Readings

The primary material for this course will be a selection of research papers. Some will be "classic" papers and some will be more recent results. Each class period will involve lecture and discussion on the papers assigned for that day. Every student must be prepared to discuss the papers assigned each class period. Students not prepared to discuss the readings will be asked to withdraw from the course.

Although most papers are short -- usually 8-12 pages -- some are quite dense and will require several readings to absorb completely. To get the most of each paper, students will form small reading groups and meet outside of class to discuss the papers. Sign-ups will be provided in class in order to facilitate this.

Here is a good way to work on the papers:

  1. Alone, skim the paper quickly to pick up the general ideas.
  2. Alone, read the paper again carefully, taking notes on the main ideas and difficult sections.
  3. In group, review the main ideas and help each other to understand difficult sections.
  4. Alone, skim the paper again to see what you missed the first time.
Be prepared to answer the following questions about each paper:
  1. What is the primary argument?
  2. What are the major components of the system?
  3. What messages are exchanged between components?
  4. How does the system respond to failures?
  5. What does each of the experiments demonstrate?
  6. Does the paper communicate effectively?
    What lessons can you apply to your own paper writing?