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The Lead Improvement Team is a WikiProject dedicated to finding and improving poor lead sections of articles across Wikipedia.
The introduction or Lead section is arguably the most important part of the article; it should accurately summarize the article without being too technical or introducing facts that are not discussed later, and it should be well written and easy to understand. It is often the first, and sometimes the only thing that a reader will look at on the page. Many websites use Wikipedia as a source of information, and often the only information they will display comes from the lead. An example would be the meta description that displays under Google search results when a term is searched for.
It is vital that the lead be well presented. As it stands now though, many editors, especially new editors, are careless when it comes to the lead. If they have a bit of information to add, the lead seems to be an attractive place to add it, though it is not the best place to do so. When substantial information is added or changed elsewhere in the article, the lead is often not revisited to reflect that change. Expecting editors to adhere to the style guide is not enough to stop this. What we need is a team of editors willing to visit articles and improve their leads, perhaps giving advice to the people who wrote them along the way.
Mission |
The members of the Lead Improvement Team will identify articles with leads that are in need of improvement, and then edit those leads so that they meet (nay, exceed!) the standard of quality expected of them.
Scope |
- Articles with leads that need improving.
- Articles with leads that are missing.
- Articles with leads that have been fixed by the LIT in the past, but that now need a second look.
Guidelines |
 | This section contains an essay on style, consisting of the advice or opinions of one or more WikiProjects on how to format and present article content within their area of interest. This information is not a formal Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
Identifying a lead in need of improvement
edit| “ | The lead should be able to stand alone as a concise overview. It should define the topic, establish context, explain why the topic is notable, and summarize the most important points, including any prominent controversies. | ” |
| — Wikipedia Manual of Style | ||
When analyzing a lead that may need improvement, ask:
- Is it general? – Does the lead contain information that is too specific or technical? If so, this should be rephrased so the reader has a general idea of what is going to be discussed, without going into details that are discussed later.
- Does it contain information that is not mentioned elsewhere? – The lead is meant to be a summary; if it contains information not found elsewhere in the article, that information should be moved to an appropriate heading. If there is no appropriate heading, a new one may need to be created and expansion on the point should be considered.
- Does it summarize all key points? – Are there important facts discussed in the article that are not represented in the lead? In most cases, one or two sentences representing each section is ideal.
- Is its length the correct ratio to the length of the rest of the article? – The length of the article should dictate the length of the lead. In general, lead length should follow these guidelines:
Article length Lead length Fewer than 2,500 words One or two paragraphs 2,500–5,000 words Two or three paragraphs More than 5,000 words Three or four paragraphs
- Is it easy to understand? – Ideally, the lead should be able to be understood by someone with no experience in the field. Although some technical articles in areas such as math or physics will inherently be difficult to understand for some, the lead should preferably at least be less confusing than the rest of the article.
Topic-specific lead guidelines |
Articles on certain subjects may have specific guidelines on what should be included in the lead of the article, and in what order. When editing the lead in a certain subject area, consult to see if there are any guidelines in the Manual of Style that should be taken into consideration. Some topics do not have specific guidelines on the lead, though they may contain information that is useful when writing it, such as naming conventions and sections that should be included in the article.
Table of topic-specific lead guidelines
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Notesedit
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Open tasks |
Articles specifically for the LIT's attention
editSince rewriting a lead may require some dedication of time, there may be occasions when you notice one that needs improving, but are busy with some other task such as gnoming. Project contributors are encouraged to add the article to this list, so that someone here can get to it. Even if you are not a listed member of this project, you are encouraged to bring articles with leads that need improving to our attention by adding them here.
This list is intended for articles that need the attention of the members of this team and that should be looked at by an editor. Ideally, it should never grow too long.
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Articles tagged for introduction cleanup
editWikipedia already has a category for introduction cleanup. It contains thousands of articles that have been tagged with one of Wikipedia's introduction cleanup templates. Contributors are encouraged to visit the list and improve the lead. When you do, be sure to remove the appropriate tags so that it is removed from this category. We ask too that you report back here that you have made an improvement, so that we can track this project's success.
Completed tasks |
Please add any articles for which you have improved the lead. This will allow members of this project to track our success. Articles listed here should need no further work to the lead, though the members of the list should be revisited periodically to ensure that they reflect any new content that may have been added to the article, and that they still conform to Wikipedia's style guide.
Articles in this list that are found to need further cleanup should be removed and added to the to-do list above.
Participants |
Please feel free to add yourself here, and to indicate any areas of particular interest. Remember to add this page to your watchlist to more easily see requests.
