We present a review and analysis of scientific paper embellishments -- simple visual elements that are deeply integrated into the text of scientific publications. These embellishments are increasingly used in research papers, which have the potential to enhance textual descriptions, strengthen connections between figures and content, and improve internal textual coherence, while also carrying the risk of disrupting the reading experience. As their exact impact is not yet well understood, we conducted a systematic review of all visualization papers published between 2019 and 2024 in IEEE VIS, ACM CHI, and EuroVis. From this corpus, we identified 374 papers that used paper embellishments and distilled three key dimensions that characterize their usage: purposes (WHY), design choices (HOW), and locations (WHERE) of paper embellishments. Our findings provide a structured perspective on the form of current embellishments in scientific writing in the visualization domain and provide insights into their role in shaping scientific communication.

翻译：本文对科学论文中的修饰物进行了系统综述与分析——这些简单的视觉元素深度整合于科学出版物的文本中。此类修饰物在研究论文中的应用日益广泛，既可能增强文字描述、强化图表与内容的关联、提升文本内在连贯性，也存在干扰阅读体验的风险。鉴于其确切影响尚不明确，我们对2019年至2024年间发表于IEEE VIS、ACM CHI及EuroVis的所有可视化领域论文进行了系统性审查。从该语料库中，我们识别出374篇使用论文修饰物的文献，并提炼出表征其应用的三个关键维度：目的（WHY）、设计选择（HOW）及位置（WHERE）。研究结果为理解当前可视化领域科学写作中修饰物的形态提供了结构化视角，并揭示了其在塑造科学传播中的作用。