venue-templates

name	venue-templates
description	Access comprehensive LaTeX templates, formatting requirements, and submission guidelines for major scientific publication venues (Nature, Science, PLOS, IEEE, ACM), academic conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, CHI), research posters, and grant proposals (NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA). This skill should be used when preparing manuscripts for journal submission, conference papers, research posters, or grant proposals and need venue-specific formatting requirements and templates.
allowed-tools	Read Write Edit Bash
license	MIT license
tags	["scientific-skills","venue-templates","grants","academic-writing"]
metadata	{"skill-author":"K-Dense Inc."}

-------|---------------|---------------| | Journal Articles | 30+ | Nature, Science, PLOS, IEEE, ACM, Cell Press | | Conference Papers | 20+ | NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, CHI, ISMB | | Research Posters | 10+ | A0, A1, 36×48, various packages | | Grant Proposals | 15+ | NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA, foundations |

By Discipline

Discipline	Supported Venues
Life Sciences	Nature, Cell Press, PLOS, ISMB, RECOMB
Physical Sciences	Science, Physical Review, ACS, APS
Engineering	IEEE, ASME, AIAA, ACM
Computer Science	ACM, IEEE, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR
Medicine	NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, BMJ
Interdisciplinary	PNAS, Nature Communications, Science Advances

Helper Scripts

query_template.py

Search and retrieve templates by venue name, type, or keywords:

# Find templates for a specific journal
python scripts/query_template.py --venue "Nature" --type "article"

# Search by keyword
python scripts/query_template.py --keyword "machine learning"

# List all available templates
python scripts/query_template.py --list-all

# Get requirements for a venue
python scripts/query_template.py --venue "NeurIPS" --requirements

customize_template.py

Customize templates with author and project information:

# Basic customization
python scripts/customize_template.py \
  --template assets/journals/nature_article.tex \
  --output my_paper.tex

# With author information
python scripts/customize_template.py \
  --template assets/journals/nature_article.tex \
  --title "Novel Approach to Protein Folding" \
  --authors "Jane Doe, John Smith, Alice Johnson" \
  --affiliations "MIT, Stanford, Harvard" \
  --email "[email protected]" \
  --output my_paper.tex

# Interactive mode
python scripts/customize_template.py --interactive

validate_format.py

Check document compliance with venue requirements:

# Validate a compiled PDF
python scripts/validate_format.py \
  --file my_paper.pdf \
  --venue "Nature" \
  --check-all

# Check specific aspects
python scripts/validate_format.py \
  --file my_paper.pdf \
  --venue "NeurIPS" \
  --check page-count,margins,fonts

# Generate validation report
python scripts/validate_format.py \
  --file my_paper.pdf \
  --venue "Science" \
  --report validation_report.txt

Best Practices

Template Selection

1. Verify currency: Check template date and compare with latest author guidelines
2. Check official sources: Many journals provide official LaTeX classes
3. Test compilation: Compile template before adding content
4. Read comments: Templates include helpful inline comments

Customization

1. Preserve structure: Don't remove required sections or packages
2. Follow placeholders: Replace marked placeholder text systematically
3. Maintain formatting: Don't override venue-specific formatting
4. Keep backups: Save original template before customization

Compliance

1. Check page limits: Verify before final submission
2. Validate citations: Use correct citation style for venue
3. Test figures: Ensure figures meet resolution requirements
4. Review anonymization: Remove identifying information if required

Submission

1. Follow instructions: Read complete author guidelines
2. Include all files: LaTeX source, figures, bibliography
3. Generate properly: Use recommended compilation method
4. Check output: Verify PDF matches expectations

Common Formatting Requirements

Page Limits (Typical)

Venue Type	Typical Limit	Notes
Nature Article	5 pages	~3000 words excluding refs
Science Report	5 pages	Figures count toward limit
PLOS ONE	No limit	Unlimited length
NeurIPS	8 pages	+ unlimited refs/appendix
ICML	8 pages	+ unlimited refs/appendix
NSF Proposal	15 pages	Project description only
NIH R01	12 pages	Research strategy

Citation Styles by Venue

Venue	Citation Style	Format
Nature	Numbered (superscript)	Nature style
Science	Numbered (superscript)	Science style
PLOS	Numbered (brackets)	Vancouver
Cell Press	Author-year	Cell style
ACM	Numbered	ACM style
IEEE	Numbered (brackets)	IEEE style
APA journals	Author-year	APA 7th

Figure Requirements

Venue	Resolution	Format	Color
Nature	300+ dpi	TIFF, EPS, PDF	RGB or CMYK
Science	300+ dpi	TIFF, PDF	RGB
PLOS	300-600 dpi	TIFF, EPS	RGB
IEEE	300+ dpi	EPS, PDF	RGB or Grayscale

Writing Style Guides

Beyond formatting, this skill provides comprehensive writing style guides that capture how papers should read at different venues—not just how they should look.

