Welcome! In just 30 minutes, you’ll go from complete beginner to creating your first professional LaTeX document. No prior experience needed.
Time to complete: 30 minutes
Prerequisites: None
What you’ll learn: Document creation, formatting, images, math, and tables

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What is LaTeX?

LaTeX (pronounced “LAH-tek” or “LAY-tek”) is a document preparation system that produces professional-quality documents. Unlike word processors where you see the final result as you type, LaTeX uses plain text files with markup commands that get compiled into beautiful documents.

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Why use LaTeX?

Think of LaTeX like HTML for documents. You write structured text, and LaTeX handles all the formatting consistently and professionally. It’s especially powerful for:
  • Academic papers and theses
  • Mathematical and scientific documents
  • Books and long-form content
  • Professional reports and presentations

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Your First LaTeX Document

Let’s dive right in! Here’s the simplest possible LaTeX document: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello, LaTeX!
\end{document}

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Understanding the Structure

Every LaTeX document has two main parts:
  1. Preamble (before \begin{document}): Document settings and package imports
  2. Body (between \begin{document} and \end{document}): Your actual content
LaTeX commands always start with a backslash \ and are case-sensitive.

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Adding Title and Author

Let’s make our document more professional by adding metadata: 
\documentclass{article}
\title{My First LaTeX Document}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

Welcome to my first LaTeX document! This is an exciting journey into professional document preparation.

\end{document}
The \maketitle command creates a nicely formatted title block using the information you provided in the preamble.

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Text Formatting

LaTeX provides simple commands for text formatting: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\textbf{Bold text} is important.

\textit{Italic text} adds emphasis.

\underline{Underlined text} stands out.

\texttt{Monospace text} for code.

You can also \textbf{\textit{combine}} formats!

\end{document}

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Paragraphs and Line Breaks

  • Leave a blank line to start a new paragraph
  • Use \\ to force a line break within a paragraph
  • Use \newpage to start a new page

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Creating Lists

LaTeX makes it easy to create both bullet points and numbered lists: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\section{Shopping List}
\begin{itemize}
    \item Milk
    \item Eggs
    \item Bread
    \item LaTeX tutorials
\end{itemize}

\section{Recipe Steps}
\begin{enumerate}
    \item Mix ingredients
    \item Bake for 30 minutes
    \item Let cool
    \item Enjoy!
\end{enumerate}

\end{document}

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Adding Math Equations

This is where LaTeX truly shines! You can add math inline with $...$ or as display equations with \[...\]: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

Einstein's famous equation is $E = mc^2$.

The quadratic formula is:
\[x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}\]

Here's a more complex example:
\[\int_{0}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}\]

\end{document}
LaTeX has hundreds of mathematical symbols and operators. Check our math reference guide for a complete list.

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Inserting Images

To add images to your document, you’ll need the graphicx package: 
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\begin{document}

\begin{figure}[h]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{example-image}
    \caption{A sample image in LaTeX}
    \label{fig:sample}
\end{figure}

As we can see in Figure \ref{fig:sample}, images are easy to add!

\end{document}

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Image Positioning Options

  • [h] - here (approximately)
  • [t] - top of page
  • [b] - bottom of page
  • [p] - separate page for floats

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Creating Tables

Tables in LaTeX are powerful but need a bit of practice: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\begin{table}[h]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|r|}
\hline
\textbf{Item} & \textbf{Quantity} & \textbf{Price} \\
\hline
Apples & 5 & \$2.50 \\
Bananas & 12 & \$3.00 \\
Oranges & 8 & \$4.20 \\
\hline
\textbf{Total} & \textbf{25} & \textbf{\$9.70} \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{Fruit inventory}
\end{table}

\end{document}

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Table Column Alignment

  • l - left aligned
  • c - centered
  • r - right aligned
  • | - vertical line

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Document Structure

For longer documents, use sections to organize your content: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\tableofcontents
\newpage

\section{Introduction}
This is the introduction to my document.

\subsection{Background}
Some background information here.

\subsection{Objectives}
What we aim to achieve.

\section{Methods}
How we'll do it.

\section{Conclusion}
What we learned.

\end{document}
The \tableofcontents command automatically generates a table of contents based on your sections!

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Comments in LaTeX

Use % to add comments that won’t appear in the output: 
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

This text will appear. % This comment won't

% You can also have full-line comments
% They're great for:
% - TODO notes
% - Temporarily disabling content
% - Explaining complex code

\end{document}

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Common Packages

Extend LaTeX’s functionality with packages. Here are essential ones: 
\documentclass{article}
% Essential packages
\usepackage{graphicx}  % Images
\usepackage{amsmath}   % Advanced math
\usepackage{hyperref}  % Clickable links
\usepackage{geometry}  % Page margins
\usepackage{enumitem}  % Better lists
\usepackage{xcolor}    % Colors

\begin{document}
% Your content here
\end{document}

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Troubleshooting Common Errors

LaTeX errors can be cryptic. Here are the most common ones and how to fix them:

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Missing $ inserted

Problem: Math mode content outside math mode
Solution: Wrap math symbols in $...$

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Undefined control sequence

Problem: Misspelled command or missing package
Solution: Check spelling and load required packages

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Missing \begin

Problem: Content before document begins
Solution: Move content after \begin{document}

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Your Complete First Document

Let’s put it all together! Here’s a complete document showcasing everything you’ve learned: 
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\title{My LaTeX Journey}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\tableofcontents
\newpage

\section{Introduction}
Welcome to my first complete LaTeX document! I've learned how to create professional documents with ease.

\section{What I've Learned}

\subsection{Text Formatting}
I can make text \textbf{bold}, \textit{italic}, and \underline{underlined}. I can even \textbf{\textit{combine}} them!

\subsection{Mathematics}
LaTeX makes math beautiful. Here's the quadratic formula:
\[x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}\]

\subsection{Lists and Tables}
\begin{itemize}
    \item Create bullet points
    \item Make numbered lists
    \item Build professional tables
\end{itemize}

\begin{table}[h]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|}
\hline
\textbf{Feature} & \textbf{Learned} \\
\hline
Basic formatting & ✓ \\
Mathematics & ✓ \\
Images & ✓ \\
Tables & ✓ \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption{My LaTeX progress}
\end{table}

\section{Conclusion}
In just 30 minutes, I've gone from zero to creating professional documents with LaTeX. The journey continues!

\end{document}

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Next Steps

Congratulations! You’ve just created your first LaTeX documents. Here’s what to explore next:

Document Classes

Learn about article, report, book, and more

Advanced Math

Matrices, theorems, and complex equations

Bibliography

Manage citations and references

Custom Styling

Fonts, colors, and page layouts

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Quick Reference Card

Keep this handy as you write:
CommandPurposeExample
\textbf{}Bold text\textbf{Important}
\textit{}Italic text\textit{emphasis}
\section{}New section\section{Introduction}
$...$Inline math$E = mc^2$
\[...\]Display math\[x = \frac{a}{b}\]
\\Line breakFirst line\\Second line
%Comment% This is a comment
Pro tip: Save this page as a bookmark! You’ll refer back to these basics often as you learn more advanced features.
Ready to dive deeper? Continue with our comprehensive LaTeX basics guide or explore specific topics that interest you!