Paper writing guideline

Check-list for preparation of papers for scientific research conferences

Before you start

• Read the call and check if your topic is relevant to the conference themes.
• Make sure you specifically take note of things like the word length and the format requirements. It is best to work with these form the start and not try to tailor another paper into the reformat requested. Further to this, remember that your paper will be checked for plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. This means that you cannot submit the same paper that you have submitted to this conference before or that is already published as a book chapter, journal paper or official working paper (rule of thumb: if you can see it on google scholar, it is likely to be found by plagiarism software and your submission rejected at the first desk review stage).
• Don’t forget to write down the deadline date in your diary. Preferably, develop a writing plan to ensure you are ready to submit several days before the deadline so you not have a last minute rush or have to worry about the conference submission system being overloaded and not able to accept your submission.

The paper itself

• Consider making a plan of the paper first; write an outline using the recommended format outlined in the call for papers (if there is one).
• Make sure that you clearly outline up front the purpose, objectives and structure of your paper up front.
• Briefly present the methodology of the paper and the work you have done on which the paper is based. It is also good to say a few words about any short-comings or limitations of the methods or data collected, if relevant.
• Make sure you use relevant and recent literature in your field.
• Consider what is the originality of your contribution and try to make this clear as well.
• Check if your paper meets normal scientific standards (references included, no plagiarism etc.)
• Consider writing your abstract at the end i.e. once you have finished the paper and not at the start. It’s important this captures the objectives of your paper, the main findings and recommendations.