What are the differences between the fencing swords epee, foil, and sabre?

Im doing a research paper on fencing and cant quite find what the main differences between the epee, foil, and sabre swords are.|||A sabre has a broad, flat blade. You score by hitting your opponent with the flat part of the blade.





Foil and epee are more similar to each other than they are to the sabre, both have long rectangular blades. You score by hitting your opponent with the tip of the blade. You have to hit harder with the epee to score.|||The main differences between the three Olympic weapons are:





1) what target area you can hit,


2) types of attacks allowed,


3) the weight of the weapon,


4) whether or not right of way rules apply, and


5) whether or not your feet are allowed to cross over while attacking.





EPEE:


1) Target area is entire body, Nothing is off-target.


2) Attack with the point only. You do NOT have to hit harder in epee than you do in any of the other weapons (no matter what your average epeeist may think.)


3) Epee is the heaviest and most rigid of the three, with a large bell guard designed to cover the epeeist's hand.


4) No right of way rules -- whoever hits first gets the point.


5) Your feet are allowed to cross over while attacking.





FOIL:


1) Target area is entire torso and back. Head, arms, legs are off-target.


2) Attack with the point only.


3) Foil is the lightest weapon, with a small round bell guard.


4) Right of way rules apply -- you take right of way by extending your arm fully, and the defender must beat or parry your blade to take it back.


5) Your feet are allowed to cross over while attacking.





SABRE:


1) Target area is everything above the waist. Below the waist is off-target.


2) Both attacks with the point and cut attacks with the edge of the blade are allowed.


3) Sabre is lighter than epee, with a bell guard that wraps around the fencer's hand.


4) Right of way rules apply -- you take right of way by extending your arm fully and advancing, and the defender must beat or parry your blade to take it back.


5) Your feet cannot cross over while attacking -- running fleche attacks are no longer allowed in this sport.





Plus sabre fencers are generally far better looking than the average bear. (Yes, I fence sabre.)