Inline vs Display Math

LaTeX has two main math modes:

• Inline math: appears inside normal text
• Display math: shown on its own line

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\begin{document}

$a^2 + b^2 = c^2$
\( a^2 + b^2 = c^2 \)
\begin{math} a^2 + b^2 = c^2 \end{math}

\end{document}

Greek letters

Greek letters are used everywhere in STEM writing: , , , , and so on.

Command	Output	Command	Output
\alpha		\beta
\gamma		\delta
\theta		\lambda
\sigma		\omega
\Gamma		\Sigma
\Pi		\Omega

Common operators and relations

Command	Symbol	Command	Symbol	Command	Symbol
\times		\leq		\approx
\div		\geq		\equiv
\pm		\neq		\sim
\cdot		\ll		\propto

Sets and logic

Command	Symbol	Command	Symbol	Command	Symbol
\in		\cup		\forall
\notin		\cap		\exists
\subseteq		\emptyset		\Rightarrow

Math font commands

Command	Output	Typical use
\mathcal{N}		Distribution or family notation
\mathbb{R}		Number sets
\mathbf{v}		Vectors and matrices
\mathrm{d}		Differential operator
\boldsymbol{\alpha}		Bold Greek symbols

Fractions and roots

Use \frac{a}{b} for fractions and \sqrt{...} for square roots.

\[
x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
\]

\[
\sqrt[3]{8} = 2, \quad \sqrt{\sqrt{x}} = x^{1/4}
\]

Spacing and text in math mode

LaTeX ignores normal spaces in math mode. Use spacing commands when needed:

If you need normal words in formulas, use \text{...}.

\[
f(x) = x^2 \quad \text{where} \quad x \in \mathbb{R}
\]

Brackets and delimiters

Use \left and \right for auto-sized brackets:

\[
\left( \frac{a}{b} + \frac{c}{d} \right)^2
\]

For one-sided delimiters, use an invisible boundary like \left..

Alignment (align)

Use align for multi-line derivations with aligned symbols:

\begin{align}
(a+b)^2 &= a^2 + 2ab + b^2 \\
(a-b)^2 &= a^2 - 2ab + b^2
\end{align}

Use align* when you do not want equation numbers.

Matrices

Piecewise functions

Use cases:

\[
f(x) = \begin{cases}
  x^2,  & \text{if } x \ge 0 \\
 -x^2,  & \text{if } x < 0
\end{cases}
\]

Custom operators

For operators like var, cov, rank, define them properly:

\DeclareMathOperator{\var}{var}
\DeclareMathOperator{\cov}{cov}
\DeclareMathOperator*{\argmax}{arg\,max}

This gives better spacing and correct limit placement.

equation

Use equation for one centered formula with one number:

\begin{equation}
  e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0
\end{equation}

Long equations with split

If one equation is too long, nest split inside equation:

\begin{equation}
\begin{split}
(a+b+c)^2 &= a^2+b^2+c^2 \\
          &\quad + 2ab + 2bc + 2ca
\end{split}
\end{equation}

Multiple centered equations with gather

Use gather when lines are independent and do not need alignment.

Numbered theorem environments

Define with \newtheorem:

\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section]
\newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma}

Unnumbered environments

Use a star version:

\newtheorem*{remark}{Remark}

Styles

• plain: bold heading + italic body (default)
• definition: bold heading + normal body
• remark: italic heading + normal body

Switch style with \theoremstyle{...} before defining environments.

Proof environment

proof is built in by amsthm and ends with a QED symbol automatically.

TeXnique: A LaTeX Equation Typesetting Game

TeXnique is better understood as a LaTeX equation typesetting game, not just a syntax reference page. You see a target formula, then try to reproduce it with correct LaTeX commands. That loop trains your reflexes: after enough practice, you start to “see” LaTeX when you look at math.

When I first wrote technical reports, the hardest part was not advanced math ideas. It was small formatting details: where to place & in align, when to use \left...\right, and why two similar fraction commands can produce very different visual results. TeXnique works well as a warm-up space for these details. You can test quickly without rebuilding a full document.

If your goal is to build typing fluency, not just memorize commands, TeXnique is a strong starting point. It reduces friction and lets you focus on mathematical meaning instead of syntax anxiety.

