How to write a thesis in latex

The preamble

tex file is the root document and is the . tex file that will draw the whole document together. The first thing we need to choose is a document class. The article class isn’t designed for writing long documents (such as a thesis) so we’ll choose the report class, but we could also choose the book class.

Latex is great if there are equations, images, tables etc in your thesis. I’m partial to it as I think a latex document looks better, but it’s really not necessary in text-heavy fields.

Here we provide a guide to getting started on writing your thesis in LaTeX, using a standard template which is pre-loaded into Overleaf. We have a large number of thesis templates in our online library, and you can upload your own if your university provides a set of LaTeX template files.

Write tiny immediately after begin{table} . If you don’t use a (floating) table environment, enclose your (e.g.) tabular environment in a group and write tiny after begingroup .

To create a document from a template, in the Project Management page click New Project, a drop-down menu will display, below Templates click on the document type you are about to write. You will be redirected to a list of templates where you can select one that is suitable.

Changing default font typeface

The font can also be changed for a specific element in the document. The command fontfamily{qcr}selectfont will set the TeX gyre cursor font typeface, whose fontcode is qcr , for the text inside the braces. A lot more LaTeX font typefaces are available, see the reference guide.

Yes, Overleaf is free to use; you can create, edit & share your projects with a quick sign-up and nothing to install.

Downloading Overleaf template files

Open up a blank thesis template on the Overleaf site, then click on Project at the top of the screen. A green box labeled “Download as ZIP” will show up in the left column, and you can choose which types of files you want to download.

Overleaf also provides a free plan — simply register here to get started. You can change plans or change your account at any time. You won’t be billed until after your 7 day trial expires.

Quick guide to copy a project: In the Project Management page, click the box right before the project you want to copy click More => Make a copy, enter a name for your project then click Copy.

The tabular environment is the default LaTeX method to create tables. You must specify a parameter to this environment, {c c c} tells LaTeX that there will be three columns and that the text inside each one of them must be centred.

Including images in your LaTeX document requires adding: usepackage{graphicx} to the beginning/preamble of your document. includegraphics{ } command tells LaTeX to insert the image. To upload an image, click the upload button, and upload your image file.

It’s really easy, just add the caption{Some caption} and inside the braces write the text to be shown. The placement of the caption depends on where you place the command; if it’s above the includegraphics then the caption will be on top of it, if it’s below then the caption will also be set below the figure.

In LaTeX you can easily reference a section by using label{} next to a section and then ref{} to create the reference. However, the reference only includes the number of the section, or the page with pageref{} .

Include index{entry} commands wherever you want an index entry. Include usepackage{makeidx} and makeindex in the preamble. Put a printindex command where the index is to appear, normally before the end{document} command.

Referencing sections and chapters

begin{figure}[h] centering includegraphics[width=0.3linewidth]{overleaf-logo} caption{This image will be referenced below.} label{fig:leaf} end{figure} You can reference images; for instance, Figure ref{fig:leaf} shows the textit{Overleaf} logo.