# Research Paper Template

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# Used by Pisces when /research --mode=review is run

# Provides structure for CS academic papers and reports

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## Standard CS Paper Structure

### 1. Title & Abstract

- **Title**: Specific, descriptive, keyword-rich
- **Abstract** (150–250 words): Problem → Approach → Results → Contribution
  - What problem does this solve?
  - How did you solve it?
  - What did you find?
  - Why does it matter?

### 2. Introduction

- Motivate the problem (why does it matter?)
- State your contributions explicitly as a bullet list
- Outline the rest of the paper

### 3. Background / Related Work

- What exists already?
- How does your work differ?
- Group by theme, not chronology
- Cite seminal papers + recent advances

### 4. Problem Formulation

- Formal definition of the problem
- Assumptions and constraints
- Notation used throughout the paper

### 5. Approach / Methodology

- Your proposed solution
- Algorithm or system design (include diagrams)
- Why this approach over alternatives?

### 6. Evaluation / Experiments

- Experimental setup (datasets, hardware, baselines)
- Metrics used and why
- Results with tables/figures
- Ablation studies (what matters most?)

### 7. Discussion

- Interpret the results — what do they mean?
- Limitations of your approach
- Threats to validity

### 8. Conclusion

- Summarise contributions
- Future work

### 9. References

- Use a consistent citation style (IEEE, ACM, or as required)
- Manage with Zotero or BibTeX

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## LaTeX Starter (IEEE Style)

```latex
\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}
\usepackage{cite}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\begin{document}

\title{Your Paper Title}
\author{
  \IEEEauthorblockN{Your Name}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{Department of Computer Science\\
  Your University}
}
\maketitle

\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here (150--250 words).
\end{abstract}

\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}

\section{Related Work}
\label{sec:related}

\section{Methodology}
\label{sec:method}

\section{Evaluation}
\label{sec:eval}

\section{Conclusion}
\label{sec:conclusion}

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
\bibliography{references}

\end{document}
```

---

## Writing Tips for CS Papers

- **Clarity over cleverness** — a confused reader is a failed paper
- **Every figure needs a caption** that stands alone without reading the text
- **Every claim needs evidence** — cite or show data
- **Passive voice sparingly** — "we show" is clearer than "it is shown"
- **Define every symbol** the first time it appears
- **Use consistent terminology** — pick one word for each concept and stick to it

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- Vague problem statements ("we study the efficiency of...")
- Missing baselines in experiments
- Reporting only best results, not variance
- Burying contributions in the middle of the introduction
- Figures with unreadable font sizes
- References to "recent work" without years (recent to whom?)