The importance of research writingResearch writing is an important part of the research cycle. However, it is a skill that is not widely taught in any formal way in academic curricula. Rather, something that graduate students and postdocs currently learn by doing.  Arguably, this lack of formal training may have negative consequences on research literature as research articles are becoming harder to read \cite{Plaven-Sigray119370}.

Scientific writing is an important part of research dissemination. Researchers and policy makers turn to scientific articles. It influences policy decisions and experiment design. It can make or break multi-million dollar decisions. We would expect undergraduate and graduate schools to teach scientific writing. They don't. Instead, it is "taught" through apprenticeship. Many scientists learn to write their first article with an adviser. As a result, poor writing is passed. Training is not standardized, so articles are becoming hard to read \cite{Plaven-Sigray119370}.

Preprints are publication-ready research papers that are made public before publication

What is the preprint server ArXiv?The ar\(\chi\)iv (pronounced "archive", since \(\chi\) = "chi") is the most popular preprint repository in the world. (Read: What is a preprint?) It was started in 1991 by physicist Paul Ginsparg to become a way to quickly and freely give the scientific community access to the submission-ready research papers, as e-prints. While the arXiv initially covered only the fields of physics and astronomy, it grew over time to encompass other fields, such as computer science, quantitative biology, statistics, and quantitative finance. The rise of arXiv has been mostly limited to fields that use LaTeX, a typesetting system for math-heavy documents. This is because (1) the most efficient way to submit papers to arXiv is by uploading a LaTeX file which gets compiled to PDF, and (2) pre-printing has historically been a practice popular in the hard sciences --- at CERN, it was performed via inter-library exchange of printed copies before the web even existed \cite{pepe2005cern}. However, in recent years, pre-prints are catching on as a legal and free mechanism to openly and quickly share research also in the life sciences (see ASAPbio, and BiorXiv, for example).How do ArXiv and Authorea compare?At first glance, ArXiv and Authorea may not seem related to one another. ArXiv is a content repository, while Authorea is a content creation system. However, Authorea - with the launch of a number of publishing features - is quickly becoming an open repository, as well. Below, we highlight some points of comparison between Authorea and ArXiv.1. More than just a collection of PDFs: web native papers.There is growing consensus in scholarly communication circles that academic publishing needs to move "beyond the PDF" (see Force 11 conference). The PDF is a great portable format for printing, but it is not the best format to share, discuss, and read on the web. Every article on arXiv, being a PDF, is non-actionable. In this respect, the arXiv is a "PDF dump".2. For LaTeX users. And for everyone else too!The ArXiv relies heavily on LaTeX. For Authorea, LaTeX is one of many  formats you can write in. Others include Markdown, and HTML (rich text, like Word!). Authorea offers a format-neutral, web-native platform. Regardless of the format, you render content on the web - not on a separate pane that compiles a PDF (side note, you can still export a PDF). The advantage: Authorea documents are not constrained to the hard sciences and to the LaTeX community. Authorea is for all scholars: from astrophysics to zoology. Authorea's rich text editor is a true WYSIWYG editor (What you see is what you get). It also has the ability to include as much LaTeX and mathematical notation as you need. Every document written in Authorea becomes a beautiful webpage.

Are you comparing Mendeley to other reference managers?Choosing the right reference manager for your scholarly documents is very important. Mendeley is a modern reference and PDF management system. Authorea is a word processor with an integrated reference management system. Authorea's reference management system is seamlessly integrate inside the word processor so that you don't even have to worry about managing references anymore. In this article, we list a few key comparison points that show how Mendeley and Authorea are different.

Are you comparing Zotero to other reference managers?Choosing the right reference manager for your scholarly documents is very important. Zotero is a modern reference and PDF management system. Authorea is a word processor with an integrated reference management system. Authorea's reference management system is seamlessly integrated inside the word processor so that you don't have to worry about managing references anymore. In this article, we list a few key comparison points that show how Zotero and Authorea are different.

Looking for a better alternative to Endnote?EndNote is among the oldest and most often pilloried reference managers out there. EndNote continues to frustrate users year after year while new tools such as Authorea develop new and improved ways to manage references.In this article, we list a few key comparison points that show how Endnote and Authorea are different.

Are you comparing Paperpile to other reference managers?Choosing the right reference manager for your scholarly documents is very important. Paperpile is a modern reference and PDF management system. Authorea is a word processor with an integrated reference management system. Paperpile is a fantastic tool that's useful in combination with Google Docs and Microsoft Word, while Authorea is itself a word processor that competes with Google Docs and Word.Authorea's reference management system is seamlessly integrate inside the word processor so that you don't even have to worry about managing references anymore. In this article, we list a few key comparison points that show how Paperpile and Authorea are different.