The video below gives a quick overview of how people use it in real practice:

After watching, try a small drill: pick three formulas you often use (for example, one limit, one matrix, and one piecewise function), and retype them until you can do it smoothly. This kind of short repetition creates long-term speed gains.

Mathpix Snip: Convert Formula Images to LaTeX

Mathpix Snip helps you convert formula images into LaTeX quickly. It is especially useful when your source is not editable text: lecture slides, scanned PDFs, whiteboard photos, or handwritten notes.

In one of my own note-cleaning sessions, I had a page full of matrix derivations and conditional expectation expressions. Typing everything manually would take a long time. With Mathpix, I got a usable draft much faster, then spent my time on review instead of raw typing.

That is the key: treat OCR output as a first draft, not a final answer. A practical check sequence is:

1. Similar characters (l, 1, I, O, 0)
2. Superscript/subscript nesting
3. Bracket and delimiter matching

The video below shows the basic Mathpix Snip workflow:

A robust workflow is: convert in batch first, then do a focused manual pass in your LaTeX document to unify style and correctness. In short, TeXnique trains your intuition, and Mathpix saves your input time. Using both gives the best balance of speed and quality.

Using It in a Loop

Rather than explaining it in the abstract, let us step through the behaviour directly. First, wrap names with enumerate():

enumerate(names)

<enumerate at 0x10c7576a0>

Converting to a list reveals the structure:

list(enumerate(names))

[(0, 'Wang Daming'), (1, 'Chen Xiaomei'), (2, 'Lin Xiaohua')]

Each element is a (index, value) tuple. Because the enumerate object itself is iterable, it can go straight into a for loop. Unpacking assigns the two values to separate variables in a single step:

for i, name in enumerate(names):
    print(f"#{i}: {name}")

#0: Wang Daming
#1: Chen Xiaomei
#2: Lin Xiaohua

Compared to range(len(names)), this version states its intent clearly: “give me both the index and the value.” There is no manual subscripting required.

Adjusting the Start Value

By default, the counter starts at 0. Pass start=1 to match the one-based numbering that most readers expect:

for i, name in enumerate(names, start=1):
    print(f"#{i}: {name}")

#1: Wang Daming
#2: Chen Xiaomei
#3: Lin Xiaohua

Equivalent Implementation

The Python documentation also provides an equivalent implementation, which makes the internal logic transparent:

def enumerate(iterable, start=0):
    n = start               # counter, defaults to 0
    for elem in iterable:
        yield n, elem       # produce an (index, element) pair
        n += 1              # increment the counter

The key is the yield statement: on each step, the current counter and element are produced together, then the counter advances. This also explains why enumerate() returns a lazy iterator rather than a fully computed list — it generates each pair only when the loop asks for it, which keeps memory usage low regardless of the input size.

Using It in a Loop

Following the same approach as before, wrap names and grades with zip():

zip(names, grades)

<zip at 0x10c810d80>

Convert to a list to inspect the output — a sequence of (name, score) pairs:

list(zip(names, grades))

[('Wang Daming', 95), ('Chen Xiaomei', 71), ('Lin Xiaohua', 82)]

In a for loop, unpack the tuple directly. No index required:

for name, grade in zip(names, grades):
    print(f"Name: {name}  Score: {grade}")

Name: Wang Daming  Score: 95
Name: Chen Xiaomei  Score: 71
Name: Lin Xiaohua  Score: 82

Comparing this to the range(len()) version at the top of this article, the difference is stark. The zip() version reads almost like a plain English sentence.

When Lengths Differ

zip() stops as soon as the shortest sequence is exhausted. Any remaining elements in longer sequences are silently discarded:

names_extra = ["Wang Daming", "Chen Xiaomei", "Lin Xiaohua", "Zhang Dawei"]  # one extra
for name, grade in zip(names_extra, grades):
    print(f"Name: {name}  Score: {grade}")

Name: Wang Daming  Score: 95
Name: Chen Xiaomei  Score: 71
Name: Lin Xiaohua  Score: 82

Zhang Dawei never appears. Silent truncation is convenient in many cases, but it can also hide data quality issues when two sequences are supposed to be the same length. Python 3.10 introduced strict=True to address this: if the lengths do not match, a ValueError is raised immediately:

for name, grade in zip(names_extra, grades, strict=True):
    print(f"Name: {name}  Score: {grade}")
# ValueError: zip() argument 2 is shorter than argument 1

