latex-workflow

name	latex-workflow
description	Write, compile, and submit LaTeX papers: IMRaD structure, key packages, bibliography management, arXiv preparation, and common error fixes.
tags	["latex","academic-writing","bibliography","arxiv","research-workflow","manuscript"]
version	1.0.0
authors	[{"name":"awesome-rosetta-skills contributors","github":"@awesome-rosetta-skills"}]
license	MIT
platforms	["claude-code","codex","gemini-cli","cursor"]
dependencies	{"python":["pylatexenc>=2.10"]}
last_updated	2026-03-17

LaTeX Workflow

A complete guide for writing research papers in LaTeX: document structure, essential packages, bibliography management, figure inclusion, table formatting, arXiv submission, and a rebuttal letter template.

---

Prerequisites

# Install TeX Live (Linux/macOS)
# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get install texlive-full latexmk biber

# macOS via Homebrew
brew install --cask mactex
brew install latexmk

# Windows: install MiKTeX from https://miktex.org
# Then install latexmk via MiKTeX console

# Verify installation
latexmk --version
pdflatex --version
biber --version

---

Minimal Working Example — Full Paper Structure

% main.tex  —  IMRaD structure with common packages
\documentclass[11pt, a4paper]{article}

% ── Encoding & language ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[english]{babel}

% ── Math ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage{amsmath, amssymb, amsthm}
\usepackage{mathtools}          % fixes and extensions to amsmath

% ── Graphics & figures ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage{graphicx}           % \includegraphics
\usepackage{float}              % [H] placement option
\usepackage{caption}            % caption formatting
\usepackage{subcaption}         % subfigures
\graphicspath{{figures/}}       % default figure directory

% ── Tables ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage{booktabs}           % \toprule, \midrule, \bottomrule
\usepackage{tabularx}           % auto-width columns
\usepackage{multirow}           % multi-row cells
\usepackage{siunitx}            % aligned numeric columns via S

% ── Layout ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage[margin=2.5cm]{geometry}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{parskip}            % no indent, space between paragraphs
\usepackage{microtype}          % better typography (microtypography)
\usepackage{lineno}             % line numbers for review
% \linenumbers                  % uncomment for submission

% ── Hyperlinks ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage[
  colorlinks = true,
  linkcolor  = blue!70!black,
  citecolor  = blue!70!black,
  urlcolor   = blue!70!black,
  pdftitle   = {Your Paper Title},
  pdfauthor  = {Author Name},
]{hyperref}
\usepackage{cleveref}           % \cref{fig:results} → "Figure 1"

% ── Bibliography (biblatex + biber) ──────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage[
  backend    = biber,
  style      = nature,          % or: authoryear, apa, ieee, vancouver
  sorting    = none,
  maxcitenames = 2,
  doi        = true,
  url        = false,
]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}

% ── Algorithms ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage[ruled, vlined, linesnumbered]{algorithm2e}

% ── Code listings ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\usepackage{listings}
\lstset{
  basicstyle   = \small\ttfamily,
  breaklines   = true,
  frame        = single,
  numbers      = left,
  numberstyle  = \tiny,
  language     = Python,
}

% ── Custom commands ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\newcommand{\eg}{\textit{e.g.,}\xspace}
\newcommand{\ie}{\textit{i.e.,}\xspace}
\newcommand{\etal}{\textit{et al.}\xspace}
\newcommand{\TODO}[1]{\textbf{\textcolor{red}{[TODO: #1]}}}

% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\title{Your Paper Title: A Study of Something Important}
\author{
  First Author\textsuperscript{1}\thanks{Corresponding author:
    \href{mailto:[e-mail]}{[e-mail]}} \and
  Second Author\textsuperscript{1,2} \and
  Third Author\textsuperscript{2}
}
\date{
  \textsuperscript{1}Department of Something, University One, City, Country \\
  \textsuperscript{2}Institute of Things, University Two, City, Country \\[6pt]
  \today
}

% ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\begin{document}
\maketitle

\begin{abstract}
  \noindent
  \textbf{Background:} One to two sentences stating the research problem.
  \textbf{Methods:} Brief description of design and main methods.
  \textbf{Results:} Key quantitative findings ($n = 120$; $p < 0.001$).
  \textbf{Conclusion:} One sentence on the main implication.
\end{abstract}

\noindent\textbf{Keywords:} keyword one; keyword two; keyword three; keyword four

\tableofcontents   % remove for journal submissions

% ── 1. Introduction ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}

Background and motivation \cite{Smith2023}.
The specific gap in knowledge addressed by this work.
Our main contributions are: (i) ...; (ii) ...; (iii) ...

% ── 2. Methods ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section{Methods}
\label{sec:methods}

\subsection{Study Design}
Describe the experimental design (see \cref{sec:intro}).

\subsection{Statistical Analysis}
All tests were two-tailed with $\alpha = 0.05$.
Multiple comparisons were corrected using the Benjamini--Hochberg procedure~\cite{Benjamini1995}.

% ── 3. Results ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section{Results}
\label{sec:results}

\subsection{Primary Outcome}
As shown in \cref{fig:main}, the treatment group showed a significant improvement
($t(58) = 3.24$, $p = 0.002$, Cohen's $d = 0.83$, 95\% CI [0.31, 1.35]).

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figure1_main.pdf}
  \caption{
    \textbf{Primary outcome by treatment arm.}
    Violin plots show the full distribution; diamonds indicate group medians.
    Whiskers extend to 1.5$\times$IQR. $n = 30$ per group.
    $^{***}p < 0.001$ (Mann--Whitney U test).
  }
  \label{fig:main}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Summary Statistics}
\Cref{tab:demographics} summarises participant characteristics at baseline.

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \caption{Baseline characteristics of participants (mean $\pm$ SD unless stated).}
  \label{tab:demographics}
  \begin{tabular}{lSSS}
    \toprule
    Characteristic &
      {Control ($n=60$)} &
      {Intervention ($n=60$)} &
      {$p$-value} \\
    \midrule
    Age (years)         & 34.2 \pm 8.1  & 33.8 \pm 7.6  & 0.79 \\
    Sex (female, \%)    & 55             & 52             & 0.72 \\
    BMI (kg/m²)         & 24.1 \pm 3.2  & 24.5 \pm 3.1  & 0.48 \\
    Baseline score      & 48.3 \pm 10.2 & 47.9 \pm 9.8  & 0.83 \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

% ── 4. Discussion ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section{Discussion}
\label{sec:discussion}

Summary of main findings in context of prior work.
Strengths and limitations.
Future directions.

% ── 5. Conclusion ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section{Conclusion}
\label{sec:conclusion}

One paragraph restating the main contribution and its implications.

% ── Acknowledgements ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{Acknowledgements}
This work was supported by Grant XYZ-1234 from Funding Agency.
The authors thank ... for helpful discussions.

% ── Author contributions (CRediT) ────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{Author Contributions}
\textbf{FA}: conceptualisation, methodology, writing—original draft.
\textbf{SA}: data curation, formal analysis.
\textbf{TA}: supervision, writing—review and editing.

% ── Data availability ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\section*{Data Availability}
Data and analysis code are available at \url{https://github.com/username/repo}.

% ── References ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\printbibliography

% ── Supplementary (optional) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
\appendix
\section{Supplementary Methods}
\label{sec:supp}

Additional methodological details.

\end{document}