Are you looking for alternatives to Scrivener?Choosing the right word processor for your documents is very important. Scrivener and Authorea have some fundamental differences. In addition to being an online tool, Authorea has some features that make it perfect for you if you are writing a scholarly manuscript, a student essay, a math heavy manuscript, a technical blog post, or a data-driven document.We list here a few key comparison points that show how Scrivener and Authorea are different:

Are you comparing Microsoft Word vs Authorea?Choosing the right word processor for your documents is very important. Microsoft Word and Authorea have one main fundamental difference: Word functions offline and Authorea functions online. That means that if you're working in collaboration with other people, you never have to check that you're editing the last version. Authorea always has the last version!In addition to being an online tool, Authorea has some features that make it perfect for you if you are writing a scholarly manuscript, a student essay, a math heavy manuscript, a technical blog post, or a data-driven document. We list here a few key comparison points that show how MS Word and Authorea are different.

Deciding between ShareLaTeX and Overleaf? Choosing the right editor for your LaTeX manuscript is not easy. Here are some key comparison points that showcase how Authorea is different from both. 

Deciding between ShareLaTeX and Authorea? Choosing the right editor for your LaTeX manuscript is not easy. Here are some key comparisons to help you decide. 

Writing research articles is an important part of the scientific process. They are what researchers and the public read, and can impact future experiments and policies. Contrary to popular belief, one may think that writing research articles is taught at the undergraduate and graduate level. However, this isn't the case. With little to no formal training in writing, researchers must learn by doing. Arguably, this lack of training leads to negative consequences in research literature. As you can see below, research articles are becoming harder to read \cite{Plaven-Sigray119370}.

Are you looking for an alternative to Google Docs?Choosing the right word processor for your documents is very important. While Google Docs and Authorea are similar in some ways, Google Docs is a great tool for writing general purpose drafts whereas Authorea is more appropriate if you are writing a scholarly manuscript, a student essay, a math heavy manuscript, a technical blog post, or a data-driven document. We list here a few key comparison points that show how Google Docs and Authorea are different.

Introduction to online markdown editorsOnline Markdown editors are increasing in popularity along with Markdown itself. Since 2004, Markdown has been increasing in use as a more functional and easier-to-write version of rich-text formatting. Markdown is popular across the web and online Markdown editors will continue to proliferate as long as there is interest in simple formatting for text on the web.Advantages of online markdown editorsMarkdown makes it really easy to apply formatting to text. Markdown covers the capabilities of HTML without the need for writing HTML tags, which can be a little annoying. As an example, to make an H1 heading in Markdown, you can simply write# some textand the markdown will render like this:

Introduction to online LaTeX editorsOnline LaTeX editors have only come around recently -- but the advantages are clear if what's needed is a pure cloud-based LaTeX compiler. There are several interchangeable options for online LaTeX editors which provide comprehensive LaTeX package support online.

Introduction to online markdownMarkdown is a markup language with a simple text formatting syntax. It is designed to provide basic formatting to text. Each piece of Markdown formatting has a corollary in HTML. This means that online Markdown is easy to write and maintain. Markdown was released in 2004 and is now one of the most popular markup languages on the web, powering GitHub (with Github-flavored Markdown or GFD) and many other sites.Advantages of online markdownOnline Markdown editors make it easy to write Markdown in the browser. Markdown can be integrated into apps for writing (as is the case with Authorea -- which supports inline Markdown). It can also be used as a standalone service for things like note-taking. Some of the most popular online markdown editors are:DillingerMinimalist Online Markdown EditorMarkableStackEditAuthoreaMarkdown for research writingAuthorea is an online document editor that has full Markdown support. Whether you want to write entirely in Markdown, or switch between markdown and richtext, you can do so in Authorea. If you're writing technical or scientific documents you'll find that Authorea can support your writing style. Authorea also renders the online Markdown environment beautifully to HTML5 in the browser. This makes documents into beautiful web pages.

Introduction to online LaTeXLaTeX (pronounced lay-tech or lah-tech) is a Turing-complete markup language and typesetting framework used most often in the physical and mathematical sciences \cite{texentry}. LaTeX has history going back to 1985 -- and TeX, the progenitor of LaTeX, goes back to 1978 when it was introduced by computer scientist and mathematician Donald Knuth.LaTeX is first and foremost designed for typesetting mathematical notation on the printed page. LaTeX gives increased control for typesetting, enabling far stricter control of elements on a page -- from tables to specialized mathematical notation and so forth. LaTeX is widely used in the physical sciences and to this day LaTeX is used for typesetting journals, textbooks, and other structured texts.How to Write Mathematical Equations, Expressions, and Symbols with LaTeXIn recent years, several LaTeX software options have introduced online-only versions that bring the traditional LaTeX compiler to the cloud. These online LaTeX solutions come with advantages and disadvantages, however LaTeX on its own remains problematic for producing web-native content as it's extremely difficult to determine how text will look online if typeset using LaTeX.