Prepare journal manuscripts, conference papers, research posters, and grant documents using venue-specific formatting guidance and bundled LaTeX scaffolds. Use when selecting an official template, checking current page or anonymity rules, adapting academic writing to a venue, or inspecting a submission PDF.
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Prepare journal manuscripts, conference papers, research posters, and grant documents using venue-specific formatting guidance and bundled LaTeX scaffolds. Use when selecting an official template, checking current page or anonymity rules, adapting academic writing to a venue, or inspecting a submission PDF.
license
MIT license
compatibility
Requires Python 3.11+ for helper scripts; LaTeX and Poppler command-line tools are optional for compilation and PDF inspection.
metadata
{"version":"1.2","skill-author":"K-Dense Inc."}
Venue Templates
Prepare publication and funding documents without treating stale formatting details as authoritative. This skill combines:
a verification-first workflow for current venue rules;
bundled LaTeX scaffolds for a small, explicit set of document types;
writing-style and reviewer-expectation guides; and
local helpers for discovering, copying, and inspecting templates.
Mandatory Currency Rule
Venue requirements are time-sensitive. Before giving exact page limits, deadlines, style-file names, anonymity rules, or required sections:
Identify the exact venue, year or funding cycle, track, and article or proposal type.
Open the official author instructions, call, solicitation, notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), or policy guide.
Record the source URL and the date checked.
Distinguish initial submission, revision/rebuttal, and camera-ready rules.
Treat bundled files as scaffolds unless this skill explicitly says they are a copy of an official template.
Never infer a current style-file name by changing the year in an old filename. Never present a generic scaffold as an official venue template.
When to Use
Use this skill for:
locating official journal or conference author instructions;
preparing NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA, or foundation proposal documents;
designing a research poster after checking event-specific dimensions;
adapting prose to a venue's audience and reviewer expectations; or
inspecting a PDF's page count and embedded fonts.
Verification-First Workflow
1. Resolve the exact target
Ask for or derive:
venue or funding agency;
year/cycle and track;
document type, such as research article, short paper, main track, R01, or R21;
submission stage; and
authoring format, such as LaTeX or Word.
Do not combine rules from similarly named venues or tracks.
2. Consult the right reference
Need
Reference
Journal submission and official publisher resources
references/journals_formatting.md
Conference rules and 2026 verified snapshots
references/conferences_formatting.md
Poster sizes, layout, and accessibility
references/posters_guidelines.md
NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA, and foundation proposals
references/grants_requirements.md
Cross-venue writing comparison
references/venue_writing_styles.md
Nature and Science writing
references/nature_science_style.md
Cell Press writing
references/cell_press_style.md
Medical journal writing
references/medical_journal_styles.md
ML and computer-vision conference writing
references/ml_conference_style.md
ACL, EMNLP, CHI, and other CS writing
references/cs_conference_style.md
Review criteria and rebuttals
references/reviewer_expectations.md
Reference files summarize rules but do not override the current official source.
3. Capture a compliance note
Before editing, write a short note in the working document or task log:
Target: ICML 2026 main track, initial submission
Official source: https://icml.cc/Conferences/2026/AuthorInstructions
Checked: 2026-07-20
Main-text limit: 8 pages
References/appendices: additional pages allowed in the same PDF
Anonymity: required
Official template: ICML 2026 style package linked by the author instructions
This makes later validation reproducible.
4. Start from the official template
For annual conferences and publisher-managed workflows:
Download the template from the official source.
Keep its class/style files unchanged.
Add content without overriding margins, font sizes, spacing, or headers.
Use a bundled scaffold only for drafting or when the official source explicitly permits it.
For grants, many components are entered or uploaded separately. Do not submit a combined bundled .tex file as if it were an agency-issued form.
5. Validate manually and mechanically
Verify at least:
main-text and total-file page rules;
font, margin, line-spacing, and paper-size rules;
anonymity and metadata;
required sections, statements, checklists, and disclosures;
figure/table placement and accessibility;
reference and supplemental-material treatment; and
source-package and PDF requirements.
The helper can inspect page totals and embedded fonts, but it cannot prove that margins, font sizes, excluded sections, or hidden metadata comply.
Bundled Assets
The repository intentionally bundles only the following templates. Other venues listed in references require an official external template.
Journal and conference scaffolds
File
Status
assets/journals/nature_article.tex
Generic Nature-oriented writing scaffold; not an official Nature template
assets/journals/plos_one.tex
PLOS ONE-oriented scaffold; compare with the current official PLOS LaTeX package
assets/journals/neurips_article.tex
NeurIPS 2026 wrapper; requires the official neurips_2026.sty
assets/journals/elsarticle-template-num.tex
Elsevier elsarticle numeric example
assets/journals/elsarticle-template-num-names.tex
Elsevier elsarticle numbered/name example
assets/journals/elsarticle-template-harv.tex
Elsevier elsarticle author-year example
The matching Elsevier .bst files are in assets/journals/.
Grant scaffolds
File
Status
assets/grants/nsf_proposal_template.tex
Planning scaffold for common NSF narrative components; upload components separately
assets/grants/nih_specific_aims.tex
Writing scaffold for a one-page NIH Specific Aims attachment
Use SciENcv and agency-provided common forms where required. Do not recreate biosketch or current-support forms in LaTeX.
Poster scaffold
File
Status
assets/posters/beamerposter_academic.tex
Venue-agnostic beamerposter scaffold; set dimensions from the event's current presenter instructions
Common Workflows
Annual conference paper
Open references/conferences_formatting.md.
Follow the official link for the exact year and track.
Download the official author kit.
Draft in the official template.
Keep identifying information out of every submitted file when review is blind.
Check the paper checklist, supplement, rebuttal, and camera-ready rules separately.
For NeurIPS 2026, the bundled wrapper can be copied after downloading the official style file:
