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Tips for Writing a Research Paper using LaTeX
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Table of Contents
Examples for table organization, examples for figure organization, latex templates for cvpr/iccv paper submission, sample latex conference posters (cvpr/iccv/eccv/neurips), latex files for my thesis (sysu b.eng. + hku phd.), simple python programs for figure creation, great resources shared by others, brief introduction.
LaTeX is a very powerful tool for documentation preparation, and is often used by researchers to prepare a manuscript for reviewing and publication. However, some new graduate students might not have experience in using LaTeX and thus have a difficult time in prepare their first papers.
In this article (PDF) , we will first provide some tips for paper writing. Then, we will showcase several working examples for the tables and figures, which have been used in our previous publications. The readers are encouraged to adapt those tables and figures to their purposes to save time when preparing their first papers.
Overleaf Link: https://www.overleaf.com/read/hypvpvnzjjwx
More Resources
- đź’Ą Main Paper + Rebuttal + Supplementary for Conference Submission (CVPR/ICCV) in Overleaf
Download or fork the overleaf project: click the menu at the top left, and select Source or Copy
- Rebuttal for Conference Submission (CVPR/ICCV)
- Supplementary Material for Conference Submission (CVPR/ICCV/ECCV)
- TOM-Net: Learning Transparent Object Matting from a Single Image (CVPR 2018)
- PS-FCN: A Flexible Learning Framework for Photometric Stereo (ECCV 2018)
- Self-calibrating Deep Photometric Stereo Networks (CVPR 2019)
- HDR Video Reconstruction: A Coarse-to-fine Network and A Real-world Benchmark Dataset (ICCV 2021)
- PS-NeRF: Neural Inverse Rendering for Multi-view Photometric Stereo (ECCV 2022)
- S^3-NeRF: Neural Reflectance Field from Shading and Shadow under a Single Viewpoint (NeurIPS 2022)
- Single View Analysis of Non-Lambertian Objects Based on Deep Learning (PhD Thesis, HKU CS)
- LaTex Template Files for Undergraduate Thesis (Sun Yat-sen University)
- A simple code for plotting figure, colorbar, and cropping with python
- Paper Writing Tips by MLNLP-World: https://github.com/MLNLP-World/Paper-Writing-Tips
- Paper Picture Writing Code by MLNLP-World: https://github.com/MLNLP-World/Paper-Picture-Writing-Code
- Makefile 0.4%
Academic Paper
Here we present a standard format for academic papers, using a two column layout.
This example lets you get started right away, and includes some sample text and formulae to help learn how to write LaTeX.
Click below to get started.
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- About the author
Using LaTeX for writing research papers
Many researchers are using Microsoft Word for writing research papers . However, Microsoft Word has several problems or limitations. In this blog post, I will discuss the use of LaTeX as an alternative to Microsoft Word for writing research papers .
What is LaTeX?
LaTeX is a document preparation system, proposed in the 1980s. It is used to create documents such as research papers , books, or even slides for presentations.
The key difference between LaTeX and software like Microsoft Word is that Microsoft Word let you directly edit your document and immediately see the result, while using LaTeX is a bit like programming. To write a research paper using LaTeX , you have to write a text file with the .tex extension using a formatting language to roughly indicate how your paper should look like. Then, you can run the LaTeX engine to generate a PDF file of your research paper. The following figure illustrate this process:
In the above example, I have created a very simple LaTeX document ( Example.tex ) and then I have generated the corresponding PDF for visualization ( Example.pdf ).
Why using LaTeX?
There are several reasons why many researchers prefer LaTeX to Microsoft Word for writing research papers . I will explain some of them, and then I will discuss also some problems about using LaTeX .
Reason 1: LaTeX papers generally look better
LaTeX papers often look better than papers written using Microsoft Word. This is especially true for fields like computer science, mathematics and engineering where mathematical equations are used. To illustrate this point, I will show you some screenshots of a paper that I have written for the ADMA 2012 conference a few years ago. For this paper, I had made two versions: one using the Springer LNCS LaTeX template and the other one using the Springer LNCS Microsoft Word template.
This is the first page of the paper.
The first page is quite similar. The main difference is the font being used, which is different using LaTeX . Personally, I prefer the default LaTeX font. Now let’s compare how the mathematical equations appears in Latex and Word.
Here, we can see that mathematical symbols are more beautiful using LaTeX . For example, the set union and the subset inclusion operators are in my opinion quite ugly in Microsoft Word. The set union operator of Word looks too much like the letter “U”. In this example, the mathematical equations are quite simple. But LaTeX really shines when displaying more complex mathematical equations, for example using matrices.
Now let’s look at another paragraph of text from the paper to further compare the appearance of Word and LaTeX papers :
In the above picture, it can be argued that both LaTeX and Word papers look quite similar. For me, the big difference is again in the font being used. In the Springer Word template, the Times New Roman font, while LaTeX has its own default font. I prefer the LaTeX font. Also, I think that the URLs look better in LaTeX using the url package.
