User:Robert Pollard/WikiTips

Introduction
I'm using this page as a place to gather and organize some WikiTips that I find useful, and that I would like to share with other Wikipedians, especially Newbies.

There are several aspects of Wikipedia that confront a Newbie Wikipedian - and even some experienced Wikipedians:
 * Understanding Wikipedia guidelines
 * Understanding Wikipedia process
 * Understanding Wikipedian culture
 * Learning the Wikimedia Markup language
 * Understanding Wikipedia Styles
 * Creating and/or edit References / Footnotes

Getting Started
Create your User page. It's a good place to learn about Wikimedia Markup, and to get some practice creating and formatting references, without being bothered by anyone

Styles

 * Manual of Style

Wikimedia Markup
Learn about
 * Help:Wiki_markup

Lead Section

 * Manual of Style: Lead Section

Headings and Sub-Headings
If you are creating a new page, one useful way to start a stub, in the form of a brief outline of sections, with a few references from "reliable sources"

Footnotes and References
References from reliable sources play a central role in upholding the integrity of Wikipedian articles, and of providing readers & contributors with access to original sources on a page's topic. When you add a reference, it's good to make it as thorough as if it were a footnote in a term paper or in a peer-reviewed article, i.e. including: Title of article/book/web page; author(s)/editor(s); publication date; publisher; location; url It's helpful (recommended) that you include the date the linked page was retrieved, using the format: Retrieved 2 February 2011. If it's a book, it doesn't hurt to add the ISBN(s).

Example
The Wealth of Networks

There are some widely used substitutes for a well-constructed reference. Please avoid their use; they may refer to the same source, but don't provide the reader with information about the source that is linked to. See also Style Manual: Footnotes and References
 * Creating an external link to a phrase in the body, e.g. The Wealth of Networks The Wealth of Networks
 * Creating what looks at first glance looks like a reference link, e.g. The Wealth of Networks The Wealth of Networks