How to write a thesis using LaTeX **full tutorial**

[@DrTrefor]

My thank to www.overleaf.com for sponsoring today's video. I've used them for years prior to being sponsored and their cloud based LaTeX editor has so many useful free or premium features that just makes it easier to write a thesis.

[@StephenBoothUK]

Overleaf is da bomb. I can edit my documents on my PC, my MacBook, someone else’s PC or Mac, or my iPad! I’m supposed to be starting a Level 7 Apprenticeship in Data Science later this year. Prepping for that has highlighted that I’ve forgotten pretty much all of the statistics I learned back in the 1980s and early 90s (I graduated in Biochemistry in 1993). Taking the principle that the best way to learn is to try to teach, I’m writing up what I’m learning in the form of a textbook in LaTeX.

[@ruudveen71]

Hi Trevor, I was wondering what software you use when you write handwritten comments on the screen. Cheers Ruud

[@astrriv]

It's a pity that I didn't find your video earlier.😂

[@bastianfrom77]

Ulimate tip: Get the tex-file from somebody who recently published his thesis. Keep all the layout-config issues, try to successful run it on your tex system, just fill it with your content - in case you are not sure how to write a nice table, exotic equation, etc. there is a good chance your colleague already figured it out, otherwise it is 5min of google it.

[@prajaktaghodake3790]

Tecx file format link please

[@KT-dj4iy]

@@prajaktaghodake3790 , ermm, how about 2:40? 🤨 Also, Googling for 'latex templates' produces lots of useful hits.

[@Salamaleikum80]

5 minute? i am trying to get the chapters properly displayed and work on it for hours now. It just doesn't work correctly.

[@bastianfrom77]

@@KT-dj4iyThe problem is, that every university has different regulations, sometime you have differences between different departments. Google wont help here. The safest way is to get the source file of a "good" thesis that is not older then 2-3 yrs.

[@MrNicePotato]

@@Salamaleikum80 Try overleaf. They have a ton of nice templates complete with example code for figures, subfigures, tables etc.

[@michael-gary-scott]

First year engineering student here. Getting in the habit of using TeX early and my lecturers seem to appreciate it. Sure, it takes a little more effort to finish a write up, but having consistent style throughout everything I do means that when I start revising, I can easily switch between documents and have the same layout. Also, writing equations feels so much more streamlined than say, Microsoft Word.

[@nbeck7762]

When I was in Mech-E classes, it was required for pre-lab reports. You get used to it after awhile.

[@ReelyRacing]

you can actually input formulas using latex in word

[@idjles]

I had a choice of using Microsoft Word or Latex for my thesis in 1990, 32 years ago. I chose Microsoft Word - it was easier, faster and I don't regret it. The compilation time for Latex was terrible and the effort to view my document was horrendous. My thesis was full of very complex algebra and calculus - the Microsoft formula editor was fantastic and instant. Footnotes, index, cross-references, appendices, formatting, styles : it was all there and easy and obvious. I think it's just like the Apple-Microsoft battle - it's just a choice.

[@StephenBoothUK]

@@idjles in 1992/3 I wrote my final year project in WordPerfect, I’d never heard of LaTeX at the time. I was studying Biochemistry so LaTeX possibly wouldn’t have been as useful as if I’d been studying maths or physics. Were I doing it now I would, however, be using LaTeX due to the number of graphs I had and access to Chemtex for molecular structures. There’s also the fact that now there are a lot of add on tools that pretty much plugin (e.g. Mendeley and Zotero for reference management) and libraries of LaTeX fragments that mean you can pretty much just download stuff that I had to create from scratch.

