Citation Needed! A Guide to Writing and Editing on Wikipedia
- Editing an Existing Wikipedia Article
- Creating a New Wikipedia Article
- Women's History Month
- Need More Help?
The Process
- Create your account and practice editing. Try to make 10 edits before you get started on your assignment. Information on account creation can be found on the ENL 3895 section of this guide.
- Make sure your article doesn't already exist! Search for it on Wikipedia. If it does exist, you can simply edit the existing article.
- Use the Article Wizard to start creating your new article. This will help you create a draft space for your article. Make sure to bookmark it and share with your group. Multiple people can edit the same draft, so only one person in your group needs to create the draft.
- Write! Check out the links in the Helpful Resources box if you need some more guidance.
- Hit the blue "Publish page..." button when you're done! This will allow the page to either be published, or be sent for review by other Wikipedia editors. Consider saving a copy of your article somewhere to ensure you have an extra copy of it. The 'download as PDF' link on the left is great for doing just that.
Helpful Resources
- Manual of Style From Wikipedia. "The MoS presents Wikipedia's house style, to help editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting, making Wikipedia easier and more intuitive for users. Plain English works best. Avoid ambiguity, jargon, and vague or unnecessarily complex wording."
- Your First Wikipedia Article Everything you need to know about writing and creating your first Wikipedia article.
- Article Development The process by which articles turn from short 'stubs' into useful, longer articles.
- Examples of Good Articles Language and literature articles that are considered 'good articles' by Wikipedia. These can serve as good examples of what your finished article should look like.
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- Last Updated: Jan 17, 2023 3:01 PM
- URL: https://belmont.libguides.com/wiki
How to Use Wikipedia in a Smart Way: *
What is wikipedia.
Wikipedia is a free, open and multilingual online encyclopedia written by voluntary and anonymous contributors from around the world. Yes, it is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit . "Wiki" describes an easy-to-use website where users can do collaborative editing. Originally, wiki is a Hawaiian word for "quick," and was first used by developer Ward Cunningham as computer terminology. Wikipedia was established by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001, and, up to present, it has become the largest and most popular Web-based reference source with 5,699,306 articles written in English.
What Wikipedia is not?
Wikipedia is not a primary source, nor a secondary source. It is a tertiary source built on the analysis of primary and secondary resources. Find more misconceptions about Wikipedia.
Who uses Wikipedia?
A group of researchers studied more than 500 articles on the subject of Wikipedia and their finding reveals that scholars, librarians and students are the most common users. They come to Wikipedia either for light-topic information or for serious topics concerning health and legal background.
How do I use Wikipedia properly?
If Wikipedia is used appropriately, it will help you to do the research. Do remember verify whatever you find in another source. Here are a few tips:
- Check the background information of a specific topic or the meaning of a term that doesn't sound familiar to you. For instance, who is Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff, Sr. ?
- Help become familiar with a research topic or serve as a starting point for a research to get a general impression. However, definitely you don't want to just stop there. Library has more resources to offer, which direct your thoughts fly high!
- Help narrow a broad research topic or help develop a research topic. You have to check the subheadings of the Wikipedia article or ask questions to a certain aspect of it. Check " Global Warming " in Wikipedia, do scientific discussions and popular opinion view global warming differently? And why?
- Help develop search terms that can be used in libraries' databases. Under " Global Warming ," you can find "greenhouse effect," "social aspect," "effects of global warming," and "permafrost," etc., which are very useful to narrow down a topic and used as good search terms in libraries' databases.
- Help find additional resources. At the end of Wikipedia articles, you will find a list of references (magazines, newspapers, journal article, and books, etc.) which direct you to outside resources that contributors consult. Check those works. Some are helpful and relevant to your research. However, some may surprise you and make you evaluate Wikipedia critically. --- The above ideas are adapted from "Using Wikipedia in Information Literacy Instruction" by Cate Calhoun
How can I evaluate Wikipedia articles?
To get the best judgment of Wikipedia articles, you have to know how Wikipedia works. To know how Wikipedia works, you have to create a Wikipedia article. To write a Wikipedia article, you may register an account and become a Wikipedian, or just simply let the computer use your IP address automatically. If you don't want to, no bother. Here are a few tips:
- Check the topic and its corresponding length . "The longer, the better" seems to work well in Wikipedia. At least it gives some indication of the maturity of the article.
- Check the first/introductory paragraph . Does that provide a good summary?
- Check the subheadings and see whether they are well-developed. Logical? Coherent?
- Read the article thoroughly . Does the article contain few errors? It is poorly-written or well-organized? If the article touches a controversial topic, does the tone sound neutral or biased?
- Check the references at the end . How many citations come from authoritative sources (journal articles and books)? Are the links active? Do the contributors cite resources accurately?
- Check the talk page , which will present you the history of the particular article. When was the article created? How many contributors? Do they communicate with each other with grace? Do you see any sign of vandalism? Do you see any sign of "writing for profit?"
