Tianjin University Recommendation Letter Template

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A LaTeX template for academic recommendation letters from Tianjin University

Important

This is NOT an official template from Tianjin University. This is a community-maintained project for faculty and students.

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Table of Contents

• About
• Preview
• Quick Start
• Campus Addresses
• Customization
• Development
• Project Structure
• Contributing
• Acknowledgments
• Disclaimer
• License
• Support

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About

A LaTeX template for academic recommendation letters from Tianjin University. This template provides TJU-specific letterhead elements (official logo, brand colors, campus addresses) and follows international academic formatting standards (APA/AMA).

Tianjin University, founded in 1895 as Peiyang University, is the first modern university in China.

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Preview

📄 Download PDF Example

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Quick Start

Option 1: Local Compilation

Requirements:

• TeX Live 2020+ (XeLaTeX compiler)

Font Information:

• Uses Computer Modern (Latin Modern) by default - the standard font for STEM disciplines
• To switch to Times New Roman, uncomment font settings in TJUletter.cls

Steps:

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/FeathBow/TJU-RL-template.git
   cd TJU-RL-template

2. Add assets (in assets/ folder)

   • logo.pdf - TJU official logo
   • signature.png - Digital signature (optional)
   • building.png - Background watermark (optional)

3. Edit main.tex to customize sender information

4. Compile

   xelatex main.tex
   # or
   latexmk

Option 2: Use on Overleaf

Method 1: Upload ZIP (Recommended)

1. Download ZIP file
2. Go to Overleaf → New Project → Upload Project
3. Upload the ZIP file and start editing

Method 2: Import from GitHub

1. Fork this repository to your GitHub account
2. In Overleaf: New Project → Import from GitHub
3. Select your forked repository

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Campus Addresses

Campus	Address
Peiyangyuan Campus (New Campus)	No. 135 Yaguan Road, Haihe Education Park Tianjin 300350, China
Weijin Road Campus (Old Campus)	No. 92 Weijin Road, Nankai District Tianjin 300072, China

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Customization

Feature	Configuration	Location
Font	Default: Computer Modern Switch to Times New Roman: Uncomment font settings	TJUletter.cls
Background Image	Default: Enabled (building.png) Disable: Comment out \makeWatermark	main.tex
Digital Signature	Optional: Add signature.png to assets folder Specify with \signaturefile{assets/signature.png}	main.tex
Paper Size	Default: A4 Switch to US Letter: Change to letterpaper in document class	TJUletter.cls
Margins	Top: 3.175cm, Bottom/Left/Right: 2.54cm (APA/AMA standard)	TJUletter.cls
Campus Address	Dual campus footer (Weijin Road + Peiyangyuan)	TJUletter.cls

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Development

Local Git Hooks (Optional)

Install pre-commit hooks to automatically lint LaTeX files before committing:

# Install pre-commit framework
pip install pre-commit

# Install hooks
pre-commit install

# Run manually on all files
pre-commit run --all-files

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Project Structure

TJU-RL-template/
├── .github/
│   ├── CONTRIBUTING.md           # Contribution guidelines
│   └── workflows/
│       └── latex-ci.yml          # GitHub Actions CI/CD
├── assets/
│   ├── logo.pdf                  # TJU official logo
│   ├── signature.png             # Digital signature (optional)
│   ├── building.png              # Background watermark
│   └── preview.png               # Template preview image
├── .chktexrc                     # chktex linter configuration
├── .gitattributes                # Git language detection
├── .gitignore                    # Git ignore rules
├── .latexindent.yaml             # LaTeX formatter configuration
├── .latexmkrc                    # latexmk build configuration
├── .pre-commit-config.yaml       # Pre-commit hooks configuration
├── LICENSE                       # MIT License
├── main.pdf                      # Compiled example PDF
├── main.tex                      # Main template file (edit this)
├── README.md                     # English documentation
├── README.zh-CN.md               # Chinese documentation
└── TJUletter.cls                 # LaTeX document class

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs via Issues
• Submit improvements via Pull Requests
• Suggest features

See CONTRIBUTING.md for details. No strict rules - keep it simple and helpful.

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Acknowledgments

• TJU-VIS - For providing corrected and standardized Tianjin University visual identity assets (logo, wordmark) based on the official VI manual.
• gitignore.io - For .gitignore template generation service.
• LaTeX community

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Disclaimer

1. This template is for legitimate academic use only by TJU faculty and students.
2. Always verify all information before sending.

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License

MIT License - Free to use and modify.

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Support

If this project has been helpful to you or your students, please consider giving it a star. It helps others discover this template and encourages continued maintenance.

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Made for TJU Faculty and Students

Tianjin University, founded in 1895 as Peiyang University, is the first modern university in China.