Notes on Machine Learning Projects and Reports

Abstract

Research is only useful if it is communicated well. Good communication requires good writing. Even if a technical project is not research, and never has to be explained to outsiders, writing reports for internal use is a way to promote deep and careful thinking. Good writing is continuous prose, not bullet points or outlines. Isolated phrases or sentences cannot convey information that is complex, detailed, or subtle. This point is made in a recent report entitled Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan, which says [Flynn et al., 2010]