Wikipedia:How to copy-edit
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This page is a how-to guide detailing a common practice or process on the English Wikipedia. |
Contents |
[edit] Why have these pages not been copy-edited?
Many people ask why because they come to Wikipedia expecting it to be perfect. However, Wikipedia articles are written by both professionals and amateurs (mainly the latter). Because of this it is understandable that some articles may be below the standard expected of an encyclopedia. This problem is resolved through further editing carried out by other users. In most cases anyone can edit any page (through use of the 'edit this page' tab), and the effort of willing users is what works to ensure that errors are ironed out. If you come across a poor page and feel compelled, think to yourself; "Could I copy-edit this?"
[edit] Manual of Style
Wikipedia has a well-developed and continually evolving Manual of Style, also known as the MOS. Almost every Wikipedian can benefit from reading the Manual, which sets out guidelines for matters of style and formatting. The Manual has a large number of child articles that provide further information on specific topics, such as abbreviations, biographies and titles.
[edit] Spelling
Please correct spelling mistakes and typos; rectifying them contributes greatly to maintaining Wikipedia as a professional-quality resource. You are free to use spell-checking software; however, please remember that no spell-checker is completely accurate. Also, do not edit pages created with languages in which you are not fluent. An unsteady knowledge of a language can translate to inaccuracy in your articles.
Where there are no strong national ties to a topic, Wikipedia has no preference for American, British, or any other variety of English. It is important, however, for usage to remain consistent within an article. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English for the guidelines. Review the entire page before deciding that an author has made a mistake in writing flavour, colour, centre or defence (or flavor, color, center, or defense). Maximizing the occurrence of -ize, and thus -iza and -izi, is acceptable in all varieties of standard English and mandatory in Canadian and US English; however, the use of s in these contexts is much more common than the z in Britain and Ireland, and almost universal in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Again, check for consistency within an article.
- American and British English spelling differences.
- Use The American·British-British·American Dictionary for English Speaking People or your own preferred reference.
[edit] Common copy-edits
- See also sections should be long-form if relevant to most of the article but short-form if relevant only to a specific section.
- Words that are being defined, described, or referenced as words, should be italicized. Example: The term style can refer to the layout and context of an article.
- Headings should generally be noun phrases (History of...), not prepositional phrases (About the history of...).
- Headings should be in sentence case, with only a single capital letter (apart from proper nouns, etc.). Examples: Differences in defining art, Critical response to Moby-Dick, Landscape architecture and urban planning in the United Kingdom
- Titles of works (art, literature, etc.) should be italicized rather than in quotation marks, e.g., Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Notable exceptions are songs or briefer poems, e.g., "Can't Buy Me Love" or "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". Italics are required, though, for a song cycle such as Winterreise or a longer poem such as Four Quartets. The names of individual episodes of a TV series should also be in quotation marks: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the premiere episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- Unless forming part of a quotation, shortened word forms (don't, can't, etc.) should be changed to non-contracted forms (do not, cannot, etc.).
- Its and it's should be correctly differentiated. It's, a contraction of it is or it has, should not be used unless it occurs in a quotation, as with other contracted forms (see the previous rule). Its, the possessive of it, should be used in the same way as my, his, her, our, etc.
- When not at the end of a sentence, constructions such as London, England call for a comma after the second element. (Examples: He was born in London, England, during the Great Fire. -or- She was working in Atlanta, Georgia, while the city was making its long and expensive preparations for the Olympic Games.) Similarly, dates written in the American style demand a comma after the year unless the date falls at the end of the sentence. (Example: On January 15, 1947, she decided to send her landmark paper to the British journal Lancet.)
- External links generally belong at the end of an article under the heading External links. References are an exception and should match the link in the reference section; these are then handled automatically.
- Misplaced formality should be eliminated. Words and phrases such as in order to, whereas, due to the fact that, and utilize are unnecessary in an encyclopedia; instead, use to, while, because, and use respectively.
- Vague terms of size, such as a number of and a vast majority of, are usually redundant; consider several and most as alternatives, or request specific numbers.
- Many articles are verbose, with repeated material and an excessively wordy writing style. Vigorous writing is clear and concise. See Plain English.
[edit] Edit summaries
When you make a copy-edit, leave a note in the "Edit summary" field detailing your changes. Summary notes for copy-edits should aspire toward concision and mention whether the edit is a correction or enhancement. Spelling and grammar corrections generally count as minor edits, which you can denote by checking the box for "This is a minor edit"; stylistic corrections are generally major.
Try edit summaries such as these:
- copy-edit: Corrected minor typo
- copy-edit: Reworded introductory paragraph for clarity
- copy-edit: Reworked history section for more encyclopedic style
Do not feel the need to give more detailed information. Users can always consult the article history (page history) and look at the record of differences between edits there.
Always avoid the following kinds of edit summaries (ranked from least to most egregious):
- Reworked awful English, corrected author's bad language skills
- The last copy-edit was horrible; making much better follow-ups (see Etiquette below)
- Reworked pitiful excuse for English. Is the author retarded or something? My five-year-old child can spell better than that!
If you are doing a followup copy-edit, it is perhaps best to stay silent about previous copy-edits; instead, you may want to refer to your work as followup edits or additional improvements.
For common "Edit summary" abbreviations, see Wikipedia:Edit summary legend.
[edit] Etiquette
If you are taking the trouble to copy-edit an article, please remember that the original author took the trouble to fill in a gap in Wikipedia knowledge. No matter how good or bad the article seems to be or is, it is probably a valuable contribution. Your summary note should reflect these efforts by being brief, but not so brief that it is impolite.
If you are the author of a page that has been copy-edited, please try not to take corrections personally. This can be especially hard with stylistic differences. Copy-editors are usually trying to make an article better, which reflects well on both the original author and the copy-editor.
At times, caution is advisable. A copy-edit should address only technical aspects of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Specialized or controversial topics may require specific wording for accuracy and NPOV. One solution is to solicit a re-write from an editor with expertise in the subject. Another good alternative is to post potential copy-edits to the talk page for discussion so the article remains balanced and accurate while the copy-editor avoids the risk of causing or prolonging a content dispute.
Just as some writers are better than others, some copy-editors are better than others. In extreme cases, an impartial Wikipedian questions whether English is the editor's first language. If various editors revert your copy-edits to several articles, then odds are that your changes have not been productive. Remember that copy-editing is a specific talent, and many very intelligent people are better at other things.
Refrain from copy-editing talk pages for articles. Talk pages let users ask questions or make comments about article content. Although it is acceptable to copy-edit your own contributions to a talk page, please resist the temptation to modify other Wikipedians' entries.
[edit] Technical and stylistic questions
If you have a question about English grammar, punctuation, or style, you may wish to seek advice at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language or Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Grammar.
[edit] More advice
- Wikipedia:Guide to improving articles
- Wikipedia:Manual of Style
- Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines
- Wikipedia:WikiProject League of Copyeditors
[edit] External links
| Writing guides | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guide to writing better articles | Layout | Article development | The perfect article | Manual of Style |
| A collection of advice | How to structure articles | Suggested stages of an article | A checklist of components | Comprehensive style guide |
