NAACL 2013 Publication Instructions - Main Conference

When and where do I send my final camera-ready paper?

The deadline is April 7, 2013. You may submit the final version of your paper by navigating to the NAACL 2013 START login and following the internal links. You should have received an email with more information about this procedure.

What's new for 2013?

This year, Softconf introduced a unified login system (which is very nice). Unfortunately, it's not made quite clear that the formatting you choose for your name on your user profile page will be used in metadata for any paper you are associated with (including the proceedings index and the ACL Anthology). So please make sure you have written and formatted your name as you wish it to appear in those places.

Update 3/28 – Please also note that, although the profile information has a field for your phone number, this is not included in the conference metadata. Only your first and last names, email address, and affiliation will be published.

How should the final copy differ from the original submission?

The camera-ready version of your paper should incorporate the comments of the reviewers as well as other changes you see fit to make. In addition, be sure to do all of the following:

Include the authors' names and affiliations under the title.
De-anonymize references to your own work in the body of the paper.
Where appropriate, add acknowledgments for colleagues, reviewers, and grants.
Ensure that all tables, graphs, and figures are readable when viewed in black & white.

How long can it be?

For both long and short papers, we allow one extra page to help address reviewer comments.
Long papers are permitted at most 9 pages of text plus 2 additional pages containing only references.
Short papers get 5 pages of text plus up to 2 pages for references

What is the format for the camera-ready copy?

The file must be in Portable Document Format (PDF) on US Letter paper (8.5 x 11 inches). We strongly recommend the use of ACL LaTeX style files or Microsoft Word Style files tailored for this year's conference. You can view the style files and detailed formatting instructions on the web in their Github repository, or download the tarball directly (134K).

If you are using LaTeX, please create the PDF file with pdflatex or xelatex. This ensures use of the proper Type 1 fonts and also takes advantage of other PDF features. You will have the best results using a modern LaTeX distribution, in particular, TeX live (TeX Live 2012 is available).

How do I ensure that my file is correctly formatted?

Make sure the paper is US Letter-sized
Adjust the margin offsets when uploading
Embed custom fonts

Checking the paper size. Your paper needs to be formatted to US Letter-sized (8.5 inches wide and 11 inches tall). Here are a couple of ways to check this:

Using pdfinfo. The pdfinfo command should include
```
Page size:      612 x 792 pts (letter)
```
in its output.
Using Apple's Preview.app. Open the PDF, and type ⌘-I. It should report the correct page size:
Using Adobe Acrobat. Open the PDF, navigate to File, Properties..., Description. The field labeled "Page Size" should read 8.50 x 11.00 in.

Adjusting margin offsets. The text of your paper will almost certainly be shifted slightly relative to other papers. When the book is assembled, the boundary around the printed portion of your paper may need to be shifted so that each paper is in the same position on each page. Here is an example of a page printed with the margin boundaries that demonstrates this shifting:

Example of incorrect margins

START provides you with the means to fix this margin offset; please do!. To do so, after you upload your camera-ready paper, you will be presented with a small form that presents you with guides and allows you to adjust these offsets. Click on the "Test" button, then click the link that reads "Click here to download the draft of your paper in the final ACL proceedings.". You will be presented with a version of the proceedings containing only your paper, annotated with guidelines that help you shift the content of your paper.

Margin offset instructions

Please determine the required adjustments and enter them here. You can click "(click here to show/hide instructions)" for more information on how to do this.

If your paper uses Asian fonts, please ensure that they are embedded in the PDF file so that they can be displayed by non-Asian versions of the PDF reader. (Asian versions ship with a larger set of default fonts.)

What if my paper includes graphics?

Remember that you are providing a camera-ready copy. Thus, artwork and photos should be included directly in the paper in their final positions. Ideally, you should use vector graphic formats (PDF, EPS), which allow the graphics to scale arbitrarily. Avoid GIF or JPEG images that are low resolution or highly compressed.

Your paper must look good both when printed (8.5" x 11" size, black-and-white) and when viewed onscreen as PDF (zoomable to any size, color okay). Thus, you may want to use color high-resolution graphics, allowing onscreen readers to zoom in on a graph and study it. However, please check that the same graph or photograph is legible when printed on a black-and-white printer. For example, different lines in a graph should not be distinguished only by color, although they can also be distinguished by color.

A good test is to print the paper on your own black-and-white laser printer, and to view it in a PDF viewer at different resolutions.

Don't go overboard on resolution; keep file sizes manageable. Note that vector graphics (e.g., encapsulated PostScript) look good at any scale and take up little space (unless you are plotting many thousands of data points).

What about copyright?

When you submit the paper, you will be asked to sign electronically (via the START Conference Manager) or physically the ACL Copyright Transfer Agreement on behalf of all authors. Authors retain many rights under this agreement and it is appropriate in the vast majority of cases. Please contact the publications chairs with any concerns regarding copyright.

Before signing this form, please confirm with your co-authors (and, if applicable, your and their employers) that they authorize you to sign on their behalf.

What if my paper's title or author list has changed?

Then please edit those metadata fields when you upload the camera-ready version, so that they will appear correctly in the table of contents, author index, conference schedule, etc. Please also note that your name will appear in conference metadata as you have configured it in Softconf's system, so make sure that it is correct there (e.g., capitalization, full name, etc). You can change this on user settings page.

My question isn't answered here ...?

Please email the publications chairs (Colin Cherry and Matt Post) at naacl-2013-pub-chairs@googlegroups.com. We will update this page as new issues arise.

Last updated on 2013-02-22 15:43 Friday.