Useful LaTeX Resources

For new graduate students, especially those who graduated from programs without a Unix-based computing environment, it can be a daunting task to adjust to our department's computing platform. Learning to typeset documents in LaTeX can be particularly difficult, since most graduate classes require LaTeX for homework submissions.

Although learning a new system may feel like being thrown into the deep water, the benefits of using LaTeX more than make up for the challenge of mastering it. Documents created in TeX or LaTeX can be far more attractive than similar documents created in Microsoft Word, especially for papers that involve a large number of equations or special symbols. For those with a moderate knowledge of LaTeX syntax, document creation in LaTeX can also be faster than WYSIWYG environments. Complicated operations such as spacing figures and numbering diagrams are taken care of automatically with very little work on the part of the user. BibTeX and LaTeX also take care of citations, creating an appropriate endnotes page from a database of your sources.

LaTeX can also be used to generate very nice presentations using a package called "Beamer".

Here are some resources that can make LaTeX learning curve easier to climb and give you access to the joy of LaTeX mastery:

LaTex Primer

This tutorial introduces the basics of TeX and LaTex processing. It is easy to read and a great reference for LaTeX newbies.

A brief LaTex Tutorial

An extended example of using latex with very good comments. Unlike the previous resource, this one illustrates how to include figures and graphics in a LaTeX document.

Getting to Grips with LaTex - Bibliography Management

A very extensive, but easy to read, look at citing sources in LaTeX.

LaCheck -- a consistency checker for LaTeX

LaCheck is a syntax checker for LaTeX that is installed on all department systems. Using "lacheck" on your documents can help you catch errors such as missing braces, bad spacing, incorrect use of quote marks, and other common mistakes.

User's Guide to the Beamer Class

A quick introduction to using LaTeX to create beautiful presentations. In addition to the technical details of creating a presentation, the tutorial contains some very good advice on how to structure a twenty minute (or longer) talk.