
Welcome to the Course, This video lesson will provide a brief overview of the course.
The goal of this lesson is to create an overleaf account, and be able to create a simple article using overleaf as our online LaTeX editor.
Install the Mac tech distribution on macOS and set up the Tech Studio LaTeX editor, then create a simple LaTeX article to verify the setup.
Install Tech Live on a Linux system using OS-specific commands, then install the LaTeX editor Tech Studio and launch it to compile a simple document to verify the setup.
The main.tex file used in this tutorial is available to download in the resources
In the following lectures we will walk through various tutorials which cover the core features of LaTeX, please follow along in your own LaTeX editor.
Learn to add bullet points in LaTeX by creating an introduction section with the itemize or enumerate environments and updating the table of contents.
Learn to stylize text in LaTeX with bold, italic, underline, small caps, sans serif, and typewriter fonts, adjust sizes, and apply color and highlights using xcolor and colorbox.
Organize a LaTeX document by adding sections, subsections, and subsubsections, including unnumbered variants, and learn how the table of contents updates across multiple builds.
Please download the BearLearnsLaTeX.png from the additional resources to complete the lesson.
Learn to create and customize tables in LaTeX, using the tabular and table environments, align columns, add lines and captions, and define custom commands for styling with colors.
You can download any of the files we have worked on in the previous lectures and this final lectures from the additional resources.
Downloadable files are available from the lecture resources.
Explore LaTeX lengths from paragraph indent and paragraph skip to column gaps and baselineskip, using the set length command and custom lengths to adapt to font size.
Explore LaTeX spacing and alignment commands, including v space, h space, fill, and set stretch, to control vertical and horizontal gaps and center or justify text.
Learn to customize table of contents in LaTeX, including renaming the contents title and depth. Explore adding unnumbered sections like a preface, add contents line, setcounter, and managing appendix numbering.
Explore LaTeX font switching commands, such as bf, it, sc, tt, and family switches, and set the main font with fontspec to Times New Roman.
Explore how to customize section title formatting in LaTeX using the title format from the title seq package, adjusting numbering, spacing, font style, and size for all sections.
Learn to craft an academic article in LaTeX, building a two-column layout with a one-column title, custom sections, figures, tables, and references, using advanced packages.
Create and format LaTeX tables with practical examples, using tabular and table environments, lines, color, and cell merging. Customize columns and captions for aesthetically pleasing results.
Learn to wrap tables and figures in LaTeX using the wrap table and wrap fig environments, set placement with r, l, i, o, and adjust width and line height.
Learn to create custom columns in LaTeX using the array package, including fixed-width p columns and pre and post modifiers. Define reusable column types for centered and bold headers.
Learn to color tables in LaTeX using xcolor, including cell color, row color, and pre-column modifiers; color columns and create alternating rows with row colors.
Learn to add and create figures in LaTeX, including includegraphics, vector graphics, subfigures, wrapped and side-caption figures, and to draw with tics and PGF plots for data and math visuals.
Learn to create and arrange subfigures in LaTeX using the subcaption package, include graphics, and label and reference subfigures with ref and subref commands for a cohesive figure with captions.
Learn to add vector graphics in LaTeX using the include graphics command. Compare vector PDFs with raster PNGs and discover why saving vector graphics as PDFs yields scalable, high-quality results.
Learn to add wrapped figures in LaTeX using the wrapfig package and wrapfig environment, set position and width, and adjust line height for space around images.
Use the ticks package in LaTeX to draw lines and basic shapes with the ticks picture environment, configuring color, thickness, arrows, coordinates, and labeled points.
Learn to use for loops in ticks to draw and label shapes with single or multiple variables, including nested loops, relative coordinates, and text inside nodes.
Master writing and formatting math in LaTeX with AMS math, covering inline and display modes, Greek letters, SI units, fractions, integrals, brackets, matrices, and aligned equations with references.
