ACADEMIC WRITING WITH PANDOC AND LATEX
This guide provides comprehensive information about using Pandoc and LaTeX for academic writing, including research papers, theses, and academic documentation.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Installation
- Basic Usage
- Document Structure
- Academic Writing Features
- Templates
- Best Practices
- Resources
Introduction
Pandoc and LaTeX are powerful tools for academic writing:
- Pandoc: A universal document converter that can convert between multiple formats
- LaTeX: A high-quality typesetting system designed for technical and scientific documentation
Why Use Pandoc with LaTeX?
- Format Flexibility: Write in Markdown and convert to multiple formats
- Bibliography Management: Easily handle citations and references
- Professional Output: Generate high-quality PDF documents
- Version Control: Plain text format works well with Git
- Cross-referencing: Easy handling of figures, tables, and sections
Installation
LaTeX Installation
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install texlive-full
sudo apt-get install texlive-latex-extra
# macOS
brew install --cask mactex
# Windows
# Download and install MiKTeX from https://miktex.org/
Pandoc Installation
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install pandoc
# macOS
brew install pandoc
# Windows
# Download installer from https://pandoc.org/installing.html
Basic Usage
Converting Markdown to PDF
pandoc input.md -o output.pdf
Using Citations
pandoc input.md --bibliography=refs.bib --csl=style.csl -o output.pdf
Document Structure
Basic Template
---
title: 'Your Paper Title'
author: 'Your Name'
date: '2024-01-20'
abstract: 'Your abstract here'
bibliography: references.bib
csl: ieee.csl
---
# Introduction
Your content here...
# Methods
## Subsection
More content...
# Results
# Discussion
# References
Academic Writing Features
Citations and References
In-text citations:
According to @smith2020, this finding is significant.
This has been proven in multiple studies [@jones2019; @brown2021].
Figures and Tables
{#fig:label}
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
| -------- | -------- |
| Data 1 | Data 2 |
: Caption for your table {#tbl:label}
Cross-references
As shown in Figure @fig:label and Table @tbl:label...
Templates
Common Templates
- Article Template
- Thesis Template
- Conference Paper Template
Example template usage:
pandoc input.md --template=template.tex -o output.pdf
Best Practices
-
File Organization
project/ ├── manuscript.md ├── references.bib ├── figures/ ├── tables/ └── templates/ -
Version Control
- Use Git for tracking changes
- Commit frequently with meaningful messages
- Keep backup copies
-
Writing Style
- Use consistent formatting
- Follow style guide requirements
- Maintain clear section structure