Wikipedia:WikiProject Middle-earth/Standards

This is a style guide for Tolkien-related articles in an effort to organize and standardize Tolkien-related articles, lists, categories, templates, and other items in general. Please note that this may change according to WikiPolicy or participant consensus. Please take particular note of the References section.

Participants can quote the style guide by the following: WP:MeS 1.6.2. (WP:MeS - Middle-earth Standards, section 1, subsection 6, number 2).

Abbreviations

 * 1) Abbreviations of names of books, movies, series, people, etc. should not be used in articles or lists (e.g. write out The Lord of the Rings, not LotR; Tolkien or J. R. R. Tolkien, not JRRT).

Bolding

 * 1) Always use bold typeface for the topic of the article at first mention in the article.

Capital letters

 * 1) Use capital letters according to British English. Wikipedia's Manual of Style states to "...use rules appropriate to the cultural and linguistic context".
 * 2) Use capital letters when writing about the races of Middle-earth, but lower-case when writing about individuals or groups of individuals i.e. Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, Orcs, Istari, Valar, etc. (e.g. "the hobbits walked down the road", "Hobbits have hairy feet", "the hobbit jumped over the fence", "the Elf lord bowed before them", "the orcs were running over the plain").

Categories

 * See also: MeS 5.1.2 and MeS 6.1


 * 1) Before creating a category, please check to see if there is a same existing category or subcategory in Category:Tolkien, and consider if the subcategory is really necessary.
 * 2) Generally, do not categorize things twice. However, if two or more categories from different sub-branches apply, then it would be proper to use both.

Italics

 * 1) Always use italics for titles of books, series, movies, game, etc. (e.g. The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, etc.)
 * 2) Use italics for "isolated words and phrases in other languages". In terms of Tolkien-related articles, this would include anything in the Languages of Middle-earth (e.g. Quenya, Sindarin, Rohirric, Khuzdul) as well as Old English. Note that italics should be used only for words from other languages, e.g. terms for objects and creatures (palantíri, mûmak, fëa), but not for personal or other names, e.g. of peoples or places (Eldar, Azanulbizar); if in doubt, consult the book indexes. For inserting translations of words in another language, see MeS 7.4.

Notability

 * For more information, refer to Notability (fiction) and What Wikipedia is not


 * 1) Be aware of fancruft and What Wikipedia is not. It may be hard not to go into detail, but Wikipedia is an encyclopedia focused on general interests, not on Tolkien's legendarium.
 * 2) Avoid inserting your interpretation, speculation, theories, analysis, etc.  As stated by Wikipedia's no policy, no original research.  However, if the interpretations, analysis, speculations, etc. are those of J. R. R. Tolkien or Christopher Tolkien, please make sure to include references from reputable sources (e.g. texts by Tolkien).
 * 3) Major characters/locations/items are given their own page only if the information on that character/location/item in the work of fiction is too long.
 * 4) Minor characters/locations/items or those whose page cannot be expanded further (e.g. five or more paragraphs) in terms of encyclopedic information should be merged within their respective lists.
 * 5) Articles that fail to satisfy notability guidelines should be tagged with the ME-importance template.

Punctuation

 * 1) For quotations, use "double quotes" and 'single quotes' for nesting quotations a.k.a. "quotations 'within' quotations".
 * 2) Write formally. Avoid using contractions such as don't, can't, won't, would've, they'd.
 * 3) Avoid using slashes to join words. Instead, spell it out.

Style

 * 1) All articles dealing with fictional "in-universe" material must be written in an out-of-universe (OOU) perspective. In the first place, consider stating where each piece of information is given in books, e.g. "Throughout The Silmarillion, ...", "In associated notes Tolkien stated that ...".
 * 2) Any article or section that is written in in-universe perspective should be tagged with the In-universe template.

