Thread by @acagamic

During my academic career, I've spent 10,000+ hours editing LaTeX.

Want to know a secret?

I use these 5 easy-to-follow LaTeX snippets every time I submit a CHI paper, and this thread will save you the time of searching for how to do them.

You'll want to bookmark this. 🧵👇

1. Use the right documentclass options before submitting your paper to CHI

How it works:

- Comment out this line of code with % \documentclass[sigconf,authordraft]{acmart}
- Then add \documentclass[manuscript,screen,review, anonymous]{acmart}

This is the right review format.

2. Format nicer-looking research questions

How it works:

Load in LaTeX doc header:
\usepackage{enumerate}
\usepackage[shortlabels]{enumitem}

Type in LaTeX doc body:
\begin{enumerate}[label= \textbf{RQ\arabic*:}]
\item x
\end{enumerate}

3. Make sure to always define acronyms before use

How it works:

Load in LaTeX doc header:
\usepackage[nolist]{acronym}

Define acronyms:
\begin{acronym}
\acro{ANOVA}{Analysis of Variance}
\end{acronym}

Write the acronym in your text like this:
"We conducted an \ac{ANOVA}."

4. Create pretty quotes for qualitative findings

How it works:

Define a new command called \quoting:
\newcommand{\quoting}[2][P]{``\emph{#2}''\emph{[\textbf{#1}]}}

Use the command like this to quote participants:
\quoting[P13]{This prototype rocked my world.}.

5. Leave highlighted comments

How it works:

Load in LaTeX doc header:
\usepackage{xcolor}

Define:
\definecolor{highlighterYellow}{HTML}{fff100}
\newcommand{\lennartNote}[1]{\colorbox{highlighterYellow}{\textbf{Lennart:} \textit{#1}}}

Use:
\lennartNote{My nice comment}

TL;DR: 5 drops of my secret LaTeX sauce to write smooth #chi2023 papers

1. Use the right documentclass options for submission
2. Format nicer-looking RQs
3. Always define acronyms before use
4. Create pretty quotes for qualitative findings
5. Leave highlighted comments

Done like disco.

If you enjoyed this thread:

1. Follow me @acagamic for more tips on writing research papers
2. Buy my How to Write Better Research Papers course: chicourse.com
3. RT the tweet below to share this thread with your writing crew

When you're ready for it, there are two ways I can help you:

1. My newsletters inform you about UX, design, research, and writing. acagamic.com/newsletter

2. My writing course teaches you how to write research papers for CHI and other academic venues: acagamic.com/writingcourse