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Writing Papers and Academic Reports

  • Use LaTeX instead of Microsoft Word, Google docs etc. Some of its advantages include:
    • Painless citations
    • It separates content from formatting
    • It's text-based so it's easier to version control in Git
  • When you need to include code (e.g. Java) in the paper, use the LaTeX listings package instead of embedding screenshots of the code.
  • When you need to refer to code elements (e.g. class names, method names) within the main body of the paper, use \emph{} to make them stand out.
  • If you version control your LaTeX paper/report in a Git repository, make sure to leave out all the generated/temporary artefacts by editing your .gitignore accordingly.
  • Double-quote strings using ``''.
Last update: August 5, 2022