Tenses

 * 1) All articles that cover in-universe events before the time of the books must be in past tense, as decided as a consensus here; events at the time of the books should be in the literary present. Though it states in the Guide to writing better articles that generally fictional articles should be written in present tense, Tolkien-related articles are an exception, due to the fact that we are discussing more than just plots of novels, we are outlining the history of [what we now interpret as] a fictional world — the novels are written in past tense because they are memoirs meant to explain a mythical past of our Earth, much like the Greek Mythology. Also, keep in mind that much of the information is taken not from the novels, but from informational texts (e.g. The History of Middle-earth).

Usage and spelling

 * 1) As stated by Wikipedia's style guide concerning spelling, "if an article's subject has a strong tie to a specific region/dialect, it should use that dialect". Since Tolkien was affiliated with England, all Tolkien-related articles should use British English (en-GB).
 * 2) Articles should include the template  as the first line.
 * 3) Talk pages should include the template  near the top of the page.
 * 4) Articles should use British syntax, such as the definite article in phrases like "The critic Jack Smith...".
 * 5) If you are unfamiliar with British spelling, use the very handy Manual of Style (spelling) for reference.
 * 6) Take note of correct spellings of in-universe names, including diacritical marks (e.g. Éomer, not Eomer). Use diaeresis for final non-silent e in Quenya names (Manwë, Eönwë); for Old English names, use the spelling that occurs more frequently in the books (Ælfwine but simbelmynë).
 * 7) In general, use the newer, phonetic spelling appearing in later texts as well as The History of Middle-earth series, as opposed to the old spellings published in older texts (e.g. Númenórean, Enedhwaith, Nírnaeth). An exception to this rule is Noldor, which will be spelled with an ordinary N as decided here. Other exceptions should be discussed on a case-by-case basis before moving pages to 'fix' spellings.

Wikilinking

 * For more information, please refer to Wikipedia's style guide on wikilinking.


 * 1) Create links ONLY if they are relevant to the context.
 * 2) Do not link regular, plain old English words (e.g. queen).
 * 3) Generally, there should not be duplicates of the same links. However, if you have made a link in captions or the infobox, it is a good idea to make the same link in the article.
 * 4) The following should be linked: real-world dates, places, people that have a major connection with the subject, technical terms, characters, etc.
 * 5) For linking to lists, see MeS 6.2.3.

Articles

 * See also: MeS 5.1.1

Naming

 * For more information, please refer to the Wikipedia's official policy on naming conventions.


 * 1) Most article titles are singular (e.g. Elf (Middle-earth)), unless the topics are merged in an article or a list.
 * 2) Avoid overusing parenthesis in titles of articles, unless there is disambiguation (e.g. List of Middle-earth Dwarves instead of List of Dwarves (Middle-earth)).
 * 3) Avoid the definite article ("the") and the indefinite article ("a"/"an") unless addressing the titles of a books, series, movies, etc. For more information, refer to Naming conventions (books).

Introduction

 * 1) Articles on in-universe material should begin with wording similar to "In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, [subject] is a character/place/event...", which gives: "In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, [subject] is a character/place/event..." Alternatively: "[Subject] is a character/place/event in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings."
 * 2) The [name of the] subject of the article at first mention must be bolded, preferably in the first sentence in the article.
 * 3) The lead section should be about two to three paragraphs long. This should summarize the content of each section of the article, which should cover its in-universe history and its textual history; scholarly analysis of the topic; and its use in adaptations.
 * 4) Articles must not begin with a quotation. Wikipedia has a sisterproject, Wikiquote, where quotes can be placed.

Book

 * 1) All book articles must have the Infobox Book template at the very top of the page.
 * 2) The body sections should generally follow in this order with optional subheadings :
 * 3) Overview
 * 4) Background – for novels in which the back story is necessary in order for readers to understand the synopsis
 * 5) Synopsis
 * 6) Concept and creation – details the process on how the book was created; this includes development of the text, etymology, etc.
 * 7) Reception – how scholars and critics have received the book: this is vital to establish notability
 * 8) Adaptations
 * 9) Impact on popular culture
 * 10) Further reading
 * 11) See also
 * 12) References
 * 13) External links

Character

 * 1) All character articles must have the Infobox character template at the very top of the page.
 * 2) The body sections should generally follow in this order with optional subheadings :
 * 3) Literature – the character's biography
 * 4) Appearances – possibly with subheadings for major book appearances
 * 5) Background
 * 6) Analysis – how scholars see the character, what themes are involved; this is essential to establish notability
 * 7) Portrayal in adaptations – this may include film, artwork, music, games and so on
 * 8) References
 * 9) External links
 * 10) Because all fictional articles must be in out-of-universe perspective, dates cannot be included after the first mentioned of a characters name. For more information, read the Manual of Style when writing about fiction.

