The outline of topics that we will be going over in this tutorial is as follows:




Dissertation :

Front Page

  1. Download the following template Template for front page and save it locally in your account as a "givemeaname.tex" file.

  2. Open the file in any text editor and fill in the relevant places with names/information relevant to you.

  3. At the UNIX prompt type the following commands in the following order: 
    add tetex
add statstyle
latex filename 
xdvi filename.dvi &
     and voila! you should see the front page of your dissertation open up.

    Note: Sometimes latex messes up and the locker may not have been added correctly. In that situation close your tex session and start over. This time switch the order of the first two commands and keep the rest the same.

    Note:
    4 and 5 are for future reference

  4. At the UNIX prompt type the following commands in the following order: 
    latex filename 
xdvi filename.dvi &
  5. At the UNIX prompt type the following commands in the following order: 
    latex filename
latex filename
xdvi filename.dvi &

    Dedication

  6. Now add the following lines to your .tex file: 
    \begin{frontmatter}
\begin{dedication}
\begin{center}
 \begin{large}
\textbf{Dedication}
\end{large}
\end{center}
\null\vfill
\begin{center}

Type your dedication here

\vspace{12pt}
\end{center}
\null\vfill
\end{dedication}

% Insert biography and acknowledgements code here

\end{frontmatter}
     Save the modified file and repeat step 4.

    Biography and Acknowledgements
  7. For your biography and acknowledgements append this code to the already existing one at the insertion point indicated above: 
    \begin{center}
\begin{large}
\textbf{Biography}
\end{large}
\end{center}

Type biography here

\begin{acknowledgements}

\end{acknowledgements}
    Save the modified file and repeat step 4.
    Neat isn't it!

    Table of Contents
  8. To add the table of Contents add these three lines: 
    \tableofcontents
\listoftables
\listoffigures
    save and implement step 5.

    Chapters
  9. Now we come to the meaty(hmmm...) part of your dissertation. As before append these few lines: 
    %\chapter{Introduction}	 %Chapter 1
%\input{chapter1}	 %Chapter 1
%\input(chapter2}	 %Chapter 2
%\input{chapter3}	 %Chapter 3
%\input{chapter4}	 %Chapter 4
%\input{chapter5}	 %Chapter 5

    Save and repeat step 4.

    hmmm... something wrong? Nothing happened, right?
    ok let's do the following steps.

  10. Create a file called "chapter1.tex" in the same directory that you have been working in all along.
    For examples sake download this Chapter1 file and save it in "chapter1.tex". In your main file remove the "%" signs before \chapter{Introduction} and \input{chapter1}. Remember "%" in latex is reserved for comments. Since you don't have chapter2 onwards yet, you have to leave them commented out. It's analogous to "/*... */" in SAS.

    As before repeat step 4.

    Bibliography
  11. Now that you are pretty much done with your dissertation you need to add the references section to wind it up. Here's how we will do it:
    First, append these two lines and save. 
    \nocite{*}
\bibliographystyle{agsm} 
\bibliography{bibliography}

    Second, download this Bibliography Style File file and save it in the area that you are working in under the name "agsm.bst".

    Third, download this Example Bibliography file and save it as "bibliography.bib" in the your working directory. At the unity prompt: 
    Latex filename
Bibtex filename
Latex filename
Latex filename
xdvi filename &
    Note:
    One especially useful link for references is CIS(Current Index to Statistics). Here you can use the search field to search for an entry and using the options under Format you can choose Bibtex to give you the bibtex format for the entry which you can use in your bibliography file.

    Look at your table of contents page! LaTex updated it as you added stuff to your document and you didn't have to do anything at all.

    Sections and Sub-sections for chapters
    • Open the file chapter1.tex in an editor.
    • Add 
      \section{Section name} 
  This is a section
      at any place in the file.
    • Save and repeat step 5.

      Check out your Table of contents. Impressive isn't it!
    • To add subsections do : \subsection{Sub Section name}

    • To cite a reference in your document use the /cite{name} command. Let's try it with an example. Insert this line at any place in your chapter1.tex file 
      \cite{LaTexDude}
      and at the unity prompt: 
      Latex filename
Bibtex filename
Latex filename
Latex filename
xdvi filename &

    • To add text verbatim for instance if you wanted to add your SAS code as an appendix to your dissertation but keeping the format, indentations etc. exactly as they are then you would use the /begin{verbatim} and /end{verbatim} command. Example: 
      \begin{verbatim}   
  goptions display rotate=portrait horigin=1.5in vorigin=1.5in gsfmode=append;

* goptions dev=ps1 display rotate=portrait hsize=6in vsize=9in
  horigin=1in vorigin=1in;

  proc greplay igout=gseg nofs;
     tc=sashelp.templt;
     template=l2r2s;
     treplay 1:gplot 2:gplot1 3:gplot3 4:gplot2;
  quit;

  proc greplay igout=gseg nofs;
     tc=sashelp.templt;
     template=l2r2s;
     treplay 1:gplot4 2:gplot5 3:gplot6 4:gplot9;
  quit;
\end{verbatim}

    Seminars and Presentations
  1. Download the following template Template for slides (taken from Dr. Davidian's course notes) and save it locally in your account as a "givemeadifferentname.tex" file. Also download this postscript figure and save it as figure.ps. At the Unity prompt: 
    latex filename 
xdvi filename.dvi &
    Remember all LaTex commands work the same way in the slide environment.

  2. It's always a good idea to print your slides in 4up format whenever possible for handouts. See the commented out portion of the template for instructions on how to do it.

  3. If your document has both landscape and portrait slides then they need to be printed out separately. See the commented out portion of the template for instructions on how to do it.

  4. Some tips on making good slides can be found at Tips on making good slides under the link "Handout 9/21/99 on oral presentation"

    Resume /Curriculum Vitae
  1. A template for a CV can be downloaded from Student Resume template (from Dr. Davidian's ST810 a web page).

  2. It's always a good idea to post your resume online on your web page as prospective employers often check web pages.

    Posters
  1. Dr. Jarrett Barber has put some information on making posters in LaTex and it can be found at Posters in LaTex -> LaTex -> Creating posters with LaTex(thanks to Jarrett Barber) If you find that difficult to follow then here are a couple of files that might help. These were downloaded from the following web address: and should be self explanatory once you start editing the dummy_poster.tex file. Click on the three links below to download the files.

    Framemaker on UNIX machines can also be used to make posters. The following web site has a tutorial that is very helpful: In case the web site is down the tutorial and template files can also be accessed locally using the following link. This tutorial, template and all related files were downloaded from the above web site. Tutorial files Template files

  2. Printing big posters can be problematic. CALS lab in Ricks Hall Annex can help you with that since, Statistics is a part of CALS. Send an email to help@ncsu.edu to schedule an appointment.

  3. A very good link Effective Scientific Posters-Poster Design and Poster Presentation to give you some tips on making your poster.

    Additional Links
  1. Download Biometrics template for writing an article and an example showing the use of the template.

  2. Preparation for Research: ST810 A

  3. Introduction to LaTex: Session 1

  4. NCSU Grad School Guide to thesis writing