Equivalent Implementation

The equivalent implementation for zip() is slightly more involved than enumerate(), but the logic is still straightforward:

def zip(*iterables):
    iterators = [iter(it) for it in iterables]   # convert each input to an iterator
    while True:
        result = []
        for it in iterators:
            try:
                result.append(next(it))           # pull one element from each iterator
            except StopIteration:
                return                            # stop if any iterator is exhausted
        yield tuple(result)                       # produce the combined tuple

Each iteration calls next() on every iterator in turn. The moment any iterator raises StopIteration, the function returns — that is exactly where the “shortest sequence wins” behaviour comes from.

Mixing zip and enumerate

If you need an index and want to iterate over multiple sequences at once, wrap the zip() result in enumerate():

for i, (name, grade) in enumerate(zip(names, grades), start=1):
    print(f"#{i}: {name} — {grade}")

#1: Wang Daming — 95
#2: Chen Xiaomei — 71
#3: Lin Xiaohua — 82

Unzipping with zip(*...)

zip() pairs sequences together; the same function can reverse the operation. Passing a list of tuples with * unpacks them so zip() can re-group them by position:

pairs = [("Wang Daming", 95), ("Chen Xiaomei", 71), ("Lin Xiaohua", 82)]

names_unzipped, grades_unzipped = zip(*pairs)
print(names_unzipped)
print(grades_unzipped)

('Wang Daming', 'Chen Xiaomei', 'Lin Xiaohua')
(95, 71, 82)

Building a Dictionary in One Line

Combining zip() with dict() is a common Python idiom for creating a key–value mapping from two parallel sequences:

scores_dict = dict(zip(names, grades))
print(scores_dict)

{'Wang Daming': 95, 'Chen Xiaomei': 71, 'Lin Xiaohua': 82}

You will encounter this pattern frequently when reading other people’s Python code.

enumerate()

• Attaches an automatic index to each element, returning (index, value) tuples
• The start parameter adjusts the initial counter value
• Returns a lazy iterator: elements are produced on demand, not all at once

zip()

• Iterates over multiple sequences in parallel, producing one tuple per step
• Stops at the shortest sequence by default; use strict=True (Python 3.10+) to raise an error on length mismatch
• Works in reverse with zip(*pairs) to unzip a list of tuples
• Combines with dict() to build a mapping from two sequences in one line

Combining Both

Wrapping a zip() result in enumerate() gives you indices and multiple values at once. Remember the inner parentheses: for i, (a, b) in enumerate(zip(...)).

Installing and Using Packages

To use a LaTeX package, you use the \usepackage[options]{package-name} command in the preamble to tell the compiler which package you need.¹ If you are running LaTeX locally (with a compiler already installed), the compiler will usually ask whether you want to install a missing package before it can be used.² Make sure the package is actually installed before trying to compile.

At the end of the previous article, you may have noticed some unfamiliar non-English characters in the example. That text is the well-known Lorem ipsum (often called Lipsum) — a piece of placeholder text derived from a work by the ancient Roman writer Cicero. It is commonly used in design and typesetting to fill space and test layout appearance. The following examples use the lipsum and blindtext packages to demonstrate this.³

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}

\begin{document}
\lipsum[1-2]  % generates paragraphs 1 to 2 of Lorem ipsum
\end{document}

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{blindtext}

\begin{document}
\blinddocument  % generates a sample document with headings, paragraphs, lists, etc.
\end{document}

The Manual: CTAN

If you buy something but do not know how to use it, the item is not very useful to you. That is why manufacturers provide user manuals — to clearly explain how to operate the product and how to deal with common problems.

LaTeX packages each have their own documentation, and these are stored in a repository called CTAN.⁴ For example, to look up the documentation for the lipsum package, search for “CTAN lipsum” in your browser. The first result is usually the correct one. Clicking into it will show the package page on CTAN, where the documentation is typically listed under “Package documentation.”

Font Size

In LaTeX, there are two main ways to change font size: using predefined size commands, or using the \selectfont command. The predefined commands are simpler and easier to use:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

This is \tiny tiny text.
This is \large large text.
This is \Huge the largest text.

