Wikipedia:Training/For students/Resources
Wikipedia Training
For students
Resources
Getting started
Printable guides
These printable PDF documents have instructions related to the basics of Wikipedia.
- Wiki markup quick reference – a one-page quick reference (included in the Welcome to Wikipedia brochure) to help you remember the most frequently used wiki markup codes.
- References – explains why references are important, what the expectations for sourcing on Wikipedia are, where to place references, and the basics of adding "ref" tags.
- Citing your sources – explains in more detail how to create footnotes for citing sources, and how to cite the same source multiple times.
- Using talk pages – explains how to use talk pages to communicate with other editors.
- Choosing an article – explains the Dos and Don'ts of choosing an article to work on.
- Avoiding plagiarism – explains what plagiarism is on Wikipedia—including "close paraphrasing"—in addition to why and how to avoid it.
- Moving out of your sandbox – explains the proper way for students to move their work from sandboxes into an article they are working with.
- Polishing your articles – explains how to apply final touches to a student's article, such as adding images and links.
- "Did You Know" submissions – explains how to format a Did You Know (DYK) submission.
On-wiki tutorials
- Contributing to Wikipedia - provides information, links, videos and other resources on the basics needed to comprehend, comment on, and editing.
- Wikipedia:Tutorial – General introduction to Wikipedia
- Wikipedia:Article wizard – Walkthrough of the requirements for articles, including notability and sources
- Wikipedia:Picture tutorial – Explains how to insert pictures into Wikipedia articles using wikitext
- Wikipedia:Graphics tutorials (advanced) – advice about advanced image editing
- User sandbox tutorial – Your own sandbox for experimenting, with instructions on the wiki basics
Writing articles
Printable guides
- Evaluating Wikipedia brochure – covers the basics of what makes a high-quality article on Wikipedia.
- Editing Wikipedia articles: Biographies - specific guidance on editing biographies.
- Editing Wikipedia articles on ecology – specific guidance on editing ecology-related topics.
- Editing Wikipedia articles on medicine – specific guidance on editing medicine-related topics.
- Editing Wikipedia articles on psychology – specific guidance on editing psychology-related topics.
- Editing Wikipedia articles on sociology – specific guidance on editing sociology-related topics.
- Editing Wikipedia articles on women's studies – specific guidance on editing topics related to women's studies.
Article-writing tutorial videos
| Article creation | Article improvement |
|---|---|
| A demonstration, recorded live, of how to create a Wikipedia article (7 min 50 sec) | A look at how to assess the shortcomings of an article and improve it (4m 22s) |
| Article assessments | Article evolution |
| An exploration of the standard article assessment system, with examples of each quality level (11m 30s) | A trip through the history of an article, from humble beginnings to Good Article status (6m 25s) |
Getting help
For most kinds of help on Wikipedia—technical questions; policies and guidelines; etiquette; conflicts with editors; feedback and reviews of your work—the first place you should turn is the "Discussion" tab of your course page. On the course talk page, you can also see what questions and requests for feedback your classmates posted, and you may be able to learn from the answers they got or answer their questions yourself.
- Go to your course page, click the “Discussion” tab, and post your question or request in a new section. (Be sure to sign your post with four tildes — ~~~~ — and enter an edit summary before you save it.)
- If you don't get a response within a day or two, ask your instructor.
Other ways to get help
Discussions in the right places
- Article talk pages – The talk pages of articles are typically where discussions about the content of articles take place. Other editors may leave messages about your work here. If someone reverts changes you make to an article, the talk page is where you should start a discussion. Put it on your watchlist!
- Wikipedia Content Expert – If a member of the Wiki Education Foundation's staff has been assigned to your course, you can find them on your course page, and contact them through their talk page to discuss problems and ask questions about Wikipedia (US/Canada only).
- Campus or Online Volunteers – A volunteer may be assisting your course, you can find their names on your course page, and contact them through their talk page to discuss problems and ask questions about Wikipedia.
- Course talk page – This is the main place for discussing your assignments, posting problems or questions that come up, and giving and receiving feedback about your articles. Put it on your watchlist!
- WikiProject talk pages – These are message boards for users interested in editing articles about particular topics.
Static help
- Help:Contents – Is the main help page that will guide you in the right direction. The help page may be reached at any time by clicking help displayed under the ► Interaction tab on the left side of all pages.
- Help:Menu – Is a main menu-style page that will direct you to the right place to find information.
- Help:Contents/Directory – Is a descriptive listing of all Wikipedia's informative, instructional and consultation pages.
Interactive help
- The Teahouse - A place for new editors to introduce themselves, asks questions, and find support from other editors
- The Help desk - Where you can ask questions about how to use and edit Wikipedia
- If you place
{{Help me}}(including the curly brackets) "then your question" on your talk page, a volunteer will visit you there!
Other problems
- If you have conflicts with another editor that you don't want to post about publicly, try talking with your instructor or any experienced Wikipedians your class is working with.
- For subject-specific questions related to your course, talk to your instructor(s), teaching assistants, and classmates.
Analyzing your contributions
- Wikipedia article traffic statistics – a tool for charting how many hits any given article gets, great for comparing different kinds of articles at different times, e.g., Genetics (in the school year) vs. (in the summer), or YouTube (with weekend spikes) and Simpsons (with spikes when new episodes come out). Students can also use it to see how many people are reading their articles over the course of the class (and beyond).
- Edit counter – a tool for charting how many edits you've made over time, which types of pages you've edited, and which pages you've edited most.