- Find the same topic in another resource , for instance, Encyclopedia Britannica, and compare them.
Cite Wikipedia articles or not?
Citing encyclopedia articles in assignments is usually not recommended, and this is even more true when it comes to Wikipedia. The reason is very simple: One should not completely depend on information provided by anonymous contributors, because you do not know if the person who wrote or edited the article are qualified in that subject area or has the right information/knowledge . The fact that "any one can edit" makes Wikipedia a socialpedia and a randompedia. When one begins working on a research paper, that means you are entering the scholarly world, where validity and trustworthiness are highly valued, based on modern conventional principles and practices that have been developed for hundreds of years.
What are Wikipedia featured articles?
Wikipedia featured articles refer to those articles that are evaluated by editors as ones with best qualities, in terms of accuracy, neutrality, completeness, and style. There are 5,373 featured articles written in English language. If you intend to cite a featured article in your assigned paper, consultation with the professor is strongly recommended.
Asst Prof/Head of Cataloging & Serials
Library Online Reference Resources
Even though Wikipedia can provide you with a starting point for your research, our library also offers you a number of scholarly reliable resources.
- Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window Delivers fast and easy access to trusted information with balanced, global perspectives and insights that users will not find anywhere else.
- Britannica Escolar This link opens in a new window This collection consist of leading knowledge-building resource that is universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish
- Encyclopedia of Journalism This link opens in a new window The six-volume Encyclopedia of Journalism covers all significant dimensions of journalism, including print, broadcast, and Internet journalism; U.S. and international perspectives; history; technology; legal issues and court cases; ownership; and economics.
- Encyclopedia of Social Work This link opens in a new window This encyclopedia offer students, scholars, and practitioners a trusted foundation for a lifetime of work and research, with new articles and revisions to existing articles added regularly.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7.
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy This link opens in a new window
What is Scholarpedia?
The counterpart of Wikipedia as a popular source is Scholarpedia , which is an online free encyclopedia reviewed and maintained by scholarly experts in mathematics and sciences from around the world. This is a source with credit. Explore Scholarpedia and you will get an instant impression, which is quite different from Wikipedia. What makes it different is also one of the reasons why we recommend you resources that our library subscribed.
Further Readings
Here are a few articles that will help you gain a balanced view on Wikipedia
- Decline of Wikipedia
- Why you shouldn't use Wikipedia in your research
- Can you trust Wikipedia?
- A stand against Wikipedia
- Does Wikipedia have an accuracy problem?
- How today's college students use Wikipedia
- Wikipedia "Good Samaritans'' are on the money
- Wikipedia, a professor's best friend
- Wikipedia use: nothing to be ashamed about
- Last Updated: Jun 1, 2023 11:16 AM
- URL: https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/Wikipedia
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How to Contribute to Wikipedia
Last Updated: March 1, 2022 Tested
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 82 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 114,792 times. Learn more...
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia project, written collaboratively by volunteers. Many people view Wikipedia articles every day, but don't contribute. This how-to will show you what you can do to constructively edit Wikipedia.
Community Q&A
- It takes less than a minute to create an account, and you receive some benefits for account creation, including the ability to move pages. There is no confirmation email process, and the account creation is immediate. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Remember, in order for your account to edit semi-protected articles, it must have at least 10 edits and be four days old. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- If you have a problem with something or someone, discuss it. Always remember to be calm and reasonable, and you'll tend to have a better time in disputes. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Do not vandalize Wikipedia. It just makes a headache for everyone when people vandalize Wikipedia, and your edits will not be appreciated. The vandalism must be reverted by someone who could be editing Wikipedia constructively in other ways. Vandalism is usually removed within five minutes, or even within seconds for popular pages. Persistent vandalism could be met with a block by an administrator. If you feel the urge to vandalize with what you consider funny edits, consider editing on Uncyclopedia instead, where your funny edits would be appreciated. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 1
- Do not use multiple accounts to vandalize Wikipedia. Wikipedia's CheckUser can detect abusive multiple accounts and they will be banned indefinitely. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
You Might Also Like
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Wikipedia%3AWhy+create+an+account%3F
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Why_create_an_account%3F
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Stub
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Uploading_images
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Maintenance
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Reverting
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
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COMMENTS
The basics. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia written by volunteers to help people gain useful knowledge. Our encyclopedia is pretty comprehensive, but that does not mean we would cover every single topic that exists. Wikipedia is not a social media, a place for promotion or advocacy, nor a place to announce new unpublished theories.
Writing a Wikipedia article isn't as simple as typing plain text into a box. Familiarize yourself with Wikipedia's Manual of Style and Markup syntax to ensure your article is formatted correctly before submitting. 7. Click Show ...