[@sarahweissman3570]

As a mechanical engineer you already have a leg up on your peers if you know latex! Many don’t and it shows. I have a math degree and I’m undergrad I thought my aeronautical engineer friend to use latex and all of her professors loved her lol

[@_clemens_]

Wrote my thesis two years ago...and it's funny how much similar my latex is built up. Few tips after reviewing my latex document, feel free to use them (I know some of them might be included in upcoming videos): - I recommend making a folder for each chapter and it this folder a figures/images/whatever folder together with the tex file of the chapter. This way it's easier to preview images for a certain chapter. Otherwise the list gets so long you can search for a long time searching for a particular file name. Also it allows to easily extract a single chapter if you want to include it into another document (e.g. if your start with your PhD afterwards and a chapter of your thesis will be a chapter of your PhD as well). -Make at least two versions of compilable documents, one for publishing online without empty pages (oneside), and one for printing (twoside, \cleardoublepage after each chapter to get the begin of the chapter always on an odd page). You can normally use the same "main" section and include it in both versions to keep them in sync with the latest version (\cleardoublepage will be ignored for oneside), and the beginning you make different (Documentclass parameters, extra white pages). With this technique of including the same main you can easily make more variations if wanted (e.g. a version with extened abstract and one without, make one for different page sizes, make a black and white variant for alpha versions, etc.) -Use \afterpage{\blankpage} if you want to add blank pages (For printed version handy at some places, you don't want to add blank pages manually and risking to forget this or mess it up or have to do this for each copy you print. Also always include 2 blank pages at once if you print twoside, as this is 1 blank page when printing. -You can use \pagenumbering{gobble} for everything before the main section, this wil be numbered then in Roman numbers. Reset to latin after the table of contents with \setcounter{page}{1}. It's imho nicer when your main book starts again at page 1. -Put your settings and usepackages and similar things in a separate file (it's quite basic in the video, it will get messier often in real life) (and use \include to include it in the mains). The mains will stay very clean this way. -If you get a template for a titlepage of your university in Word and there is not latex template (or you have difficulties with the latex template to be compatible with your latex document for some reason): you can still use it, just make the page, create a pdf of it and include the pdf. The one annoying thing about it is when you have to fill in a date of handing in, then you need to do this last minute...but 9/10 this is the due date you fill in there ;)

[@yash1152]

> _-Put your settings and usepackages and similar things in a separate file (it's quite basic in the video, it will get messier often in real life) (and use \include to include it in the mains). The mains will stay very clean this way_ thanks for this (:

[@emilycarter8922]

You might want to check this out kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2fPmKuKpNKKmq8

[@everyzan-m2q]

TIP: Just adding \after{\blankpage} wont work for inserting a blank page, you need \usepackage{afterpage} and then: ewcommand\blankpage{% ull \thispagestyle{empty}% \addtocounter{page}{-1}% ewpage} in the preamble

[@germad5278]

For the titlepage custom template: I had a Word version of it, saved as .pdf, cropped the white spaces on the sides using an online free tool, then added in latex as follows: \begin{document} \begin{center} \thispagestyle{empty} %suppress page number \includegraphics[scale=1]{YourTemplate} \afterpage{ ull\thispagestyle{empty}\clearpage} %add a blank page after \end{center}

[@douwehuysmans5959]

Rather than having an article class you can have a report class. And with a report class you have chapters. Each chapter then starts on its own page.

[@reddevil0609]

I should be done writing my thesis, but here I am three weeks before my defense date, writing and shifting what I have from word to LaTeX. I don't know how I could've completed two years of a master's in physics using just word, but I'm glad that I have this video to get by. Thank you so much, Trefor!

[@Elbrunosh]

How is it going one week before? 😀😀

[@Levy957]

@@Elbrunosh how was it ?

[@PrototypeHQ1]

update?

[@dxg1396]

lol did i write this comment late at night on an alt account?

[@reddevil0609]

​@@PrototypeHQ1 Successfully written and defended! Wasn't my best work, and I wasn't all too happy with the final product, but it's complete and I'm proud of it. I'll live to plan better for my Ph.D. Thanks for asking guys :)

[@MahmoudMohamed-gu2mh]

Oooh Man, I turned a blind eye to Latex, after I watched some videos to other instructors.. Once I watched this video, I realized, that I have missed too much.. Thanks so much

[@DrTrefor]

we have a convert lol!

