I am trying to figure out if there is a way to apply the CSS methodology to the LaTeX template I am building. What I would like to do is to have a set of classes that apply a specific style treatment to the bracketed words. For example:

If I have three paragraphs of text, I want to have all of the paragraphs have [0.5cm] of spacing after the last line without having to add \\[0.5cm] after each paragraph.

Is there a LaTeX equivalent of defining the treatment for all paragraphs in the preamble so that it cascades throughout my document? The equivalent of:

<style> p {padding-bottom:0.5cm} </style>

I want to be able to specify multiple version of these CSS-like LaTeX classes throughout my document, so I don't need a specific solution. I need help understanding how to add custom labels/names/classes to the preamble and an example of how to use them in the document itself.

Thanks!

Ryan