This article is a personal experience summed up in the process of groping, stepping on pits and filling pits! Suitable for undergraduates, master’s students, doctoral students and even post-doctoral students! For free access to the latest resources, you can search the following public account: send a message to a latex template or a Word template to obtain the resource link ✌️✌️✌️

How difficult is it to complete a doctoral dissertation? (1) The need for innovation; (2) to publish high-level journal papers, which is usually said to be small papers; (3) It is necessary to read a large amount of literature, because the doctoral thesis is systematic; (4) Writing of doctoral thesis. The difficulty of these processes decreases successively. The first three steps are the cultivation of their own kung fu, which this paper cannot help. Step four alone would be a headache for most people. In China, a doctoral thesis is usually around 200 pages long. It includes many chapters, numerous references, images and tables and cross-references. Especially for the doctoral thesis of science and engineering, there are inevitably a large number of formulas (in-line formula or inter-line big formula) in the paper.

What tools do you use to accomplish this seemingly tedious writing task? Needless to say, most people write in Microsoft Word. Of course, a small number of resourceful students choose to write in LaTeX.

Tactical diligence ️ & strategic laziness? Some time ago, I was discussing with my classmates about the efficiency of writing Word and LaTeX and whether it is possible for tutors to also use LaTeX. Some people said that it takes time to learn LaTeX and it is too difficult to learn it easily. Think back to how much time it took to find the cracked version of Word, the cracked version of MathType, the cracked version of endnote. And most people don’t actually know how to use Word. Why not invest that time in LaTeX? It may take less time than you think, be more efficient, write better, and most importantly it’s free, stable and cross-platform!!

Word vs. latex

Write tool efficiency comparison

I believe that there is no one reading this article who does not know Word, but it is not guaranteed that everyone knows LaTeX, so fewer people will use it. But I do believe that people who have never used LaTeX will find it very difficult and complicated. Let me give you an overview of the pros and cons of writing tools. I will use 1 to 5 stars to indicate the advantage of each comparison item, the more stars the better (purely subjective, no comments).

word

1. Charging problem ✨ : Word is not free! There are two ways to solve this problem: buy it (365 subscriptions for students cost at least 15/ month); Cracking (Taking time to find cracking software can lead to the risk of poisoning your computer and subsequent problems with software instability).
2. Operation ✨✨✨ : Easy to use, because Word has a graphical interface, you can use the mouse to click the visual menu and other buttons for operation and setting. However, the differences between versions (such as word2003, 2007,2010,2016) also require time to ask baidu or ask students to solve part of the operation problems; Word also varies from platform to platform (for example, there are many differences between Win and MAC). This operational difference is illustrated by the fact that many older professors will choose to use the old version of Word for many years rather than the new version, even though the new version has certain functional advantages.
3. Visibility ✨✨✨✨ : Word is a wySIWYG text editing software, but it is exactly this wySIWYG, will be word in the process of writing long text with the increase of the content of the document more and more about, of course, some people will say why by chapter split, this method of course, but there will be other problems introduced.
4. Image processing ✨✨ : Word’s support for images is really not so good, first of all, it does not support eps and PDF vector maps; Secondly, when you insert a high resolution or slightly larger complex image, Word will crash or the whole file will not open. However, our academic paper writing, especially the electronic version, requires a certain resolution. Some images need to be enlarged to see details, not just the resolution of the print level.
5. Tables ✨✨ : While Word tables are easy to write at first glance, cell merging, cell insertion, table grid lines, and more can be set up with a click of the mouse. But more advanced formatting can be complicated: setting decimal point alignment, for example.
6. Formula ✨ : Word formula support is very bad, someone will say that wrong word, Word has its own formula editor. I just want to say that the formula editor is cumbersome to use, the effect is ugly, you can bear it! People usually choose to use the embedded formula 3.0 in Word, but after the 2016 version, this function has been removed. The solution is MathType, which you can get in two ways. One is to buy the original version, which is now 7.0 and is subscription-only and costs $35 a year for students. The second is to find the cracked version. I just want to say that I really don’t want to waste my life on such boring things. If you have time, you can find the cracked version, but there will be a series of follow-up problems.
7. References ✨ : Word has the worst references. In fact, has its own reference function, may not have a few people used it! There are two general methods for handling references: one is manual, which is a helpless solution if you are patient enough; The second is to rely on third-party software for automatic insertion and typesetting, such as Domestic Noteexpress, Endnote or Papers, etc., not to mention the software fees, on the one hand, the document insertion will lead to heavy Word files and strange formatting problems from time to time.
8. Typography complexity ✨✨ : Although Word has a visual interface, typography is not efficient or automated. For example, in-line formulas can suddenly go wrong, especially when revising papers for others; Images, tables, formulas, etc., do not automatically replace and may result in large white space at the bottom of a page that needs to be adjusted manually.
9. Code support: Word does not support highlighting code in text at all. Sometimes for students of science and engineering, it may be necessary to paste an important piece of program code in the text, either in pure black, or manually set variables one by one in highlighted colors. Of course, if you don’t care about aesthetics, pure black display is also ok.
10. Template availability ✨ : It is rare to see a very comprehensive Word writing template, such as a graduation thesis from a university or a journal contribution. And because of Word itself, it’s hard to share templates even when they’re made, because formatting can easily go wrong (if you’ve ever worked on a monograph!). .
11. Version control ✨ : Why version control? I believe that in the process of writing in Word, you will save a variety of files under the folder, with different dates or other formats to name different versions, this way of course, but not convenient, efficient, elegant! Word doesn’t support version control very well on its own. You can do something similar with One Drive or Dropbox, but it’s not great. Of course, you can use Git directly to control word files, but word files are binary, so you can imagine how strange this process is! It is difficult to compare the differences between different versions.
12. Review ✨✨✨✨✨ : This is the only item that can be given full marks for Word. But this is not the reason why we come to Word. Compared with the previous slots, we will choose a better solution after weighing up.

