User:Writing Teacher

I teach writing and journalism at a well-known university.

Most professors here do not allow students to cite Wikipedia in their papers, because it is not considered as a reliable source. Nevertheless, most students use Wikipedia to get basic information, and that's a good thing.

I use Wikipedia in my classes, mostly for examples of good and bad writing. I'll show an article or part of an article to my class, and have them discuss the quality of its writing.

Sometimes, the work is so good that nobody can see a way to improve it. But most of the time, the work can be improved, and the students make suggestions. I encourage them to go to Wikipedia and make the appropriate edits. A lot of them will do that.

Occasionally, the work is so bad that the students laugh at it, or just shake their heads. Sometimes they will try to improve these very bad articles. Most of the time, they don't.