Re: Using Org for a dissertation

[Matt Lundin <mdl@imapmail.org>]

Richard Lawrence <richard.lawrence@berkeley.edu> writes:

> I am a graduate student in philosophy, and I am about to begin writing
> my dissertation.  I am wondering about whether I should write it in Org,
> or stick to plain LaTeX.

I would recommend LaTeX. In my experience, writing long documents (or
Beamer slides) in org-mode creates additional work, insofar as I have to
think through two layers of translation: 1) how to get org-mode to
translate nicely into LaTeX; and 2) how to get LaTeX to output the final
document I desire. In larger documents, "leaky abstractions" can quickly
become a problem. I tried writing in org-mode but ended up with a
document encrusted with all sorts of hacks (#+LaTeX: lines and the
like). IMO, writing in LaTeX/AUCTeX affords greater control over the
final document. (Note: the new export engine will give the user greater
ability to reduce the number of "leaks".)

I would recommend using org-mode if the following apply:

1. You will rely heavily on org-babel.
2. You anticipate having to output to multiple formats (e.g., your
   dissertation advisor requires you to submit .doc files).
3. Your document structure will be straightforward.

I would recommend using LaTeX if the following apply:

1. You have numerous footnotes. (Fontification and export of footnotes
   in org-mode can be painfully slow when a document contains hundreds
   of footnotes.)
2. You are using biblatex. (If you are relying heavily on biblatex for
   citations, then you will need to export to LaTeX to output your final
   document, thus precluding the possibility of outputting to other
   formats. Furthermore, AUCTeX offers very helpful syntax highlighting
   and folding of citations and footnotes, along with excellent reftex
   integration.)
3. You will be using a many cross-references.

My workflow is as follows. I rely on my org-mode files for drafting
small segments of a project. I then export the segments to the kill ring
with the following function and yank them into the relevant LaTeX file.

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
(defun my-org-export-latex-to-kill-ring ()
  (interactive)
  (kill-new (org-export-region-as-latex (point) (mark) t 'string)))
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

Best,
Matt