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Simple Ways to Write a Wikipedia Article

Last Updated: August 29, 2023 Fact Checked

Proposing a Draft

Writing an article, choosing a topic, using wikipedia standards.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. There are 19 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 617,057 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow will teach you how to write and publish an article on Wikipedia. Anyone can create a Wikipedia page, but it's important to follow their writing guidelines and choose topics that fit their standards. Your topic should be "notable" (a subject covered elsewhere in reasonable detail), and your article should be verifiable with authoritative sources. Once you've decided what you want to write, we've got you covered! The steps below will walk you through the whole process.

Things You Should Know

• Before creating a new article, check to see if an article about that topic already exists.
• If you don't want to commit to writing an entire article, you can submit an article proposal as a draft.
• To write a new article from scratch, you'll need to create and confirm a Wikipedia account.

• The Articles for Creation page contains useful information about submitting proposed articles as a non-autoconfirmed user, including things you should keep in mind when choosing a topic and how your article will be reviewed.
• While not required, it can be helpful to read over this information before clicking through to the Article Wizard.

• The first page of the Article Wizard asks you if you want to go to the next page or use the Wikipedia Sandbox to practice editing and writing articles. Click Next to go to the next page.
• The second page in the Article Wizard briefly covers Wikipedia’s copyright, notability, and referencing guidelines. Click Next to go to the next page.
• The third page of the Article Wizard details a few of the most common mistakes that Wikipedia contributors make. You can then click I’m not connected to the subject Draft Creation page. Or, click I’m writing about something close to me or I’m paid to edit to create a discloser at the top of your article that explains your relationship with the article. [3] X Research source

• If you need help writing your article, you can live chat with a Wikipedia help channel representative at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IRC_help_disclaimer .

• As long as your article remains in the drafting area, you can edit it as needed.
• Draft articles that aren’t published or further edited for six months will usually be deleted from the drafting area.
• If your article is declined, you can still edit it. Once you feel like you’ve edited it enough and that it’s ready for resubmission, you can request a re-review by adding {{subst:submit}} at the beginning of your draft.

• If you make an edit that is later deleted, this will still count towards your total number of edits. [7] X Research source

• When you’re directed to your unpublished user page, you’ll see an empty text box above the Publish page button. This space allows you to write something about your Wikipedia user page. Writing in this box will not create an article.

• Before writing your first article, read through Wikipedia’s article creation and writing guidelines to help ensure that your article gets published. To read through Wikipedia’s article guidelines, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Your_first_article .
• See this method for tips on choosing your first article topic.

• Writing a Wikipedia article isn't as simple as typing plain text into a box. Familiarize yourself with Wikipedia's Manual of Style and Markup syntax to ensure your article is formatted correctly before submitting.

• If your article does not contain proper formatting or violates any of Wikipedia's rules, it may be deleted immediately. Don't save the page until you are sure the finished work is suitable for publishing.

• There are, however, several general and subject-specific notability regulations for Wikipedia articles, many of which are determined by experienced editors after your article is submitted. [14] X Research source
• If you can find several reliable, independent sources that cover your topic, it will likely be considered notable enough for a Wikipedia article.

• Writing an article about yourself or your company is strongly discouraged, as this is considered a conflict of interest. [17] X Research source

• In addition, try to keep your article to 50,000 characters of text or less. Articles that exceed this length generally need to be split into smaller articles to keep them easily readable. [20] X Research source
• Using headings to organize your article is particularly important because your headings are then shown in the table of contents that appears at the beginning to help readers navigate your article.

• The key feature of both summary-style and pyramid style articles used in most Wikipedia articles is a lead section at the beginning that summarizes the article and provides an overview of the most important information.

• To help keep your tone formal, avoid using slang, colloquialisms, doublespeak, or jargon in your article.

• For example, to bold a word or phrase in your article, surround the word or phrase with three apostrophes.
• To create a heading, for example, add 2 ‘=’ signs before and after the heading title. For a subheading, include 3 ‘=’ signs before and after the subheading title.

