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Course Project LaTeX Template

A minimal, opinionated template for course-project writeups. Works on Overleaf and locally.

Quick Start

  1. Copy the template (clone or download).
  2. Edit metadata in main.tex (title, authors, date).
  3. Write content by adding .tex files under sections/ and \input{...} them from main.tex.
  4. Add figures to the figure/ folder and include them with \includegraphics.
  5. Manage references in refs.bib and cite with \cite{...}.
  6. Compile on Overleaf or locally (see below).

Compile Options

  • Online: Overleaf — upload the repo and set main.tex as the root document.
  • Local: VS Code with LaTeX or any editor.

Project Structure

.
├── main.tex                 # Entry point: metadata, packages, inputs, bibliography
├── preamble_packages.tex    # Package imports (comment out what you don't need)
├── preamble_symbols.tex     # Common symbols and math operators
├── shortcuts.tex            # Project-specific commands/macros
├── refs.bib                 # BibTeX database
├── sections/                # Source for individual sections
│   ├── intro.tex
│   ├── related_work.tex
│   └── ...
├── figure/                  # Images and plots
│   ├── system_diagram.pdf
│   └── ...
└── .gitignore               # Files to exclude from version control

How to Use Each File

  • main.tex

    • Sets the document class, title, authors, packages, and bibliography.
    • Includes content, e.g.: 
      \input{preamble_packages}
\input{preamble_symbols}
\input{shortcuts}

\title{Project Title}
\author{Alice Smith \and Bob Jones}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\input{sections/intro}
\input{sections/related_work}
\input{sections/method}
\input{sections/experiments}
\input{sections/conclusion}

\bibliographystyle{abbrvnat}
\bibliography{refs}
\end{document}

  • preamble_packages.tex

    • Curated package list. Comment out lines you don’t need to keep the build lean.

  • preamble_symbols.tex

    • Common math symbols/operators (e.g., \R, \E, \argmin). Extend as needed.

  • shortcuts.tex

    • Project-specific macros: 
      \newcommand{\method}{\textsc{OurMethod}\xspace}

  • refs.bib

    • Add BibTeX entries and cite them: 
      As shown by \cite{mnih2015dqn}, ...

  • sections/

    • Split the paper into maintainable pieces:
      • intro.tex, related_work.tex, method.tex, experiments.tex, conclusion.tex, etc.
    • Include with \input{sections/<name>} (no .tex extension required).

  • figure/

    • Store figures/plots and include them: 
      \begin{figure}[t]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{figure/system_diagram}
  \caption{System overview.}
  \label{fig:system}
\end{figure}

  • .gitignore

    • Keeps build artifacts and OS/editor files out of Git (e.g., *.aux, *.log, *.out, *.synctex.gz).

Best Practices

  • Labels & refs: \label{sec:method} then \S\ref{sec:method}; figures with \ref{fig:system}; equations with \eqref{eq:loss}.
  • Tables/Figures: Prefer vector formats (.pdf, .eps) for diagrams; use high-resolution .png for raster images.
  • Keep it lean: Only load packages you need; define macros once in shortcuts.tex.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing references/citations: Run LaTeX → BibTeX → LaTeX → LaTeX, or just use latexmk -pdf.
  • Undefined control sequence: A macro may live in shortcuts.tex or a package is missing—ensure it’s included.

Happy writing!