Note: Have a good experience on Word and don’t waste your life on too many boring things! Need to pay for software: Word, Mathtype, endnote. At the same time, it is necessary to learn the skills of using Word, and also need to invest time in learning.

LaTeX

1. Fee questions ✨✨✨✨✨ : LaTeX itself is free and has friendly editing and generation software, such as TexStudio, which is open source, free and cross-platform!
2. operational✨✨✨ : In fact, LaTeX has become no more difficult to use than Word in recent years, with the release of LaTeX and the updating of editing tools, as well as the enrichment of powerful community resources. For example, if you have a LaTeX template for your graduation thesis from your university (there are many in the LaTeX community: Tsinghua university, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, etc.), you can write your doctoral thesis with no more than 10 basic commands, such as\chapter, \section, \subsection, \begin{equation}... \end{equation}, \begin{table}... \end{table}.
3. Visibility ✨✨✨✨ : It’s not wySIWYG, but with a click of the Generate button, the final PDF is generated in seconds and the results are automatically refreshed and displayed on the side. As long as you get used to this mode, the work efficiency will be very high, for example, after you write a paragraph in one breath after the need to think about the next paragraph, you can first perform the generation operation (of course, you can set your favorite shortcut keys) and then in the idea, without delay. Another nice feature of TexStudio is the ability to jump from the built-in PDF reader to LaTeX content with the right mouse button. Tip: It’s best to write in latex one line at a time. You’ll see the benefits of this later!
4. ✨✨✨✨✨ : I would like to give full marks for this feature! First, LaTeX supports vector images (in PDF or PS format), even if the images are large (such as tens or hundreds of Mb PDF images). LaTeX automatically updates images, usually by storing images in a fixed directory, setting this path to search for images in LaTeX, and inserting images into the text. When the image file is updated, the PDF file generated by LaTeX is updated as well. Word must be manually reinserted to take effect. LaTeX saves a lot of time when you write papers with pictures of data results that are constantly updated.
5. form✨✨✨✨ : Writing forms in LaTeX is a headache for beginners, but don’t be afraid! First of all, there are some third-party visualization tools that can help make tables, such astabgenerationThis very nice website allows you to edit tables online and then generate LaTeX code that you can copy; Second, if you use LaTeX for a period of time, you will find that you don’t want to use nice’s third party tools anymore, because LaTeX writes tables and doesn’t! No! Difficult! Just write the words by hand, because the basic symbols that control the table are:&, \\, \hline, \toprule, \bottomruleEtc., what makes perfect! Word table operation menu location is not the same to remember!
6. The formula✨✨✨✨✨ : Same this function I also want to give full marks! For both in-line and in-line formulas, typography is beautiful, and you just need to focus on your content, regardless of format or typography: auto-numbering; Cross reference\ref{eq1}; Formula writing; Formula index table automatic generation, all are handy! Especially its formula writing, the efficiency is very fast, no longer need to use the mouse button to type subscript, superscript and Greek letters, such asis\alpha, as well as\delta, \gamma, \nablaAnd so on, directly knock these letters or symbols corresponding pronunciation can! (Of course, you can do the same thing in MathType, or you can copy and paste formulas written in MathType into LaTeX code.)
7. reference✨✨✨✨✨ : No have to say, full marks! All you need to do is export the Google Scholar reference as bib text, then copy the text into your reference file. Bib file, and use the command in the text\cite{key}, \citep{key}, \cite[e.g. ]{key}The following commands will automatically generate a list of references at the end of the paper (the citation format and list format are defined in the template). TexStudio has a very nice feature when you type\cite“, he will automatically prompt what literature to choose, and then you enter the reference reference key, it will automatically help you filter, very high efficiency! The Cite key in Google Academic’s BIB text isFirst author + year + first content word of titleFor naming, so it’s very convenient to cite the literature in the way above.

