LaTeX Writing Template

This repository serves as a reusable LaTeX template for short-form scientific writing, including Nature Biomedical Engineering Correspondences, brief perspectives, and related article types. It is designed for collaborative, version-controlled writing using Git.

The template emphasizes:

• Clean separation of content into small files
• Predictable LaTeX builds
• Minimal formatting assumptions (journal systems reflow content)
• Low merge-conflict overhead for multi-author work

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Intended Use

This template is optimized for:

• Nature-family Correspondences (e.g., Nature Biomedical Engineering)
• Short commentaries or perspectives
• Early-stage drafts prior to journal-specific class files

It is not intended for:

• Full-length technical articles with complex sectioning
• Camera-ready production PDFs (journal templates should be used later)

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Target Journal: Nature Biomedical Engineering — Correspondence

Correspondences discuss issues relevant to a broad slice of the biomedical engineering community. They do not present original research and are distinct from Matters Arising. Peer review is at the Editor’s discretion.

Format constraints

• Main text: 300–800 words
• Display items: 1 figure total
• References: up to 10
• Reference list: article titles omitted (book titles allowed)
• Exceptions may be granted by the Editor on a case-by-case basis

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Repository Structure

project/
  tex/
    main.tex                 # Thin driver file
    macros.tex               # Shared macros and helper commands
    refs.bib                 # Bibliography (biblatex/biber)
    sections/
      01_maintext.tex
      02_figure_caption.tex
      03_acknowledgements.tex
      04_declaration_of_interests.tex
      05_contributions.tex
      06_online_methods.tex
      06_supplementary_figures.tex
      07_supplementary_table_1.tex
      08_supplementary_notes.tex
  figures/                   # Figures (use Git LFS if large)
    supp_figures/            # Optional supplementary figures
  build/                     # Auto-generated PDF and aux files
  Makefile
  .gitignore

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Build Instructions

Requirements

• TeXLive (recommended: current year)
• latexmk
• biber (for bibliography)

Build PDF

make pdf

Clean build artifacts

make clean

The compiled PDF and auxiliary files are written to build/.

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Collaboration Conventions (Important)

One sentence per line

Write prose with one sentence per line:

This is the first sentence.
This is the second sentence.

This dramatically improves Git diffs and reduces merge conflicts.

One logical unit per file

Each major component lives in its own file under tex/sections/. Avoid editing main.tex except for structure and ordering.

Comments

Use lightweight comments for internal notes:

% TODO(Name): tighten this paragraph.

Remove TODOs before submission.

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Figures

• Only one main figure is allowed for Correspondence articles.
• Main figures typically live in figures/.
• Supplementary figures (if permitted) are grouped in 06_supplementary_figures.tex.
• Store supplementary figure assets under figures/supp_figures/ to keep them separate from the main display item.
• Supplementary figures are automatically numbered S1, S2, ... using helper macros defined in macros.tex.

Supplementary Material

• main.tex uses explicit page breaks and float barriers between figures, methods, supplementary figures, supplementary tables, and supplementary notes to keep ordering stable.
• The supplementary table scaffold uses longtable, so long parts lists can span multiple pages cleanly.
• Supplementary notes use unnumbered section headings while preserving cross-reference labels through helper macros in macros.tex.

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Bibliography

• Uses biblatex + biber for draft flexibility.
• Maintain a single refs.bib file per project.
• Use stable citation keys (e.g., AuthorYearKeyword).

Journal-specific .cls / .bst files can be introduced later if required.

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Version Control Notes

• Do not commit build artifacts.
• Use feature branches and pull requests for substantive edits.
• PDFs can be attached as CI artifacts or generated locally.

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Template Philosophy

This template is intentionally conservative. It prioritizes:

• clarity over cleverness
• reproducibility over formatting polish
• collaboration over customization

Journal-specific styling should be applied after acceptance using official publisher templates.

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License / Usage

This template is intended for internal academic use. Adapt freely within your group or collaborators.