In class - Wikipedia essentials

• Overview of the course
• Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
• Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.

Handout: Editing Wikipedia

Assignment - Create your account and learn the basics

• Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.

Resources: Online Training for Students

Assignment - Critique an article

• Review pages 4-7 of the Evaluating Wikipedia brochure. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
• Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
• A few questions to consider (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  • Is any information out of date?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?

Resources: Evaluating Wikipedia, Using Talk Pages

Assignment - Add to an article

• Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

Assignment - Copyedit an article

• Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve and correct its language and grammar, and make the appropriate changes. (You do not need to alter the article's content.)