American Society of Professional Estimators - Chapter 43 - DFW

AACEI Reference to writing a good technical paper (adapted for ASPE):

1. Criteria commonly used for refereeing and therefore a valuable guide to writing
   • Relevance – to the conference topics and to the area of education in general. The ideas in the work need to be usable by others.
   • Quality of work – showing some originality (Is it worth while for colleagues to read this paper?), well planned, context well explained, etc.
   • Scholarly – showing an awareness of good practice. For example, in papers which are reports on actual projects, it is essential to include some evidence of reflection and evaluation. The work also should be grounded in relevant literature (see below).
   • Style of presentation – must to be written in a suitable academic style and in clear and accessible English. Diagrams and tables should be used appropriately.
2. Role of the literature
   • This should assist the story of the paper. A few points here:
     • Full and complete citations are important. Citations indicate that you understand the relationship of your work to other peoples’ work, that you are not just ‘reinventing the wheel’. They also assist readers who wish to find other relevant work in your area.
     • Long lists of references may be appropriate in a theoretical paper. A smaller number of references to key principles may be all that is needed in a more practical paper. Referees (most anyway) are not fooled by long lists of unnecessary references.
     • Being quite clear about the use of terms is vital. A vague reference to being constructivist is not acceptable (this is a very common problem). Unpacking the principles on which your work is based is crucial.
3. Structure of the paper
   • Look at past conference proceedings and papers.
   • Be clear and accurate about the title. Catchy is OK, but with clear meaning.
   • Plan the papers with clear headings.
   • Use clear and concise English. Avoid the use of unnecessary ‘jargon’. It is acceptable to write in the first person when describing work that the author(s) have actually done.
   • Work out carefully what diagrams are useful. Be careful about using screen dumps. Make sure they are a) interpretable and readable, and b) add value to the paper.
   • Make sure the opening sentences of your Abstract and your first section are not identical. Your Abstract should be a succinct summary of the whole paper and not just an introduction.
   • Read any guidelines carefully and adhere to them – length, formatting, etc. Please note that very short papers will be automatically rejected. It is also inappropriate to submit something that is clearly a long chapter from a recent thesis; it will almost certainly be rejected. The paper submitted mustbe an essentially complete Full or Brief paper.
   • Always provide attributions where the work of others has been used. If you alter it, use ‘after’, e.g. (Figure x. Title. After McNaught, 2001).
   • Give complete references. In particular, note that online references need to have the date of accession of the URL recorded. There are many online sites that give guidance on APA style. Check that any you use are current. University libraries often have nice guides.
   • Use a spell checker!
   • Use a grammar checker. You don’t have to accept all the suggestions, but they are often correct.
   • For authors with relatively little experience, the peer review of a few colleagues is invaluable.