Please follow the rules for ARR/ACL papers

2026-03-16 · Source: Ehud Reiter's Blog · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Research Methodology & Innovation · Depth: Advanced, short

Summary

An editorial analyst critiques common violations of publication guidelines in papers submitted to venues like ARR/ACL, emphasizing issues that hinder readability and academic rigor. Key problems include unreadable font sizes in diagrams, often requiring 400% zoom, despite ACL guidelines mandating document-text font size. Authors frequently place critical information, such as literature reviews or important results, in appendices, which reviewers are not obligated to read. The analyst also highlights the increasing presence of hallucinated content, including non-existent references, in submissions, stressing that all authors are responsible for correctness. Finally, the analyst notes the preference for citing arXiv preprints over peer-reviewed published versions and inconsistent inclusion of DOIs, advocating for adherence to established citation practices like those in CVPR 2026 guidelines.

Key takeaway

For AI Scientists preparing submissions to venues like ARR/ACL, you must rigorously adhere to formatting and content guidelines. Ensure all diagrams are legible, critical information is in the main paper, and all content, especially LLM-generated sections, is factually correct and properly referenced with DOIs. Failing to follow these rules risks desk rejection and undermines the credibility of your research.

Key insights

Adherence to publication guidelines is crucial for research quality and reviewer efficiency.

Principles

• All authors share responsibility for paper correctness.
• Appendices are for supplementary material only.
• Published versions should be cited over preprints.

Method

Reviewers should desk reject papers with unreadable figures, key content in appendices, or hallucinated information to enforce publication guidelines and improve research quality.

In practice

• Ensure diagram text is legible without zooming.
• Place key results in the main paper, not appendices.
• Cite published papers using DOIs when available.

Topics

• Academic Publishing Standards
• Research Paper Guidelines
• LLM Content Hallucinations
• Diagram Readability
• Citation Practices

Best for: AI Scientist, AI Researcher, AI Student, Research Scientist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Ehud Reiter's Blog.