`visual-formatting`¶

Pack: 100xOS shared skills

Category: review

Field: economics

License: private (curator-owned)

Updated: 2026-05-20

Stages: referee-simulation

Curator-private skill — copy text from 100xOS/shared/skills/review/visual-formatting.md.

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Visual Formatting Review¶

Purpose¶

This skill describes how to compile a LaTeX draft to PDF and visually inspect the rendered output for formatting and typesetting issues that are invisible in the source code. The goal is to catch problems before the paper reaches Overleaf or a human reviewer.

LaTeX Compilation Sequence¶

Always compile in this order to resolve all cross-references:

Text Only

pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex
bibtex main
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex

If compilation fails, capture the .log file and report the error. Common causes:

Error pattern	Likely cause	Fix
`Undefined control sequence`	Missing package or typo in command	Add `\usepackage{...}` or fix the command
`Missing $ inserted`	Math mode content outside $...$	Wrap in math mode
`File ... not found`	Missing figure or input file	Check path, provide placeholder
`Too many unprocessed floats`	Float queue overflow	Add `\clearpage` or use `[H]` placement
`Mismatched braces`	Unbalanced `{` / `}`	Count braces carefully, especially in `\renewcommand`
`Missing \begin{document}`	Preamble error before `\begin{document}`	Check for syntax errors in preamble

Page-by-Page Inspection Checklist¶

For each rendered page, check:

Layout & Margins¶

Text stays within margins (no overfull hbox warnings visible as text running into the margin)
Consistent margins on all pages
Page numbers present and correctly placed

Tables¶

Tables fit within page width (no column overflow)
Table captions are present and correctly placed (above for tables)
Column alignment is readable
No tables split awkwardly across pages

Figures¶

Figures are placed near their first reference in the text
Figure captions are present and correctly placed (below for figures)
Figures are legible at the rendered size
No figures pushed to end of document

Headings & Text Flow¶

No orphaned section headings at page bottom (heading with no body text following)
No widows (single line of a paragraph at top of page)
No orphans (single line of a paragraph at bottom of page)
Section numbering is correct and sequential
No excessive whitespace between sections

Cross-References & Citations¶

All \ref{} and \eqref{} references resolve (no "??" in output)
All \cite{} references resolve (no "[?]" in output)
Table and figure numbers match their references in text

Typography¶

No overfull hbox warnings visible (text extending past margins)
Consistent font usage throughout
Equations are properly typeset and numbered
Em-dashes, en-dashes, and hyphens used correctly

Severity Classification¶

Critical: Compilation failure, broken cross-references ("??"), tables/figures extending past page boundaries, missing sections
Major: Orphaned headings, figures placed far from reference, significant whitespace gaps, table formatting that impairs readability
Minor: Slight float placement preferences, minor whitespace inconsistencies, font size variations in tables

Common LaTeX Fixes¶

Problem	Fix
Table too wide	`\resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{...}` or `\begin{adjustbox}{max width=\textwidth}`
Orphaned heading	`\needspace{4\baselineskip}` before `\section{}`
Figure placement	Use `[htbp]` specifiers; add `\usepackage{float}` for `[H]`
Overfull hbox	`\sloppy` locally, or rewrite the paragraph
Unresolved reference	Recompile (may need 2nd pass) or check `\label` exists
Float queue overflow	`\clearpage` at strategic points
Bad page break	`\pagebreak` or `\nopagebreak` hints

visual-formatting¶