\end{document}

The second approach is to use \fontsize{size}{baselineskip}\selectfont. Here, size is the font size and baselineskip is the line spacing. For example, to set the font to 25pt with a 14pt line spacing, you would write {\fontsize{25}{14}\selectfont text to resize}.

Notice the curly braces {} — they create a local scope, so the settings inside only affect the content within the braces and do not change anything outside.

Font Families

The table below shows how to set the three main font families in LaTeX: serif, sans serif, and typewriter (monospace). Each has a corresponding command and a shorthand alternative:

In Word, you select a block of text and choose a font from a dropdown menu. This is straightforward but inconvenient — if the font file is not installed on a particular computer, it will fall back to a default font. LaTeX handles this more cleanly with the fontspec package, which provides a reliable way to set and change fonts, especially when compiling with XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX.

To use it, load fontspec in the preamble, then use \setmainfont, \setsansfont, and \setmonofont to specify your fonts. In general, font files should be stored in a fonts subfolder with the path specified, so the compiler knows where to find them.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{Times New Roman}
\setsansfont{Arial}
\setmonofont{Courier New}

\begin{document}
This is Serif.
\textsf{This is Sans Serif.}
\texttt{This is Mono.}
\end{document}

Font Styles

In LaTeX, bold, italic, and bold italic each serve a different purpose. Bold is commonly used to emphasize important words, headings, or subheadings. Italic is typically used for book titles, article names, or foreign-language terms. Bold italic is used when even stronger visual emphasis is needed.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
This is normal text.
This is \textbf{bold} text.
This is \textit{italic} text.
This is \textbf{\textit{bold italic}} text.
\end{document}

Setting Up Chinese

To use Chinese in LaTeX, you need a special package to handle font rendering and character encoding. The most common choice is xeCJK, which requires the XeLaTeX compiler.⁵ First, make sure XeLaTeX is installed on your system. Then load both xeCJK and fontspec in your preamble — xeCJK handles the Chinese characters, while fontspec manages the font settings. Here is a minimal example:

% !TeX xelatex
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{FandolSong}

\begin{document}
你好，這是一份測試文件。
\end{document}

For local setups where you want to use your own font files, create a fonts folder in the same directory as your .tex file and place your Chinese font files there (.ttf, .TTF, or .otf formats are all supported). The cwTeX fonts are a recommended option. Here is how to set them up:

% !TeX xelatex
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{xeCJK}
\usepackage{fontspec}

% Set Chinese fonts
\setCJKmainfont[Path=./fonts/]{cwTeXQMing-Medium.ttf}
\setCJKfamilyfont{kai}[Path=./fonts/]{cwTeXQKai-Medium.ttf}
\newcommand{\kai}[1]{{\CJKfamily{kai}#1}}
\setCJKfamilyfont{hei}[Path=./fonts/]{cwTeXQHei-Bold.ttf}
\newcommand{\hei}[1]{{\CJKfamily{hei}#1}}

\begin{document}
你好，這是一份測試文件。
\end{document}

In this example, \setCJKmainfont sets the default Chinese font — the one that appears when no other font is specified. \setCJKfamilyfont registers a named font family, such as kai for the Kai (regular script) style. The Path=./fonts/ option tells the compiler where to look for the file, and the filename comes last.

Registering a font family is not enough on its own — you also need a command to invoke it. This is done with \newcommand. The syntax is \newcommand{command name}[number of arguments]{definition}.⁶ In the example above, \newcommand{\kai}[1]{{\CJKfamily{kai}#1}} creates a \kai command that wraps any text you pass to it in the Kai font. The same pattern applies to \hei and any other font families you register.

Margin Settings

Just like in Word, LaTeX allows you to set the top, bottom, left, and right margins of a page. The geometry package makes this straightforward. After loading the package, use \geometry{} to configure the settings. Here is an example that sets top and bottom margins to 2 cm and left and right margins to 2.5 cm:

% !TeX xelatex
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{FandolSong}

\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{a4paper, margin=2.5cm}

\title{My First \LaTeX\ Document}
\author{Author Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
Hello, this is a test document.
\end{document}

To set all margins to the same value, use \geometry{margin=2cm}. To set only one side, use \geometry{left=3cm} — and similarly for top, right, and bottom.