Why Style Matters

The same research written for Nature will read very differently than when written for NeurIPS:

• Nature/Science: Accessible to non-specialists, story-driven, broad significance
• Cell Press: Mechanistic depth, comprehensive data, graphical abstract required
• Medical journals: Patient-centered, evidence-graded, structured abstracts
• ML conferences: Contribution bullets, ablation studies, reproducibility focus
• CS conferences: Field-specific conventions, varying evaluation standards

Available Style Guides

Guide	Covers	Key Topics
venue_writing_styles.md	Master overview	Style spectrum, quick reference
nature_science_style.md	Nature, Science, PNAS	Accessibility, story-telling, broad impact
cell_press_style.md	Cell, Neuron, Immunity	Graphical abstracts, eTOC, Highlights
medical_journal_styles.md	NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, BMJ	Structured abstracts, evidence language
ml_conference_style.md	NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR	Contribution bullets, ablations
cs_conference_style.md	ACL, EMNLP, CHI, SIGKDD	Field-specific conventions
reviewer_expectations.md	All venues	What reviewers look for, rebuttal tips

Writing Examples

Concrete examples are available in assets/examples/:

• nature_abstract_examples.md: Flowing paragraph abstracts for high-impact journals
• neurips_introduction_example.md: ML conference intro with contribution bullets
• cell_summary_example.md: Cell Press Summary, Highlights, eTOC format
• medical_structured_abstract.md: NEJM, Lancet, JAMA structured format

Workflow: Adapting to a Venue

1. Identify target venue and load the appropriate style guide
2. Review writing conventions: Tone, voice, abstract format, structure
3. Check examples for section-specific guidance
4. Review expectations: What do reviewers at this venue prioritize?
5. Apply formatting: Use LaTeX template from assets/

---

Resources

Bundled Resources

Writing Style Guides (in references/):

• venue_writing_styles.md: Master style overview and comparison
• nature_science_style.md: Nature/Science writing conventions
• cell_press_style.md: Cell Press journal style
• medical_journal_styles.md: Medical journal writing guide
• ml_conference_style.md: ML conference writing conventions
• cs_conference_style.md: CS conference writing guide
• reviewer_expectations.md: What reviewers look for by venue

Formatting Requirements (in references/):

• journals_formatting.md: Comprehensive journal formatting requirements
• conferences_formatting.md: Conference paper specifications
• posters_guidelines.md: Research poster design and sizing
• grants_requirements.md: Grant proposal requirements by agency

Writing Examples (in assets/examples/):

• nature_abstract_examples.md: High-impact journal abstract examples
• neurips_introduction_example.md: ML conference introduction format
• cell_summary_example.md: Cell Press Summary/Highlights/eTOC
• medical_structured_abstract.md: NEJM/Lancet/JAMA abstract format

Templates (in assets/):

• journals/: Journal article LaTeX templates
• posters/: Research poster templates
• grants/: Grant proposal templates

Scripts (in scripts/):

• query_template.py: Search and retrieve templates
• customize_template.py: Customize with author info
• validate_format.py: Check compliance with requirements

External Resources

Journal Author Guidelines:

• Nature: https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors
• Science: https://www.science.org/content/page/instructions-authors
• PLOS: https://plos.org/resources/for-authors/
• Cell Press: https://www.cell.com/author-guidelines

Conference Formatting:

• NeurIPS: https://neurips.cc/Conferences/2024/CallForPapers
• ICML: https://icml.cc/Conferences/2024/StyleAuthorInstructions
• CVPR: https://cvpr.thecvf.com/Conferences/2024/AuthorGuidelines

Grant Resources:

• NSF PAPPG: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg
• NIH Forms: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html
• DOE Funding: https://science.osti.gov/grants

Example Usage

Example 1: Nature Article Submission

User: "I need to prepare a manuscript for Nature"

Response:
1. Load Nature formatting requirements (references/journals_formatting.md)
2. Retrieve Nature template (assets/journals/nature_article.tex)
3. Key requirements:
   - Length: ~3000 words, ~5 pages
   - Format: Single column, 12pt font
   - Citations: Numbered superscript (Nature style)
   - Figures: 300+ dpi, RGB color
4. Customize template with your title, authors, affiliations
5. Compile and validate against requirements

Example 2: NeurIPS Conference Paper

User: "What are the formatting requirements for NeurIPS?"

Response:
From references/conferences_formatting.md:
- Page limit: 8 pages main text + unlimited references/appendix
- Format: Two-column, 10pt font
- Template: neurips_2024.sty (official style file)
- Anonymization: Required for initial submission
- Citations: Numbered (brackets)
- Figures: High resolution, colorblind-safe recommended

Example 3: NSF Proposal

User: "Help me format an NSF proposal"

Response:
NSF requirements (from references/grants_requirements.md):
- Project Description: 15 pages maximum
- Project Summary: 1 page (Overview, Intellectual Merit, Broader Impacts)
- Budget Justification: 3-5 pages
- Biographical Sketch: 3 pages per senior personnel
- Font: Minimum 10pt, Times Roman or similar
- Margins: 1 inch all sides
Template: assets/grants/nsf_proposal_template.tex

Example 4: Conference Poster

User: "I need to create a poster for ISMB"

Response:
ISMB poster specifications:
- Size: Typically A0 portrait (33.1 × 46.8 inches)
- Recommended template: beamerposter or tikzposter
- Font sizes: Title 60-85pt, Headers 36-48pt, Body 24-32pt
- Include: QR code for paper/supplementary materials
Available templates:
- assets/posters/beamerposter_academic.tex
- assets/posters/tikzposter_research.tex

Updates and Maintenance

Template Currency:

• Templates updated annually or when venues release new guidelines
• Last updated: 2024
• Check official venue sites for most current requirements

Reporting Issues:

• Template compilation errors
• Outdated formatting requirements
• Missing venue templates
• Incorrect specifications

Summary

The venue-templates skill provides comprehensive access to:

1. 50+ publication venue templates across disciplines
2. Detailed formatting requirements for journals, conferences, posters, grants
3. Helper scripts for template discovery, customization, and validation
4. Integration with other scientific writing skills
5. Best practices for successful academic submissions

Use this skill whenever you need venue-specific formatting guidance or templates for academic publishing.