the book to be created by the author. Take note that these two things are also different from an introduction. It is important to distinguish the differences between these things.