The geometry package also supports other options such as paper size, page orientation, and binding offset. Use a4paper, letterpaper, and similar options for paper size, or add landscape to switch to horizontal orientation.⁷ If you need extra space on the binding side, use the bindingoffset parameter. For example, an A3 landscape document with 2.5 cm margins and a 1 cm binding offset would look like this:

\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{a3paper, margin=2.5cm, landscape, bindingoffset=1cm}

Section Heading Format

In Word, formatting section headings requires selecting each heading and applying a style manually.⁸ This is inconvenient and can break easily when new sections are added.

In LaTeX, the titlesec package handles this. After loading it, use the \titleformat{heading}[shape]{format}{label}{sep}{before-code}[after-code] command to define the heading style. Each part of this command does the following:

1. heading: The heading command you want to style, such as \section or \subsection
2. shape: An optional parameter for the heading shape, such as block or display. Can be omitted if not needed
3. format: Sets the font, size, color, and other styling for the heading text
4. label: Defines how the heading number is displayed; use \thesection, \thesubsection, etc., or leave it empty {} for no numbering
5. sep: The horizontal space between the number and the heading text
6. before-code: Commands to run before the heading text, such as inserting a rule or icon
7. after-code: Optional commands to run after the heading text

Here is a working example:

% !TeX xelatex
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\usepackage{xeCJK, CJKnumb}
\setmainfont{FandolSong}

\usepackage{zhlipsum}

\usepackage{titlesec}
\titleformat{\section}
  {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}
  {\CJKnumber{\thesection}、}
  {1em}
  {}

\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{a4paper, margin=2.5cm}

\title{My First \LaTeX\ Document}
\author{Author Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
\zhlipsum[1-3]
\end{document}

Two things worth noting in this example:

1. \usepackage{xeCJK, CJKnumb} loads two packages at once using a comma. If you do not need to pass any options, you can load multiple packages this way in a single line.
2. Just as lipsum generates English placeholder text, zhlipsum does the same for Chinese. The syntax is the same: \zhlipsum[start-end].

Header and Footer Settings

Headers and footers in Word can be complicated to configure — you need to handle odd and even pages, page numbers, header text, and more. LaTeX offers the fancyhdr package, which lets you define everything in the preamble so you do not need to adjust each page individually.

One thing to note in the example below: you will see both \fancyfoot and shorthand commands like \cfoot, \lfoot, and \rfoot. These are not the same thing. \fancyfoot is the full command with more configuration options; its position parameters include L (left), C (center), R (right), E (even pages), and O (odd pages). The shorthand commands \cfoot, \lfoot, and \rfoot are convenience aliases provided by fancyhdr for quickly setting the center, left, and right footer content.

% !TeX xelatex
\documentclass[twoside]{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\usepackage{xeCJK, CJKnumb}
\setmainfont{FandolSong}

\usepackage{zhlipsum}

\usepackage{titlesec}
\titleformat{\section}
  {\normalfont\Large\bfseries}
  {\CJKnumber{\thesection}、}
  {1em}
  {}

\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{a4paper, margin=2.5cm}

% Header and footer settings
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}
\lhead{\normalsize Top-left text \\ Bottom-left text}
\rhead{\normalsize Top-right text \\ Bottom-right text}

\fancyfoot[C]{}
\fancyfoot[LE,RO]{Page~\thepage}

\title{My First \LaTeX\ Document}
\author{Author Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
\zhlipsum[1-10]
\section{Methodology}
\zhlipsum[11-20]
\end{document}

Before using fancyhdr, it is recommended to call \fancyhf{} to clear any default header and footer settings. Then use \lhead and \rhead to set the left and right header content respectively. The \\ inside the braces creates a line break within the header cell.

For the footer, \fancyfoot[C]{} clears the center footer, and \fancyfoot[LE,RO]{Page~\thepage} places the page number on the left side of even pages and the right side of odd pages. The ~ character is a non-breaking space, and \thepage outputs the current page number.

