My first paper in LaTeX

These pages have been created to allow otherwise computer literate people to get started with LaTeX quickly. I hope to cover enough to let most students do most of there writing in LaTeX. However, you should expect to have to consult The LaTeX Companion (2nd edition) for some of the details.

I have assumed a Unix command line environment (as in the school labs) for these pages. You may need to seek additional sources to learn how to operate it on your particular system.

Why I use LaTeX

Please observe that this is exactly what it says in the title. I make no claim that these are reasons for you to use LaTeX. As I made my choice in 1995, I do not know if there are acceptable alternatives today.

The following two were my main reason. No other system was even near good enough in these two aspects.

A powerful and simple system for mathematical formulæ.
Editing is quick and easy, regardless of the document size.

I also find that working with LaTeX is simpler than using word processors because...

Source files in plain text integrates easily with other software, including self-written programs.
Hyphenation and typesetting algorithms are close to state of the art.
LaTeX encourages good style. Standard templates give a professional look, and deviating from them is hard (whether accidentally or on purpose).
of a good system for bibliographies.