Academic Writing Glossary

A brief summary of a research paper, typically 150-300 words, appearing at the beginning. Includes the research question, methods, results, and conclusions.

American Psychological Association citation format. Common in social sciences. Uses author-date in-text citations (Smith, 2023) and a References page.

Open-access preprint repository for physics, mathematics, computer science, and related fields. Researchers share papers before (or without) peer review. Pronounced 'archive'.

Reference management format for LaTeX. Stores citations in .bib files with structured entries. Example: @article{smith2023, author={Smith, J.}, title={...}, ...}

Modern replacement for BibTeX with more features and better Unicode support. Uses the same .bib file format but with enhanced backend (biber).

Peer review where reviewer identities are hidden from authors (single-blind) or both reviewer and author identities are hidden (double-blind).

Citation format common in humanities and history. Offers two systems: notes-bibliography (footnotes) and author-date. Produced by University of Chicago Press.

A reference to a source that supports or informs your work. In-text citations appear in the document body; full citations appear in the bibliography/references.

XML-based format for defining citation styles. Used by Zotero, Mendeley, and other reference managers to format citations in thousands of journal styles.

The process of converting source markup (LaTeX, Typst) into output (PDF). LaTeX compilation takes seconds; Typst compilation takes milliseconds.

Comprehensive TeX Archive Network. Repository of LaTeX packages, containing 6000+ packages for every conceivable typesetting need.

Digital Object Identifier. A permanent, unique identifier for digital content. Format: 10.1234/example. Used to reliably link to papers even if URLs change.

Time during which a published paper cannot be freely shared (e.g., on arXiv or institutional repositories). Varies by journal, typically 6-24 months.

In typesetting, elements (figures, tables) that LaTeX positions automatically rather than exactly where placed in source. Controlled with placement specifiers [h], [t], [b], [p].

General Data Protection Regulation. EU law governing personal data. Relevant for research involving human subjects or when storing research data.

Metric measuring researcher productivity and citation impact. H-index of N means N papers have been cited at least N times. Higher indicates more impact.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers citation style. Uses numbered references [1], [2] in order of first appearance. Standard in engineering and CS.

Journal metric measuring average citations per paper published in that journal. Higher impact factor = more prestigious journal. Published by Clarivate.

Peer-reviewed paper published in an academic journal. The primary currency of academic research. Formats include research articles, review articles, and letters.

Fast JavaScript library for rendering LaTeX math notation in web pages. Used by many websites and applications for math display. Alternative to MathJax.

Adjusting space between specific character pairs for better visual appearance. Professional typesetting (LaTeX, Typst) handles kerning automatically.

Document preparation system for high-quality typesetting. Built on TeX (created by Donald Knuth). Standard for academic papers in STEM fields. Pronounced 'LAY-tech' or 'LAH-tech'.

Special character combining two letters that would collide (e.g., 'fi', 'fl', 'ff'). Professional typesetting uses ligatures automatically for better readability.

The draft version of a paper prepared for journal submission. Follows specific formatting guidelines from the target journal.

JavaScript library for rendering LaTeX and MathML math in web browsers. More feature-complete than KaTeX but slower. Used widely for academic web content.

Modern Language Association citation style. Common in humanities, especially literature. Uses author-page in-text citations and Works Cited page.

Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems. Top venue for machine learning research. Has specific LaTeX template requirements for submissions.

Publishing model where papers are freely available to readers. Types: Gold (journal charges author fee), Green (author self-archives), Hybrid (mix).

Popular online LaTeX editor with real-time collaboration. Acquired ShareLaTeX in 2017. Has 10+ million users. Alternative: TypeTeX offers similar features plus AI assistance.

Extension that adds functionality to LaTeX. Loaded with \usepackage{name}. Examples: graphicx (images), hyperref (links), amsmath (math). 6000+ available on CTAN.

ISO-standardized PDF for long-term archiving. Embeds all fonts and metadata. Some journals and institutions require PDF/A for submissions.

PDF specification for universal accessibility. Tagged structure, alt text, reading order. Required for accessibility compliance. TypeTeX can generate PDF/UA.

Process where experts evaluate a paper before publication. Reviewers check methodology, validity, and contribution. Central to academic publishing quality control.

Section at the start of a LaTeX document (before \begin{document}) where you set document class, load packages, and define commands.

Version of a paper shared before peer review, typically on servers like arXiv. Allows rapid dissemination of research. May differ from final published version.

The list of sources cited in your paper, appearing at the end. Also called Bibliography or Works Cited depending on citation style.

Technology enabling click-to-jump between LaTeX source and PDF output. Click on PDF, cursor goes to source line. Essential for efficient LaTeX editing.

Typesetting system created by Donald Knuth in 1978. Foundation for LaTeX. Knuth wrote it to produce his book 'The Art of Computer Programming' properly.

The process of arranging text and images for printing or display. Includes font selection, spacing, line breaking, and page layout. LaTeX and Typst are typesetting systems.

Modern research writing platform supporting both Typst and LaTeX. Features AI writing assistance, real-time collaboration, and professional output. Alternative to Overleaf.

Modern typesetting system designed as a user-friendly LaTeX alternative. Features markdown-like syntax, instant compilation, and clear error messages. Created in 2023.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Standards for making content accessible to people with disabilities. Level AA is common requirement. Relevant for accessible documents.

'What You See Is What You Get'. Editing where display matches output (like Microsoft Word). Contrast with markup languages like LaTeX where you write code that compiles to output.

'What You See Is What You Mean'. Editing approach where you see document structure rather than final output. LyX is a WYSIWYM editor that produces LaTeX.

Free, open-source reference manager. Collects, organizes, and cites sources. Integrates with Word, Google Docs, and LaTeX (via Better BibTeX). Popular academic tool.