Location

 * 1) All locations should contain the Infobox fictional location template at the very top of the page.
 * 2) The body sections should generally follow in this order with optional subheadings :
 * 3) * Etymology
 * 4) *Geography
 * 5) *History
 * 6) *Languages
 * 7) *Analysis – how and why scholars see the location as significant: this is essential to establish notability
 * 8) *References
 * 9) * External links

Race

 * 1) The body sections should generally follow in this order with optional subheadings :

Naming

 * 1) Before creating a list, please check Category:Middle-earth lists. All new list should be added to that category.
 * 2) Lists should be named "List of..." If the topic is disambiguous, then 'Middle-earth' should be placed prior to the noun. Remember to take care of the sortkeys.

Layout

 * 1) Lists should have a general introduction around one to five sentences.
 * 2) The list should contain all things related to the subject of the list. For example, if the list is about Hobbits, major characters must be included, along with the Main before the entry.  In this case, the introduction of the main article should serve in the list.
 * 3) If a list contains less than 30 entries (approximately, use common sense), it is better organized using sections; if more, consider employing a bulleted list or a definition list, surrounding the entries with and tags and breaking up the page with alphabetical subheadings.
 * 4) Lists organized as sections should contain TOCright template at the top; lists using alphabetical subheadings should contain CompactTOC8 template after the lead section.
 * 5) For linking and redirecting to lists, see MeS 6.2.

Images

 * For more information, please refer to Wikipedia's policy on images.


 * 1) Always tag the image you're uploading with image copyright tags. If you are not sure of the copyright, then it is best not to upload it.
 * 2) Always include a description of the image: where the image came from, what it is, etc.
 * 3) if available, place book illustrations first in the article, especially in infoboxes. Screenshots and other images from adaptations properly belong in an Adaptations section.

Fair use

 * 1) ALL images under fair use (e.g. icons, logos, drawings, maps, flags, photos, etc.) should be uploaded in a widely-used format such as PNG or JPG.
 * 2) Always include fair use copyright tags. A list of images with the following licenses should be uploaded can be found here.
 * 3) You must include a fair use rationale as well as commentary.
 * 4) There should not be more than one fair-use illustration or photograph from the same artist in an article.
 * 5) All fair use images must be in low resolution (less than 100,000 pixels).

Usage

 * 1) On talk pages of articles, place ME-project.
 * 2) On talk pages of categories, place ME-project.
 * 3) On talk pages of templates, place ME-project.
 * 4) On talk pages of disambiguation pages, place ME-project.

Usage and categorization

 * 1) All articles about an in-universe topic should be placed under the most familiar name (in most cases, consult the index to Unfinished Tales); to escape coalescence of titles with unrelated topics, names in Sindarin and Quenya can usually be used. Any other widely-known designations for the topic used in books should have eponymous redirects pointing to the main article.
 * 2) All redirects should be included into Category:Middle-earth redirects, or into one its subcategories, if appropriate. This is done by placing one of the "MER" templates on the same line as the #REDIRECT construction:
 * 3) For redirects from titles similar to the name of an article but with a different spelling (this includes omission of articles and capitalization but not misspellings), use MER from alt spelling.
 * 4) For redirects from titles similar to the name of an article but missing diacritics, use MER without diacritics. (All articles with diacritics in the title should have one such redirect for accessibility reasons.)
 * 5) For redirects from other names and titles, including translations, use MER from alt name.
 * 6) Redirects from names or spellings that were used by Tolkien for some time but were later replaced with others should be created only if there is a possibility that they are entered by a user (e.g. Teiglin, Tevildo). If created, use MER from former name.
 * 7) For redirects that are unlikely to be used (including uncommon misspellings) but are preserved for historical reasons, use MERR.

