how to write =1=good papers
TRANSCRIPT
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
How to Write Good Papers
Zhouchen [email protected]
Microsoft Research Asia
October 10, 2008
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
Why write papers? (1)
Incorrect answers:I have to graduate/promoteMy boss asked me to write
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
Why write papers? (2)
Correct answers:Claim your credit on new findings
Critical for your academic career
Help refine your thoughtI hear and I forget;I see and I memorize;I write and I understand.
DocumentationGuard against forgettingInformative for other people (save your time to explainrepeatedly)Necessary in many other cases (such as patent filing)
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
When to write papers? (1)
Incorrect answers: I have to start becauseI will graduate half a year laterthe conference deadline is only a month away
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
When to write papers? (2)
Correct answers: I can start because Ihave passion with my invention/conceptam compelled to speak and writehave truly novel concept/algorithm/procedure/architecturehave vision or survey that provides value for the researchcommunityhave solid and sustainable results
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
Elements of a good paper
Good content:Right subject matterWell-defined problemClear contributionsReliable and reproducible results
Good writing skills:Good organization and logical flowClear explanation and strong argumentGood illustration and intuitive notationSmooth and error-free English (including punctuations!)
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Have correct understandings on paper writing
Misconceptions
The more ideas, the betterOne problem, one solution in a conference paperOne problem, more complete solutions in a journal paper
The bigger claim and selling, the betterNeither over-claim nor under-claim
The more complex, the betterKeep it simple, perhaps stupid
The more authoritative, the betterBe modest and avoid excessive use of own references
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Something you should know about reviewers
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Something you should know about reviewers
About reviewers
Reviewers are volunteersDo not assume that the reviewer is an expert of yourproblem
Reviewers are busyMake your paper easy to read and follow
Reviewers are potential competitorsRespect related work and the reviewer
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Something you should know about reviewers
What does a reviewer look for?
Is the paper within the scope of conference/journal?
New problem or new solution?
Are the main results significant?
Is the paper technically correct?
Are the experiments convincing/reproducible?
Does the paper provide a fair assessment of its strengthand limitation?
Is the paper clearly written, thus accessible to generalreaders?
Are the references adequate?
...
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Something you should know about reviewers
Misconceptions
Reviewers will carefully read my paperA reviewer often has a pile of papers to reviewA reviewer typically makes up his/her mind after 5-minutebrowsingtitle/author->abstract->conclusions->references->introduction, then spends < 1h to justify(moving to main body of the paper)
Your action:make your points EARLYbring up your results QUICKhighlight your contributions FASTmake your paper easy to read, clear to follow, and good tolearn
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Components of a paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Previous work
Body
Experimental results
Conclusions/discussions/future work
References
Appendices
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Title
Purpose: summarize your paper in less than a sentenceUsually after the whole paper completes
Do:Be shortBe easily memorizable and comprehensible
Don’t:Be ambiguous and misleading
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Abstract
Purpose: Give overall picture, entice readersDo:
Be brief but informativeGive relevant high-level descriptionsHighlight your contributionsIndicate why your work is new and better
Don’t:Paste from introduction or conclusionsGive details
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Introduction
Purpose: motivate and justify your workDo provide:
background of your problemwhy your work is importanthighlight your contributions, but neither over-claim norunder-claimrelated work and distinction from similar worktechnical sketches
Optional:Roadmap of your paperIllustration of your ideas/logics
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Previous work
Purpose: present the related work to justify your noveltyCould be an independent section or a part of introduction
Do be:relevantcomprehensiverespectful to those authors
Don’t:hide related work that you knowoverly self-citeharshly criticize the work by others
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Body
Purpose: explain the technical detailsBe reproducible
Do be:logicalsimple yet clearcompleterelevant
Use:block diagrams, table, pseudo-codes, illustrations, figures,and examples
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Experiments
Purpose: validate your claimsDo:
provide the complete details of experimentsbe fair and complete when compared with other algorithmspay attention to the visibility (color, contrast, labels, fontsize, and line style) of the resultsdescribe tables and figures in textinterpret the results (what, how, and why)
Use:table and figures (blowups) to present the results
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Conclusions/Discussions/Future Work
Purpose: last chance to impress the readers; show thelimitations, the effects of assumptions, alternativetechniques, or possible extensions; attract the reader tofollow your workDo:
highlight your contributions againbe concise and informativebe honest and pertinent
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
References
Purpose: present the materials to back up your paperDo:
be complete and relevantcite all the references and comment on those closelyrelated papers in Introduction, Previous Work, or Bodyfrequently refer to the related papers
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Appendix
Purpose: present the details that may hinder reading flow ifpresented in BodyDo:
pay attention to the self-consistency and the level of details
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Examples (1)
“This paper has ten contributions...”→ Focus on the mostimportant contribution.
