![Page 1: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
How to Read, Write, Present Papers
Nitin H. Vaidya
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
© 2002 Nitin Vaidya
![Page 2: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Caveats
Statutory warning : Your advisor may not agree
Only my opinions. Random thoughts, often in no particular order
Use advise at your own risk
I do not necessarily follow the advise all the time
![Page 3: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Caveats
This presentation ignores some of its suggestions
![Page 4: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Omissions
References at the end of the talk provide many suggestions not included in this talk
![Page 5: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Summary
Use common sense
Learn from experience
![Page 6: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Reading a Paper
![Page 7: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Why read papers
So you know what’s happening
Avoid reinventing the wheel does happen commonly,
too many wheels already
Find interesting research topics
![Page 8: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Why not to read papers
Cannot read everything
Should not read everything
Can suppress innovation once you see solutions using a particular theme, often hard
to think differently
![Page 9: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Read or not to read,that is the question
Read, of course
Know what’s important
Know what can be ignored without significant loss of information
![Page 10: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
What to read
Major conferences Journals are a few years behind, but still can be useful
Tech reports from active research groups need to know which groups to look up
Survey / overview papers ACM Computing Surveys CACM, IEEE Computer, Spectrum more technical - IEEE Personal Communications, … newsletters - ACM SIGCOMM, ACM SIGMOBILE, ...
![Page 11: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
What’s in a paper
Abstract Introduction Motivation Problem description Solution ... Performance Analysis Conclusions Future Work
![Page 12: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
How to read a paper?
Know why you want to read the paper
To know what’s going on (e.g., scanning proceedings) title, authors, abstract
Papers in your broad research area introduction, motivation, solution description, summary,
conclusions sometimes reading more details useful, but not always
Papers you may want to improve on read entire paper carefully
![Page 13: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
What to note
Authors and research group Need to know where to look for a paper on particular topic
Theme of the solution Should be able to go back to the paper if you need more info
Approach to performance evaluation
Note any shortcomings
![Page 14: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
So this paper is in print ...
Be skeptical
If it sounds too good to be true, it often is
![Page 15: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
How to Write
![Page 16: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
How to write a paper
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
![Page 17: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
How to write a paper
When you have truly exceptional results P == NP
Probably doesn’t matter how you write, people will read it anyway
![Page 18: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
How to write a paper
Most papers are not that exceptional
Good writing makes significant difference
Better to say little clearly, than saying too much unclearly
![Page 19: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Readability a must
If the paper is not readable, author has not given writing sufficient thought
Two kinds of referees If I cannot understand the paper, it is the writer’s fault If I cannot understand the paper, I cannot reject it
Don’t take chances. Write the paper well.
Badly written papers typically do not get read
![Page 20: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Do not irritate the reader
Define notation before use
No one is impressed anymore by Greek symbols
If you use much notation, make it easy to find summarize most notation in one place
![Page 21: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Do not irritate the reader
Avoid Using Too Many Acronyms AUTMA ?!
