Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Indiana University Northwest/G387 Contemporary China (Spring 2017)

Week 1
Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.

This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.

Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the &quot;Get Help&quot; button on this page.

To get started, please review the following handouts:


 * Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
 * It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! These trainings are required for your course.
 * When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate's Talk page.

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2
Complete the &quot;Evaluating Articles and Sources&quot; training (linked below).

Week 3
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:


 * Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
 * The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.

Week 4

 * Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
 * Choose 3–5 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing. Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.
 * This means that you start looking for a topic you will write on as wikipedia submission. The wikipedia articles you include in your sandbox should be somewhat related to your topic but not completely, so you do not replicate their work, and at the same time your article should consist of links to yours while yours links to them.

Week 5

 * On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
 * In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what your wikipedia article may be.
 * Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography in your sandbox. You will be  using these sources in the writing of that article.
 * Remember, all readings from class can be used as sources as well, and all outside readings you have used for your take-home papers can be used here as well.
 * Your paper topic can be an elaboration on some part of one of your take-home papers, or it can be a separate topic.
 * Before you decide on a topic, see if it is already covered in wikipedia. If it is, you may not have to give up your topic completely, but rather, elaborate on a part of it that wikipedia has not covered as extensively, and after you post it, build a link from it to the similar wikipedia article, and build a link from that article to yours.
 * You can change your paper topic later on.

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

'''Creating a new article?

'''


 * Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's &quot;lead section.&quot; Write it in your sandbox.
 * A &quot;lead&quot; section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.

Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

 * Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
 * If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the &quot;Get Help&quot; button in your sandbox to request notes.


 * First, take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; online training.
 * Select a classmates’ article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the article that you want to review, and then assign it to yourself in the Review column.
 * Peer review your classmate's draft. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
 * As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?

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

Week 7
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!


 * Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
 * Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.

Week 8
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the &quot;mainspace.&quot; This process can last a number of weeks, till about week 14 or week 15. Take your time. Before you move your work to the mainspace, you must notify me and ask at least one classmate to go through it for you, who can make comments on your talk page or edit it directly in your sandbox.

'''Editing an existing article?

'''


 * NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
 * Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!

'''Creating a new article?

'''


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
 * You can also review the Sandboxes and Mainspace online training.

Week 9
Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.

Week 10
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 11
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 Content Expert at any time!

Week 12
Everyone should be close to finishing all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia.

Week 15
You should have received peer review and are in the process of submitting your revised article to mainspace. The deadline for submission is Thursday May 5 in week 17, the same time for final paper submission.