Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of New Haven/Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing (Fall 2021)

The Seminar in Academic Inquiry introduces students to the conventions of academic writing and the habits of critical inquiry they will need in university courses and beyond. Students read and annotate texts on a topic (or topics) selected by the instructor, develop original avenues of inquiry through classroom discussion, and transform their questions into well-supported academic arguments. Assignment sequences incorporate opportunities for research, drafting, revision, editing, and reflection to help students find writing processes that can be replicated in future courses and workplace projects that require only polished work. Because different disciplines and career paths present different scenarios for critical thinking and writing, this course also teaches students how to adapt the conventions of academic inquiry to a variety of contexts.

Between each major writing assignment, students are introduced to Wikipedia by completing trainings through the dashboard and participating in short, in-class activities. The final assignment of the course asks each student to select an article in Wikipedia to improve, emphasising the difference between writing for an encyclopedia and writing an academic argument. We focus specifically on the role of argument in the creation of an encyclopedia article (particularly as it manifests in talk pages).

Week 4
Digital Presence

Week 5
Contributing to A Talk Page

Week 10
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Exercise
Add a citation

Week 12
What's a content gap?

Exercise
Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Art History

Biographies

Books

Environmental Sciences

Films

History

LGBT+ Studies

Psychology

Science Communication

Sociology

Women's Studies

Week 15
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Exercise
Add links to your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

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

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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!