“This is a breakthrough/revolution/paradigm shift...” (onlywhen yourself deeply believe in this)→ “This paperpresents a novel idea on...”
“It is the best/first-ever...”→ “To the best of our knowledge,it is the best/first-ever...”
a pile of math formulae→ intuitive explanations after theformulae
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Examples (2)
(title) “Multiplicative Kernels: Object Detection,Segmentation and Pose Estimation”
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Examples (3)
“A Discriminatively Trained, Multiscale, Deformable PartModel”: (abstract) This paper describes a discriminativelytrained, multiscale, deformable part model for objectdetection. Our system achieves a two-fold improvement inaverage precision over the best performance in the 2006PASCAL person detection challenge. It also outperformsthe best results in the 2007 challenge in ten out of twentycategories. The system relies heavily on deformable parts.While deformable part models have become quite popular,their value had not been demonstrated on difficultbenchmarks such as the PASCAL challenge. ...
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Examples (4)
“NLP-Enabled Information Retrieval”: (introduction) Thetraditional IR models do not employ NLP techniquesbecause NLP techniques are not robust, reliable and notpractical enough for processing large corpora. ...
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Paper structure and general tips for every component
Examples (5)
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
How to manage your writing process
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
How to manage your writing process
Phases of paper writing
Prewriting effortsRead materialsRecord ideas
DraftCollect materials
Complete related workDoing/enhancing/recording experiments
EnrichFill in experimental resultsRevise
Read your paper as if you are not an expert in this topicTo find out the best organization andwhich part should be detailed and which part should be bony
EditZhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
How to manage your writing process
Writing order
Different people have different writing order. Choose theone you feel comfortable.
top-down (skeleton first, then fill)bottom-up (details first, then reorg)linear (progress from begin to end)random
My writing order:Frequent documentationBody partIllustrationsComplete literature surveyIntroduction and Reference partExperimentsTitle, Abstract, Conclusion, and AppendixRevise and Edit
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
How to manage your writing process
Two key issues
Frequent documentation
Distribute writing time
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
General tips and good habits
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
General tips and good habits
General Tips
Never write Chinese version first and then translate toEnglishUse only those words and phrases you are familiar with
but avoid using repeated words and phrases
One paragraph, one main pointAvoid casual writingAvoid extreme words, e.g., “absolutely”, “no doubt”Avoid long, convoluted sentencesHave connecting statements between sections andparagraphsMake correct transitions and conjunctionsProofread carefully, including punctuations
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
General tips and good habits
Recommended techniques
Never think of relying on others
Use good papers as samples (mark the good words,sentences and transitions)
Record your mistakes and eliminate them
Keep the revision history by others and record why
Use spelling check tools before final submission
Reviewing papers helps
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Key message on paper writing
Outline
1 Philosophy of paper writingHave correct understandings on paper writing
2 About reviewersSomething you should know about reviewers
3 Components of a paperPaper structure and general tips for every component
4 Paper writing processHow to manage your writing process
5 Writing good EnglishGeneral tips and good habits
6 ConclusionsKey message on paper writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Key message on paper writing
Conclusions
Writing refines your thought and improves yourunderstanding
Write only when you want to
Good paper = good content + good English
Reviewers are busy and also your potential competitors
Make your paper logical, simple, and complete
Frequent documentation is important; distribute yourwriting time
Don’t rely on others
Revise, revise, and revise!
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Key message on paper writing
References
Sing Bing Kang, A Perspective on DoingEffective Research
Ya-Qin Zhang, How to Publish a (Good) Paper?
Ashley Chang, English Writing
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers
Philosophy of paper writingAbout reviewers
Components of a paperPaper writing processWriting good English
Conclusions
Key message on paper writing
Thanks!
My Email: [email protected]
Zhouchen Lin How to write good papers