You may know the acronyms well. Do not assume that the reader does (or cares to)
![Page 22: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
How to write a theory paper
Unreadability is not the same as formalism
Reader should be able to understand contributions without reading all details
If some proofs are not too important, relegate them to an appendix Proofs are not as worthy as new proof techniques
![Page 23: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
How to write a systems paper
Provide sufficient information to allow people to reproduce your results people may want to reproduce exciting results do not assume this won’t happen to your paper besides, referees expect the information
Do not provide wrong information
Sometimes hard to provide all details in available space may be forced to omit some information judge what is most essential to the experiments cite a tech report for more information
![Page 24: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Discuss related work
Explain how your work relates to state of the art
Discuss relevant past work by other people too
Remember, they may be reviewing your paper. Avoid: The scheme presented by Vaidya performs terribly Prefer: The scheme by Vaidya does not perform as well in
scenario X as it does in scenario Y
Avoid offending people, unless you must
![Page 25: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Tell them your shortcomings
If your ideas do not work well in some interesting scenarios, tell the reader
People appreciate a balanced presentation
![Page 26: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
How to write weak results
If results are not that great, come up with better ones
Do not hide weak results behind bad writing Be sure to explain why results are weaker than you expected
If you must publish: write well, but may have to go to second-best conference Only a few conferences in any area are worth publishing in Too many papers in poor conferences bad for your reputation Just because a conference is “IEEE” or “ACM” or “International”
does not mean it is any good
If results not good enough for a decent conference, rethink your problem/solution
![Page 27: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Miscellaneous
Read some well-written papers award-winning papers from conferences
Avoid long sentences
If you have nothing to say, say nothing don’t feel obliged to fill up space with useless text if you must fill all available space, use more line spacing,
greater margins, bigger font, bigger figures, anything but drivel
![Page 28: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Technical reports
Useful to get early feedback from other researchers
Puts a timestamp on your work
Can include more information / results than might fit in a paper
![Page 29: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
How to Present
![Page 30: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
How to present a paper
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
![Page 31: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
How to present a paper(at a conference)
Objectives, in decreasing order of importance
Keep people awake and attentive everything has been tried: play fiddle, cartoons, jokes in most cases, extreme measures should not be needed humor can help
Get the problem definition across people in audience may not be working on your problem
![Page 32: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
How to present a paper(at a conference)
Objectives … in decreasing order of importance
Explain your general approach most productive use of your time
Dirty details most people in the audience probably do not care a typical conference includes 30+ paper presentations,
yours could be the N-th
![Page 33: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Talk outline or not ?
Useful when several ideas discussed in a single talk
Short talks : Skip the outline
Long talks : Include an outline
Make the outline interesting
![Page 34: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Text
You want people to (quickly) read your slides
Use big enough font
Do not put too much on one slide don’t want to keep them busy reading, instead of listening
Use good color schemes
Not blue on yellow
![Page 35: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Text
Slide text need not be grammatically accurate
Keep it short OK to omit some details fill them in when you present the paper
Practice makes perfect
versus
Practice can improve your presentations
![Page 36: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
PowerPoint, but not excessively
Everybody has used PowerPoint
No one is impressed by fancy backgrounds anymore
Avoid using gratuitous animation
Standard PowerPoint layouts can be useful decent font sizes and color schemes
![Page 37: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
Picture is worth 1000 words
Use illustrations to explain complex algorithms
Omit minor details, focus on the important
They can read the paper to know the exact algorithm
![Page 38: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
Short talks
May not have enough time to discuss all ideas clearly
Focus talk on one or two ideas
Summarize rest briefly
Better to explain one idea well, than many ideas poorly
![Page 39: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
How to present a paper
Avoid blocking the screen
Point to the screen, rather than the slide on the projector
![Page 40: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
How many slides?
Depends on personal style
Rules of thumb 1 slides for 1-2 minutes Know your pace
I tend to make more slides than I might need, and skip the not-so-important ones dynamically
Anticipate technical questions, and prepare explanatory slides
![Page 41: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
How to present a paper
Practice makes perfect (or tolerable)
May need several trials to fit your talk to available time
• particularly if you are not an experienced speaker
![Page 42: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
If English is your second language
Accent may not be easy to understand
Talk slowly
Easier said than done I have a tough time slowing down myself
![Page 43: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
No substitute for experience
Nothing like a terrible presentation to learn what not to do
Try to learn from other people’s mistakes, instead of waiting for your own
![Page 44: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
Summary
Use common sense
Learn from experience
Enjoy!
• Papers can be fun
![Page 45: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
Useful references
Speaker’s Guide, Ian Parberry
http://hercule.csci.unt.edu/ian/guides/guides.html
The Best Method for Presentation of Research Results, Veljko Milutinovic
http://www.computer.org/tab/tcca/NEWS/sept96/sept96.htm
Many other guides on the web
![Page 46: How to Read, Write, Present Papers Nitin H. Vaidya University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign nhv@uiuc.edu © 2002 Nitin Vaidya](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062407/56649d7b5503460f94a5f7de/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
Thanks !