[@ajo2007bial]

On my university LaTeX was mandatory for master thesis. Our facility even had its own template. At first it quite difficulty, but later on you start to appreciate it. To this day I still use LaTeX for my resume

[@ErikaAlejandraGonzalez]

I did my undergraduate final project in LaTex and I loved it, no headaches with the bibliography or the table of contents or the formulas. I even got an honorable mention! Totally recommend it. (Btw my career is software engineering)

[@fabiolimadasilva3398]

Someone will have headaches trying to fix errors in other things. And after one minute of compilation, Overleaf breaks.

[@ErikaAlejandraGonzalez]

@@fabiolimadasilva3398 didn’t have that much headaches ☺️ would’ve done the same all over again

[@fabiolimadasilva3398]

@@ErikaAlejandraGonzalez Oi, Erika! Eu estou tendo muitas dificuldades. Parar a cada momento para pesquisar no Google como se faz um comando é muito estressante. Minha tese já passou das 200 páginas e fui obrigado a comprar uma assinatura de 15 dólares para aumentar o tempo de compilação. A única vantagem que vejo é o fato do LaTex atualizar o sumário, a relação de figuras, etc. AUTOMATICAMENTE. No mais perde-se muito com coisas desnessárias. I BEG YOUR PARDON FOR WRITTING IN PORTUGUESE. I JUST WOKE UP AND THE ENGLISH BUTTON IN MY BRAIN DOESN´T WORK WELL...

[@setherine9071]

I'm doing my undergrad project in software engineering this year too and our professors made us learn LaTeX ahead of time for it.

[@ErikaAlejandraGonzalez]

@@setherine9071 Great decision! It was great in terms of the bibliography citation, list of contents and esthetically features, such as pagination, margins, etc. Once you get used to LaTex, you realize is much easier than MS Word and you will do everything there haha

[@usmanafzali9003]

Thank you so much for this video. I was literally looking for one just three nights ago that shows how to do a thesis from scratch, and not just using templates. This is GREAT!

[@DrTrefor]

Glad I could help!

[@usmanafzali9003]

@@DrTrefor You did a great job! I couldn't get the APA referencing working though. Could I expect a short guideline in an upcoming video?

[@Heleyrine]

Hello! Thank you so much for this video. I'm glad you're covering this topic at more length. I'm getting a mathematics degree, so I'm sure you can imagine how useful this is for me. Your first video regarding the subject and your great ability to convey meaning was the nail in the coffin for me to actually start learning Latex. Now I'm quite obsessed; I even wrote a presentation (for which, one traditionally uses slides) on Dedekind Cuts using Latex, and it looked more like a paper than a presentation. I have no regrets. On a side note, learning Latex made learning Python more comprehensible for me as I had no prior experience writing "codes" beforehand. My point is, thank you so much for your effort and wonderful teaching. It really did have an impact on someone's academic experience🌻

[@niamatkhan5563]

6:15 6:15

[@niamatkhan5563]

6:15

[@shahiraiqbal4330]

Thank you so so much, I'm not into computer and coding but you make it really really easy for me to my write my thesis... yours teaching skills are great ..... may Allah bless you and grant you house in jannah... Ameen

[@Romaji602]

Thank you for the video, I was really struggling with organizing the images of my thesis and I was starting to gave up. Until I ran into your video

[@ZackRekeSkjell]

I've been using LaTeX for years and thought I knew it, but I hadn't used it for large documents before writing my master thesis. Then I ran into quite a few problems and this video thaught me a lot of different nuances that makes the experience a lot smoother.

[@khmeramzing-sport5604]

First year engineering student here. Getting in the habit of using TeX early and my lecturers seem to appreciate it. Sure, it takes a little more effort to finish a write up, but having consistent style throughout everything I do means that when I start revising, I can easily switch between documents and have the same layout. Also, writing equations feels so much more streamlined than say, Microsoft Word.