Reason 2: LaTeX is available for all platforms
The LaTeX system is free and available for most operating systems, and documents will look the same on all operating systems.
To install LaTeX on your computer you need to install a LaTeX distribution such as MikTeK ( https://miktex.org/ ). After installing LaTeX , you can start working on LaTeX documents using a text editor such as Notepad. However, it is more convenient to also install an editor such as TexWorks or WinShell. Personally, I use TexWorks. This is a screenshot of my working environment using TexWorks:
I will open my LaTeX document on the left window. Then, the right window will display the PDF generated by LaTeX . Thus, I can work on the LaTeX code of my documents on the left and see the result on the right.
If you want to try LaTeX without installing it on your computer, you can use an online LaTeX editor such as ShareLatex (http://www.sharelatex.org ) or OverLeaf. Using these editors, it is not necessary to install LaTeX on your computer. I personally sometimes use ShareLatex as it also has some function for collaboration (history, chat, etc.), which is very useful when working on a research paper with other people.
Reason 3: LaTeX offers many packages
Besides the basic functionalities of LaTeX , you can install hundreds of packages to add more features to LaTeX . If you use MikTek for example, there is a tool called the “MikTek package manager” that let you choose and install packages. There are packages for about everything from packages to display algorithms to packages for displaying chessboards. For example, here is some algorithm pseudocode that I have written in one of my recent paper using a LaTeX package called algorithm2e :
As you can see the presentation of the algorithm is quite nice. Doing the same using Word would be very difficult. For example, it would be quite difficult to add a vertical line for the “for” loop using Microsoft Word.
Reason 4: You don’t need to worry about how your document will look like
When writing a LaTeX document, you don’t need to worry about how your final document will look like. For example, you don’t need to worry about where the figures and tables will appear in your document or where the page breaks will be. All of this is handled by the LaTeX engine during the compilation of your document. When writing document, you only need to use some basic formatting instructions such as indicating when a new section starts in your document. This let you focus on writing .
Reason 5: LaTeX can generate and update your bibliography automatically
Another reason for using LaTeX is that it can generate the bibliography of a document automatically. There are different ways of writing a bibliography using LaTeX . One of the most common way is to use a .bib file. A .bib file provide a list of references that can be used in your document. Then, you can use these references in your .tex document using the \cite{} command and the bibliography will be automatically generated.
I will illustrate this with an example:
A), I have created a Latex document (a . tex file) where I cite a paper called “efim” using the LaTeX command \cite{efim} .
B) I have created a corresponding LaTeX bib file that provides bibliographical information about the “efim” paper.
C) I have generated the PDF file using the .tex file and the .bib file. As you can see, the \cite{} command has been replaced by 25, and the corresponding entry 25 has been automatically generated in the correct format for this paper and added to the bibliography.
The function for generating a bibliography using LaTeX can save a lot of time to researchers especially for documents containing many references such as thesis, books, and journal papers .
Moreover, once you have created a .bib file, you can reuse it in many different papers . And it is also very easy to change the style of your bibliography. For example, if you want to change from the APA style to the IEEE style, it can be done almost automatically, which saves lot of time.
In Microsoft Word, there is some basic tool for generating a bibliography but it provides much less features than LaTeX .
Reason 6: LaTeX works very well for large documents
LaTeX also provides many features that are useful for large documents such as Ph.D thesis and books . These features include generating tables of contents, tables of figures, and dividing a document into several files. Some of these features are also provided in Microsoft Word but are not as flexible as in LaTeX . I have personally written both my M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis using LaTeX and I have saved a lot of time by doing this. I have simply downloaded the LaTeX style file from my university and then used it in my LaTeX document, and after that all my thesis was properly formatted according to the university style, without too much effort.
Problems of LaTeX
Now, let’s talk about the disadvantage or problems faced using LaTeX . The first problem is that there is a somewhat steep learning curve . LaTeX is actually not so difficult to learn but it is more difficult than using Word. It is necessary to learn various commands for preparing LaTeX documents. Moreover, some errors are not so easy to debug. However, the good news is that there exist some good places to ask questions and obtain answers when encountering problems with LaTeX such as Tex.StackExchange ( http://tex.stackexchange.com/ ). There also exist some free books such as the Not So Short Introduction To LaTeX that are quite good for learning LaTeX , and that I use as reference. Actually, although, there is a steep learning curve, I think that it is an excellent investment to learn to use LaTeX for researchers. Moreover, some journals in academia actually only accept LaTeX papers .
The second problem with LaTeX is that it is actually not necessary to use LaTeX for writing simple documents. LaTeX is best used for large documents or documents with complex layouts or for special needs such as displaying mathematical equations and algorithms. I personally use LaTeX only for writing research papers . For other things, I use Microsoft Word. Some people also use LaTeX for preparing slides using packages such as beamer , instead of using Powerpoint. This can be useful for preparing a presentation with lot of mathematical equations.