@article{hasenclever2014hybrid,
  title={Hybrid shallow on-axis and deep off-axis hydrothermal circulation at fast-spreading ridges},
  author={Hasenclever, J{\"o}rg and Theissen-Krah, Sonja and R{\"u}pke, Lars H and Morgan, Jason P and Iyer, Karthik and Petersen, Sven and Devey, Colin W},
  journal={Nature},
  volume={508},
  number={7497},
  pages={508},
  year={2014},
  publisher={Nature Publishing Group}
}
Copy the code

1. Typesetting complexity ✨✨✨ : Typesetting complexity of LaTeX is reflected in template making, which is very difficult indeed! Fortunately, LaTeX has a strong community, such as local LaTeX huts, and many of its templates (such as graduation papers from universities, fancy books and reports) can be used directly or modified to suit your own needs. Once completed, the templates are very stable and will not be affected whether they are used on different systems or when the LaTeX editor is updated. Fortunately, once the format of graduation thesis is determined, it has not changed for decades, so the LaTeX template for graduation thesis is also permanent! For journal papers, there are almost no FOREIGN SCI journals that do not support LaTeX, and all provide Manuscript versions of LaTeX templates with detailed instructions. Therefore, it is also easy to use LaTeX for submitted journal papers. In general, typographical complexity is minimal for LaTeX writing users, because once the template is written, typography is automatic (for example, images and text on a page are automatically positioned so that no text space is left).
2. Code support ✨✨✨✨ : This feature is too powerful to write a technical book or paper is too convenient! For example, an ebook I’m writing about finite volume methods and OpenFOAM will insert a lot of code explanations that Word can hardly implement! There are two other ways to insert code: one is direct input; One is to input from a file. Just type the filename of your code and the line number you want to display into a LaTex file. The use of this feature is Python-based and requires the installation of Python, so I have deducted one star. For those of you who use Python, this is not a problem; For those of you who have never used Python, this is not a problem either, because installing Python is very easy.
3. Template availability: as aboveTypographic complexityAll LaTeX templates you need can be found, but if you don’t find one, you can use it as your target template by modifying it slightly. For example, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) does not have a LaTeX template (there seems to be one written by a senior student in the School of Earth and Space on the Internet, but it is not very useful). The author of this paper has made some simple modifications based on the template of tsinghua University graduation thesis according to the local writing rules. Can generate in full compliance with the requirements of the school graduation thesis PDF file (need to large or other university graduation thesis template students can search to add my wechat public number: nine days scholar; Or directlySweep the code to addSend message,The latex templateFree access to the latest resources).
4. Version control✨✨✨✨✨ : LaTeX is a fully ASCII encoding (also known as plain code) that can be version-controlled with Git and uploaded to a cloud repository (such as Github or coding). It is no longer necessary to store a large number of different versions of Word files as soon as you submit them every day. Combined with github and other cloud warehouses (private warehouses where students can apply for unlimited space), only one is requiredgit pushCommand can be wonderful to the cloud, no longer need to worry about the hard disk is broken, the computer is broken, the hard disk was stolen was robbed and other leading to the loss of graduation thesis tragedy; The second benefit is to have your cloud-based repository anywhere, anytimegit pullTo other computers, anytime, anywhere you can write and check! You can write on your office computer during the day and sync up to your notebook at home at night. Thesis synchronization is in the blink of an eyegit pull,git push!
5. review✨✨ : review (often referred to as a paper revision) or collaboration problem, because it involves a second or third or more people besides you (such as a supervisor, teacher or brother). Other people’s hobbies we don’t know, they may LaTeX and they may not. If the former is the case, it is easy to complete the revision. It is as simple as modifying the LaTeX content directly and submitting it with Git to compare it with the previous versiongit diffIt’s very intuitive to see what’s changed; The second way is to use latex’s review command to add modify commands directly to the content, which generates similar markup in Word review mode. However, if he or she doesn’t know Latex, it’s a bit of a hassle. You can only give him or her a PDF and mark it in the PDF or print it out with a pen (many older professors like to print it out and mark it with a pen). Then you can edit your digital document against the paper version.

So if everyone or most people start using LaTeX, you in the academic world will be much more productive! LaTeX+TeXStudio+git+ Github is a great way to write essays. It’s not always your job to write papers.

Latex is more than three times as efficient as Word (an objective estimate), based on my recent experience writing my doctoral thesis; The user experience goes way beyond Word.

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