Folder Setup

The following is a recommended LaTeX project structure. The subfolders are not mandatory and can be adjusted based on your needs:

my-project/
├── main.tex          # Main document
├── references.bib    # References
├── images/           # Image assets
│   ├── figure1.png
│   └── figure2.pdf
├── fonts/            # Custom fonts
│   └── custom.ttf
└── output/           # Compilation output
    └── main.pdf

Within this structure:

• main.tex: The main document — the starting point of everything. LaTeX begins compilation here, where the document class (\documentclass{}), packages (\usepackage{}), and the overall structure are defined. For longer documents such as theses, individual chapters can be split into separate .tex files and imported into the main file using \input{} or \include{}¹.

• references.bib: A database file that stores your reference entries. Each entry records information such as the author, title, and year in a structured format. When used with BibTeX or BibLaTeX, you simply cite sources in the text using \cite{}, and the bibliography is automatically generated at the end of the document. Citation styles such as APA and MLA can also be applied as needed.

• images/: A centralised folder for all image assets. LaTeX supports raster images (.png, .jpg) as well as vector graphics (.pdf, .eps). Vector graphics do not lose quality when scaled and are the preferred format for academic documents². It is recommended to use descriptive filenames (e.g., fig-result-comparison.pdf) for easier maintenance.

• fonts/: Stores custom font files (.ttf, .otf, etc.). This folder is only needed when compiling with XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX, as these compilers can directly access system fonts or custom font files. If you are using the traditional pdfLaTeX, the font mechanism works differently and this folder is generally not required³.

  TipFont Recommendations by System

  • Windows: Fonts are typically installed in C:\Windows\Fonts\ and can be referenced directly by name in XeLaTeX — no need to copy them into the project folder.
  • macOS: Fonts are located in /Library/Fonts/ or ~/Library/Fonts/ and can also be referenced directly by name.
  • Linux: Font paths vary by distribution but are commonly found in /usr/share/fonts/. If fonts are not recognised, run fc-cache -fv to refresh the font cache.

• output/: Stores all files generated during compilation, including the final .pdf and intermediate files such as .aux (cross-reference data), .log (compilation log), and .toc (table of contents data). Keeping all output here prevents these intermediate files from cluttering the project root directory⁴.

  TipOutput Configuration by System

  • VS Code (LaTeX Workshop): In settings.json, set "latex-workshop.latex.outDir": "%DIR%/output" to redirect all output to the output/ folder.
  • Overleaf: The cloud platform manages output automatically — no configuration needed.
  • Command line: Use xelatex -output-directory=output main.tex to specify the output directory.

Viewing the Folder Structure

If you want to quickly inspect the directory structure of your LaTeX project, you can use the tree command. Navigate to the project folder and run:

tree

The terminal will display the entire folder hierarchy in a tree format, for example:

my-project/
├── main.tex
├── references.bib
├── images/
│   ├── figure1.png
│   └── figure2.pdf
├── fonts/
│   └── custom.ttf
└── output/
    └── main.pdf

To display only directories (without listing files), add the -d flag:

tree -d

To limit the depth of the output — for example, showing only two levels — use the -L flag:

tree -L 2

Document Class Setup

In LaTeX, the document class determines the overall appearance and format of the document. Different classes are suited to different purposes. The three most commonly used standard classes are article, report, and book.

Every document must begin with the \documentclass command to specify the class and its options, for example:

\documentclass[12pt, a4paper, twoside]{article}

This command sets the font size to 12pt, the paper size to A4, and enables double-sided printing. Besides the three main classes, LaTeX also supports classes such as letter and standalone, as well as options like landscape for a horizontal layout. For a deeper look at the differences between document classes, refer to LaTeX documentclass options illustrated.

About Indentation

In the example above, you may notice that the first line of the document is automatically indented. This happens because LaTeX treats the content before the first line break as an introductory paragraph when no chapter or section has been defined yet. There are two ways to address this:

• Add \noindent at the start of the first line to tell LaTeX not to indent that specific line. However, this only takes effect where the command is placed — other paragraphs will still follow the default indentation rules.
• Add \parindent=0pt in the preamble to set the indentation to zero throughout the entire document, effectively removing all paragraph indentation.

Note that if your document requires every paragraph to be indented (such as an academic report), neither of the above methods is ideal, and you will need to adjust based on your specific requirements⁷.

The Document’s Identity Card: Title Page Information

The title page is the centrepiece of the entire document — it can be thought of as the document’s “identity card.” It records the title (the document’s name), the author (who created it), and the date (the document’s “birthday,” or the moment it first said “Hello, World!”).