[@oladamola8690]

HOW CAN I LIKE THIS VIDEO A MILLION TIMES! Thank you so much Dr. Trefor!

[@NamiberGames]

I got the template from my teacher 4 years ago and since then I always used the same. I even recently wrote my Bachelor’s thesis with the same template.

[@aashsyed1277]

finally, was waiting for 100 years for this!!

[@DrTrefor]

haha ya took a long time to come out! Final LaTeX vid in the series should be out in just a few weeks though:)

[@jessedaas6365]

You do not know how much I needed this video!

I really hope to use your video very soon (as soon I can get results to write my PhD thesis). Thanks!!!

[@DrTrefor]

good luck with the results!

[@hrperformance]

Yes!! The last video on Latex was sooo good. I can't wait to get stuck in to this one. Super channel. Thanks for all the awesome videos

[@DrTrefor]

Yay! Thank you!

[@samholmes1684]

Want to thank you so much for making this video. I tried writing the first 20 pages of my dissertation in Word but it was terrible; text boxes disappearing just to reappear out of thin air later when pictures were imported, page breaks happening where they shouldn't be, etc. It was driving me crazy. LaTeX is so much better and I thank you for making this initially daunting package easy to understand.

[@abhishankpaul]

We have LaTex as an elective course in the Bachelor's programme of physics Major in my University. Initial learning curve is steep for me atleast. I am still struggling a lot but I am still enjoying it given the fact that LaTex gives us full freedom to customize documents and frees is from the limitations of word processors. Just a terminal along with a text editor and document viewer, and I am good to go

[@kippie80]

Went thru university with this tool. used terminal and modem from home. no $$$ for 486 machine. made me learn unix and still used today.

[@Immortal-Daiki]

Economics student here. I work a lot with statistical and econometric modelling in my term papers and research. Idek why I've never heard of LaTeX. It's much more convenient than MS Office or even Google Docs urggh. LaTeX makes a lot of sense. Writing many mathematical formulas on a MS Word file is such a hassle. Google Docs is even worse

[@gunaysoni6792]

I have a submission due tomorrow. Perfect timing.

[@Gqtor]

Thank you so much for this video! I'm a 17 year old high school student, and I used this video to write my first math paper (now published preprint via arXiv). Was a huge help as LaTeX seemed really daunting when I first started. I'm now onto my 3rd paper; I can't thank you enough for the introduction!

[@captainsnake8515]

Did a double take seeing gqtor in the comments of a math video wtf

[@Gqtor]

@@captainsnake8515 lmao what's up

[@montserratpenaloza-amion9204]

Omg I am just starting to write my thesis and your video is a lifesaver! Thank you soooo much! :) I have really enjoyed your video and I have learned so much! :D

[@raselahmedkhan4121]

Whatever LaTeX I have learned is all because of your videos. Thank mister.

[@DrTrefor]

Glad I could help!

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

Damn! Prof. Trefor is back with a bam!!

[@bvviktor]

I wrote my thesis using LaTeX in Texmaker as a mechanical engineer. Thank you for this tutorial video, i think it can help a lot of people.

[@mathhack8647]

You are enjoying teaching. It's gene wired skills and This is your strength . Many love what you are doing. Thank you .

[@jackfrost9259]

Wow! I can't believe how short it is. My meteorology PhD thesis was just over 300 pages long. I guess if you prove something mathematically, you don't need a lot of waffle! I wrote my thesis in Latex, and I thought it was fairly simple. Trying to get figures and captions and references to work in Microsoft Word is horrendous!

[@DrTrefor]

Ya it just totally depends what you are doing. Some math PhDs definitely will be far longer, but others not. I have a rather infamous six month portion of my life that contributed to a half page:D

[@yash1152]

yeah, MS office sucks all time - the MS word sucks, MS powerpoint sucks, MS access sucks.

