Stage 3 · Expert · R1
How to Read a Paper
Read the figures first. The abstract is written to sell.
12 lessons · 116 minSteady
About this chapter
Reading a paper front to back is the slowest way through it. This chapter gives you three readings, starting with a ten minute pass that ends in a keep or drop decision. You will practice on one real table from the 2017 attention paper, learn to spot a weak baseline and a gain hiding inside the noise, check a claim with plain arithmetic, and finish with a five line note you can still use a year later.
What you will be able to do
- 17 min
Why Read Papers at All
Say what a paper gives you that a blog post or a video cannot.
- 28 min
Preprints, Venues and Peer Review
Explain what peer review does and does not guarantee about a result.
- 39 min
The Shape of a Paper
Name each section and what question it is supposed to answer.
- 411 min
Abstract, Then Figures, Then Decide
Run a first pass that takes ten minutes and produces a keep or drop decision.
- 511 min
Reading the Math
Decode notation by tracking shapes and one concrete example.
- 611 min
Reading the Results Table
Check the table for seeds, intervals, fair baselines and missing ablations.
- 710 min
Spotting a Weak Baseline
Recognize the classic ways a comparison is tilted, and check one paper.
- 89 min
Following the Thread
Use references and citations to find the paper you actually needed.
- 913 min
Reproducing One Claim
Pick the smallest testable claim in a paper and reproduce it yourself.
- 109 min
Spotting Overclaiming
Separate what was measured from what is being suggested.
- 1110 min
Writing a Summary
Write a summary with claim, method, evidence and limits in under 300 words.
- 128 min
Keeping a Reading List
Build a note system that makes a paper findable a year later.