Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/SUNY Oneonta/Civil Rights and Liberties (Fall 2015)

What is a constitution? Who does—and who should—interpret the U.S. Constitution? What is the role of the U.S. Constitution in American politics? What do you value in a democratic republic like the United States? Putting the last question differently: Does our constitutional structure suit us as a nation?

In this course we will examine these questions while looking at case studies related to civil rights and civil liberties throughout U.S. history. Taking a historical approach, we will examine First Amendment, racial and gender equality, as well as the rights of the accused, democratic rights, and property rights. Reading for this course mainly comes from written opinions of the US Supreme Court and other primary contracts. As a political science course, we will examine both the Court’s legal doctrine and the political context of the documents and issues we consider.

Week 1: Sign up!

 * Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
 * Create a User page.
 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to another student--your partner or partners 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.

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Resources: Online Training for Students


 * Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

Week 2: Topic Ideas and Learn About Editing

 * 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


 * Research 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 3

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

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Handouts: and

Week 4

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


 * If you are starting a new article, write an outline of the topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia lead section of 3–4 paragraphs in your sandbox. Wikipedia articles use &quot;summary style&quot;, in which the lead section provides a balanced summary of the entire body of the article, with the first sentence serving to define the topic and place it in context. The lead section should summarize, very briefly, each of the main aspects of the topic that will be covered in detail in the rest of the article. If you are improving an existing article, draft a new lead section reflecting your proposed changes, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article’s talk page. Make sure to check that page often to gather any feedback the community might provide.
 * Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your lead section and fix any major issues.
 * Continue research in preparation for writing the body of the article.

Week 5

 * Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
 * Q&amp;A session with instructor about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.

Week 6

 * Move your sandbox articles into main space.
 * If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
 * If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow the instructions in the &quot;Moving out of your sandbox&quot; handout.
 * Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 7

 * Expand your article into a complete first draft.

Week 8

 * I will select two classmates’ articles that you and your group 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.)


 * As a group, offer suggestions for improving one or two other students' articles, based on your ideas of what makes a solid encyclopedia article.

Week 9
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 10

 * 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.
 * Complete article for final submission.

Week 11

 * Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.


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