[@michi9955]

@@yash1152 Except it doesn't really. If you have a good template, it's super easy to use. Plus collaboration is much easier than in Latex.

[@amey97]

Thank You, Dr.Bazett!!

[@annakquinn7084]

You can start by using Lyx as a bridge

[@insanemaniac9317]

I'm definitely going to use this since I already work my assignments on obsidian md already and it's easy to just move my stuff there

[@Warwipf]

I'm so glad I subbed back in Analysis 2, this is a gold mine.

[@ahmedkchok4382]

Thank Sir Bazett! You're my ultimate overleaf reference.👏👏👏

[@sabirdvd]

Nice video, I think for PhD thesis also is important to know how to do figures (histogram, graph ..etc.) in pure latex using pgfplots ..and Gnuplot LATEX.

[@DrTrefor]

Great suggestion!

[@Dr.GeoDave]

Back in 1981, my Masters was written using QED line editor and ROFF text formatter on a Honeywell mainframe. It was all about words!

[@perlyax]

If you have some time to learn and a Unix-like system or WSL go for VIM+Latex+Git. You'll spend some time configuring and learning how to use everything but if you are patient you'll get a powerful tool you can use for free and with a faster flow. And not only for latex, you could use it eventually for any programming language also. A big learning curve but you won't need any other IDE again.

[@blackinkorea7738]

you made it look very easy, it was really entertaining. Thank you

[@daryltemmo2542]

I started learning LaTex with a book but after 2 chapters, I felt that I wasn't able to build a simple document with Latex. So I came on KZbin and I saw @DrTrefor breaking down LaTex like basic arithmetic in just 30 minutes. Now I feel confident and doing my Thesis with LaTex will save me hours of working with Microsoft word :)

[@ludwigb6334]

I love how much fun you have explaining it

[@hrx2470]

I am watching this vid in Robert library thank you, Dr. Trefor.

[@DrTrefor]

Very cool! Miss uoft

[@luckychouhan3393]

Thank you very much professor I can't tell you how helpful your Latex tutorials are because if I go to search all these things by myself it would be very tough task to get all tricks that you're sharing with us.❤

[@vahisht1]

Really helpful video, now I'm just waiting for your next video.

[@DrTrefor]

Thank you so much! Will have another LaTeX video out soon:)

[@benjaminbenjamin8834]

So Amazing Tutorial.

[@hk3676]

I just needed this vid thanks

[@sdl9258]

Excellent. Really good video & addresses many queries

[@christopherwalsh3101]

This is the video I've been needing

[@DrTrefor]

Nice!

[@patphade]

Wonderful tutorial

[@0ManishSharma0]

I enjoy your style of explaining things

[@marouanaitslimani6460]

I really love how you explain it all. Thank you for uploading such great content.

[@SamueleCastiglioni]

i love this, thank you very much

[@mwesigwadavid5704]

This is a great video for all beginners in research writing

[@TheManjuo]

History, sharing and collaborating are free features.

[@Alessio-tt6pp]

You saved my life. Thank you for this video

[@jasonkey6335]

English is not my mother language. I must say, your english speaking is really clear enough to understand.

[@JBatesProductions]

This seems very useful for someone in electrical engineering

[@DrTrefor]

Definitely!

[@deyomash]

in my first year of studyung physics (2012) we were shown Latex by the profs in a short seminar to use it to write our essays etc. I haven't seen a single word page ever since. I don't understand a single person not using it.

[@Finnspin_unicycles]

Word has it's purposes. But it's not good a writing a thesis (or even papers).

[@sunandpal]

This is wonderful, Thanks a lot. Latex is awesome 🙂

[@aayush_dutt]

Thanks Trever this is amazing! Just a tiny nit: You can do a little color correction in post production to make the green-screen video blend in more with the screen recording.

[@pravinpoudel1307]

I think it is better to see tutor on bigger image rather than small corner when he is not obstructing anything !!!

