Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Texas at Arlington/LING 4345 (Spring 2017)

Welcome to the LING 4345 wiki pages timeline. This page will guide you through your Wikipedia project for the course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.

This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.

Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.

To get started, please review the following handouts:

Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
Evaluating Wikipedia

Assignment - Practicing the basics

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! These trainings are required for your course project.
When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself on your instructor's Talk page.
Read the Editing Wikipedia articles on Linguistics handout.

Milestones

This week, you should have a Wikipedia account set up.

Week 2

Course meetings

Tuesday, 28 March 2017 | Thursday, 30 March 2017

Assignment - Critique an article

It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.

Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
Review the Wikipedia article on Semantics.
While you read, consider some questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
- Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — KalenTheGreat (talk) 07:31, 24 April 2017 (UTC). [reply]

In class - Discussion: What's a content gap?

Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.

Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?

Assignment - Add to an article

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article.

Choose an article from the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab to make a small change to in order to warm up your editing powers.
Add 1-2 sentences to the article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.

Week 3

Course meetings

Tuesday, 4 April 2017 | Thursday, 6 April 2017

In class - Discussion: Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?

Assignment - Choose possible topics

Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
Choose 3–5 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing.
Review the list of "available articles" on the Articles tab as well. Which of those topics might you like to improve?
Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 4

Course meetings

Tuesday, 11 April 2017 | Thursday, 13 April 2017

Assignment - Finalize your topic(s) / Find your sources

On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic(s) to yourself.
In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
- Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

Assignment - Draft your article

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

Creating a new article?

Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.

Improving an existing article?

Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.

Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 5

Course meetings

Tuesday, 18 April 2017 | Thursday, 20 April 2017

In class - Discussion: Thinking about Wikipedia

What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?

Assignment - Expand your drafts

Keep working on transforming your articles into a complete first drafts.
When you're ready, submit them to your instructor for review.
If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.

Week 6

Course meetings

Tuesday, 25 April 2017 | Thursday, 27 April 2017

Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Once you've made improvements to your articles based on review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."

Editing an existing article?

NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!

Creating a new article?

Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.

Week 7

Course meetings

Tuesday, 2 May 2017 | Thursday, 4 May 2017

Assignment - Continue improving your articles

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article(s), based on suggestions and your own critique.

Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your articles to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.

Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 8

Course meetings

Tuesday, 9 May 2017 | Thursday, 11 May 2017

Assignment - Final article

It's the final week to develop your articles.

Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Content Expert at any time!

Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.