{"id":26,"date":"2018-07-02T11:36:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T11:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinking.is.ed.ac.uk\/wikitranslation\/?p=26"},"modified":"2018-07-05T00:24:09","modified_gmt":"2018-07-05T00:24:09","slug":"wikipedia-essentials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinking.is.ed.ac.uk\/wikitranslation\/wikipedia-essentials\/","title":{"rendered":"Wikipedia essentials"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The Translation Asssignment as part of the Independent Study module.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the University of Edinburgh we have supported Translation workshops<\/a> for the last 4 semesters. The method we use is to run 2 x 2 hour workshops, run a week apart, at the beginning of the semester.<\/p>\n

The first 2 hour workshop introduces the students to how<\/em> to edit Wikipedia (lesson plan<\/a> and video<\/a>) and makes sure they are grounded in the need-to-know<\/em> Wikipedia essentials. These are summarised below.<\/p>\n

Visual Editor makes life a lot easier.<\/h3>\n

Wikipedia’s new WYSIWYG Visual Editor interface<\/strong><\/a> is very intuitive to use but it’s not enabled by default. You should enable it in <\/a>Preferences\u00a0<\/strong>before going any further.\u00a0 Once enabled, you can practice with the Visual Editor mini tutorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Be bold<\/h3>\n

You should be bold<\/strong><\/a> and edit any<\/em> page on Wikipedia you wish to… as long as you are responsible<\/strong> and backing up any statements with a citation from high quality reliable published source.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u201c5 Pillars of Wikipedia\u201d flickr photo by giulia.forsythe https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/gforsythe\/21684596874<\/a> shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wikipedia has 5 guiding principles (or pillars)<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia.<\/li>\n
  2. Write with a neutral point of view<\/a>.<\/strong> (avoid using peacock terms and weasel words<\/a>)<\/li>\n
  3. Every page is licensed as f<\/strong>ree content that anyone can use, edit and distribute. <\/b>Therefore use only Creative Commons open-licensed images and write in your own words <\/em>as close paraphrasing is still copyright violation.<\/li>\n
  4. Be respectful and civil<\/strong> when discussing an article on Wikipedia’s Talk pages.<\/li>\n
  5. There are no firm rules<\/strong>. Lots of norms, conventions and guidelines but exceptions to the rule can also be argued.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    What is a reliable source?<\/h3>\n

    Wikipedia is a tertiary resource based on reliable, published secondary sources<\/a><\/strong> with a reputation for fact-checking & accuracy. It is these sources backing up every statement that should be cited not Wikipedia itself. Hence:<\/p>\n