LaTeX Writing Skill

Description

Create, edit, and compile LaTeX documents for academic papers, theses, and reports.

Tools Used

• latex_compile - Compile LaTeX to PDF (auto-switches to LaTeX editor)
• update_latex - Update LaTeX editor content without compiling
• send_ui_directive - Send raw UI directives for advanced control

Usage Patterns

Create New Paper

When user says: "Create a new paper about [topic]"

1. Ask about target venue/format
2. Create main.tex with appropriate template
3. Set up bibliography file
4. Add standard sections (abstract, intro, conclusion)
5. Compile initial PDF

Add Equation

When user says: "Add the softmax equation"

1. Identify equation type (inline/display)
2. Generate LaTeX math code
3. Insert with appropriate label
4. Recompile PDF

Add Figure

When user says: "Add a figure showing [description]"

1. Ask for figure path or create placeholder
2. Generate figure environment
3. Add caption and label
4. Update references
5. Recompile PDF

Add Citation

When user says: "Cite this paper: [reference]"

1. Parse reference information
2. Create BibTeX entry
3. Insert \cite{} command
4. Run bibtex + latex

Fix Compilation Errors

When user says: "The LaTeX isn't compiling"

1. Read error log from latex_compile response's errors field
2. Identify error location and type (line number, missing package, undefined command)
3. Apply fix to the LaTeX source
4. Recompile with latex_compile and verify success: true

Common Templates

IEEE Conference

\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}
\usepackage{cite}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,amsfonts}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{textcomp}

ACM Article

\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}
\usepackage{booktabs}

CVPR Conference

\documentclass[10pt,twocolumn,letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage[pagenumbers]{cvpr}
\usepackage{times}
\usepackage{epsfig}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage[breaklinks=true,bookmarks=false]{hyperref}

\title{Paper Title}
\author{Author Name\\Institution\\{\tt\small email@example.com}}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
Abstract text here.
\end{abstract}

\section{Introduction}
...
\section{Related Work}
...
\section{Method}
...
\section{Experiments}
...
\section{Conclusion}
...

{\small
\bibliographystyle{ieee_fullname}
\bibliography{references}
}
\end{document}

Thesis

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{report}
\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{margin=1in}

Math Snippets

Equations

• Inline: $x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$
• Display: \[ E = mc^2 \]
• Numbered: \begin{equation}...\end{equation}

Matrices

\begin{bmatrix}
a & b \\
c & d
\end{bmatrix}

Algorithms

\begin{algorithm}
\caption{Algorithm Name}
\begin{algorithmic}
\STATE ...
\end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}

Best Practices

1. Modular Structure: Use \input{} for sections
2. Consistent Labels: Use prefixes (fig:, tab:, eq:, sec:)
3. Version Control: Regular saves and snapshots
4. Error-First: Fix errors before adding content
5. Preview Often: Compile frequently to catch issues early