User talk:75ridercarmen

Welcome!
Hello, 75ridercarmen, and welcome to Wikipedia! My name is Ian and I work with Wiki Education; I help support students who are editing as part of a class assignment.

I hope you enjoy editing here. If you haven't already done so, please check out the student training library, which introduces you to editing and Wikipedia's core principles. You may also want to check out the Teahouse, a community of Wikipedia editors dedicated to helping new users. Below are some resources to help you get started editing. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on my talk page. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 18:27, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

One Page Reflection On My Experience With Wikipedia
My Wikipedia experience has been much easier and more educational than I expected. At first, I was very intimidated by the idea of editing Wikipedia articles that millions of people would read and utilize for information. I was nervous that I would make poor edits that would worsen the articles. I also felt very uncomfortable with the process of editing in itself. For example, I did not know how to add citations, add images, or how to make my edits visible to the public. However, the trainings and exercises really helped me understand the dos and don'ts of editing. The trainings also helped me realize that editing was not complicated at all, and it was, in fact, very straightforward. Eventually, I felt confident enough to make a few simple and minor edits.

Another interesting fact I learned from my experience as a Wikipedia editor is that Wikipedia is a lot more reliable than I thought. In the past, many of my teachers have asserted that the articles are not credible and, therefore, cannot be used as a source in any research. Therefore, I have always thought that Wikipedia articles could not be cited or used in my work. However, I learned that Wikipedia has rules and guidelines that make the articles more trustworthy. The articles have a neutral tone, reliable references, and citations to back up every statement. There is also a community of editors that constantly improve articles. Before, I thought everyone's ability to edit Wikipedia made the articles less reliable because of what my teachers had told me. However, the editors improve articles by adding citations, fixing biased tones, adding images, and fixing grammatical errors.

As a Wikipedia editor, I have made many improvements to articles such as ones on Beyoncé and Alicia Keys. One improvement I have made to articles is adding wiki links to and from the articles I edited. For example, I added a wiki link from the “Jay-Z” article to the “Cultural Impact of Beyoncé” article because the article referred to her influence. This wiki link will make it much easier for readers of the “Jay-Z" article to learn about Beyoncé’s influence. My favorite edit that I made was the removal of a header in the “Cultural Impact of Beyoncé” article. I removed the header because the content in this section was not related to the header. However, the content was relevant to Beyoncé's fashion and appearance, so I moved the content to the fashion section. This edit was one of my favorites because I felt it was the most influential one I made. This edit made the article more comprehensible and easier to read.

In conclusion, editing Wikipedia has been a positive and beneficial experience for me overall. I have had the chance to contribute to articles that have been viewed by over a million people since my edits. Moreover, I have learned to view Wikipedia in a whole new light. I have rid myself of any prejudices against Wikipedia instilled in me by my previous instructors. Also, I have learned that I can use Wikipedia to find more reliable sources for my research. Lastly, I have gained a new appreciation and understanding of the value of citations and neutral-toned writing. 75ridercarmen (talk) 18:32, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

Links
Hello, please dont like common words (such as countries), see MOS:OVERLINK --FMSky (talk) 11:48, 28 November 2023 (UTC)