- DiscantX (talk · contribs) (I am the creator of this project.) 04:03, 18 January 2015 (UTC)
- BullRangifer (talk · contribs) (Brangifer). (I have some interest in the subject, enough to have written the WP:CREATELEAD essay long ago. I'll add a link to the Resources section below)
- Learnerktm (talk · contribs) (just interested, hope to edit)
- Wikimandia (talk · contribs) (Just found this!!! Thank you for starting this.) 04:00, 21 April 2015 (UTC)
- Updated name: Kaliforniyka (talk · contribs)
- Blackhat999 (talk · contribs) (don't have a lot of time 2 edit, but I would like 2 work on lead sections) 20:42, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
- Updated name: MorpheusKafka (talk · contribs)
- SMcCandlish ☺ ☏ ¢ ≽ʌⱷ҅ᴥⱷʌ≼ (but rename it to use "Lead" not "Lede". WP leads are not like journalistic "ledes". 01:39, 21 August 2015 (UTC)
- LordofMoonSpawn (talk · contribs) — Since I'm already doing this, I'll add my name here. LoMS talk
- Atsme (talk · contribs) Count me in. I work on all topics. Atsme📞📧 02:46, 17 June 2017 (UTC)
- OliverEastwood (talk · contribs) - I find lead improvement a great way to make articles better, and really want to make this a focus of my Wikipedia editing. Mostly interested in editing articles on politics, climate change and cycling. - 09:05, 4 May 2019 (UTC)
- Kekki1978 (talk · contribs) Eager to help as I can.
- Zeke, the Mad Horrorist (talk · contribs) Recorded album summaries are my specialty, if indeed I have one. I can do them just about anywhere, though!
- Novem_Linguae (talk · contribs) - This is my jam. Clear article summaries that are easy for the reader to parse. 14:58, 8 December 2020 (UTC)
- PurpleTheory (talk · contribs) - As a reader, I have always been dependant on lead sections as article summaries, and bad lead sections have not only bothered me, but often have prevented me from using them in the way they are intended. As an editor, I will gladly participate in this cause so that other readers do not have to experience the same troubles I have. - 5:15, 6 March 2021
- EEHalli (talk · contribs) - I am interested in working on, but not limited to, biographies of women - 14:43, 24 November 2021 (UTC)
- Thebiguglyalien (talk · contribs) 16:31, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
- Thinker78 (talk · contribs) I have been very interested in leads and mostly the first paragraph. Eager to assist. Thinker78 (talk) 20:57, 7 August 2023 (UTC)
- JacobTheRox (talk · contribs) I love finding pages w/ {{lead missing}} and adding leads to them! See User:JacobTheRox/Leads
Active
editEditors with at least 1 edit per week for the last 4 weeks (as of 28 October 2023; you are welcome to update the list).
- Thinker78 (talk · contribs)
- Valjean (talk · contribs)
- Kaliforniyka (talk · contribs)
- SMcCandlish (talk · contribs)
- Atsme (talk · contribs)
- Zeke, the Mad Horrorist (talk · contribs)
- Novem_Linguae (talk · contribs)
- Thebiguglyalien (talk · contribs)
- JacobTheRox (talk · contribs)
Inactive
editEditors that haven't edited for a year or more. Feel free to update the section.
- Tetra quark (don't be shy) 19:44, 18 January 2015 (UTC) (total support)
- John Carter (talk · contribs) (willing to help to the degree other activities will allow it)
- AmirahBreen (talk · contribs)
- Noyster (talk · contribs) (Could start with the 2500+ entries in Category:Pages missing lead section. Many do now have leads and just need the tag removing): Noyster (talk), 09:30, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
- Kb10r (talk · contribs) (I am new to wikipidia but would love to help!)
- StrikoWriter1234 (talk · contribs)
- Rosymaplemothman (talk · contribs)
- Tadyatha (talk · contribs) reach out and help!
Templates |
Article talk page template
edit- Template: {{WikiProject Lead Improvement Team}}
- Usage: Add this template to the talk pages of articles you are currently working on. It should be removed once your work is complete.
- Appearance:
| | Lead Improvement Team | |||
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Lead Improvement Team Member Userbox
edit- Template: {{Lead Improvement Team Member}}
- Usage: Add this to your user page to advertise your involvement with the team. Users that use this template will be added to Category:WikiProject Lead Improvement Team Userbox participants.
- Appearance:
This user participates in the
Lead Improvement Team.
Resources |
