Ambassadors Orientation Resources: Editing

Editing: The Basics

Handouts & Job Aids

Welcome to Wikipedia is a reference guide to help you get started with contributing to Wikipedia. Using the guide, you will be able to create a Wikipedia user account, start editing, and communicate with other Wikipedia contributors. You will also learn how articles evolve on Wikipedia and how you can assess the quality of an existing Wikipedia article. Welcome to Wikipedia consists of 17 pages, including a quick reference to help you to remember frequently used wiki markup commands.

Click here to download a PDF. (12 MB)

• Wikipedia Referencing (PDF)

— This handout explains why references are important, where to place them, and the basics of adding "ref" tags.

• Handout for Referencing Code (PDF)

— This handout explains the basics of "ref" tags and the "name" parameter as well as "citation templates."

• Plagiarism Handout (PDF)

— This handout explains what plagiarism is on Wikipedia in addition to why and how to avoid it.

• How to Move Out of Your Sandbox (PDF)

— This handout walks through how to move an article draft from a userpage sandbox into Wikipedia

• Uploading Images to Wikipedia (PDF)

— This handout explains the basics of uploading an image on the English Wikipedia.

• Submitting an Article to Did You Know (PDF)

— This handout walks through how to submit a new or newly expanded article to the Did You Know process so that it will appear on the Main Page.

Links

''PLEASE NOTE: The following information on copyright and plagiarism is provided as only an overview in an effort to help you and your students comply with Wikipedia's copyright policies. It is not intended to provide or imply legal advice. If you have questions or concerns regarding potential copyright issues, please consult a licensed attorney in your area.

Copyright

• A Beginners Guide to Copyright on Wikipedia
• Copyrights & Wikipedia
• Copyright: Copy & Paste
• Copyright FAQs

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism
• Plagiarism Handout

Videos

Editing Tutorials

• Basic editing: bold and links (3 m 37 s)
• Basic editing: citing sources, part 1 (2 m 3 s)
• Starting a sandbox article (2 m 11 se)
• What are Talk Page and how to use them

A little bit about the community...

• User Name — This video shows some of Wikipedia's contributors, explaining their user names. (49 s)
• Nice People — Why do everyday people contribute to Wikipedia? This video focuses on the motivations and passion of Wikipedians. (1 m 26 s)
• Edit Button — Click the edit button. Contribute. This video is a direct invitation by Wikipedians to "click that button and see what happens". (1 m 6 s)
• Great Feeling — In this video, Wikipedians talk about the joy of being part of a global community of editors. (1 m 23 s)

Resources by Orientation Module

• The Core: Wikipedia Core Principles and Guidelines
• Wikipedia Editing: The Basics
• Using Wikipedia in the Classroom

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