Article creation is the process by which new articles are started, titled, formed, stubbed, categorized, and developed.. See Help:Your first article.You may also wish to consider using a Wizard to help you create articles — see the Article Wizard. Note: The ability to create articles directly in mainspace is restricted to autoconfirmed users, though non-confirmed users and non-registered ...
2. Check to verify that the Wikipedia page you want to create doesn't already exist using the search bar. 3. On the search results page for the term you enter, the option to "ask for it to be ...
From Wikipedia. "The MoS presents Wikipedia's house style, to help editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting, making Wikipedia easier and more intuitive for users. Plain English works best. Avoid ambiguity, jargon, and vague or unnecessarily complex wording."
A short video about that "Edit" button and what it can do when you are bold! (1:06 min) Our purpose is to create a web-based, free content encyclopedia of all branches of knowledge, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation.The goal of a Wikipedia article is to create a comprehensive and neutrally written summary of existing mainstream knowledge about a topic.
This page advises on article layout and style, and on making an article clear, precise and relevant to the reader. You can post questions about English grammar and usage at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language.; If you want to read some of Wikipedia's finest articles, have a look at Wikipedia:Featured articles.; For information on how to cite sources, see Wikipedia:Citing sources.
When making your own Wikipedia article you should aim for at least 100 words with three citations. You should draft your article in your sandbox.Tip: use an ...
Fill out the little form that pops up and click insert. That'll paste the appropriate wiki syntax into your article text. (Here is something I just figured out a few months ago: If you are adding a citation to a book, copy-paste the ISBN into that field first, then click the magnifying glass to its right.
Aim for an article that is a minimum of 1500 characters, but no more than 4,000 words. Practice entering your article with the Wikipedia Sandbox first. Actual Writing. Building your first Wiki article does take a bit of planning. You'll want to structure your article so that it reads in chronological order.
To get the best judgment of Wikipedia articles, you have to know how Wikipedia works. To know how Wikipedia works, you have to create a Wikipedia article. To write a Wikipedia article, you may register an account and become a Wikipedian, or just simply let the computer use your IP address automatically. If you don't want to, no bother.
In this guide, we will walk you through the simple steps of how to start content writing on Wikipedia. Step 1: Register Your Wikipedia Account Click Create an Account in the upper-right corner of ...
To make a new page, find or make a "red link" with the article name on Wikipedia, for example poodle, if you want to write about poodles. You can also write the page name in the "search" box in the sidebar to the left on every page, then click " Go ". If there is no page already with that exact name, the search results page will say: " There is ...
2. Create a Wikipedia Account. The first step in your journey to creating a Wikipedia page is registering an account on the platform. While starting an account enables you to create pages, it has other benefits, including: access a permanent user page where you can share a brief bio and a few photos.
First, go to Wikipedia's "Writing an article" page. As you scroll down the page, you'll see a blue button that reads, "Article wizard: an easy way to create articles." Click this button (as long as you're autoconfirmed): Image Source. Next, you'll be redirected to Wikipedia's Article Wizard. Here, you have two options ...
Wikipedia editors should write a new article before they create links to that article in list pages, disambiguation pages, "See also" sections, templates, or redirects in the encyclopedia. This is an exception to the general rule encouraging red links for notable subjects.
Steps. Download Article. 1. Create a Wikipedia account. Account creation is not required; however, if you register for an account, [1] you will be given more privileges than a non-registered user. For all of these privileges to take place, your account must be at least four days old and have at least ten edits. [2] 2.
Writing Your Wikipedia Article Crafting a Compelling Introduction: Start your article with a captivating introduction that succinctly summarizes the subject. This is the hook that will engage readers.
It's the perfect tool you can use to get the right tone for your Wikipedia article. 5. Provide Citations. Here's a quick peek of the citations in Joe Biden's, the 46th president of the United States, Wikipedia page. That's a lot of citations, isn't it? This is perhaps the most crucial step when writing your Wikipedia article.
1. Do some research about Wikipedia. Learning the ins and outs of being a good Wikipedia citizen can help you create pages that are less likely to be deleted or challenged in the official review process review. TIP: Explore Wikipedia's conflict of interest guidelines before you begin. 2.
Step 6: Publish your biography. The final step is to publish your biography on Wikipedia. Your biography can be made public once it has been reviewed and approved by other editors and posted on the platform. In conclusion, creating a Wikipedia biography requires careful research, writing, and editing.
A PDF brochure by the Wikimedia Foundation about how articles evolve, elements of good quality articles, and signs of poor quality articles.. Some of Wikipedia's articles are comprehensive right from the outset, but most start off as stubs and ideally grow into well-written, comprehensive articles with time.. This page describes the stages in the life of an article and lists the ways in which ...
Create a Wikipedia Account. Only registered users can create new pages. Create an account on Wikipedia using a legitimate email address and a username. Get Some Experience by Editing Existing Pages. Before starting a new page, do a little practice to get the hang of it.