Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/MIT/Workshop in Written Expression Spr2017 Sec2 (Spring 2017)

Designed for high intermediate ELS students to review and practice accurate grammar, effective sentence and paragraph structure, punctuation and word choice. Short weekly writing assignments with extensive revision required. Can be repeated for credit. Limited to 18. No listeners.

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

Week 2

 * 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! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
 * 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.


 * What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of &quot;neutrality&quot;?
 * What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
 * On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
 * If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?

Week 3
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.


 * Complete the &quot;Evaluating Articles and Sources&quot; training (linked below).
 * Choose an article, and consider some questions (but don't feel limited to these):
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — ~.

Week 5
For your main Wikipedia project, you will write a substantial contribution to Wikipedia--a minimum of 750 words. This may take the form of:


 * a completely new article, whether REQUESTED on Wikipedia or some topic you create yourself.
 * the expansion of an existing Stub into a full article;
 * a major addition to an existing article.


 * 1) Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
 * 2) Begin finding 2-3 potential articles that you can tackle.


 * To find requested articles:
 * Go to any “Portal” (from the main page) and look for “Things you can do” or “Open tasks” and look for “Requested articles” links. (These tend to be in different places on different portals, so look around!)
 * From a Portal page, go to any subportal and look for “Things you can do” or “Open tasks” and look for “Requested articles.”
 * Search on a topic that interests you, and if the article exists, go to the Talk page and see if it’s part of a WikiProject. Then go to that Project page and look for “requested articles.”
 * Go to any WikiProject page and look for “Things you can do” or “Open tasks” and look for “Requested articles.”


 * To find Stubs or Start(ed) articles: 
 * Go to the chart on any (most) WikiProject page and choose a stub of any priority.
 * Look for “Things you can do” on any portal or Wikiproject page and see if there’s a link to stubs.
 * Search on a topic that interests you, and if the article exists, go to the Talk page and see if it’s part of a WikiProject. Then go to that Project page and look for “requested articles.”
 * You may also try finding an already existing list of stubs on Wikipedia that are related to your interests. Check out this link here for help.
 * REMEMBER that that chart may not be completely up to date, and a given article may have been edited since it was given that classification. Check the article, its Talk page, and the Article History.


 * You may also want to propose an article that doesn't already exist at all.
 * IMPORTANT: Before you can finalize your possible choices, you will need to find 3-5 good sources to help substantiate the article  and defend it on the basis of &quot;notability.&quot; ON TUESDAY IN CLASS I will go over different ways to find good sources, including what you have access to here at MIT, but see what you can do in the meantime.
 * For articles that already exist, check the Talk page and the Article History page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing on it already.
 * For Tuesday, post links for the articles you're thinking about on your own Wikipedia Talk page and describe briefly what you would do for each.

Review Wikipedia's rules for topics related to medicine, human health, and psychology.

Discuss possibilities in small groups, get feedback.

Week 6
Now that you're thinking about what makes a &quot;good&quot; Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.


 * Wikipedians often talk about &quot;content gaps.&quot; What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
 * What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
 * Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
 * What does it mean to be &quot;unbiased&quot; on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of &quot;bias&quot;?


 * Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
 * What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
 * What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
 * What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?

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.


 * On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
 * In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
 * Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
 * Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

Week 8
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing. Be sure to READ THIS DOCUMENT FIRST, and read what is here in this box as well.

'''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.

'''Improving an existing article? '''


 * Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.

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

Let me know if you run into difficulties or have any questions!

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.


 * 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.

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

 * 1) First, take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; online training.
 * 2) Click here to seewhose articles you will be reviewing and where to find them (make sure you view all three columns on the document.)
 * 3) For each of your classmates' drafts, do the following:
 * 4) Read through the complete draft.
 * 5) Read through it again, making notes on paper.
 * 6) Note at least three things that you like and are done well.
 * 7) Note at least two things regarding the content (not grammar) that you think could be improved. These could include: explanations are unclear, context that is unexplained and thus unclear, terms that are not explained well enough, explanations that are incomplete, places where the citations are unclear or missing, terms/names that you think probably have their own Wikipedia pages and should thus be linked.
 * 8) Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the person's sandbox, and be sure to sign your comments with &quot;WritingMan (talk) 22:59, 16 May 2017 (UTC)&quot;.  Then, on the Talk page (i.e., where you just posted your comments), press &quot;Download as PDF&quot; on the left side of the Wikipedia page, print it out, and bring it to class.
 * 9) Then, for each article, press &quot;Download as PDF&quot; on the left side of the Wikipedia page, print it out, and proofread it for the items below. When you think you see an error, circle in (in colored ink) and write the error code in the margin.
 * 10) * verb tenses (VT)
 * 11) * proper word forms (WF)
 * 12) * articles (AR)
 * 13) * punctuation (P)
 * 14) * any other problems you notice (or think you do).
 * 15) Bring these to class also.

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. 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 11
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!


 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

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;

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 12
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!

Present about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:


 * Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
 * Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
 * Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
 * Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
 * Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?

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