Transferable skills for engineering: LaTex

Code:

LATEX01

Acronym:

LATEX

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
CNAEF	Engineering and related techniques

Instance: 2025/2026 - 1S (of 08-10-2025 to 19-11-2025)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Hydraulics, Water Resources and Environment Division
Course/CS Responsible:	Transferable skills for engineering: LaTex

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LATEX	0	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	14	40,5
M.BIO	22	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	14	40,5
MEB	0	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	14	40,5
M.EIC	20	Syllabus	2	-	1,5	14	40,5
M.EM	40	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	14	40,5
M.IA	0	Syllabus	1	-	1,5	14	40,5
			2

Teaching language

English

Objectives

This course provides opportunities for acquisition and development of skills of document preparation system LaTeX, a very useful tool in the production of mathematical and scientific texts, due to its high quality printing, which can also be used to produce personal documents, articles, books, theses, presentations, among others.

Learning outcomes and competences

SKILLS
1. Write a scientific article for an international journal, using the LATEX style provided by the editor.
2. Write a thesis or a book, without having to worry about style and formatting.
3. Write a letter or memo using the predefined LATEX styles.
4. Create a bibliographic database using BibTeX.
5. Create an index for a book, using makeindex.
6. Prepare a presentation using the beamer style.
7. Include math equations in web pages using the mathjax library.
8. Include figures and photographs in a LATEX document.
9. Modify and adapt an existing LATEX style.
10. Create a LATEX document distributed in several separate files.


LEARNING OUTCOMES
- At the end of this course, the participant should be able to use LaTeX proficiently;
- The participant should be able to write a document in LaTeX, containing the elements commonly used in mathematical and scientific texts.

Working method

B-learning

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

The course is an introductory course to LaTeX, so there are no prerequisites.

Program

Programme

1. Introduction
- Advantages and disadvantages of LaTeX, by comparison with other systems.
- Installation
- Preparation of source files
- Processing
- Correction of errors
2. Styles
- Styles and LaTeX packages.
- Chapters, sections and appendices.
- The CTAN file.
3. Special symbols
- Symbols and special characters.
- Mathematical formulas.
4. Text blocks
- Lists.
- Tables.
- Preformatted blocks.
- Text with multiple columns.
- Footer notes.
- Other special blocks.
5. Graphics
- Graphics and photos inclusion.
- Package for creating illustrations and mathematical charts
6. Bibliography
- Bibliographic databases.
- Styles.
- Quotations.
7. Index
- Table of Contents.
- List of Figures.
- List of tables.
- Index.
8. Articles/Papers
- Preparation of scientific papers using the styles provided by the editors of the journals.
9. Theses
- Specific styles for theses and adaptation to FEUP's style.
10. Presentations
- Preparation of slides and Web pages.
11. Extensions
- Creation of new commands.
- Modification and adaptation packages and styles.

Mandatory literature

Oetiker, T., Partl, H., Hyna, I. & Schlegl, E.; The Not So Short Introduction to LATEX 2, 2003
Wikibooks; LATEX (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX)

Complementary Bibliography

Leslie Lamport; Latex. ISBN: 0-201-52983-1
Michel Goossens; The latex companion. ISBN: 0-201-36299-6
Markus Kohm; koma-script – A bundle of versatile classes and packages, 2021 (https://ctan.org/pkg/koma-script?lang=en)

Teaching methods and learning activities

TEACHING METHODS AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Each week, a two-hour theoretical-practical class is taught. During the online classes, the teacher explains the topic and allows students time to experiment and ask questions. The assessment will be carried out through online quizzes, a project to be developed individually and autonomously, and a face-to-face test in Moodle.

Software

www.overleaf.com

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Teste	75,00
Trabalho escrito	25,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	11,50
Frequência das aulas	14,00
Trabalho escrito	15,00
Total:	40,50

Eligibility for exams

Achieving final classification requires compliance with attendance at the course unit, according to the FEUP's assessment rules. It is considered that students meet the attendance requirements if, having been regularly enrolled, the number of absences of 25% for each of the classes’ types is not exceeded.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final grade formula: CF = Q01*0,10 + Q02*0,10 + Q03*0,15+ A05*0,25+ QM*0,40
CF - Final classification
Q01 - Moodle Quiz for Session 01
Q02 - Moodle Quiz for Session 02
Q03 - Moodle Quiz for Session 03
A05 - Session 05 Assignment
QM - In-Person Moodle Quiz