Learn Russian: Согласно автору, реформа — это важная инновация. - According to the author, the reform is an important innovation.

The preposition согласно (according to) strictly requires the dative case in modern standard Russian. You might occasionally hear native speakers use the genitive case (like согласно автора), but this is considered a grammatical mistake and should be avoided in your own speech.

What is the difference between using согласно автору and по мнению автора?

Both can translate to according to the author. По мнению specifically highlights a personal belief or subjective judgment. Согласно is slightly broader and more formal; while it works for opinions, it is also the standard choice for attributing information to documents, rules, or data (for example, согласно закону meaning according to the law).

Why do we use a dash and the word это in the second half of the sentence?

When you link two nominative nouns in a definition structure (here, реформа is the subject and инновация is the predicate), Russian uses a dash instead of a present-tense verb. The word это is technically optional here, but it commonly follows the dash to make the sentence sound smoother and add a bit of emphasis to the definition.

Since we are attributing a view, could we use a по- adverb here, like по-авторски?