Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Cal Poly Pomona/Early American History Graduate Seminar (Fall 2020)

This class is a graduate reading and research seminar in early American history to 1877. Students will complete a research paper asking them to write or revise a Wikipedia page on an individual notable within early American history.

Week 1
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account and peruse the Wikiedu timeline. On Blackboard, I have links to sample biographies revised by previous students.

Exercise
Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Biographies

History

Week 3
Use Wikiedu training resources to gain understanding of Wikipedia's structure and policies. For a biography you will need to find a &quot;notable&quot; person from early America whose page is in need of revising, but also someone with secondary sources available on their historical contributions and life. You may use primary sources, but the secondary sources help to establish notability and peer reviewed assessments of how to read the primary sources.

Week 4
What's a content gap?

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Exercise
Evaluate an article

Week 7
Finalize your topic / Find your sources

Week 8
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Exercise
Add a citation

Week 11
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Exercise
Add links to your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Now that you've improved your draft, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 14
It's the final week to develop your article.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
 * Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Guiding questions

Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.