How Cultural Differences Influence Writing Style in Research Papers

Academic writing differs significantly from creative writing, especially considering that it deals with facts and not fiction. Yet, it is quite common to see the writing in research papers influenced by the cultural backgrounds of the authors.  

This blog explores the different academic writing styles, the key areas of research writing that are influenced by cultural differences, and how authors can inculcate an appropriate writing style. 

Different Academic Writing Styles 

Key Areas of Research Writing Influenced by Cultural Background 

Best Practices for Authors to Excel Academic Writing 

Different Academic Writing Styles

Academic writing can be broadly classified into 4 major styles: Descriptive, Analytical, Persuasive, and Critical writing. 

Descriptive Writing

• The purpose of descriptive writing is to simply present facts or to provide information without diving into the analysis. 
• Examples include a summary of a research paper—sans the critical analysis—or a report presenting the findings of a laboratory experiment. 

Analytical Writing

• Analytical writing goes a step beyond descriptive writing. Here, you need to re-organize the facts you have learned and break them into groups, categories, or types. 
• You might need to perform a comparative analysis and determine the relationship between groups of data. 
• Examples include determining the advantages and disadvantages of specific training techniques or identifying the improvements required in an outdated concept before implementing it in a current setting. 

Persuasive Writing

• Writing research papers is more than simply presenting your analysis and corresponding results. You need to interpret the results and “persuade” your readers of your conclusions. 
• This is important because if you fail to convince your audience as to why you arrived at certain conclusions, they tend to make their own interpretations of the findings which can be detrimental to your research. 
• Examples include the content you write in the discussion and conclusion sections of a research paper. For instance, you need to provide enough evidence—based on your own findings and through cited references—to present your arguments to the readers. Even if assumptions are made, make sure they are reasonable and valid in the context of your study topic. 

Critical Writing

• Critical writing often involves questioning existing arguments or conclusions and providing your point of view to contradict that conclusion. 
• Examples include summarizing an alternative interpretation of existing study findings or evaluating the merits of a previously reported conclusion. 

Key Areas of Research Writing Influenced by Cultural Background

Typically, academic writing needs you to implement all the aforementioned writing styles when developing your research paper. But the writing style itself can be influenced by cultural backgrounds and differences. How does this happen and where is the influence prominently seen?

1. Structure & Organization

• Western countries (US/UK) often tend to favor direct and linear structure of writing, wherein the argument is presented at the beginning, followed by supporting evidence and a conclusion. This logical progression lets the author guide the reader through how the study findings are interpreted. 
• Authors from the eastern countries (China/Japan) lean towards a circular or an indirect approach, wherein the background details are highlighted first, and the main point gradually unfolds at the end. This writing style reflects cultural values like subtlety and harmony, and the reader is given the responsibility of interpreting the intended meaning.

2. Language & Tone

• Native English speakers and authors are familiar with the direct communication approach. Therefore, the arguments are presented in clear, straightforward language in an explicit tone. 
• This kind of direct approach may be considered as impolite or rude in Asian cultures, and hence, ESL authors tend to use a slightly tentative language. For instance, if they disagree with a previously published report, they might use less confrontational phrasing when critiquing the previous work.

3. Citations & Plagiarism

• It is common to cite sources in academic writing, and native English authors quite easily paraphrase content from published works while citing them accurately. 
• However, ESL authors may perceive modifying the original author’s words as a form of disrespect and retain the original wording as is in the text. This unintentionally leads to plagiarism problems. 

4. Grammar & Linguistic Nuances

• ESL authors tend to apply the grammatical syntax of their native language even when writing in English, which might confuse native English audience. 
• The connotations of certain words may also differ based on culture. For instance, “individualism” may invoke a positive thought of “independence” in western cultures while it might give the meaning of “being self-centered” to authors in the eastern countries. 

Best Practices for Authors to Excel Academic Writing

Being aware of how and where cultural backgrounds could subtly influence your academic writing can help you improve your writing skills. Here are some best practices to follow: 

Know your audience

It is good to know who your readers are likely to be before writing your research paper. Is it academics, policymakers, general public, or industry experts? Depending on the audience, you need to incorporate a writing style that resonates with the readers.
For instance, using highly technical jargon in a guidebook that is meant for policymakers may not have the required impact since they are looking for simple, straightforward suggestions that can help them modify policies for betterment.
Similarly, if your audience is fellow researchers and peers in a medical community and your clinical case study just brushes the topic without delving in to the details, it might not be as impactful.

Read works that are published in your target journal

Get familiar with the types of papers published in a reputed, international journal. Observe the organization of content and structure of paragraphs within the paper; if there is a specific template provided by the journal, ensure that it is followed.
For instance, most STEM journals require you to follow the analytical writing style, whereas in the fields of Humanities or Social Sciences you can lean more towards descriptive writing

Use tools for assistance

Remember that paraphrasing is important in academic writing so that your text is not flagged as plagiarized content. Citing works and listing references accurately are both crucial. But what matters even more is how you paraphrase text, especially when you are rephrasing findings reported in previously published works.
If English is not your first language and you struggle with using the right tone, words, and language, use tools like Paperpal to help you paraphrase sentences. 

Practice the IMRaD writing format with correct grammatical syntax

The Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) format is the most popular writing style that is accepted across fields. However, knowing what grammatical syntax are to be applied (e.g., verb tenses, active vs. passive voice) in different sections of the research paper can help you write better.
For instance, you will need to use the present tense when referring to tables and figures in your manuscript. But when you are discussing previously reported findings or the performance of your own experiments in the current study, use the past tense. 

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