[Tex/LaTex] Whitespace before \cite that ends a sentence or a paragraph

citingspacing

If I summarize content from another source, I'll use \cite to reference the author. In natural sciences it seems to be standard to use \cite at the end of the sentence or paragraph that containts cited content.

Example:

Lore ipsum \cite{OtherSource}.

Is there any recommended way about whitespacing before the \cite command? I could go with

Lore ipsum \cite{OtherSource}.

Lore ipsum\cite{OtherSource}.

Edit: My question is about, whether I should include a whitespace or not.

Best Answer

For citation styles that typeset the content of \cite in the main text body (e.g., numeric, alphabetic and author-year styles) you definitely want a space before the citation, i.e.,

Lorem ipsum \cite{<key>}.

or (especially in case of numeric styles)

Lorem ipsum~\cite{<key>}.

For styles that move the citation content into a footnote (e.g., author-title and verbose styles), I recommend to use

Lorem ipsum.\cite{<key>}

Some European styles prefer the footnote mark before the punctuation, though (thanks to jon for the hint).

In case you use biblatex and its \autocite command, you may use

Lorem ipsum \autocite{<key>}.

independent from the actual style -- \autocite will move the footnote mark after the end-of-sentence period in case your style uses footnotes.

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] \cite that tolerates whitespace

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but for me the simple answer is: It works if I use the cite package. (This works flawlessly with cite, but it doesn't work without cite ;-).)

[Tex/LaTex] When should we use a blank line

I can tell you what I'd do in these 3 cases:

1.: After \chapter{} and similar command I'd always use a blank line as it makes the document structure clearer. Moreover, "In this chapter ..." is the start of a paragraph.

2.: I wouldn't use a blank line here if both displays belong to the same paragraph. However, I usually wouldn't use two consecutive displays at all; I'd use align* or gather* instead.

3.: In that particular case don't use blank lines as everything is within one paragraph. Speaking of clarity of the document structure, I'd say that

Assume we have    
\[
  \cos x
\]
that satisfies ...

is clear enough. Only use a blank line after the display if the paragraph ends after the display.

4.: As for your extra question about vertical spacing commands: In the context you provide, I'd always surround them with blank lines for clarity of the document structure. I sometimes use them before a display like this; then you mustn't put a blank line:

... some text
\vspace{-1ex}
\[
  ...
\]

I should point out that manual corrections like in this last example are rarely needed, and you should only use them if you're sure that you know what you're doing.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] \cite that tolerates whitespace

[Tex/LaTex] When should we use a blank line

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