User:DeerJerky/sandbox

Wikipedia Genre Study: How to write a good [specific kind of] article
'''**Note: Instructions are marked in italics. Examples are in quotation marks. **'''

Lead section
(Note that you don't really need a heading for your Lead Section.) ''Identify what type/category of article you examined and which articles (“featured” and “good”) that you examined. For example, here's a previous student's lead section:''

"These instructions will help any Wikipedia author write a good article on the sub-genre of music artists. To be even more specific, these instructions will focus even more in depth for R&B and Hip Hop music artists between the 1990s and early 2000s. Information pertaining content, overall appearance, length, sources, and links are presented throughout the article. This can be considered criteria for a good or even featured Wikipedia article."

For each of the following sections, introduce common Wikipedia standards (including appropriate Wikilinks) and then criteria that are specific to your type of article.

Contents & structure
''Discuss the length and typical contents of this type of article (using the table of contents). Here, you should include some detail about what kind of information goes in each section. Discuss both common and unique elements that you found in your analysis (that is, how the articles were similar and different). Here's a good example from Delaney. Notice how she begins by linking to general criteria and then supports her instructions with examples from her analysis of specific articles from the homework.''

"Length is crucial when writing a Wikipedia article. The article should not have a bunch of excess information because not all random facts are relevant when it comes to discussing the background of mammals. Due to Wikipedia being an encyclopedia it is important that the article is short and concise to allow the reader quick information efficiently. Articles on popular mammals, such as the guinea pig and gray wolf tend to have a word count between 7,000 and 14,000. Articles on less popular animals such as the royal antelope and okapi tend to have a word count between 1,500 to 3,000 words."

When discussing the contents, consider including some details about what goes in each section, as this previous student has done here with his section about the "reception" section of video game articles:

"In "Reception", the title's overall sales count of all the games should be given at first, which should be included sales all throughout the world. In addition to the number of sales, how the video games of the title has been evaluated should be mentioned. In the two articles, the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu is referred as an indicator of how the titles have been received. "Reception" in an article sometimes points out external influence of the title as DQ introduces its cultural impact in Japan. For example, it mentions an incident where more than 300 school children were arrested for their truancy for standing in line of people who were going to buy Dragon Quest III to be released. A good article of this particular sub-genre is also supposed to supply information in a heading of "Reception" about the project's commercial achievement and how the title has been received by people all over the world. In this section, 1,000 to 1,500 words would be enough for an article to be comprehensive."

Sources & citations
''Discuss how many and what kinds of sources this article category uses. Again, begin with the general Wikipedia guidelines and then move to what kinds of sources are most appropriate for your particular article type. Identify both general kinds of sources and specific source titles. Also include what kinds of citation styles/formats might be used. Here's my attempt, which you're welcome to borrow:''

"Wikipedia’s guidelines for Identifying Reliable Sources states that 'Articles should be based on reliable, third-party, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy.' More specifically, Wikipedia identifies scholarly sources as the most reliable, followed by reputable news reports. Commercial websites can be used, but authors must be careful when using biased sources not to introduce bias into Wikipedia articles.

Articles about birds typically use include scholarly sources and references to reputable science or nature magazines. For example, the article on [insert type of bird here] cites the Journal of Ornithology and National Geographic magazine."

Media & design
Describe other typical elements, such as infoboxes, images, tables, “see also” sections, etc. Feel free to paste in examples (for example, of infoboxes) if you think that would be helpful.

Writing hints (optional section)
''You might also include some discussion of how to actually compose an article. This example was at the end of a previous student's instructions, under the heading "Writing the lead":''

"Once the article’s body is written go back and write a lead. For featured articles in this category, lead sections are around 5-10% of the article's total word count. The lead should highlights main elements of the article. Also, the lead section should touch on some applications and some history if it is interesting enough to capture the attention of a potential reader."