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Tutorial: Writing with AI (reliably)

ModernDoc is designed to be “agent-friendly”: predictable structure, stable macros, consistent styling.

This tutorial shows a workflow that avoids the two biggest AI failure modes:

  1. broken LaTeX that doesn’t compile
  2. invented citations / incorrect bibliography data

1) Use a structured prompt

When asking an AI tool, specify:

  • doctype (article/report/thesis/…)
  • language (en-US, en-GB, …)
  • whether you need citations / code / tables / diagrams
  • the output format you want (single-file vs multi-file)

Example prompt:

Create a 6–8 page report using ModernDoc, with an executive summary, 3 chapters, and a conclusion.
Use biblatex with numeric citations, include 2 tables (tabularray) and 1 TikZ flowchart.
Output: multi-file project with main.tex, preamble.tex, and content/*.tex.

2) Prefer semantic markup over manual styling

Instead of telling the AI “make this italic”, prefer:

  • \foreign{...} for foreign words
  • \term{...} for technical terms
  • \software{...} for software names
  • \acronym{...} for acronyms

This keeps your writing meaningful and lets style evolve globally.

3) Make citations verifiable

Bad: “cite a paper about X” (AI may hallucinate).
Good: provide DOI/arXiv/URL/title.

Workflow:

  1. You provide DOI/arXiv/URL/title
  2. AI creates a bib entry
  3. You compile and verify

If you don’t have metadata, ask AI to:

  • propose candidate sources
  • then you confirm one (or you provide the URL)

4) Edit in small diffs

Ask for changes in patch-sized steps:

  • “rewrite this paragraph”
  • “add one figure”
  • “fix this compilation error”

Avoid: “rewrite the entire document and improve everything” unless you’re ready to review a large diff.

5) Compile early, compile often

Most LaTeX errors are easiest to fix close to the change that caused them.

Recommended build command:

latexmk -lualatex --shell-escape -interaction=nonstopmode -file-line-error main.tex

6) Debugging with logs

If compilation fails, give the AI:

  • the first 40–80 lines around the first real error in the .log

The first error is the root cause. Everything after is usually cascading.

Go to: Troubleshooting