Hi guys,

I had an email last week and was told that an abstract I submitted for a talk at a conference has been accepted. This is my first time so I'm not sure how everything works. All I was told was that I have been accepted for a talk.
Speaking to a few other PhD students, they were surprised that I haven't been asked to submit a paper beforehand. Is it quite unusual just to turn up on the day without submitting anything first? Maybe I should email the organizer just to check whether I'm expected to submit a paper?

They keep reducing the prices for registration so I am thinking it's not a particularly prestigious conference. Is it more likely that speakers aren't asked to submit papers with less prestigious events?

I don't think it's anything to do with how prestigious a conference is that determines whether a paper has to be submitted in advance or not. I usually decide how important a conference is in my field by who the organisers are, the place it's being held, the keynote speakers, who's spoken at past conferences run by that organisation etc. I've never had to submit a paper in advance, but I definitely wouldn't say the conferences were low prestige either. Might it be related to the possibility of the event organisers publishing the proceedings or something? Your idea about emailing the organisers to check in advance is a good idea if you're worried.

That seems normal to me as well - you submit an abstract and then you give a talk on the day and you can then turn your talk into a paper for the proceedings from the conference, usually a special issue of an established journal or stand alone proceedings from the conference which people subscribe to or access somehow. The first option is usually the better one depending on the journal as more people will have access to it. I have been to both large conferences and smaller scale workshops and no one has ever submitted a paper for them before they arrived. But if you are unsure it's a good idea to check with the organisers. If you recognise the organisers they are probably quite big in the field!