Essays Essays Call For Papers

Submission Deadline March 19, 2008
Notification of acceptance or rejection On or after May 10, 2008
Deadline for camera-ready copy TBD
Author Information and Templates Templates
Submission link Submission System
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Overview

An OOPSLA essay is a reflection upon technology, its relation to human endeavors, or its philosophical, sociological, psychological, historical, or anthropological underpinnings. An essay can be an exploration of technology, its impacts, or the circumstances of its creation; it can present a personal view of what is, explore a terrain, or lead the reader in an act of discovery; it can be a philosophical digression or a deep analysis. Essays will be rigorously peer-reviewed, using a process similar to (but separate from) the reviewing process for technical papers.

What makes for a successful essay? At its best, an essay is a clear and compelling piece of writing that explores a topic important to the OOPSLA community. It can describe a personal journey, perhaps that by which the author reached an understanding of such a topic. It may or may not have a conclusion, but it must provide some insight or argument. A successful essay shows a keen mind coming to grips with a tough or intriguing problem; it should leave the reader with a feeling that the encounter was worthwhile.

An essay should have these characteristics:

  • Significance: the essay should argue something significant.
  • Persuasiveness: the case must be compelling.
  • Clarity: the essay must be written to communicate.
  • Voice: the writing should be distinctive and the author must shine through the words.
  • Artistry is welcome to the extent that it is crucial to the case and its presentation.
  • Craftsmanship is essential.

Submission Process

Electronic submission of essays is required through the OOPSLA submission system.

All essays must be submitted in PDF format. Submissions must be in ACM SIGPLAN 10 point format; PDF files must be created to allow printing, and must be readily printable on a modestly configured color laser printer. Templates for Microsoft Word and LaTeX are available at http://www.acm.org/sigs/sigplan/authorInformation.htm. For ease of reviewing, please turn on page numbers in your submission. (Note that the SIGPLAN formats differ from the standard ACM formats in some respects.)

Final camera-ready essays must also be formatted to conform to SIGPLAN Proceedings requirements. Details will be released once your essay has been accepted.

Essays must be both no longer than 10,000 words and no longer than 20 pages when formatted under the SIGPLAN templates. Length will be determined by applying a word count utility to the result of using Adobe Acrobat's "Save as Text" option. Papers violating these guidelines will be rejected without review; contact the essays chair in advance if you have any doubts about the length of your paper.

OOPSLA also provides a number of other publication venues; papers that are not accepted to the essays program may, at the discretion of the committee, be forwarded for consideration by the research program or Onward!

Essays must not have been previously published, and must not be concurrently submitted for publication elsewhere (including journals and formal proceedings of conferences and workshops). Violation of this policy will result in rejection of the essay. See the SIGPLAN republication policy for more details http://www.acm.org/sigs/sigplan/republicationpolicy.htm.

For additional information, clarification, or questions, please contact the essays chair at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Essays Program Committee