Redirects to lists

 * 1) If a topic is fully described in an entry within a list (or if a page has been merged into a list), a redirect should be created (or preserved) directing to this entry, using a construction #REDIRECT List, where "Entry" is either the title of a section in a list or the id value of the  tag (see MeS 3.2.3).
 * 2) If the entry is devoted solely to the topic in question (e.g. Minor places in Middle-earth or List of Middle-earth horses), the redirect should be tagged with MER to list entry template; if the section in the list deals with several similar subjects (e.g. House of Hador) or the list is embedded into a larger article (e.g. List of Eagles and Geography of Númenor), use MER to section.
 * 3) Linking to an entry in a list should be done using a redirect, not directly with an anchored link (sc. use Thorondor and Gelion instead of Eagle (Middle-earth) and List of Middle-earth rivers ).
 * 4) If you encounter a topic that does not have its own article or an entry in a list, create an eponymous redirect to any mention of this topic in any article and tag it with MER with possibilities.

Canon

 * 1) For many aspects of Middle-earth, earlier and later versions of the stories are available. Wikipedia articles should not present a canon version of the legendarium, but should contain information about the different versions and history of the composition of the stories. One way to do this is to have a '==Concept and creation==' section in the article. Please source such material to the posthumously published works, such as The History of Middle-earth series, as well as sourcing literary analysis of such material.

Dates

 * 1) For articles with many dates which differ from the stated standard reckoning use the ME-date template.
 * 2) The sequence 'T. A. 2950', calendar system before year, was frequently used by Tolkien and generally followed on Wikipedia.
 * 3) If an article contains several dates from the same reckoning period then include the sentence, "Dates are given in years of the Third Age, unless otherwise noted." Subsequent references to this reckoning can then be simply numeric (e.g. '2918') with no identifying label. This system can also be used for article sub-sections which contain several dates from the same reckoning period.
 * 4) For articles with only a few dates (or only a few differing from the stated standard reckoning for the article) it is easiest to just spell out the reckoning period in full; 'in the year 3319 of the Second Age'.
 * 5) To escape confusion, do not use the abbreviation "F. A.", as it can refer to both to the First Age and the Fourth. For the former, use "Y. S." (Years of the Sun in the First Age, see note in the article), and the latter spell in full unless no confusion can occur.

Terminology

 * 1) The Lord of the Rings is not a trilogy, and is arguably (and according to Tolkien himself) not a novel either. Use the words "story" (for the story as a whole), "book", "books" (both for LotR, its volumes and the 6 books &mdash; but make clear which you are referring to), "volume", "volumes" (for the three volumes of LotR).
 * 2) When referring to adaptations, label them clearly as to avoid confusion with works of the same name (e.g. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" rather than just "The Two Towers", and "The Lord of the Rings film trilogy" instead of "The Lord of the Rings films"), and label their creators when necessary. For films, mention the director, studio and date of release.
 * 3) Take note of correct singular and plural forms of terms. (E.g. an Uruk or one of the Uruk-hai, not an Uruk-hai: "Uruk-hai" = "Orc-folk"; mûmak is singular, mûmakil plural.)
 * 4) Avoid adaptation-derived terms to describe the original versions of characters, concepts, etc. Only use those terms to refer to their counterparts in adaptations, and point out that the terms are original to the adaptation (e.g. "Army of the Dead" should only be used in an adaptation context; use "Dead Men of Dunharrow" elsewhere).

Translations

 * 1) Be aware of overusing translations for every article. Use translations only if it is relevant to the article.
 * 2) When inserting a translation of a word in another language, consider using the ME-lang template. It can be placed in the lead section if translating the article title.

Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien

 * 1) Any Tolkien-related material which was created by individuals other than J. R. R. Tolkien should not be included in Wikipedia unless it is part of an adaptation which is notable in its own right (e.g. Hadhafang, Madril, and information taken from The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare). Even in that case the origin of such information should be clearly labelled.