Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Drew University/Writing for Wikipedia (Spring 2023)
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- Course name
- Writing for Wikipedia
- Institution
- Drew University
- Instructor
- Sandra Jamieson
- Wikipedia Expert
- Brianda (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Writing Studies
- Course dates
- 2023-01-17 00:00:00 UTC – 2023-05-12 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 16
This course is designed primarily for students who wish to continue developing their writing and information literacy skills beyond the first year. We will partner with the nonprofit WikiEdu, which is working with college students to increase the accuracy and diversity of Wikipedia entries. By learning to find and transform academic texts into public writing that is accessible to a wide readership, students will deepen their understanding of audience and purpose and practice meaningful real-world writing. In the process, they will increase their writing and editing skills, from accuracy to grammatical correctness, clarity, and avoiding plagiarism. The class will explore the democratizing aspects of crowdsourced information and its limitations, and the role of such information in the age of “fake news.” This is a Community-based learning course whose goal is to provide the public with accurate and reliable information that they might not be able to find if they do not have access to academic databases or college libraries.
Timeline
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 30 January 2023 | Wednesday, 1 February 2023
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 6 February 2023 | Wednesday, 8 February 2023
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.
Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- In class - Discussion
Disucssion of the role of citations and the dissemination of information
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 13 February 2023
- Assignment - Discussion
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
Thinkpiece #5 - Evaluate Wikipedia and reflect on the process
- Assignment - Exercise (in class)
- Assignment - Thinkpiece #4 - Reflecting on your experience
Begin a sequence of reflections on your experiences. You can use discussion questions to frame your entries, or reflect on the research and writing process. Create at least one reflection entry each week during the Wikipedia assignment.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 20 February 2023 | Wednesday, 22 February 2023
- Assignment - Add to an article (in class on Monday 2/20)
- Assignment - Exercise (in class)
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 27 February 2023 | Wednesday, 1 March 2023
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Guide(s) for writing articles (look at whichever are relevant to your work
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 8
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 13 March 2023 | Wednesday, 15 March 2023
- In class - Identify a second article for drafting or revision
- In class - Research sources and plan the entry
- In class - Begin writing (alone or in a group)
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 20 March 2023 | Wednesday, 22 March 2023
- Assignment - Continue improving 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.
Week 10
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 27 March 2023 | Wednesday, 29 March 2023
- Assignment - Peer review three articles
- In class - Discussion
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 3 April 2023 | Wednesday, 5 April 2023
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13
- Assignment - Exercise
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 10 April 2023 | Wednesday, 12 April 2023
- In class - Working on style and tone
In-class exercises
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 17 April 2023 | Wednesday, 19 April 2023
- In class - Peer review at least two articles
- In class - Working on style and tone
in-class exercises
- In class - Respond to your peer review
training modules as needed
Week 14
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 24 April 2023 | Wednesday, 26 April 2023
- Assignment - Polish your work
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!
- Assignment - Final article
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!
Week 15
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 1 May 2023
- In class - In-class presentation
- Assignment - Reflective essay
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.