Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Carleton University/English 2108 (Winter)

A survey of writing by women in the Anglo-American world between 1830 and 2014. Students develop an understanding of the diversity and continuities between texts by women writers, as well as the social and cultural contexts shaping those texts.

Week 1

 * Overview of the course
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.

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Handout: Editing Wikipedia


 * Basics of editing
 * Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
 * Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
 * Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments

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Handouts:, Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Create an account and join this course page.
 * Complete the three introductory training modules. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to another student on their user talk page.
 * Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a mental note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement.

Week 2

 * Be prepared to discuss some of your observations about Wikipedia articles in your topic area that are missing or could use improvement.

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Handouts:

All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 3

 * Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

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Handouts: and

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Supplementary training: Sources and Citations


 * Start researching and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 4

 * Discuss the topics students will be working on, and determine strategies for researching and writing about them.

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Supplementary training: Sandboxes and Mainspace


 * Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your topic on the course page.
 * Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
 * Once you've found at least two independent sources, you should submit the following information to me: your username, the name of your writer, and list the two sources.
 * You may choose someone from any time period and any country but she must be writing in English.
 * Remember: All contributions to Wikipedia must be properly cited, just like an academic essay, so keep track of where you get your information! Sources must be both independent and reputable. That means that the subject’s own website is NOT considered a reliable source.
 * If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, create a detailed outline reflecting your proposed changes, and post this for community feedback, along with a brief description of your plans, on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check back on the talk page often and engage with any responses.
 * Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major issues.
 * Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.
 * Here are some places to look for underrepresented women writers on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_comics_creators[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Women_writers https://en.wikipedia.org

/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Women_writers]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requested_articles/Arts_and_entertainment/Literature

http://www.annickpress.com/Fatty-Legs (Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton are two writers on our course who do not yet have pages on Wikipedia)

Week 5
All students have started editing articles or drafts in their Sandbox.

Week 6

 * We'll discuss moving your article out of your sandboxes and into Wikipedia's main space.
 * A general reminder: Don't panic if your contribution disappears, and don't try to force it back in.
 * Check to see if there is an explanation of the edit on the article's talk page. If not, (politely) ask why it was removed.
 * Contact your instructor or Wikipedia Content Expert and let them know.

Handout: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moving_out_of_your_sandbox.pdf Moving out of your Sandbox ]


 * Craft a complete first draft of your article, including references, in your sandbox.
 * You must add a minimum of 500 new words of prose about your writer. You should also add lists (such as bibliography, awards, etc.), but this will not be counted as part of your word count.
 * Make sure to include a robust lead paragraph at the beginning of the article. State the person's achievements clearly but dispassionately, so that it doesn't come off as promotional.
 * Use a lot of citations to independent sources so that your page doesn't get taken down.
 * Keep a backup copy of your draft on Word.

Week 7

 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Share experiences and discuss problems.

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Resources: Illustrating Wikipedia and Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the table at the bottom of this course page, add your username next to the articles you will peer review. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)


 * Continue expanding your article into a complete first draft.

Week 8

 * Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
 * Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.


 * Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

Week 9

 * Suggest revisions on two other articles and incorporate your peers' feedback on your own article.

Week 10

 * Add final touches to your Wikipedia article, incorporating peer reviews and copy edits.

Handout: [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polishing_your_articles.pdf Polishing your article ]


 * Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 11
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading. Reflective essays have been submitted.