Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Wesleyan University/Survey of Latin American History (Fall 2016)

This introductory survey examines the rich yet conflicted history of Latin America, from the crisis of Iberian colonialism and struggles for independence through the contemporary era. Latin America’s heterogeneous societies evolved over centuries under shared highly unequal systems of colonial power and rule. Our survey traces these legacies as we explore how post-colonial nineteenth-century rulers and ruled negotiated the contested and often ambivalent process of constructing new national polities, societies, and viable economies in a broader international context inhabited by expansionist foreign powers. We examine the move towards greater legal equality that unfolded amidst enduring hierarchies that continued to shape everyday experience, and consider how those excluded from the promises of equality pushed for greater social recognition, political participation, and economic redistribution in the 20th 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

 * 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! These trainings are required for your course.
 * When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate's Talk page.

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 — Arreagad (talk) 17:53, 12 November 2016 (UTC).

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 3

 * 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 4

 * Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
 * Do the Moodle exercise for the Oct 2 class which is designed to help you explore the range of topics on Wikipedia that you might be interested in working with.
 * Choose 3–5 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page so you can return to them later. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing.  ***The user page (FYI) is accessed by clicking on your own user ID in the top right corner of Wikipedia. You can add to your user page by clicking edit in the upper right corner.

You should add a small contribution to an article related to your class, or add a citation to a claim that doesn't have one.


 * Complete the &quot;Sources and Citations&quot; training (linked below).
 * When you make a small claim, clearly state the fact in your own words, and then cite the source where you found the information.
 * The Citation Hunt tool can show you some statements that don't have citations. You can use that to find an article to reference.
 * 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

 * 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?

How do you evaluate which articles might be the best ones to tackle for this assignment? As beginner editors, what types of articles might be best avoided and what kinds would lend themselves well to the task?

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;?


 * On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself. (Final topics are due next week along with your article proposal)
 * 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.
 * Start to 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 7
You've picked a topic 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, 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.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Prepare a 2 page critique / proposal for the Wikipedia article you will be creating. If you are expanding a stub or existing article (most likely scenario), your proposal should include a critique of the existing article, and if you are starting from scratch, you should consider related articles.

Your critique should address: what’s there already, what is the current intended audience (if different from a general public), what are the article's current strengths and shortcomings? If you are analyzing a pre-existing article, your critique should cover points such as: Style and Tone Neutrality Sources Organization Links to other articles Presence/absence of specific categories and/or images

As you move on to your own proposal, detail the specific interventions you propose to make. How will you improve the article, and what problems or challenges (with sources, images, point of view etc.) do you anticipate facing? How will you address or resolve these problems?

Don't forget to include a link to the Wikipedia page in your proposal. Proposals are due Friday October 21 by 5pm on Moodle

Week 8
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 9
Craft an annotated bibliography of secondary scholarly works to support your Wikipedia article. Why will these particular works be helpful? The bibliography should include 5-7 books, book chapters, or peer-reviewed journal articles with brief (1-2 paragraph) descriptions on content and how it will contribute to your article. Be sure to be as specific as possible.

Annotated bibliographies are due on Moodle by Friday Nov 4 at 5pm

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.

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!


 * 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 10
Final articles will not be graded unless a draft is uploaded in your sandbox Sunday November 13 at 5pm.

You'll need to complete your Sandbox training if you have not done so already.

Week 11

 * 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.
 * Peer review should address the questions raised by Wikipedia's training module, as well as offer specific suggestions, questions, and critiques that will help your fellow classmates develop clearer final articles. Comments should be approximately 250 words per student x2.
 * As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
 * Bring laptops to Wednesday class for in-class peer review workshop.

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.

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

Week 12
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.

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!

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