A double back-slash (\) is used to create a new line. It can also be used to create the appearance of a blank line – extra whitespace – between one line and the next by using the optional arguments (\[*][extra-space]). The extra-space argument specifies how much whitespace should be left between this line and the next, and be positive or negative (or zero, of course). If the \* version is used, LaTeX will not start a new page after the blank line.

text text text\[10pt] % A new page can follow this line.
blah blah blah

text text text\*[10pt] % The next line must be on the same page as this line.
blah blah blah

tags: computing, latex, top tips