# Dos and Don’ts when Writing a Paper

There are some dos and don'ts when writing a scientific paper that heavily improve the reading. In the sequel, I provide some hints I have learned as author and reviewer in the past. If following list lacks some important hints, contact me and I will add them here.

# Improving the Readability of a Scientific Paper

• Try to reduce following modal verbs:
• can, could, must, have to, should, would
• Cite papers, call rules, give hints, or move derivations to the appendix instead of using following sentences:
• "It can be easily shown that..."
• "After some computation..."
• "It is straightforward (to show that...)"
• As a rough guideline use
• more than 10 references for conferences papers,
• more than 30 references for journals papers,
• other references than only yours.
• In each sentence, present only one idea. Write condensed.
• Use LaTeX instead of Word. Use following LaTeX's packages:
•  TikZ and PgfPlots for figures and Matlab plots.
• SIunitX for (SI) units
• MathTools for typesetting of equations
• Use captions that explain the figures/tables.
• Mathematical symbols are roman, if they are descriptive
• Superscript and subscript are italic, if they are variables or indices, else roman:  $x_k, k \in \mathbb{Z}$ vs.  $x^{\mathrm{MSE}}$, or $x^{\mathrm{T}}$ (transposed)
• Functions are roman, if they are descriptive, else italic: $f(x)$ vs. $\sin(x)$ (sine) or $\mathrm{E}(x)$ (expectation) or $x^{\mathrm{T}}$ (transposed)
• Units use roman fonts (see below).
• Labels of axes in function plots:
• Use tables for a long list of simulation and measurement settings.
• Tables should be set as described by http://mirror.klaus-uwe.me/ctan/macros/latex/contrib/booktabs/booktabs.pdf:
• Never, ever use vertical rules.
• Never use double rules.
• Put the units in the column heading (not in the body of the table).
• At the end of the paper you don't need a second abstract. Draw conclusions instead.
• Use less than 5 abbreviations. Do not use them in the paper's title.
• Divide the introduction into Motivation, State of the Art,  Contribution(s) and Outline.
• Simplify notations. Use sub-/superscripts instead of different symbols, but use as few as possible.
• Motivate your work by means of an application.
• The  "delta-Dirac function" is either a distribution or an indicator function, but this should be specified.
• Do not use \jmath and \imath for $\sqrt{-1}$ in LaTeX.
• Use hyphens: especially compound modifiers.

Acknowledgements: Paul-Jürgen Wagner's comments helped me to improve and extend the list.