Basically, there are two sets of symbols you need to know for LaTeX: those for text mode and those for math mode. This guide will go through the basics of each.

If you want to italicize something then you do it like this:

You Want: A main target of the longline fishery is bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus).

In LaTeX: A main target of the longline fishery is bigeye tuna (\sl Thunnus obesus\rm ).

Again, the backslash ("\") tells LaTeX that a command is coming. The space after the command will not create a space in your document, but it is necessary for LaTeX to recognize the command. The \sl tells LaTeX to use a slanted font. The \rm tells LaTeX to return to a roman font.

Note that if you set the font to \sl but then forget to go back to roman font, the text will continue in italics until the \rm command is used.

LaTeX treats tabs, spaces, and single carriage returns the same:

In LaTeX: The quick       brown
fox jumped         over the       lazy 
              dog.

Output: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

---

If you want to start a second paragraph (in your abstract), you must have two carriage returns back-to-back:

In LaTeX: The quick brown fox jumped over the

lazy dog.

Output: The quick brown fox jumped over the

lazy dog.

Don't worry about tabs at the beginning of paragraphs and such, that will be taken care of by LaTeX later.

Some symbols in latex have special meanings. For example, you want to write that 80% of the variance is described by ice-melting events. It is important that you are aware that the % symbol is used to make comments in LaTeX that won't be in the final document.

Wrong:

In LaTeX: 80% of the variance is described by ice-melting events.
Output: 80

Right:

In LaTeX: 80\% of the variance is described by ice-melting events.
Output: 80% of the variance is described by ice-melting events.

To make sure you get what you expect, be sure that the following symbols are preceded by a backslash: $, %, #, &, {, }, _

By default, LaTeX is in text mode, but its real power comes when you need to typeset equations and mathematics. You enter and exit math mode by using the dollar-sign, $. For example:

You Want: The gravitational force on an object of density, ρ (kg m^-3), is F = ρVg, where V is volume (m³) and g is acceleration due to gravity (N kg^-1).

In LaTeX:The gravitational force on an object of density, $\rho$ (kg m$^{-3}$), is $F=\rho Vg$, where $V$ is volume (m$^3$) and $g$ is acceleration due to gravity (N kg$^{-1}$).

Note that things that are in math mode have been highlighted in green.

These are probably the most used items in math mode. As you can see from the example above, LaTeX allows you to put superscripts by using the "^" symbol. Similarly, subscripts are done with the "_". Here are some examples

You Want: In the ocean, [HCO₃^-] should increase due to CO₂ emmisions into the atmosphere.

In LaTeX: In the ocean, [HCO$_3^-$] should increase due to CO$_2$ emmisions into the atmosphere.

One last importnat thing to note about using superscripts and subscripts is that if more than one character is to be super/subscripted, it must be {bracketed}.

Wrong:

In LaTeX: The shelfbreak velocity, $u_sb$, was measured at 0.1 m s$^-1$.
Output: The shelfbreak velocity, u_sb, was measured at 0.1 m s^-1.

Right:

In LaTeX: The shelfbreak velocity, $u_{sb}$, was measured at 0.1 m s$^{-1}$.
Output: The shelfbreak velocity, u_sb, was measured at 0.1 m s^-1.

You might want to use greek letters, "exp", "sin", or other mathematical symbols in your text. Here are a bunch of tables that should help. If you want more examples, go to the bottom of the page. Remember that these symbols must be entered in math mode (i.e. between the dollar signs):