• In some cases, the reliability and accuracy of a resource is subjective. In such cases, it may be helpful for you to do an internet search on the resource itself to better grasp how reliable people tend to believe it is.
• Fact-checking your information will also ensure that your references are sound and that you are providing the best information possible. [24] X Research source

• It may be helpful for you to copy and paste your article into a word processor so you can run it through a spelling and grammar check before submitting it. Be aware, however, that your word processor will likely read wiki text as incorrect.

Community Q&A

• Don't forget to leave reliable sources. Users can nominate to delete articles they suspect contain "original research" (information you made up; cannot be verified by reliable sources). If an administrator or bureaucrat agrees with them, they will delete the article. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Be sure to familiarize yourself with Wikipedia's policies. For example, if you did correctly cite the sources, another user may still nominate to delete it, but if you're very familiar with Wikipedia's policies increases your chances of winning any dispute from users who may come across as hostile toward you. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_creation
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard/HowToDisclose
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Your_first_article
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Why_create_an_account%3F&gettingStartedReturn=true
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:User_access_levels#Autoconfirmed_and_confirmed_users
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Drafts#Creating_and_editing_drafts
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_create_a_page
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Size_comparisons
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Autobiography
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requested_articles
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Structure_of_the_article
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Information_style_and_tone
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial/Citing_sources
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Check_your_facts
• ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Pay_attention_to_spelling

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Citation Needed! A Guide to Writing and Editing on Wikipedia

• Editing an Existing Wikipedia Article
• Creating a New Wikipedia Article
• Women's History Month
• Need More Help?

The Process

• Create your account and practice editing. Try to make 10 edits before you get started on your assignment. Information on account creation can be found on the ENL 3895 section of this guide.
• Make sure your article doesn't already exist! Search for it on Wikipedia. If it does exist, you can simply edit the existing article.
• Use the Article Wizard to start creating your new article. This will help you create a draft space for your article. Make sure to bookmark it and share with your group. Multiple people can edit the same draft, so only one person in your group needs to create the draft.
• Write! Check out the links in the Helpful Resources box if you need some more guidance.
• Hit the blue "Publish page..." button when you're done! This will allow the page to either be published, or be sent for review by other Wikipedia editors. Consider saving a copy of your article somewhere to ensure you have an extra copy of it. The 'download as PDF' link on the left is great for doing just that.

Helpful Resources

• Manual of Style From Wikipedia. "The MoS presents Wikipedia's house style, to help editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting, making Wikipedia easier and more intuitive for users. Plain English works best. Avoid ambiguity, jargon, and vague or unnecessarily complex wording."
• Your First Wikipedia Article Everything you need to know about writing and creating your first Wikipedia article.
• Article Development The process by which articles turn from short 'stubs' into useful, longer articles.
• Examples of Good Articles Language and literature articles that are considered 'good articles' by Wikipedia. These can serve as good examples of what your finished article should look like.
• << Previous: Editing an Existing Wikipedia Article
• Next: ENL 3895 >>
• Last Updated: Jan 17, 2023 3:01 PM
• URL: https://belmont.libguides.com/wiki

How to Use Wikipedia in a Smart Way: *

What is wikipedia.

Wikipedia is a free, open and multilingual online encyclopedia written by voluntary and anonymous contributors from around the world. Yes, it is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit . "Wiki" describes an easy-to-use website where users can do collaborative editing. Originally, wiki is a Hawaiian word for "quick,"  and was first used by developer  Ward Cunningham as computer terminology. Wikipedia was established by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001, and, up to present, it has become the largest and most popular Web-based reference source with 5,699,306 articles written in English.

What Wikipedia is not?

Wikipedia is not a primary source, nor a secondary source. It is a tertiary source built on the analysis of primary and secondary resources. Find more misconceptions about Wikipedia.