[@hass_ra80]

Hello Thank you Dr for your beautiful videos. I would like to ask you if we can get access to the Latex files in your videos? Regards

[@jamescaley9942]

Jesus, does that still exist? How many decades of development effort and MSWord still cannot compete.

[@andrewmcc6935]

So glad we were taught how to use Latex as a first year in my physics undergrad course 👌🏻

[@welcometosevenworld]

Really a big thanku sir ...your video helped me and my classmate to make our master's thesis report 😀

[@Faith_el]

Super AMAZING!!

[@spacelem]

I wrote my thesis in LaTeX (with vim), and submitted it in 2012. Technically OverLeaf did exist back then, but sadly I was unaware of it. It is a great website though.

[@paultristanwagner]

Awesome video man :) I always had an ambivalent relationship with latex because many editors have really limited autocompletion abilities.

[@videosschool8125]

good, realy your explanation is very clear

[@ozanyigit9820]

Thank you so much :))

[@مصطفىعبدالجبارجداح]

بارك الله فيكم وجزاكم الله خير جزاء المحسنين

[@leeming1317]

Awwww! What do you mean "Thesis left to the reader!" 😝 Just a little math joke since our books love leaving proofs for us to do! 😂

[@tarbe2007]

It's great job, go ahead Dr this is one of very useful program for anyone study Mathematics.

[@linuxcosta7837]

Thanks a lot for the explanation!!! That's awesome use latex!!

[@ulysses_grant]

Finally. Thanks so much for this video.

[@DrTrefor]

My pleasure!

[@davidwilcox1833]

Wrote my Physical Chemistry dissertation in Latex! Several papers as well!

[@harisno20]

When i was a freshman, latex wasn’t relate for me. But now, this video really2 related since i’m in the final year

[@DrTrefor]

Ya it’s a little much for freshmen, although honestly not a bad idea to get started early

[@vipnirala]

You can hit control + s or cms + s for compilation

[@dxrbkn5145]

I already know how to use latex but I'm just keeping this for a reference in the near future hahaha BY THE WAY you should do a tutorial with the command tabular, when I do a table with a lot of horizontal values, it looks well... Weird and I would like some tips to make it look better lol

[@mastershooter64]

Lol I just started using latex for fun a few days ago and then this video comes out

[@DrTrefor]

ha the KZbin algorithm gods know everything!

[@trademarktaz]

Just discovered your channel and I love your videos, subbed

[@DrTrefor]

Welcome aboard!

[@mdttv6967]

Nice one, thanks!

[@shubhamshriramshinde3696]

thanks a lot sir, i got 1 credit from this video

[@elliottlove9221]

Overleaf for life

[@brightkatey88]

You're the best!

[@mrsecret28]

Thank you sir

[@tamerhawamdeh557]

Thank you , it was helpful for me

[@husainh865]

Very Useful Indeed

[@nawazishalvi9886]

Thank you,, Dr. Trefor

[@starlight_99]

please make tutorial for how to make types of signature index for teachers on pages like one side signature at left or right, two signature index side by side etc

[@keeli5575]

You don't need to have a LaTeX editor. Just use the CLI like it was designed.

[@angie-mx5gv]

thank you so much

[@ioanabiris3472]

Thank you!!

[@simonchkuaseli3985]

Great job many thanks!

[@ernesttafolong877]

It is really amazin!!!! Many thanks for this compelling video!!! Really usefull.

[@DrTrefor]

Glad it was helpful!

[@harisjaved1379]

Heheh I had to do that as well for my group theory thesis (Sylow Theorems) .used overleaf! It was super easy and the best thing was to share it with my advisor! Great video! I think for Math/ Stat latex is a must and it looks so much professionally done vs word which is so yucky!!

[@VisuallyExplained]

Very informative video, nicely done!

[@corradoforza]

This is very useful

[@berihunnigussaduresa5529]

The dedication and the likes are not included in the table of contents. How can we do that please, because they also should be included?