In the report class, the title page appears as the first page of the document. In the standard LaTeX format, it includes the title, author, date, and acknowledgements. Let us look at the following example:

\documentclass{report}
\title{Report File}
\author{Noname\thanks{Thanks to the readers.}}
\date{\today}
\begin{document}

This is the first sentence in my \LaTeX\ file.

\chapter{First Chapter}
\section{Section}
...
\end{document}

After compiling, if you find that there is no title page at all, you have spotted the issue! Even after setting the title page information in the preamble, you must add \maketitle between \begin{document} and \end{document} for LaTeX to actually render that information in the document:

\documentclass{report}
\title{Report File}
\author{Noname\thanks{Thanks to the readers.}}
\date{\today}
\begin{document}
\maketitle

This is the first sentence in my \LaTeX\ file.

\chapter{First Chapter}
\section{Section}
...
\end{document}

Adding Chapter Headings

Adding chapter headings in LaTeX is very straightforward — there is no need to adjust font sizes manually; you simply use the corresponding command⁸. In the report class, \chapter{} adds a chapter, while \section{} and \subsection{} correspond to sections and subsections respectively. By default, LaTeX uses Arabic numerals for chapter numbering. If you do not want a number, add an asterisk (*) after the command — for example, \chapter*{} or \section*{} — and LaTeX will omit the number and display only the heading text.

\documentclass{report}          % Use the report class
\begin{document}                % Document begins

\chapter{Introduction}          % Numbered chapter

\section{Background Theories}   % Section

\subsection{Purpose}            % Subsection

\chapter*{Acknowledgements}     % Unnumbered chapter

\end{document}                  % Document ends

LaTeX automatically handles numbering, table of contents updates, and font sizing — the author only needs to focus on the content itself. The table below shows the full hierarchy of section commands:

Adding an Abstract

To add an abstract, use the abstract environment:

\documentclass{report}          % Use the report class
\title{Report File}             % Document title
% Author name; \thanks generates a footnote acknowledgement
\author{Noname\thanks{Thanks to the readers.}}
\date{\today}                   % Automatically inserts today's date
\begin{document}                % Document begins
\maketitle                      % Renders the title page

\begin{abstract}                % Abstract environment begins
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent varius neque vel
commodo aliquet. Integer ornare hendrerit ligula et ultricies...
\end{abstract}                  % Abstract environment ends

\chapter{Introduction}          % Chapter 1

\section{Background Theories}   % Section

\subsection{Purpose}            % Subsection

\chapter*{Acknowledgements}     % Unnumbered chapter

\end{document}                  % Document ends

Text inside the abstract environment is automatically indented on both sides. Note that only the article and report classes support abstract — the book class cannot use this environment. Additionally, in the report class, the abstract appears on its own page, has no page number, and is not included in the table of contents. This may differ from the formatting requirements of some academic journals or institutions, so please keep this in mind.

Adding Footnotes

LaTeX supports two types of notes: footnotes and marginal notes. Footnotes are numbered using Arabic numerals by default and appear at the bottom of the page. In the report/book class, numbering resets at each new chapter; in the article class, numbering is continuous throughout the document. Marginal notes have no number and use the normal font size. Since marginal notes involve package configuration and page margin settings, they are not covered in this article — only footnotes are introduced here.

To add a footnote, simply append \footnote{your footnote content} after the relevant text:

\documentclass{report}          % Use the report class
\title{Report File}             % Document title
% Author name; \thanks generates a footnote acknowledgement
\author{Noname\thanks{Thanks to the readers.}}
\date{\today}                   % Automatically inserts today's date
\begin{document}                % Document begins
\maketitle                      % Renders the title page

\begin{abstract}                % Abstract environment begins
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
\end{abstract}                  % Abstract environment ends

\chapter{Introduction}          % Chapter 1

Proin sed lorem sed est malesuada dictum...

\section{Background Theories}   % Section

Vivamus ut consequat nisl...

\subsection{Purpose}            % Subsection

% \footnote{} inserts a footnote directly after the text
Sed sagittis quis est in mollis.\footnote{Curabitur vel tortor a lorem commodo volutpat eget nec dui.}

\chapter*{Acknowledgements}     % Unnumbered chapter

Cras elementum dui a nulla volutpat...