In this blog post, I have discussed the use of LaTeX for writing research papers . I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post.
— Philippe Fournier-Viger is a professor of Computer Science and also the founder of the open-source data mining software SPMF, offering more than 120 data mining algorithms.
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Apr 23, 2020
Start using LaTeX for writing research papers!
Best features of latex which makes it the go-to choice for writing scientific articles over word..
I will be honest, the first project I did on LaTeX I hated it. All I could think was, “Why will anyone want to use this? Why do I need to write code to write a document.” I vowed never to use it again but was forced by, my teacher, to use it and I loved it. I will tell you all those features which made me love it which will hopefully provide you with an incentive to start using it.
Table of Contents
- Document Style
- Figure and Table Styling
- Automatic Equation, Figure, Table and Reference Numbering
- References using BibLaTeX
Formatting the paper in Word is a nightmare. Add a line here and there and the table in the next page shifts completely, the image which supposed to be at the top goes in the middle and it goes on and on. For every change, the formatting needs to be fixed but that’s not the case with LaTeX. Suppose you want the images only at the top without interrupting the text flow, just write \begin{figure}[t!] , and now you don’t need to worry about it.
2. Document Style
There a lot of journals and conferences where you submit your paper and they all have a different document style. It can be double-column vs single-column, different heading styles, and even different text styles. Setting all of that manually can be quite a task, so just imagine the frustration in changing that and then correct the messed up formatting. LaTeX handles all this. Every journal has a LaTeX style template that can be downloaded and imported. Just specify with \documentclass{name} at the top of the document and your work is done. Want to submit to a different publication with a different style? Just download its style and change the name and it is automatically converted.
3. Figure and Table Styling
Using LaTeX we don’t need to worry about the size of the figures and tables. We can set it to cover the whole text length by using \includegraphics[width=\textwidth] or \includegraphics[width=\columnwidth] to column length in a double-column layout. This saves us from manually resizing the images and the particularly annoying and hard to resize tables.
4. Automatic Equation, Figure, Table and Reference Numbering
One of the most annoying tasks while writing a research paper in Word is when an equation, figure, table, or reference needs to be added or deleted. This has a domino effect on all its respective items after it, and their numbering needs to be changed where they appeared and where they were referred to in the text. LaTeX is like divine intervention in this task, something meticulously created by the extraordinary inventors that save us from this suffering (Well thanks Leslie Lamport ). We don’t need to worry about numbering in LaTeX, even where the required equations, figures, tables, or references originally appear. Just assign everyone their unique label and refer to it in the text as \ref{label} or \cite{label} in the case of references and it will be automatically replaced by the required number.
5. References using BibLaTeX
This is by far the feature which I like the most. It is a very time taking task to manually format the references. There is no fixed style of doing it and every publisher has a different style. Apart from that, the rules are different for different types of articles like books, conference papers, and journal papers. Now imagine the rage of the author if he/she has painstakingly formatted 50 references and needs to change their format. Using BibLaTeX prevents the occurrence of any such scenario and automatically formats the references while providing automatic numbering as discussed in the preceding paragraph. To use this we need to create a special bib file where we place all our citations in BibTeX format. Don’t worry about the BibTeX format every website where the articles are present provides the option to export the citation to BibTeX. Just copy-paste the entire thing in your bib file. Now download and import the BibLaTeX style file of the publication you want to submit in and write \bibliographystyle{style_file_name} and \bibliography{mybibfile} and voila the references are automatically formatted. It saves a lot of time and if you ever want to change the publication just download the style file of the new publisher and the references will be formatted accordingly.
I suppose that these features are reason enough for anyone to use LaTeX when writing a scientific paper. One thing people find hard is to write equations in LaTeX. There is a tool called Mathpix snipping tool which automatically converts equations to LaTeX syntax. It works well on the handwritten text as well.
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Research Science Institute ... 2 A Basic Document. Writing LaTeX Code. Basic Formatting ... With LATEX, you can be sure you've fit the template, and switch.
Research 101. Paper Writing with LaTeX ... Writing Good Papers. = Conveying Your Ideas ... Several useful guidelines for typesetting your paper with LaTeX.
In this video I have explained how to write research paper in IEEE format using LATEX.
LaTeX is a document preparation system for high-quality typesetting. Often used for technical or scientific documents, it can be used for
should start writing your paper while you are working on your experiment. ... research program; it is also a structure for planning your.
LaTeX is a very powerful tool for documentation preparation, and is often used by researchers to prepare a manuscript for reviewing and publication. However
Here we present a standard format for academic papers, using a two column ... and includes some sample text and formulae to help learn how to write LaTeX.
Using LaTeX for writing research papers · on your computer you need to install a · distribution such as MikTeK ( https://miktex.org/ ). After
Every journal has a LaTeX style template that can be downloaded and imported. Just specify with \documentclass{name} at the top of the document
Here give an introduction to your research. TEXTS. Abstract. Your contribution should be preceded by a short Abstract of not more than 150 words, written as a