Writing Papers
Paper writing is a key part of research. This page contains some tips and tricks for writing papers. Paper writing is a skill that you will develop over time. But, it needs deliberate practice.
Paper structure and Abstract
I gave a talk (recording here, slides here) on how to write a paper. I recommend watching it. Other materials from the talk are available here.
LaTeXify figures
Use our LaTeXify Python package to transform matplotlib figures into publication-ready plots. See our local guide for installation and examples. Key benefits:
- Precise Figure Sizing: Automatic sizing relative to column width or page width - manual sizing within
\begin{figure}blocks is rarely needed - Font Size Control: Sets font size relative to document text font size to ensure optimal readability
- LaTeX Font Matching: Converts fonts to LaTeX fonts so figures seamlessly match your document typography
Tip: You can find page width and column width with
\the\textwidthand\the\columnwidthcommands, respectively.
Self-contained figures and tables (and captions)
Tables
We follow this excellent small guide to making nice tables by Markus Püschel.
Active v/s Passive Voice
American v/s British English
There are a few differences in spelling between American and British English. For example, the word “colour” in British English is spelled “color” in American English. The word “optimise” in British English is spelled “optimize” in American English. There are also some differences in grammar. I recommend picking one and sticking to it. Most of our previous papers have used British English (but often this depends on the set of co-authors).
Paper timelines
Grammarly and other AI tools
I recommend students use Grammarly (or a similar) tool to check their writing once they have done a complete pass of editing. I do not recommend relying a lot on ChatGPT-like tools for writing papers as they can often lead to “correct” sounding but “incorrect” sentences.
Comments in LaTeX
We typically create a macro corresponding to different author initials (I use
\nbfor example) and then use that to create comments in the text. This is useful for commenting on the text, or for leaving notes to yourself. For example, I might write\nb{I'm not sure about this sentence}and then I can search for all instances of\nbto find all of my comments.