%-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
% Beginning of README.TXT
%-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Luis David Garcia Puente
               Department of Mathematics and Statistics	
                    Sam Houston State University
               

M.S. in Mathematics Thesis Template
--------------------------------

This package contains files to help graduate students prepare a
masters thesis. 

0) The formatting style that is being used for this thesis template is based on the AMS style guidelines. A pdf copy of these guidelines can be found at

ftp://ftp.ams.org/pub/author-info/documentation/handbk.pdf

The relevant information is contained under the "Monographs" section.
More information can be found at

http://www.ams.org/publications/authors/books/produce-book/produce-book 


1) This package contains the following files.

    README.TXT             Instructions (this file)

Core LaTeX files

    SHSUThesis.tex                 main document
    shsu-style.tex                 SHSU style file
    commands.tex                   additional math commands 
    packages.tex                   additional LaTeX packages 
    theorems.tex                   LaTeX theorem environments   

Preamble LaTeX files

    abstract.tex                   
    acknowledgements.tex 
    approval-sheet                 in Beta mode. It is suggested to use the Word file 	
				   provided by the library.
    dedication.tex                 
    preface.tex  
    vita.tex        
 
Sample document files

    chapN.tex                      sample chapter LaTeX file (N=1,2,3,4,5,6)
    appendixN.tex                  sample chapter LaTeX file (N=1,2) 

    Bibliography.bib               sample bibliography BibTeX file 

University Word Templates

    SHSU_Title_Page_Template.docx
    SHSU_ApprovalTemplate_3members_1director.docx

   
2) Start your monograph by renaming the file SHSUThesis.tex
to <uniquename>-SHSUThesis.tex, using a distinct name (perhaps your last name) in place
of <uniquename>.  This will be your "driver file".  Fill in the top matter
(title, author, etc.) following the instructions that appear as comments
in the file.

Please note that the title page generated by this package is intended as
a placeholder, for internal use only.  A template for the title page that the library requires 
is included in this directory as a Word document (SHSU_Title_Page_Template.docx). 

Also note that this package does not create an approval page. A template for this page is included in this
directory as a Word document (SHSU_ApprovalTemplate_3members_1director.docx). 

These templates can also be obtained from the library website (under Standard SHSU Templates)

http://library.shsu.edu/research/guides/thesis/

3) Under NO circumstance change the file shs-style.tex, unless you are absolutely sure that you know what you are doing. 

4) If you need to add a certain LaTeX package that is not loaded by default in the style file use the packages.tex file. 

5) Read/Modify the file theorems.tex, to learn/modify the names of the theorem environments in this package.

6) Read/Modify the file commands.tex to learn/add new useful shortcuts for common LaTeX commands.  

7) Main content. We recommend that chapters be prepared as separate files, using (some of) the sample
chap1.tex, chap2.tex, chap3, chap4, chap5, chap6 files as models; they are then called in using
\includeonly{É} and \include{É} commands in your driver file. Please read the comments in the driver file regarding the use of \includeonly{}.

These 6 chapters contain many examples of LaTeX code that may be useful as you write your own thesis. 

Unfortunately, there is a small nuisance with the spacing after some chapter titles. If the chapter title 
(\chapter{} command) is followed by text, things work as expected. However, if the chapter title  is immediately followed by a section title (\section{}) there is some extra blank space added into the file. 
To fix this issue you must add the command \vspace{-12pt} in between \chapter{} and \section{}. 
An example of this behavior appears in chap1.tex 


8) If you do not have an appendix, you must comment the appropriate lines in the driver file. You can have more than one appendix. However, your appendices must not contain sections or subsection commands, otherwise the counters will break. If you do need several sections in your appendix, then consider making the appendix a regular chapter or splitting the appendix in several appendices.


9) The bibliography is automatically generated and formatted through the BibTeX application.
   The Bibliography.bib gives an example of how a bib file should look. You must compile the driver file with the bibtex command to include your references in the pdf file. 

More information about bibtex can be found on Chapter 16 of the book "More math into LaTeX" by George GrŠtzer. This book can be found at the library. Its call number is Z253.4 .L38 G745.  

General documentation about bibtex can also be found in the following websites 

http://amath.colorado.edu/documentation/LaTeX/reference/faq/bibstyles.html

http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~hildebr/tex/bibliographies.html 

http://web.reed.edu/cis/help/latex/bibtexstyles.html

We will use the ams plain bibliographic style. A complete list of bibliographic styles included in bibtex can be found at 

http://amath.colorado.edu/documentation/LaTeX/reference/faq/bibstyles.pdf

The MathSciNet service of the American Mathematical Society must be used  to obtain bib entries for each cited reference. 

http://www.ams.org/mathscinet/

You can find a guide on how to use this service at

http://www.ams.org/msnhtml/guidebook.pdf

You will need to access this service through the SHSU library website. This is simple, just go the the library website, do a search for mathscinet and follow the links. 

Once in MathSciNet, search for the specific reference, once this reference is displayed in the browser, click on "select alternative formats" and select "BibTeX", copy-paste the entry into your bib file and (possibly) change the label of the reference to something different.   

For certain references, you may not be able to find them on MathSciNet, but a google search for "bibtex title_of_reference" will most likely direct you to a different service with the required information.


10) Add the information required in the files: dedication, abstract, acknowledgements, and vita.

11) There is an extra file called approval-sheet.tex. This is my first attempt at translating the Word template provided by the library to LaTeX. You could try to add this file into your thesis, but it may need modifications. If you make it work, please let me know so that I can replace this version with yours.

12) VERY IMPORTANT: When printing your thesis make sure that the option "shrink to fit" is NOT
checked. Otherwise all the margins and spacing will be wrongly affected.


[2014/02/04, README.txt]
%-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
% End of README.TXT
%-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
