Monthly Archives: October 2020

Checklist for Paper Submissions

We all want our papers to be awesome. Here is the checklist I use before paper submission.

  • Make sure there are no latex errors. Especially if you are using Overleaf, it will make a pdf even if your latex has errors, but it may not render the way you expect. If you are building on a PC, sometimes latex errors show up far up in the lag, so check for undefined references or citations or anything like that.
  • Spellcheck!
  • Read the bibliography and make sure there are no typos/errors/missing fields there.
  • Make sure the file size is 1MB or less. If it is larger, it is probably because of included images. Make sure 1) the resolution of the images is not too large (e.g., max 800 on a side), and 2) that if it is a photograph you are using jpg (which is compressed) and not png (which is losslessly compressed). However if it’s a diagram with lots of white space, use png, or even pdf or svg which will be imported into the generated pdf as a vector graphics image rather than pixles, and be small but look good at any resolution. Taking these steps will not change how it looks, but will dramatically reduce file size, making it take less time for you to upload, for reviewers to download, and for everyone else to download the paper for the rest of its lifetime.
  • Make sure all authors know they are authors and are okay with submitting.
  • Read the conference guidelines for authors and make sure you follow them all, especially as related to space. baseline stretch is now getting explicitly disallowed so be careful!
  • If double blind, make sure 1) you are citing all your own previous work, but you are citing it anonymously (as if someone else wrote the paper) 2) there are no other bits that deanonymize you.
  • Check the acknowledgements and make sure you acknowledge all funding sources (if not double blind).