1. Basic Text Formating: Word / LaTeX

Microsoft Word is based on a principle called “What you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG), which means that the user immediately sees the document on the screen as it will appear on the printed page. LaTeX, in contrast, embodies the principle of “What you get is what you mean” (WYGIWYM), which implies that the document is not directly displayed on the screen and changes, such as format settings, are not immediately visible.
Microsoft Word requires little start-up time and provides easy and instantaneous control of textual input and output. Microsoft Word is the predominant document preparation system across many disciplines, including medicine, law, business, and the life sciences, and is also the dominant document preparation system for professional communications. LaTeX, in contrast, is a programming language that requires the use of an external editing interface to produce documents. LaTeX is frequently used in mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering because it provides the user unlimited flexibility and is particularly useful if the user needs to set complex mathematic equations in a professional layout.
LaTeX is freely available as open-source software. In contrast, Microsoft Word is a commercial product licensed by the Microsoft Corporation.