Hi all,
I’m excited to share with you our new interactive tool *teaching encyclopedic writing*[1]. Encyclopedic writing differs from other kinds of writing, such as academic, journalistic, or creative writing. In order to learn how to contribute substantial content to Wikipedia, it is not enough to learn the technicalities of using Wikipedia's interface, as taught by the interactive educational software[2]. The Encyclopedic Writing Guide was born of a need to instruct participants in our Educational projects, as well as the general public, on the principles of encyclopedic writing, and specifically those of Wikipedia. The guide is aimed at teaching the rules and "best practices" that apply at various stages of contributing content to Wikipedia: from choosing a topic for an article, to finding sources, to structuring the article, and finally, the required writing style. The guide thus teaches how to asses the encyclopedic importance of a topic, how to find independent and reliable sources on that topic, how to structure the information according to Wikipedia's article format, and how to produce neutral and succinct writing.
The guide is built as a website. Users are invited to choose between two tracks: a track for expanding existing articles and a track for writing new ones. In both tracks, each of the four stages is presented on a different page, where the related information, tips, examples and practical tools are concentrated. The information is presented in a basic concise form, and the users are invited to open links and pop-ups to obtain more information and practical examples.
Editing Wikipedia is not just a technical skill. While learning how to use Wikipedia's interface is necessary, it is not sufficient in order to learn how to contribute substantial content to the platform. The Encyclopedic Writing Guide is the first tool of its kind teaching how to create encyclopedic content.
Best,
*Michal Lester,*
*Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* [1] https://guide.wikimedia.org.il/ [2] http://www.wikimedia.org.il/%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%94/