\end{document}                  % Document ends

Compilers

Before entering the world of LaTeX, the most important step is to set up your environment. You must follow one golden rule: always install the compiler before the editor! This is because the editor is simply a place for typing — it relies on the backend compiler engine to handle all the typesetting logic. If you do it in the wrong order, you may run into issues where the editor cannot detect the compiler’s path.

If you do not want to install a large software package on your local machine, or if you need to collaborate with others, Overleaf is a highly recommended option. Overleaf is a powerful web-based platform that runs entirely in your browser, with the latest TeX Live environment built in — no installation required. It is a great solution for those who prefer a lightweight approach. However, Overleaf occasionally goes under maintenance, so it is still worth learning how to set up a local compiler and editor.

Editors

Compared to compilers, where there are strict recommendations depending on your operating system, the choice of editor is much more flexible. An editor is essentially a “text input interface” — as long as it can produce a .tex file, even your computer’s default Notepad could technically serve as your LaTeX tool.

That said, choosing a professional editor with features such as syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and live preview will make your writing experience significantly more efficient.

Using Arguments

In \documentclass[12pt]{article}, you can see two different types of brackets, each with its own role in LaTeX:

• Optional argument [...]: Typically used to adjust settings (such as the font size 12pt). These arguments can be left empty — if omitted, the system will simply apply the default value.
• Mandatory argument {...}: Defines the core content of a command (such as the document class article). If this is left empty or omitted, the compiler will throw an error because it does not know what to act on.

Using Commands

A LaTeX command typically starts with a backslash \ and ends at the first “non-letter” character (such as a space, punctuation mark, or digit). This can lead to a common problem:

This is my first \LaTeX typesetting example.

Because the space after \LaTeX is consumed as the command terminator — it gets “eaten up” — the output becomes: This is my first LaTeXtypesetting example., with the words squashed together!

To avoid this, there are three standard solutions:

1. {\LaTeX}: Isolate the command inside curly braces.
2. \LaTeX{}: Add an empty pair of curly braces after the command.
3. \LaTeX\: Add a backslash followed by a space to force the output of one space.

\documentclass[12pt]{article}

\title{My First Document}
\author{Author}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

This is my first \LaTeX typesetting example.    % Words squash together

This is my first {\LaTeX} typesetting example.  % Method 1: isolate with curly braces

This is my first \LaTeX{} typesetting example.  % Method 2: add empty curly braces after the command

This is my first \LaTeX\ typesetting example.   % Method 3: add backslash and space to force output

\end{document}

Using Comments

The comment symbol % can be placed anywhere in the document. Any text that follows it on the same line will be ignored by the compiler and is usually displayed in a different colour in the editor. Comments are useful not only for writing notes, but also for “experimenting” — when you want to test whether a certain setting looks better, you can “comment out” the old setting rather than deleting it, making it easy to switch back and compare the differences.

Using Environments

LaTeX has a powerful structure called an environment, which defines a specific region in which the enclosed content follows a particular set of typesetting rules.

Every environment must have both an opening and a closing tag:

\begin{environment name}
The content affected goes here ...
\end{environment name}

The most fundamental environment is document. All content you want to appear in the final output must be placed inside it. This forms the standard skeleton of a LaTeX document:

\documentclass[12pt]{article}
% This is the preamble

\begin{document}
This is the "body" ...
\end{document}

Core Concept: Separation of Content and Formatting

• LaTeX allows you to focus on “writing content”, while the “professional typesetting” is handled by the compiler.
• Unlike Word, LaTeX uses commands to precisely control the structure of a document.

Environment Setup: Order Matters

• Golden rule: You must install the compiler first (e.g., TeX Live, MiKTeX, MacTeX), and then install the editor (e.g., TeXstudio, VS Code).
• If you want to skip the installation process, Overleaf is the most convenient cloud-based alternative.

Quick Syntax Reference

• Command prefix: All commands begin with a backslash \.
• Argument types: Square brackets [] are optional “add-ons”; curly braces {} are required and cannot be omitted.
• Spaces and line breaks: Multiple spaces are treated as one; use \\ or a blank line to create a new paragraph.
• Document structure: A complete document consists of a “Preamble” and a “Body” wrapped inside the document environment.