Your First Document

Every LaTeX document starts the same way: a preamble declaring what kind of document it is, then the actual content between \begin{document} and \end{document}.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello, world!
\end{document}

Your first equation

LaTeX's real power for STEM students is typesetting mathematics cleanly. An inline equation sits between single dollar signs; a standalone equation gets its own line with double dollar signs:

The quadratic formula is $x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$.

Why This Matters for Your Exams

A project, thesis, or journal submission formatted in LaTeX looks unmistakably more professional than one in Word — and once you know the basics, it's genuinely faster for anything with real mathematical notation.

Try it yourself

Change the source below and press Compile to see the rendered page.