/ieee-letter

name: ieee-letter
description: >-
  Write or compress an IEEE communications LETTER for WCL (IEEE Wireless Communications Letters)
  or CL (IEEE Communications Letters): a single-contribution paper with a compressed
  introduction, no standalone related-work section, one system model, one core result (an
  algorithm OR a closed-form expression), and a tight simulation section under the current WCL/CL
  page budget. Use this whenever the target is a letter rather than a transactions paper — "write
  a WCL letter", "turn this into a letter", "我的论文要投WCL/CL", "压缩成letter", "写一篇通信快报",
  "letter写不下了怎么删", "cut my letter to fit", EDICS selection, and the WCL/CL submission checklist.
  For full transactions papers (JSAC/TWC/TCOM) use ieee-writing; for the results narrative use
  ieee-writing + ieee-experiments; for figures use ieee-figure. Bilingual: turns Chinese notes
  into a submission-ready English letter plus short Chinese explanations.

IEEE Communications Letter (WCL / CL)

A letter is **not a short transactions paper**. It is a single, sharp contribution presented under a tight page budget (currently a 5-page maximum for both WCL and CL, with page charges beyond the free page budget under ComSoc guidance). The job is to make one result land — fast — and to cut everything that does not serve it. Use this skill to draft a letter from scratch or to compress an over-length draft.

Core stance

• **One contribution, stated once.** A letter carries a single advance: one algorithm, one

closed-form expression, one new scheme, or one decisive finding. If the draft has two, it is a transactions paper — say so and use `ieee-writing`.

• **The free-page budget is a design constraint, not a trim at the end.** Plan the budget before

drafting (see page budget below). Treat a paid fifth page as a strategic decision for essential evidence, not as permission to write a small transaction.

• **No standalone Related Work section.** Prior work is folded into the Introduction as the gap.
• **Author evidence comes first.** Never invent results, numbers, channel models, benchmark

schemes, or limitations. Missing evidence → `[PLACEHOLDER: ...]` or ask the user.

• **Same IEEE register as a transactions paper**: US English, numbered citations `[n]`, bold-vector

/ bold-matrix notation, equations numbered only for the skeleton of the argument.

WCL vs CL — know the target

| | IEEE WCL (Wireless Comms Letters) | IEEE CL (Communications Letters) | |---|---|---| | Page limit | Currently 5 pages maximum; the 5th page incurs an over-length charge | Currently 5 pages maximum; pages beyond 4 incur over-length charges | | Abstract | Short letter abstract, commonly 75–100 words | Short letter abstract, commonly 75–100 words | | EDICS | not required | **required** at submission | | Scope | wireless / PHY-MAC | all communications | | Anonymity | single-blind (default) | **double-anonymous option** available | | Figures | submit vector (EPS/PDF) | submit vector (EPS/PDF) |

Always confirm the current page/fee/EDICS rules in the journal's author kit before submitting; these defaults change. If the user has not named WCL vs CL, ask — the EDICS and anonymity rules differ.

Page budget (IEEEtran, two-column, 10pt) — plan this first

Aim for the free 4-page budget by default. Use the paid fifth page only when it protects the one contribution's proof, experiment, or critical validation.

Title + abstract + Index Terms              ~0.25 page
I.  Introduction (gap + contribution)       ~0.75 page
II. System Model (+ problem if needed)      ~1.0 page
III. Proposed Scheme / Analysis (core)      ~1.0 page
IV. Simulation Results (2–4 figures/tables) ~0.75 page
V.  Conclusion (3–4 sentences) + refs       ~0.25 page

This is a starting allocation, not a rule. The core (III) and the result (IV) are the paper; protect their space and compress I–II. Verify how references and appendices count in the target journal's current Author Kit.

When to open extra files

| File | Open when | |---|---| | [references/letter-format.md](references/letter-format.md) | Drafting the letter section by section, or deciding what a letter keeps vs. what only a transactions paper carries | | [references/compression-tactics.md](references/compression-tactics.md) | An existing draft exceeds the free budget or the 5-page maximum and must be cut without losing the argument; or fitting figures/tables/equations into the budget |

For the argument of each section, defer to `ieee-writing` (its section defaults apply, compressed). For simulation content use `ieee-experiments`; for figures use `ieee-figure`; for references and EDICS use `ieee-citation`; for the cover/response letters use `ieee-response`.

Intake — establish before drafting

• **target**: WCL or CL (they differ on EDICS and anonymity)
• **the one contribution**: in a single sentence — the advance the letter exists to deliver
• **type**: algorithm/design letter, or closed-form analysis letter (changes Section III)
• **evidence**: the algorithm + convergence, or the derivation + a simulation overlay
• **boundary**: the CSI/channel assumption and scope where the claim holds
• **starting point**: drafting fresh, or compressing an over-length draft (→ compression-tactics.md)

If "the one contribution" is actually two, flag it: a letter cannot carry both well.

Drafting workflow

1. **One-sentence contribution.** `We propose/derive [the one advance] for [system], which [benefit], under [boundary].` Confirm it with the user. 2. **Check it fits a letter.** One contribution, one model, one core result. If not, route to `ieee-writing`. 3. **Allocate the page budget** (above), then draft core-first: Section III, then IV, then the compressed Introduction, then System Model, then Abstract and Conclusion last. 4. **Draft from evidence outward**; keep each claim beside its support. Use `ieee-writing` section logic, compressed: Introduction ends with a *short* contrib