Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Hawaii/LING 720 Language Typology (Spring 2017)

Welcome to the WikiEdu portion of the UH Mānoa course, LING 720: Language Typology (Spring 2017). For this course you will adopt a language (or language group) and report regularly on various typological features, as they are discussed in class. You should decide on a language within the first three weeks of class and confirm your choice with the instructor. It is imperative that you have access to sufficient resources on the language to address the typological questions covered in this class.

During the course of the term you will be creating or expanding a Wikipedia article for your adopted language. We’ll be following a WikiEdu curriculum which provides training on Wikipedia article creation and lays out some milestones for your page. Don’t worry if you’ve never edited a Wikipedia article; by the end of the course you’ll be an expert!

As we proceed through the term we’ll be adding more and more content to our Wikipedia articles. You’ll also be critiquing the articles your peers are writing and responding to their comments on your article. At various points you will give an in-class update (oral report) on your progress with respect to various aspects of typology. These reports will be presented orally in class (5-10 minutes). Dates are noted below in the timeline.

The syllabus for the main class can be found at bit.ly/ling720syllabus.

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! 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.

Week 2
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia language 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).
 * You can find some guidelines as to what a good language page should look like at WikiProject Languages. Bear in mind, though, that some of the typological information that we will be adding to language pages is not covered in the WikiProject Language template.
 * Choose a language 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 coverage even? Are there some areas of the language (e.g., sound system, word order) which are covered in more depth than others?
 * Does the article provide actual samples of the language, and are they properly referenced?
 * Does the article make reference to materials deposited in digital archives, where they exist?
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any theoretical claims 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 — Helaine (Wiki Ed) (talk) 17:32, 12 May 2017 (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 in the context of a language article, 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
Due to instructor travel there will be no class meetings January 24 and 26. Please use this time to complete the Wikipedia assignments below and select your language.

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article on particular language or language family. (For some ideas check out the Category:Lists_of_languages article list.) There are a few 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.
 * Copyedit the article.
 * Re-write a sentence or two that are hard to understand.
 * 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.

Propose at least 3 language articles to create or improve, ranked in order of your preference. These can be existing articles or ones for which no language article currently exists. In the former case ensure that there is sufficient room to improve the article. Your instructor will assign one of these languages for you to work on during the remainder of the course. In either case ensure that you have access to sufficient resources to write the article. Remember that you cannot rely on primary sources (i.e., your own field work data) but must cite secondary (citable, retrievable) sources.

If you need some help finding topics, check out the list of articles in the Category:Language stubs list. Don't forget you can dive into the sub-categories as well.

Once you have your language finalized, head to the Students tab above and assign yourself your chosen language topic.

Note: for a small language subfamily for which there is little extant information you may want to propose to work on an article for that group of languages as opposed to a single language.

Week 4
Last week, you chose your language article. Make sure now that you are assigned your article topic on the Students tab above. Read through your article, thinking about ways to improve the language, such as fixing grammatical mistakes. Then, make the appropriate changes. You don’t need to contribute new information to the article.

You've picked a language 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, the basic facts of the language. It should provide guidance on alternate names and population figures. These will be expanded later in the article. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Navajo. 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.

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.

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

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Morphological Typology and Lexical Categories Drawing on class readings and the resources for your language, add sections to your language article draft about morphological typology and lexical categories.

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 5

 * Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
 * You don't have to limit yourself to the morphological typology and lexical categories sections; you can add any relevant information for which you have appropriate sources.
 * 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 two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
 * Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on 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?

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.

Week 7
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 8
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.
 * Drawing on examples from other language articles, think about what types of information you would like to include in your article.

By this point all articles should be migrated from the Sandbox to Wikipedia. We're live now!

Week 9
Grammatical relations/alignment Drawing on class readings and the resources for your language, add a section to your language article about grammatical relations.

For the March 7 class meeting prepare a short (5-10 min) presentation about the grammatical relations section of your article.

Week 10

 * Select three classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
 * Peer review your classmates' drafts, focusing especially on the grammatical relations section. Leave suggestions on 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?

Week 11
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 12
'''Voice/valence '''Drawing on class readings and the resources for your language, add a section to your language article about the nature of voice/valence operations.

For the April 4 class meeting prepare a short (5-10 min) presentation about the voice/valence section of your article.

Week 13

 * Select three classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
 * Peer review your classmates' drafts, focusing especially on the voice/valence section. Leave suggestions on 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?

Week 14
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.

By this point all articles should be in near-final condition.


 * All content should have been added.
 * All necessary references should have been added.

Focus now turns to copyediting and polishing.

Week 15
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 16
Final presentations (15-20 minutes) will be in class on April 27 and May 2.