The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is one of the largest and most prestigious organizations in the field of computing. Every year, ACM hosts numerous conferences that bring together leading researchers from around the world to present and share new findings and advances in computing. When submitting research to an ACM conference, authors must follow specific formatting guidelines to structure their paper in the proper format for ACM proceedings.
General Guidelines
Papers submitted to ACM conferences should generally be 6-12 pages in length, depending on the specific conference guidelines. The print area for ACM proceedings is 6.5 inches by 9 inches. All text, figures, tables and other content must fit within this print area with 0.75 inch margins on all sides. Papers exceeding the specified page limit may be rejected without review.
The paper should generally be formatted for US letter sized paper (8.5 inches by 11 inches) in portrait orientation, with the exception of some very large posters or figures which may extend to landscape. Fonts should be 10-12 point in size, with headings no larger than 14 point. Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, orHelvetica are preferable over serif fonts. Line spacing should be at least 1.5 for body text.
Title and Author Information
The title of the paper should be centered at the top of the first page in bold 16 point font. Author names are listed below the title, also centered, in 12 point font. Author affiliations follow on the next line and are centered in 10 point font. Contact information for the corresponding author, including email address, should be placed at the bottom of the page, right aligned.
Abstract
The abstract summarizes the key aspects of the research in no more than 150-200 words. It should describe the motivation, goals, methods, and main conclusions of the work. The abstract is placed immediately below the author information, formatted as a single paragraph block in 10 point font, with no indentation.
Body Text
The body text includes the main research sections such as introduction, related work, methodology, results, and conclusion. Section headings appear in bold 12 point font, left aligned. Subsections use regular 12 point font, left aligned, with a 0.5 inch indentation. Sections and subsections should be clearly numbered (ex: 1. Introduction, 2.1 Related Work, etc).
Figures and Tables
Figures and tables are numbered consecutively throughout (ex: Figure 1, Table 2) and must have a caption placed below in 10 point italics font. Captions should be short but fully explanatory. Figures and tables must be embedded in the body text where they are first referenced rather than appearing in a group at the end of the paper. Large figures/tables spanning both columns may alternatively be placed at the top/bottom of the page.
Equations
Equations should be typeset using equation editing software like LaTeX, MathType or Microsoft Equation and numbered consecutively with numbers enclosed in parentheses and right aligned. Equation references in text appear in parentheses like (1). Complex equations may span both columns though text should continue flowing if possible.
Citations and References
References can be cited in the body in one of two ways – “[last name, year]” or as a superscript number. Citations should be placed outside the closing punctuation. For example “Recent work shows that deep learning is extremely effective [Smith, 2020]”. The References section should appear at the end in 10 point font and be alphabetically ordered by the first author’s last name.
Conclusion and Future Work
The conclusion summarizes the key findings and significance of the work. A short discussion on future work may optionally be included to suggest natural extensions and avenues for further development. Acknowledgments of any funding or assistance should be included prior to the References section if applicable.
Following proper ACM formatting guidelines is essential to effectively structure and present original research findings to the computing community. Careful attention to presentation details will favorably impress reviewers and show readers the work has been professionally prepared according to discipline standards. With clearly organized content catered to the intended audience, authors maximize their potential to share meaningful contributions and insights.