Every grad student in mathematics needs to be reasonably fluent in LaTeX. If you already know it, taking notes will be a breeze for you. If not, then the main point of this assignment is to get acquainted with it. In either case, practice LaTeX at every possible opportunity (LaTeX the solution sets you write as a TA; LaTeX your other course notes; LaTeX letters, applications, and CVs). Writing a thesis is hard enough without also tearing your hair out because you can't figure out how to get your commutative diagram to look right.
I have posted a template on ICON of a basic LaTeX file for each assigned note-taker to use. While it could have had all sorts of bells and whistles (e.g. a more elaborate header identifying the class we're taking notes for), I opted instead to give you a template that you could easily use again in many, many mathematical contexts.
The first step you need to do is get an overall idea of how to use LaTeX. There are two schools of thought on how to do this. If you generally jump right into the water (or start assembling as soon as you open the box), you might want to immediately begin typing your notes into the template. If, however, you generally put your toe in first (or read the instructions before starting assembly), you might want to look at th webpage http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Wiki/index.php/LaTeX or the list of reviews at http://www.macrotex.net/texbooks/, which includes links to books available online.
The internet has made learning LaTeX much, much easier. Once you have the basic idea, the key references you'll want are things like http://omega.albany.edu:8008/Symbols.html (google "latex symbols") and http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/latex/ltx-2.html (google "latex help"). In general, when you're stuck trying to number your pages, or center your equation, or add a diagram, try googling LaTeX and whatever you need.
When you are finished with your notes (and know that they compile correctly!), send me the LaTeX file. I will compile it and post it online. The note-taker is not responsible for digitizing diagrams, except as a scanned, hand-sketched sheet of figures. Those who know LaTeX reasonably well will get to digitize at least some of these diagrams in lieu of taking notes twice.
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