- Obviously, read Wikipedia:Deletion process. Also, familiarise yourself with WP:SPEEDY and WP:PROD for the sake of deciding how to tag something for deletion.
- Never make sheep votes (one word votes with a sig). Even if it's "per nom," do some research to make sure.
- Check the history and talkpage of the article to find its raison d'être. There's often more than just notability at hand with deletions, it sometimes involves a lot of wikipolitics (à la Encyclopedia Dramatica).
- Close an AFD with {{subst:at}} at the top and {{subst:ab}} at the bottom. All too often editors waste the time of creating the border and message.
- Don't close AfDs that you are involved with directly or indirectly. Someone else will close it if you don't.
- For an extensive index of AfD policies and personal essays, see Mailer Diablo's index of deletion essays. I recommend reading the personal essays, they will help you understand the underlying feelings and perspectives of deletion. You can also feel free to ask an experienced editor their opinion about some deletion process.
