❖ Writing Short Papers

❖ Writing Short Papers Choose good names not only for the ideas that you just present in your paper, however for the document supply file. Don't name the file after the convention to which you're submitting or the 12 months. Even if the paper is accepted, such a name won't tell you what the paper is about when when you look over your information in later years. Instead, give the paper or its folder/directory a reputation that displays its content. Another benefit is that this may also lead you to consider the paper in terms of its content material and contributions. Do not use a single term to refer to multiple concepts. (Even if your IDE happens to do that, it isn't appropriate for a paper.) For example, it would be acceptable to use boldface to indicate the names of procedures , however not their return sorts. Don't waste text in the paper (and tax the reader's persistence) regurgitating info that is expressed extra exactly and concisely in a determine. For instance, it mustn't repeat a quantity from a table or graph. If you employ the time period “approach” for each last idea that you simply introduce in your paper, then readers will turn into confused. This is a place that use of synonyms to differentiate ideas which might be unrelated is appropriate. For occasion, you might always use “phase” when describing an algorithm but “step” when describing how a person makes use of a device. Give each idea in your paper a descriptive name to make it extra memorable to readers. A related, also common, confusion is between “three instances quicker than and 3 occasions as fast as”. And, “2 times fewer” makes absolutely no sense. “Half as many” is a much better substitute for “2 occasions fewer”. If you do any computations corresponding to ratios, you need to internally use the complete precision of your actual measurements, but your paper will report only a restricted variety of digits of precision. Early on, the purpose is to arrange your ideas, not to create finished sentences. Rather than trying to put in writing your entire doc, choose some particular half, and write simply that part. When there are a number of possible approaches to an issue, it is preferable to offer one of the best or successful one first. Text within the paper should add perception or explanations, or a minimum of summarize the info in the figure. Different folks learn in several ways, so you should complement a textual or mathematical presentation with a graphical one. Even for folks whose main studying modality is textual, one other presentation of the ideas can make clear, fill gaps, or allow the reader to confirm his or her understanding. Figures can also help for instance concepts, draw a skimming reader into the textual content , and make the paper extra visually interesting. Passive voice has no place in technical writing. It obscures who the actor was, what caused it, and when it occurred. Never use terms like “method 1”, “strategy 2”, or “our method”, and keep away from acronyms when attainable. If you possibly can't think of a good name, then quite likely you don't actually understand the idea. Think harder about it to determine its most important or salient options. Any boldface or different highlighting ought to be used to point an important components of a text. In code snippets, it ought to by no means be used to focus on syntactic components corresponding to “public” or “int”, as a result of that isn't the half to which you need to draw the reader's eye. Do not confuse relative and absolute measurements. For occasion, suppose your medication cures 30% of patients, and the placebo cures 25% of sufferers. You might report that your medication's treatment rate is .three, the placebo's remedy rate is .25, and your medication's treatment price is both .05 larger or 20% larger. Just as you have to appropriately use “120% more” versus “one hundred twenty% as many”, you should appropriately use “three occasions quicker than” versus “3 instances as fast as”. Use active voice and easy, clear, direct phrasing. You must be willing to delete and/or rewrite your notes and early drafts. If you wrote one thing once, you'll be able to write it again (in all probability better!).