Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Columbia College - Hollywood/COMP II - Reading, Writing, Thinking (Spring 2021)

The course is the second in the required English Composition sequence. Comp I focuses on brushing up the students' writing mechanics, and Comp II on higher-level thinking via reading and writing.

Our school is a very small film school, and although I often prefer to theme my classes in non-film subjects -- because they need breadth of knowledge as well as specialization -- I think the students will be more eager to do this level of research in film-related subjects. I plan to have the students edit and/or expand an extant article that is flagged for improvement, preferably a stub -- so that they get a real sense of having contributed. I will allow more advanced students to create a new stub/ article if they pitch me really well.

This will be one of two major assignments in our 11-wk quarters. After finishing this project (6-7 wks), they will convert their research into a well-argued analytical/ persuasive paper (3 wks, since they've already done the research!).

I hope that the two projects together will help my students: 1) Refine their understanding of proof vs. argument. 2) In addition to really digging into the nitty-gritty of vetting sources and facts, understand why style/ register are so very important and how/ why to deploy different registers for different purposes/ contexts. 3) Begin to appreciate the importance of nuance and robust editing.

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

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

We'll do these as part of threaded class discussions, usually in class.

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 3
Art History

Biographies

Books

Films

History

LGBT+ Studies

Political Science

Sociology

Women's Studies

Week 4
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.

Week 5
Guiding framework

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 6
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

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.

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!

Week 7
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!

This will actually be due the last class meeting, June 23.

Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic. This will be due the last week of class (June 23).

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.