PreTeXt Cheatsheet

Section PreTeXt Cheatsheet

The tags you will reach for most often. Copy, paste, adapt. See pretextbook.org for the official documentation.

Document Structure.

Divisional levels 🔗

<part>                  <!-- Level 0 -->
  <chapter>             <!-- Level 1 -->
    <section>           <!-- Level 2 -->
      <subsection>      <!-- Level 3 -->
        <subsubsection> <!-- Level 4 -->
        </subsubsection>
      </subsection>
    </section>
  </chapter>
</part>

A section, front to back 🔗

<section>
  <title>Section Title</title>
  <introduction>...</introduction>

  <subsection>...</subsection>
  <subsection>...</subsection>

  <conclusion>...</conclusion>
  <exercises>...</exercises>
</section>

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Paragraphs.

Paragraph 🔗

<p>
  Text in a paragraph.
</p>

Paragraphs (grouped with title) 🔗

<paragraphs>
  <title>Group Title</title>
  <p>paragraph 1</p>
  <p>paragraph 2</p>
</paragraphs>

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Inline Formatting.

Emphasis 🔗

<em>emphasis</em>

Renders as: emphasis.

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New term 🔗

<term>new term</term>

Renders as: new term (bold). Use when introducing vocabulary for the first time.

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Inline code 🔗

<c>inline code</c>

Renders as: inline code. Use for filenames, code, etc.

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Alert 🔗

<alert>attention</alert>

Renders as: attention (bold italic). Use sparingly for genuine emphasis.

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Lists.

Unordered list 🔗

<ul>
  <li><p>item</p></li>
  <li><p>item</p></li>
</ul>

The <p> tags inside <li> are optional when the item is a single paragraph.

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Ordered list 🔗

<ol>
  <li>item</li>
  <li>item</li>
  <li>item</li>
</ol>

Add cols="2" or cols="3" on the <ol> to lay items out in columns.

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Description list 🔗

<dl>
  <li>
    <title>Term</title>
    <p>Description.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
    <title>Term</title>
    <p>Description.</p>
  </li>
</dl>

Optional attribute: width="narrow|medium|wide" to adjust title vs. description width.

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Math.

Inline 🔗

<m>x^2 + 1</m>

Display, single-line 🔗

<md>\sum_{i=1}^n x_i^2</md>

Numbered display equation 🔗

<md number="yes">e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0</md>

Give the equation an xml:id to reference it with <xref>.

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Aligned, multi-line 🔗

<md>
  <mrow>a^2 + b^2 \amp = c^2</mrow>
  <mrow>y \amp = mx + b</mrow>
  <mrow>m \amp = \frac{y-b}{x}</mrow>
  <mrow>  \amp = \frac{14}{3}</mrow>
</md>

The \amp character is the alignment anchor (& in LaTeX).

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Definitions, Theorems, Examples.

Definition 🔗

<definition xml:id="def-x">
  <statement>...</statement>
</definition>

The xml:id is optional, but add one if you want to cross-reference the definition later with <xref>.

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Theorem with proof 🔗

<theorem>
  <statement>...</statement>
  <proof>...</proof>
</theorem>

Example 🔗

<example xml:id="ex-x">
  <title>..</title>
  <statement>...</statement>
  <solution>...</solution>
</example>

The <solution> is optional. If you include it, it renders as a knowl the reader can expand.

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Remark 🔗

<remark>
  <p>A note.</p>
</remark>

Aside 🔗

<aside>
  <p>A short aside.</p>
</aside>

An <aside> renders in the margin (on wide screens) or inline (on narrow ones), visually distinct from a <remark>.

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Exercises.

Simple exercise 🔗

<exercise>
  <statement>...</statement>
</exercise>

Exercise with tasks 🔗

<exercise xml:id="exr-x">
  <introduction>...</introduction>
  <task>
    <statement>...</statement>
    <answer>...</answer>
  </task>
  <task>
    <statement>...</statement>
    <answer>...</answer>
  </task>
</exercise>

Use <task> for multi-part exercises. Each part gets its own answer knowl.

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Hint, answer, solution 🔗

<exercise xml:id="exr-y">
  <statement>...</statement>
  <hint>...</hint>
  <answer>...</answer>
  <solution>...</solution>
</exercise>

All three are optional. Order matters: <statement> first, then any combination of <hint>, <answer>, <solution>.

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Worksheets.

Worksheet 🔗

<worksheet xml:id="ws-x">
  <title>..</title>
  <objectives>...</objectives>

  <page>...</page>
  <page>...</page>
</worksheet>

A <worksheet> is a special environment that behaves like a <section>, but is styled differently and supports printing. <worksheet> can be split across <page> elements to help control the layout.

