For the group meeting this week I suggested we review Simon Peyton Jones’s recorded talk on “How to write a great research paper”. Peyton Jones gives this talk every year to incoming graduate students in Cambridge; I heard it in 2005. I particularly like the advice on writing abstracts, which came from Kent Beck (“How to get a paper accepted at OOPSLA”).

“How to write a great research paper” has two companion talks, “How to give a great research talk” and “How to write a great research proposal.” I’ve never seen one of Peyton Jones’s research proposals, but his talks and papers are excellent.

At the group meeting one of my colleagues suggested Patrick Winston’s “How to Speak” lecture as a follow-up.