Who uses Wikipedia?

A group of researchers studied more than 500 articles on the subject of Wikipedia and their finding reveals that scholars, librarians and students are the most common users. They come to Wikipedia either for light-topic information or for serious topics concerning health and legal background.

How do I use Wikipedia properly?

If Wikipedia is used appropriately, it will help you to do the research. Do remember verify whatever you find in another source. Here are a few tips:

• Check the background information of a specific topic or the meaning of a term that doesn't sound familiar to you. For instance, who is Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff, Sr. ?
• Help become familiar with a research topic or serve as a starting point for a research to get a general impression. However, definitely you don't want to just stop there. Library has more resources to offer, which direct your thoughts fly high!
• Help narrow a broad research topic or help develop a research topic. You have to check the subheadings of the Wikipedia article or ask questions to a certain aspect of it. Check " Global Warming " in Wikipedia, do scientific discussions and popular opinion view global warming differently? And why?
• Help develop search terms that can be used in libraries' databases. Under " Global Warming ," you can find "greenhouse effect," "social aspect," "effects of global warming," and "permafrost," etc., which are very useful to narrow down a topic and used as good search terms in libraries' databases.
• Help find additional resources. At the end of Wikipedia articles, you will find a list of references (magazines, newspapers, journal article, and books, etc.) which direct you to outside resources that contributors consult. Check those works. Some are helpful and relevant to your research. However, some may surprise you and make you evaluate Wikipedia critically. --- The above ideas are adapted from "Using Wikipedia in Information Literacy Instruction" by Cate Calhoun

How can I evaluate Wikipedia articles?

To get the best judgment of Wikipedia articles, you have to know how Wikipedia works. To know how Wikipedia works, you have to create a Wikipedia article. To write a Wikipedia article, you may register an account and become a Wikipedian, or just simply let the computer use your IP address automatically. If you don't want to, no bother. Here are a few tips:

• Check the topic and its corresponding length . "The longer, the better" seems to work well in Wikipedia. At least it gives some indication of the maturity of the article.
• Check the first/introductory paragraph . Does that provide a good summary?
• Check the subheadings and see whether they are well-developed. Logical? Coherent?
• Read the article thoroughly . Does the article contain few errors? It is poorly-written or well-organized? If the article touches a controversial topic, does the tone sound neutral or biased?
• Check the references at the end . How many citations come from authoritative sources (journal articles and books)? Are the links active? Do the contributors cite resources accurately? 
• Check the talk page , which will present you the history of the particular article. When was the article created? How many contributors? Do they communicate with each other with grace? Do you see any sign of vandalism? Do you see any sign of "writing for profit?"
• Find the same topic in another resource , for instance, Encyclopedia Britannica, and compare them.

Cite Wikipedia articles or not?

Citing encyclopedia articles in assignments is usually not recommended, and this is even more true when it comes to Wikipedia. The reason is very simple: One should not completely depend on information provided by anonymous contributors, because you do not know if the person who wrote or edited the article are qualified in that subject area or has the right information/knowledge . The fact that "any one can edit" makes Wikipedia a socialpedia and a randompedia. When one begins working on a research paper, that means you are entering the scholarly world, where validity and trustworthiness are highly valued, based on modern conventional principles and practices that have been developed for hundreds of years.

What are Wikipedia featured articles?

Wikipedia featured articles   refer to those articles that are evaluated by editors as ones with best qualities, in terms of accuracy, neutrality, completeness, and style. There are 5,373 featured articles written in English language. If you intend to cite a featured article in your assigned paper, consultation with the professor is strongly recommended. 

Asst Prof/Head of Cataloging & Serials

Library Online Reference Resources

Even though Wikipedia can provide you with a starting point for your research, our library also offers you a number of scholarly reliable resources.

• Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window Delivers fast and easy access to trusted information with balanced, global perspectives and insights that users will not find anywhere else.
• Britannica Escolar This link opens in a new window This collection consist of leading knowledge-building resource that is universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish
• Encyclopedia of Journalism This link opens in a new window The six-volume Encyclopedia of Journalism covers all significant dimensions of journalism, including print, broadcast, and Internet journalism; U.S. and international perspectives; history; technology; legal issues and court cases; ownership; and economics.
• Encyclopedia of Social Work This link opens in a new window This encyclopedia offer students, scholars, and practitioners a trusted foundation for a lifetime of work and research, with new articles and revisions to existing articles added regularly.
• Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7.
• MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
• Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
• Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy This link opens in a new window

What is Scholarpedia?

The counterpart of Wikipedia as a popular source is Scholarpedia , which is an online free encyclopedia reviewed and maintained by scholarly experts in mathematics and sciences from around the world. This is a source with credit. Explore Scholarpedia and you will get an instant impression, which is quite different from Wikipedia. What makes it different is also one of the reasons why we recommend you resources that our library subscribed.

Further Readings

Here are a few articles that will help you gain a balanced view on Wikipedia

• Decline of Wikipedia
• Why you shouldn't use Wikipedia in your research
• Can you trust Wikipedia?
• A stand against Wikipedia
• Does Wikipedia have an accuracy problem?
• How today's college students use Wikipedia
• Wikipedia "Good Samaritans'' are on the money
• Wikipedia, a professor's best friend
• Wikipedia use: nothing to be ashamed about
• Last Updated: Jun 1, 2023 11:16 AM
• URL: https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/Wikipedia

Talk to our experts

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• Article Writing

Definition of Article Writing

An article writing is a kind of writing that is written to reach a massive audience with the help of the press. In the case of article writing, the press refers to publishing houses of newspapers, magazines, journals, etc. Writing a newspaper article, or writing a magazine article is not easy. It requires a lot of research and writing skills. It is written in such a way that it can inform the masses about a certain topic. The main aim of the writer here is to bring some difference in the world by changing the views of the people through article writing.

Types of Article Writing

There are various types of article writings. These are writing a newspaper article, writing a magazine article, SEO article writing, online article writing, freelance article writing, and many more.

There are divisions among these articles also. Some of the articles, like online article writing, freelance article writing, can be descriptive, or narrative that depends upon the writer and the client for whom the writer works. There are a few types of article writing that most people know about. It includes narrative and descriptive types but there are many more types other than these two. These are persuasive article writing and expository article writing.

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The most important among the types of article writings is SEO article writing. It has gained huge demand for this new generation. SEO article writing is nothing but the search engine optimization of the article that is written. The question that may arise here is how can one ensure that one’s article has achieved its goal.

To answer this question, one will have to do some research on the internet. There are several ways in which one can use most of the search engine optimization techniques. First, among them is to use keywords. Keywords refer to important words of the article that could be used several times in a paragraph or in the article to highlight the importance of the word. By doing this, the reader will be able to see the particular article among the first few results, when he searches for that category of articles in the search engines.

There are also many other options that are discussed below.

One must be consistent with using the keywords. The keywords must relate to the topic of the article; if it is not relevant to the topic, the keyword will not be considered to be effective.

While writing a news article, or any other article for that matter, one must ensure that there are no grammatical errors.

The authenticity of the article must be checked before it is uploaded on an online platform.

These are the minimum things that should be considered before one can improve one’s article writing skills. Though, in the case of writing a news article, the content of the article is of utmost importance. One should keep the content original and present it creatively.

On the internet, there are many article-writing examples available. It helps the writer who is writing an article for the first time, to understand the concept better. There is also an article writing example given below. Readers can refer to that example as well for a better understanding of the format of article writing.

Tips for Article Writing

Let us get to understand some of the points that you shall remember while attempting a topic of the writing section. 

