Hi, I'm looking for a way to re-write my thesis (my master thesis actually), since I'd written it - quite quickly - in OpenOffice and I'm not really happy with the end result. My reason for the re-write is, in case of a PhD application I wan't something to show that really looks state of the art.

I've been tinkering around with *LaTex* [www.latex-project.org/], but my problem is that it is more like a computer language one needs to learn, before on is able to create something decent. Although the end result seems to look actually fantastic, I find the markup very .. heavy.

I could switch to *Word* from MS, instead of using OpenOffice, but in the end both are WSIWYG editors, so I'm not sure if the final result will look as nice as with LaTex. Does somebody recommend Word?

Another approach I've found is *NoTex* [notex.ch/]: It seems to use a markup called *reStructuredText*, which is translated first to LaTex and then to PDF. So in terms of quality it is like LaTex, but it does not seem to be as popular like LaTex or OpenOffice/Word. Did anyone use it, and can give some feedback about it?

To be honest, if I were you I wouldn't waste too much time on this. No one ever asked to look at my masters thesis when I was applying for PhDs, and I don't think they would care too much what it looked like anyway, all they are interested in is your final mark. By all means tidy it up a bit if it is really bothering you, but I feel the time could be better spent elsewhere!
On the other hand, learning LaTex could be a useful skill to have for your PhD, as apparently it is so much better than Word when it comes to writing up your thesis (I stuck with Word, which worked ok, but it does have lots of little glitches that apparently can be avoided with LaTex). I always intended to learn LaTex but never had the time once I had started my PhD, so now might be a good time to put in the effort! Maybe you could redo your thesis using LaTex, learning as you go along, and kill two birds with one stone :)