篇
piān
From the first line to the last: 篇
The picture A run of writing that starts at the first line and closes at the last, laid out across the paper. 篇 counts one piece of writing with a beginning and an end; 张 counts one sheet of paper it is written on.
Where the picture shows up in 篇
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one piece you hand in
我写了一篇报告。
wǒ xiě le yì piān bàogào
I wrote a report.
Stapling a report filled from the title line to the final line and holding it out.
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one piece you read through
这篇文章很有意思。
zhè piān wénzhāng hěn yǒu yìsi
This article is really interesting.
A finger running down a newspaper column from the headline to the closing sentence.
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writing counted as homework
老师让我们写两篇作文。
lǎoshī ràng wǒmen xiě liǎng piān zuòwén
The teacher told us to write two essays.
Two pieces in a notebook, each with its own title, sitting side by side.
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writing put out under your name
他发表了一篇论文。
tā fābiǎo le yì piān lùnwén
He published a paper.
A journal contents page with one article carrying his name.
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one closed off each day
她每天写一篇日记。
tā měi tiān xiě yì piān rìjì
She writes a diary entry every day.
Writing the date, filling half a page, then shutting the notebook.
All of it in one picture
The report you hand in is one 篇, the article you read in the paper is one 篇, the essays set as homework are 篇 too. So is the paper submitted to a journal, and the half-page diary entry written at night. 篇 counts not sheets but 'one run of writing that goes from first line to last and stops'. That is why a ten-page report is 一篇 and a half-page diary entry is 一篇 as well.