Learn LaTeX by writing a document.

LaTeX turns plain text and a few commands into a typeset document. Create a blank project in Tulip, open main.tex, and replace its contents with this example. Then press the play button to compile.

\documentclass{article}
\title{My first paper}
\author{Your name}
\date{\today}
 
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
Every good project starts with a question.
\end{document}

Everything before \begin{document} is the preamble: the document’s setup. Your writing belongs between \begin{document} and \end{document}.

Use commands for meaning rather than manually styling every heading. LaTeX handles numbering and spacing. Leave a blank line between paragraphs.

\section{Methods}
This is the first paragraph.
 
This is a new paragraph with \emph{emphasis}.
\subsection{Measurements}
Explain how the data were collected.

A larger project can split chapters across files with \input{chapters/methods}. Compile the root document that contains \documentclass, rather than an individual chapter.

Put short mathematics inside $…$. Use an equation environment for a numbered expression. Labels let you refer to equations without hard-coding a number.

Inline mathematics: $E = mc^2$.
 
\begin{equation}
  \sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i = n\bar{x}
  \label{eq:mean}
\end{equation}
 
See Equation~\ref{eq:mean}.

Packages such as amsmath add more mathematical environments. Add \usepackage{amsmath} in the preamble when you need them.

Upload an image into your project first. File paths and capitalization must match. The example below expects a file named result.png inside a figures folder.

% Add this in the preamble, before \begin{document}:
\usepackage{graphicx}
 
% Upload figures/result.png, then use this in the document:
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figures/result.png}
  \caption{The result of the experiment.}
  \label{fig:result}
\end{figure}
 
See Figure~\ref{fig:result}.

The letters in [htbp] suggest where the figure may be placed: here, top, bottom, or a separate page. LaTeX makes the final placement decision.

A tabular holds the cells; a table around it adds a caption, a label and placement. Each letter in {lrr} is a column: left, right, right. & separates cells and \\ ends a row.

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{lrr}
    \hline
    Sample & Mass (g) & Volume (mL) \\
    \hline
    A & 12.4 & 10.0 \\
    B & 15.1 & 12.5 \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Measurements for each sample.}
  \label{tab:samples}
\end{table}
 
See Table~\ref{tab:samples}.

The booktabs package gives the cleaner rules most journals expect: \toprule, \midrule and \bottomrule, with no vertical lines.

A short bibliography can live directly in the document. Put the bibliography before \end{document}, then cite an entry where you discuss it.

\begin{thebibliography}{9}
  \bibitem{einstein1905}
  Albert Einstein.
  On the electrodynamics of moving bodies.
  Annalen der Physik, 1905.
\end{thebibliography}
 
% Cite this entry elsewhere in the document:
% \cite{einstein1905}

For more than a handful of entries, use a .bib file instead (next lesson). Cross-references can take more than one compilation pass to resolve.

For anything longer than a few references, keep entries in a .bib file. Export one from Zotero, Mendeley or your reference manager, upload it, and cite entries by key. The bibliography lists only what you cite.

@article{einstein1905,
  author  = {Albert Einstein},
  title   = {On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies},
  journal = {Annalen der Physik},
  year    = {1905},
}

% In the preamble:
\usepackage[style=authoryear]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}
 
% In the text:
\textcite{einstein1905} introduced special relativity.
 
% Where the bibliography should appear:
\printbibliography

If your journal template uses BibTeX instead of biblatex, keep its \bibliographystyle{…} and replace \printbibliography with \bibliography{references}. Tulip runs Biber or BibTeX for you.

1. Open the compilation output and start with the first error; later errors may be consequences.
2. Check matching braces, \begin/\end pairs, and the exact paths of images.
3. Use \%, \&, and \_ for these characters in ordinary text.
4. Check that the main file is the one with \documentclass. Missing packages download automatically; if one still fails, the compile log names it.

Can’t find a symbol? Draw it in Detexify