Ntu Dissertation Expert

macOS:

brew install --cask mactex

Or the smaller version: brew install --cask mactex-no-gui

Windows: Download and install MiKTeX from https://miktex.org/download Or install TeX Live from https://tug.org/texlive/windows.html After installation, ensure pdflatex and latexmk are in the system PATH.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt install texlive-full latexmk

Step 3: Verify Editor Extension

Tell the user to install the LaTeX Workshop extension in Cursor / VS Code:

• Open Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux)
• Search for "LaTeX Workshop" by James Yu
• Click Install

The project already includes .vscode/settings.json that configures auto-build on save, PDF preview in side panel, and SyncTeX forward/inverse search.

Step 4: First Build

From the project root directory (not latex/):

macOS / Linux:

make

Windows (PowerShell):

cd latex; latexmk main.tex; cd ..

All platforms (via Cursor/VS Code): Open any .tex file and save it. LaTeX Workshop auto-compiles and opens the PDF preview.

Step 5: Live Preview (Continuous Watch)

macOS / Linux:

make watch

Windows (PowerShell):

cd latex; latexmk -pvc main.tex

Cursor / VS Code: No command needed. Saving any .tex file triggers auto-rebuild. The PDF preview updates automatically.

Core Rules

• Always write in English, third person, past tense (for methodology/results) or present tense (for facts/conclusions)
• Use formal academic tone: concise, clear, grammatically correct
• Follow IEEE citation style (\cite{key} with BibTeX)
• Maintain consistent terminology throughout the dissertation
• Never fabricate references or data
• When suggesting content, provide LaTeX source code ready to paste

NTU Format Specifications

These are already configured in latex/main.tex. Do NOT modify margin/font/spacing settings unless explicitly asked.

Dissertation Structure (Required Order)

Files are in the latex/ directory:

Chapter Writing Guidelines

Abstract (c-front-matter/abstract.tex)

• ~1 page, concise summary
• Cover: motivation, problem, method, key results, significance
• No literature review summaries, no vague statements like "a certain issue has been studied"

Chapter 1: Introduction (chapter-1/chapter-1.tex)

• Background and problem context
• Motivation for the research
• Objectives and scope
• Layout/organisation of the dissertation

Chapter 2: Literature Review (chapter-2/chapter-2.tex)

• Survey related work comprehensively
• Show awareness of the broader research landscape
• Explain why the chosen direction is justified
• Use \cite{key} for every claim from external sources

Chapters 3-5: Technical Chapters

• Chapter 3: Theoretical foundations / methodology
• Chapter 4: Proposed solution / implementation
• Chapter 5: Experiments, results, and analysis
• Include equations (equation environment), figures (figure), and tables (table)
• All figures/tables must be numbered sequentially per chapter and referenced in text

Chapter 6: Conclusion (chapter-6/chapter-6.tex)

Three parts:

1. Summary of work done (similar to abstract)
2. Conclusion highlighting significance and consequences of results
3. Recommendations / Future Work identifying gaps and suggesting improvements

General Rules

• Keep total chapters to 6-7 maximum; merge if more
• All figures and tables must have captions and be referenced via \ref{}
• Figures/tables appear near their first reference in text
• Number figures as "Figure X.Y", tables as "Table X.Y" (already configured)

Template File Operations

Adding a New Chapter

1. Create directory: latex/chapter-N/
2. Create file: latex/chapter-N/chapter-N.tex
3. Use this structure:

\chapter{Chapter Title}
\begingroup
\justifying
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setstretch{2}
\setlength{\parskip}{0.5\baselineskip}
\titlespacing{\chapter}{0pt}{0pt}{0pt}
\titlespacing{\section}{0pt}{0pt}{0pt}

% Content here

\endgroup

4. Add \input{chapter-N/chapter-N} in latex/main.tex (Main Content section)

Adding a Figure

\begin{figure}[h]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{assets/figures/your-image.png}
    \caption{Description of the figure}
    \label{fig:unique-label}
\end{figure}

Place image files in latex/assets/figures/.

Adding a Table

\begin{table}[h]
    \centering
    \caption{Description of the table}
    \label{tab:unique-label}
    \begin{tabular}{lcc}
        \toprule
        Header 1 & Header 2 & Header 3 \\
        \midrule
        Data 1 & Data 2 & Data 3 \\
        \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
\end{table}

Adding an Equation

\begin{equation}
    E = mc^2
    \label{eq:unique-label}
\end{equation}

Adding a Reference

1. Add BibTeX entry to latex/c-back-matter/references.bib:

@article{authorYear,
  author  = {Last, First and Last2, First2},
  title   = {Paper Title},
  journal = {Journal Name},
  volume  = {1},
  number  = {2},
  pages   = {10-20},
  year    = {2024}
}

2. Cite in text: \cite{authorYear} or \cite{key1,key2} for multiple

Adding an Appendix

1. Create latex/c-back-matter/appendix-X.tex
2. Add \input{c-back-matter/appendix-X} in latex/main.tex after existing appendices

Compilation

All commands run from the project root (not latex/).

Cursor / VS Code (recommended, all platforms)

With LaTeX Workshop installed, save any .tex file to auto-build. PDF preview in side panel.

Terminal - macOS / Linux

make              # build once
make watch        # continuous auto-rebuild on file change
make clean        # remove build artifacts
make open         # open the generated PDF

Terminal - Windows (PowerShell)

cd latex; latexmk main.tex; cd ..                   # build once
cd latex; latexmk -pvc main.tex                      # continuous watch
cd latex; latexmk -C; Remove-Item -Recurse out; cd .. # clean
Start-Process latex\out\main.pdf                      # open PDF

Customisation Points

Users need to modify these red-highlighted placeholders in the template:

• latex/c-front-matter/title-page.tex: dissertation title, author name, year, programme name
• latex/c-front-matter/originality.tex: author name, date, signature
• latex/c-front-matter/supervisor-declaration.tex: supervisor name, date
• latex/c-front-matter/authorship.tex: attribution details

Academic Writing Tips

• Delete any word/phrase that can be removed without changing meaning
• Use SI units consistently
• Define acronyms on first use, then use abbreviation
• Avoid first person ("I", "we") - use passive voice or "this study"
• Every claim needs either evidence (your results) or citation (others' work)

Additional Resources

• For complete NTU formatting guidelines, see ntu-guidelines.md
• For LaTeX command quick reference, see latex-cheatsheet.md