If you've taken a look at any recently published book or mathematical paper, chances are you've already seen what LaTeX can do. LaTeX is, simply put, an elegant and convenient way of typing mathematics on a computer and particularly useful if you would like to typeset any type of mathematical essay or project (second year essays in particular).

Unlike word processors such as Microsoft Word and Open Office Writer, you do not work directly on something which looks like the finished document. Instead, it is much more similar to a programming language (albeit a very simple one): you have to type in text along with a series of commands which determine the mathematical equations, alignment, font size and almost everything else. This may sound daunting at first but is in fact much easier than it sounds and, as usual, the WMS is here to help you: we will be running two LaTeX classes per week during the final three weeks of term, Tuesdays 12-1 and Wednesdays 11-12 (the two classes will have exactly the same content). By the end of these, you should be able to write mathematics much better and faster than you would on a conventional word processor and be able to typeset a professional looking second year essay.