Explore how to write equations in LaTeX with AMS math, using inline math and display math, control sizing with display style, and manage numbering via the equation environment.
Explore Greek letters in LaTeX with the AMS symbol package, including lowercase, uppercase, and variants like var epsilon, and use Si unit X for SI units.
Explore LaTeX math functions commands, from sine and cos to log and lim, plus max, min, and custom operators defined with declare math operator, with correct spacing and non-italic text.
Learn how to write common math operators in LaTeX using commands such as leq, approx, infty, neck, and geq, and apply them to inequalities, dot products, and vector notation.
Learn to write matrices in LaTeX with matrix environments and the array package, controlling brackets, vertical spacing, and dot commands for horizontal, diagonal, and vertical dots.
Explore lists and code snippets in LaTeX, mastering itemize, enumerate, and description, customizing bullets and spacing, nesting, and including code with listings and tcolorbox for colored, highlighted code demonstrations.
Explore the LaTeX description environment to create a bold-faced list of definitions, customize margins and labels, and format entries with mini page and center options.
Explore the tea color box package to customize boxes with color, title, size, padding, and split content into upper and lower parts.
Learn to include and style code snippets in LaTeX with the listings package, using lstlisting, lstset, and lstdefinestyle to highlight keywords, comments, and strings.
Explore how to blend the tcolorbox and listings packages with the TKB listings environment to print LaTeX and Python code inside color boxes, including styling, options, and side-by-side outputs.
Learn how to create and manage LaTeX custom commands with newcommand, renewcommand, and providecommand, handle spacing with xspace, and build argument-based macros for bold and colored text.
Learn to create and manage custom floats in LaTeX, define a case study float with caption, label, and references, and build case study boxes and lists with the float package.
Learn how private commands and internal macros in LaTeX work, using makeatletter and makeatother to access the at symbol and redefine maketitle in the article class.
Create a custom document class in LaTeX to separate style from content, inheriting from the article class and redefining the title and section formatting.
Explore options handling in a LaTeX document class or package, using declare option and its star variant, then process options to set default color.
Create a bib file with book, article, PhD thesis, and tech report entries, cite using unique keys, and apply styles like plain, alpha, or unsrt in LaTeX.
Learn to craft a custom LaTeX title page using the title page environment, add a university logo with includegraphics, and redefine make title for flexible formatting.
Want to create beautifully formatted documents without fighting your computer? Welcome to An Introduction to LaTeX.
This course is a hands-on, beginner-friendly introduction to LaTeX designed to get you creating professional-quality documents fast. Through focused sections — including a LaTeX Crash Course, Document Architecture, Tables, Figures, Maths and a full walkthrough on building a custom thesis — you'll learn by doing, not just watching. Every concept is paired with practical, real-world examples, so you’ll immediately apply what you learn. By the end, you’ll be confidently typesetting everything from simple documents to academic-grade theses — all with clean formatting, perfect structure, and zero frustration.
Learn Essential Skills - Get up and running with LaTeX from scratch. You'll learn how to install LaTeX, write your first document, and confidently use essential elements like sections, bullet points, lists, images, tables, and math equations. No prior experience or programming knowledge is needed.
Build a Skill That Sets You Apart - LaTeX proficiency is a standout skill in academia, STEM fields, publishing, and beyond. By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped with the ability to produce elegant, reliable documents that make a strong impression — whether you’re submitting a paper, applying for a job, or teaching others.
Create Beautiful Documents - Discover how to build beautifully formatted documents with precise control over layout and styling. You'll create research papers, reports, CVs, and more — all with professional typesetting, perfect alignment, and consistent formatting. You’ll also learn to manage bibliographies, references, and cross-links with ease.
By the end of the course, you'll be able to create clean, organized, and professional documents from scratch—confidently and efficiently.
No prior experience is needed. If you’re ready to take control of your documents and level up your formatting skills, this course is the perfect place to start.