Note that this is really an add-on to markdown, so other editors you find might or might not have the feature. To get a pdf (to print or submit electronically), you can print the output and select “save as pdf”.īoth the editors above allow you to typeset math by calling LaTeX commands, although the format is slightly different (using $ or $$ to start or stop the “math mode”). Both tools are free and have nice interfaces. This can be done on your computer, or using a online tool. So you write your document in a basic text editor, and then compile it into your output format, which could be HTML (for the web) or a pdf. See this link or many other guides for an overview of what you can do. You can get italic text using *italic words*. For example, to get title headings, you write something like # Main Title, or # SubHeading. It is a very basic syntax for plain text documents that allows you to specify basic formatting easily. This document you are reading has been written in markdown. Not sure which to use? Let’s look at the features of each a little closer.

Both have good instructions on how to get started. To get started right away, you can try online editors. LaTeX has a steeper learning curve but is the gold standard for writing math or science papers, and you will need to learn the LaTeX commands for math symbols to put them in Markdown anyway.

Here is the short version: Markdown is easier to get started with, but gives you less control over the structure and format of your document. Here we will consider two such languages markdown and LaTeX. You type your document in plain text using the syntax (markup) of the language, and then compile your text document into a nicely formatted pdf or webpage. The main challenge is that you need to figure out how to type all those symbols!Īlthough word processing programs like Word or Google Docs allow you to insert “equations”, if you want to do any amount of serious mathematics, you will want to use a markup language. Second, it is easier to edit, correct, and even write mathematics the first time when you are typing, since you can insert or delete content as you go.

First, typeset mathematics is easier to read, for which your professor will thank you. Typing your math homework has two main advantages over hand written work.

Latex equation to word online