Research writing is a whole new genre of writing. If we were to broadly classify it, research writing would fall under non-fiction writing, but it’s different writing for academia and scientific journals. Non-fiction books, unless they are textbooks, typically aren’t as technical and thus do not require intense research. Yes, some researchers do turn their thesis into a book, but the majority of researchers do not go too in-depth if they repurpose their material. Plus, scientific journals are a niche field that are typically read by researchers. Thus, they are not as accessible as books. With this in mind, books need to use terminology that is less technical and therefore the writing style differs.
Over the next few days, I am going to share some excerpts from my research writing experience. I published two theses and three journal articles in prestigious peer-reviewed journals. Take a look at these samples to see how they differ from non-fiction and fiction books that you’ve read. You will instantly see how different the writing styles are. It’s been awhile since I wrote research papers, but it is an excellent skill to hone if you plan on continuing a career in research and academia.