Writing Theses in LaTeX

Your thesis is likely to be the longest technical document you have ever compiled and can seem a daunting task. But if done well, you will leave behind a lasting record of your achievements. This workshop explores how LaTeX can be used to typeset a thesis in a professional and aesthetic way, which conforms to Imperial guidelines.

In this course, you will be introduced to Imperial’s formatting requirements for a doctoral thesis. You will create a skeleton of a thesis which meets all these requirements using LaTeX. This skeleton will also follow good practice regarding structure.

Syllabus:

• Thesis requirements
• Page numbering
• Margins
• Footnotes
• Line spacing
• Title pages
• Thesis frontmatter
• Tables of contents, lists of figures, lists of tables
• Bibliography Management
• Directory structure

The course will be delivered through a combination of slides, and hands-on practicals. This course is aimed at LaTeX users who are already familiar with the basics of LaTeX who are writing a thesis. The course is aimed at doctoral students, but others who are producing another type of thesis or dissertation, or similar document may also benefit and may attend.

This course is open to Research Degree Students, MRes, Postdocs & Research Fellows. Limited spaces available for wider Imperial community.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this workshop you will be able to:

• Identify Imperial’s formatting requirements for a doctoral thesis
• Create a thesis which matches Imperial’s formatting requirements
• Employ efficient workflows and organisation in a large LaTeX project
• Develop a full thesis template

Prerequisites

To attend this course, you should already be comfortable with the basics of LaTeX including:

• Basic document structure
• Chapters and sections
• Using packages
• Using figures and tables
• Using a bibliography and .bib files
• Using multiple tex files with the “include” or “input” command
• Using files in subdirectories by specifying a path

If you don’t have all these skills, you might want to attend the course, Introduction to LaTeX, which covers all of this and more, before taking this course. 

How to book

• Early Career Researchers (Research Degree Students, MRes, Postdocs, Research Fellows) should book via Inkpath using your Imperial Single-Sign-On.
• Wider College Community - All other members of the Imperial community, should book here.

Please ensure you have read and understood ECRI’s attendance & cancellation policy before booking.