Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Simmons College/History-WGST 215 Women and Gender in the US before 1890 (Fall 2016)

This course studies the many historical transformations in American women's lives and roles from pre-Columbian times through the colonial period, the era of the Revolution, and the nineteenth century.

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
Please be sure to create a Wikipedia account for yourself before we meet on Oct 25.


 * 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.

Choosing from the list on the class handout, pick a new article to research and write, and sign up for it under the &quot;Articles&quot; tab. Then begin your article by learning to use your sandbox with the training module below.

Please start the entry by creating a header in your sandbox with the title of your article. We will work on these more during our next class.

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).
 * Read the Wikipedia articles on &quot;Lowell mill girls,&quot; &quot;Sarah Bagley,&quot; &quot;Lowell Offering,&quot; and &quot;Voice of Industry.&quot; 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. During class time, you will leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Clio.at.work (talk) 16:20, 8 December 2016 (UTC).

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;?

Week 3

 * 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?


 * 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.
 * 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.

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.


 * Consider writing your new article in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's &quot;lead section.&quot;  A &quot;lead&quot; section is not a traditional introduction. It should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. The &quot;lead&quot; section on many articles is about 500 words long (that is, the minumum length of the new article you are expected to write for this assignment.) See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
 * See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Cheatsheet for a helpful list of editing commands; you'll find the complete guide at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Wiki_markup.

Week 4

 * 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?

'''Finalize your sources '''


 * Submit a 2-3 page annotated bibliography, identifying and assessing the main sources you used (and/or will use) for your new article and parts of other articles. For each source, you should include 1-3 sentences of summary describing the source overall and its basic argument, plus a sentence or two identifying the author’s credentials and background on the topic, noting other publications or academic appointment for example.
 * Make sure to include the bibliography (without annotation) as a section at the end of your new article draft in your sandbox.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

'''Improving an existing article '''


 * Select an article (from the class handout) to improve. 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.
 * 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 5

 * 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 6
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.

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.

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.


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

Week 7
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!


 * Present about your Wikipedia editing experience during our class session on Dec 2.

It's the final week to develop your article. Remember your work must total at least 1000 words -- a new article at least 500 words long, and at least 500 words edited in other articles.


 * 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!

''Wikipedia demands that entries be neutral in tone, but if you were to make an interpretive argument about the topic you researched, what would it be? What insights did the primary sources provide for you? What do you conclude about the topic from the primary sources you located?''
 * Write a reflective essay (2–3 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions. Your essay should address the following questions:

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