How to Write and Submit a Great Conference Paper

Preparation of conference papers is a great way to generate interest about any research work one might be pursuing, and bring other minds for a better project outcome in long run. However, writing and submission of conference papers requires a decent approach, in all spheres like writing, choice of a conference which deals with a specific genre of research work, and presenting the paper in front of target audience in a way that generates interest.

How to Prepare a Smart Presentation for a Conference?

Conference papers in themselves have many underlying benefits:

  • Network: Networking opportunities provided by attending and/or presenting a conference paper is immense considering the number of research scholars one can meet and interact with. Publications, job opportunities and invitations to present one’s research materials are often accompanied by conference gatherings.
  • Practice for Interviews: Q&A sessions of any conferences post presentation of a paper is a challenge which serves as a viable practice for job interviews later on.
  • Publication Benefits: Taking part in a conference can lead to publishing of your research works. This is a great leap in informing other people about your research.
  • Establishing Research: Personal interaction with conference attendees increases one’s chances of connecting their names with a particular research and future benefits of teaming up in projects.

Writing and submission of a conference paper is done in a few concrete steps:

  • A Bit of Background Research: Before even starting to prepare for a conference, a person must take into account some factors as first priority:
  • Location: A conference can be pretty intimidating depending on the genre of its discussions, but it will not be feasible if the location is somewhere inaccessible, or is halfway around the world. It is better to wait, as conferences of specific genres are generally held world over.
  • Paper Specification: Another factor paramount for participation is the paper specificity of the conferences. These include target audiences, dates of submission & participation, and guidelines of those papers.
  • Networking and Publication: One should first establish the field which other representatives and scholars will represent; this helps in assessing the networking capabilities and success. Another thing is some research about publication, which is authorized for publishing the papers presented in conference. Every publisher has their own sets of guidelines and publishing quality which must be checked out.
  • Abstract & Title: Construction of a defining abstract is of paramount significance, as an abstract holds the capacity to instill confidence in the research work/paper you are going to present. An attention grabbing, effective title which can brief out the specificity and excitement of your work is indeed highly sought after.
  • Structure, Style and Scope: Though these three areas have been merged, they are vast areas in their definitions, and should be provided with every bit of attention. A catchy title and abstract followed by a dull structure will wean away the confidence your audience has invested. The energy demonstrated by you in your abstract must flow uniformly through all these three areas.
  • Focus: Conference papers generally have one area of focus instead of multiple ones, such that the focus does not sway from one foothold to other. The title itself must make itself clear about the focus, and everything should represent this area.
  • Body and Conclusion: This is the meaty area which will contain all details about your work, graphs, statistics, pictorial representations and analysis of data. A logical build is necessary in this segment to provide your conference paper with a definite shape. Conclusion, on the other hand, will re-engage the attention of your audience who has wandered off by the meaty stuff. Research problems, your own devised solutions, covering your key focus areas once more, and leaving with a ‘take away’ note must be included in conclusion.