Understand your topic 

For any given topic, you shall first be able to understand it clearly. You should be able to draw related inferences for everything that comes to your mind. Usually, in this step, your brain is flooded with a lot of thoughts and your job is to be able to identify and filter them based on your requirements. Attempting such questions without planning is never a good idea because your content will not be organised unless you organise the flow of the content. Hence, the best way before getting started with such questions is to make sure that you have a clearer picture of what the question is asking you and this way, you will be able to deliver captivating content. 

Prepare an outline 

Before starting the writing part, one should arrange the pointers in the correct sequence. It should be a logical sequence keeping in mind the objectives. Cross-checking each point whether it is relevant and needed to complete the content is again another point to be considered. Preparation of an outline is important as well as useful as it helps us know what to do next and how much is left. You should be careful while preparing an outline as it should contain all the topics and that too in the correct sequence.

Review and make relevant changes 

Revisiting all the points by reading them again is one of the important tasks for a well-written part. While revisiting you might come across some of the content which is not required, so one should leave the unnecessary points which are making the content lengthy without adding quality and relevance to the content. Then, logically rearrange the points so that the important points come first in the sequence and others follow. 

Write it 

Now after keeping all the above-mentioned things in mind, start writing. With a strong and relevant introduction one should start, followed by the correct sequence of the points adding a necessary explanation. To the point information without unnecessary elaboration always adds perfection to content.

Edit and proofread

Last but not the least, an important aspect to be considered is proofreading. Before the final submission of content, you should go through the complete content once more. Again edit the unnecessary ones and complete them. After completing the entire process your content is ready.

Other important tips that can be used to produce a good piece of writing content are mentioned below. Students shall consider referring to them whenever they plan to conquer questions of such kinds. 

Keep the list of your ideas handy as it will help you to organize your content accurately. 

Make sure that you are sitting in a distraction-free environment so that your mind is able to focus and concentrate better. 

One of the most important attributes of a good writer is being able to research well. When you research, you get to read more and this way there are a lot of new ideas that come to your mind. 

Ensure that your content is simple. It means that you should avoid too fancy words because otherwise, your content would lose the relatability factor.

You shall also focus on making your content presentable. Adding bullet points or writing in small paragraphs might be a beneficial tip. 

Adding keywords to your content is a game-changer. When you optimize your content, its value increases subsequently. 

Lastly, be precise and let your content be captivating enough for the reader.

Solved Examples

1. What is the Format of Article Writing?

Ans: The format of article writing is very easy and simple. One has to follow a few instructions to understand the format of the article writing.

Write a brief introduction in a paragraph.

Write a body of two to three paragraphs, including all the main content and points of the topic in these paragraphs.

Write a short conclusion of the article.

There is a picture attached below to give the readers a better view of the format of the article writing.

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Did You Know?

Articles almost connect their readers with the content within a very short time. It is like a direct conversation with the reader.

The main aspect of article writing that attracts its readers is the content. The content must be interesting, else no one will read it.

The article must be simple and to the point. It must not be too complicated. If it is complicated, the readers will lose interest.

FAQs on Article Writing

1.How do I write an article with minimum mistakes and keep it to the point?

To write an article, one must keep in mind the following rules. This will ensure that the writer is making the least number of mistakes and will enable the writer to build self-confidence in the writing field.

The article should always be compact. It should include all the important aspects of the topic but still, be short and interesting.

It should include bullets, pointers, etc. to make it look interesting.

The article should have a minimum amount of grammatical errors, but the writer should not use too difficult words to convey the thoughts.

If one keeps the above points in mind while writing an article, it will not be a difficult task to achieve.

2.How to write an article by following three steps?

Many websites offer different steps to write an article. The steps mentioned below are the best in which one can write an article within a short time.

Step 1: Topic selection- An interesting topic should be selected so that the audience finds it attractive and reads the article.

Step 2: Research about your topic- After deciding on the topic, thorough research should be conducted on the same.

Step 3: Writing the article- Once done with both the above steps, it is time to turn the thoughts into words. One must write the article down, by following the format of the article writing.