Qualifizierungsportal der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

 

Many software products can be used to write texts. However, many of those that you may already know, like LibreOffice or Microsoft Word, pose challenges when used in a scientific context. LaTeX is designed to circumvent these challenges. Which of these are most important for you depends on your field of research, other tools you use and, last but not least, personal preferences, but they may include: LaTeX plays well with version contol systems like git, LaTex documents typically stay small, LaTeX can easily be edited not only by humans, but also by software, LaTeX can set mathematical expressions beautifully, LaTeX may already be the standard in your field of research.

 

After this workshop you appreciate the differences between document editors like LibreOffice or Microsoft Word and systems like LaTeX. Being a hands-on workshop, the main focus will lie on you making your own first steps using LaTeX, if possible on your own computer. This workshop alone will likely not be enough for a beginner to use LaTeX in the future without further help or reference at all, but aims to provide a quick start as main author and a solid ground to write scientific publications in collaboration with more advanced users.