We researchers spend a life time building our knowledge and insights. But then when it comes to communicating this knowledge, many of us still struggle. Writing our research effectively is THE important step in getting published.
Research writing is more than just our hypothesis and results and ideas in one place. A good research paper is one which is easy to consume with all hypotheses validated. The readers should be able to take away concepts from your research that they can further build on.
Writing better academic papers has two parts to it.

• The writing process
• Different aspects of communicating research

The writing process

1. Daily Practice: From Hemingway to new age authors, there is an age old advice that still works — writing 1000 words a day. This allows your brain to get comfortable with the writing process. With practice, you will find better ways to express your ideas and concepts.
2. Initial Resistance: You will get uncomfortable. You will face resistance. But some of the best words will flow out of your hands and minds when you fight it out.
3. The Struggle: Your struggle should show up in your work. Your pain should transcend yourself and become the words you write. First thing you write for the day will always be difficult — even when you have written a lot. Do not get bogged down by it.
4. Read a lot: Most of the good writers are good readers. But be wary of mimicking any specific writing style. Focus on your own Voice.
5. Writing as a way to think: In this amazing talk, Simon Peyton Jones from Microsoft Research explains how writing can “quick start” your thought process on your research. And the more you write the more quality content you produce. Only regular practice will help you produce good content.

Authorship defines the role of a creator, whose intention is to circulate original ideas and intellectual works. In scholarly publishing, in particular, the role of the author carries significant responsibility, legal rights, and privileges. The career of academics is often based on the authorship of the papers published by them, however, driven by the pressure to “publish or perish”(Editorial 2010). Based on the final dissemination of works created, we discuss the differences among the ghost, guest and gift authorship in academia.

The Ghost
The ghost-writer is a professional writer, whose contribution to produce a paper will be excluded in the final publication. These writers often work for medical communication agencies commissioned by pharmaceutical companies and ensure timely publication of large clinical trials. These named authors may have conducted the research as scientists/clinicians to produce the data, but have not written the article themselves. Ghost authorship is common to journals reporting large-scale clinical trials, regulatory documentation, and literature summaries for healthcare professionals. In this situation, however, it is particularly rewarding when a qualified writer has a direct impact on improving medical literacy.

The National Association of Science Writers and the American Medical Writers Association thereby update guidance to medical writers regularly. The European Medical Writers Association has similarly developed guidelines for ghost authorship in peer-reviewed publications (Jacobs and Wager 2005). These guidelines require the lead author to generate the content and to acknowledge the involvement of professional writers. While opinions on ghost authorship vary; the approach of introducing transparency by acknowledging professional writers alongside the funding statement (Wislar et al. 2011) can be helpful.

The Guest and the Gift
According to the guidelines by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), guest authorsindirectly affiliate to a study article. However, it is common in academia.  Often, researchers use guest authorship in lieu of acquiring grants, funds or providing supervision. Lead authors often face conflicting pressure to include their supervisor in a publication, despite the lack of direct contribution. While “passive academic contributions” may deserve this at some institutions, for journals, it is the exception, not the rule (Bavdekar 2012). Conventionally, guestauthorship is an unethical concept, thus most journal editors have a clear policy to prevent this situation.

For instance, many journals require authors to clarify their individual contribution in the final article. Consequently, presenting authorship to individuals who have not done the actual work – as ‘gifts’ may become obsolete in journals due to these author guidelines.
Source: https://www.enago.com/academy/authorship-in-research/