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While <title>, <objectives>, and <page> elements are common child elements of worksheets, they are optional.

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Objectives 🔗

<objectives>
  <ul>
    <li>...</li>
    <li>...</li>
    <li>...</li>
  </ul>
</objectives>

Place at the top of a worksheet or chapter.

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Exercise with workspace 🔗

<exercise workspace="2.5in">
  <statement>...</statement>
</exercise>

Add workspace="2.5in" to an exercise inside a worksheet to leave blank space for student work when the worksheet is printed. Adjust the measurement to suit the problem.

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Interactive Questions.

True / False 🔗

<exercise xml:id="ex-tf">
  <title> Exercise Title </title>
  <statement correct="no">
    <p> A statement that might be true or false. </p>
  </statement>
  <feedback>
    <p> Why the statement is true or false. </p>
  </feedback>
</exercise>

The true and false indicators are correct="yes" and correct="no", respectively goes directly inside the <statement> tag.

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Multiple-Choice & Multiple-Answer 🔗

<exercise xml:id="ex-mc">
  <title> Exercise Title </title>
  <statement> Problem Statement </statement>
  <choices randomize="yes">
    <choice>
      <statement> Distractor. </statement>
      <feedback> Why this is wrong. </feedback>
    </choice>
    <choice correct="yes">
      <statement> Correct answer. </statement>
      <feedback> Why this is right. </feedback>
    </choice>
    <choice>
      <statement> Distractor. </statement>
      <feedback> Why this is wrong. </feedback>
    </choice>
  </choices>
</exercise>

When exactly one <choice> has correct="yes", it is a multiple-choice question. When more than one <choice> has correct="yes", it is a multiple-answer question. Optional randomize="yes" on <choices> shuffles the order.

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Cardsort-Matching 🔗

<exercise label="chkpt-matching">
  <title> Exercise Title </title>
  <statement> Problem Statement </statement>
  <feedback> General Feedback </feedback>
  <cardsort>
    <match>
      <premise> Item 1 </premise>
      <response> Target 1 </response>
    </match>
    <match>
      <premise> Item 2 </premise>
      <response> Target 2 </response>
    </match>
    <match>
      <premise> Item 3a </premise>
      <premise> Item 3b </premise>
      <premise> Item 3c </premise>
      <response> Target 3 </response>
    </match>
    <match>
      <premise> Distractor Item </premise>
    </match>
    <match>
      <response> Distractor Target </response>
    </match>
  </cardsort>
</exercise>

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Clickable Area 🔗

<exercise label="chkpt-fill-in-the-blank">
  <title> Exercise Title </title>
  <statement> Problem Statement </statement>
  <areas>
    <p>
      Non-Clickable Text *
      <area> Correct Clickable Item 1 </area> *
      <area> Correct Clickable Item 2 </area> *
      <area correct="no"> Incorrect Clickable </area> *
      <area> Correct Clickable Item 3 </area> *
      <area correct="no"> Incorrect Clickable </area> *
    </p>
  </areas>
  <feedback> General Feedback </feedback>
</exercise>

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Links & Cross-references.

External link 🔗

<url href="https://abc.com">
  click here
</url>

Internal cross-reference 🔗

<xref ref="def-x"/>
<xref ref="def-x" text="title"/>
<xref ref="def-x" text="custom">see here</xref>

The target must have an xml:id. Default link text is auto-generated (e.g., “Definition 3.1”); text="title" uses the target’s title; text="custom" lets you write your own link text between the opening and closing tags.

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Figures.

Figure with image 🔗

<figure xml:id="fig-x">
  <caption>My caption.</caption>
  <image source="figs/path.png">
    <shortdescription>
      Brief alt text.
    </shortdescription>
  </image>
</figure>

Every image needs a <shortdescription> for screen readers. Keep it brief and literal. Describe what the image shows, not what it means.

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Tables.

Minimal table 🔗

<tabular>
  <row>
    <cell>A</cell>
    <cell>B</cell>
  </row>
  <row>
    <cell>C</cell>
    <cell>D</cell>
  </row>
</tabular>

Table with a header row 🔗

<tabular>
  <row header="yes">
    <cell>Name</cell>
    <cell>Value</cell>
  </row>
  <row>
    <cell>...</cell>
    <cell>...</cell>
  </row>
</tabular>

Table with borders and column widths 🔗

<tabular top="minor" bottom="minor"
         left="minor" right="minor">
  <col width="30%" halign="center"/>
  <col width="70%"/>
  <row header="yes">
    <cell>Name</cell>
    <cell>Description</cell>
  </row>
  <row>
    <cell>...</cell>
    <cell>...</cell>
  </row>
</tabular>

Border options: none, minor, medium, major. Alignment options: left, center, right.

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