Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Academy

The Articles for Creation Reviewer training program is designed to help relatively new and/or inexperienced users who wish to assist with maintenance tasks to understand the basic principles of reviewing submitted pages at Articles for Creation, and to provide one-on-one help in understanding our policies and guidelines for the creation of suitable articles for the encyclopedia and in the use of the Helper Script.

Experienced Wikipedians (or trainers in this instance) can "adopt" newer users, mentoring them along the way as they learn how to review submitted pages. It is hoped that this program will be able to inform new reviewers about the ins and outs of deletion, notability, and copyright violations, hoaxes and other inappropriate pages and steer them away from making errors in the use of the tools, and to provide the creators with suitable friendly comments. If you are looking to contribute to Wikipedia but do not intend to remain active at Articles for Creation then this program is probably not for you.

Users who are less experienced – but who would still like to help maintain the quality of the encyclopedia might like to consider Patrolling Vandalism instead - an essential function that requires less knowledge of Notability Guidelines and Deletion. For training on Counter vandalism, see WP:CVUA.


View the list of trainers below


  1. Check that you have already made sufficient mainspace edits (generally at least 500) and that you have addressed any previous advice or warnings about your editing and collaboration, and that your own creations (if any) are free of maintenance tags.
  2. Read Articles for Creation first, and then Assessment.
  3. If you have never created a substantial article yourself, have a look through the Showcase.
  4. Find a trainer who is in your time zone and leave a message on their talk page to request training. If you don't receive a reply within 48 hours, please choose another trainer.

Participation

Students

Learning about reviewing article submissions is easy and fun. If you'd like an experienced user to show you how, simply choose an active trainer from the list who is in your time zone and leave a message on their talk page.

Your chosen trainer should share your interests so that they can comfortably assist you while you learn under their tutelage. For more information on what you will be expected to learn, first visit the pages at WP:Notability, WP:Copyvio, and WP:Deletion.

Trainers

If you are an experienced user and have time to devote to being a trainer, visit the Trainers' resources section where you will find the minimum requirement for trainers, recommended practice, and teaching suggestions and examples. You may then wish to add yourself to the list of active trainers taking note of the page source comments.

You will be interested to know that occasionally some candidates for training may be university professors taking part in the Wikipedia Education Program

Goals

If you're new and/or inexperienced, before embarking on an Articles for Creation Reviewer training program, you should be able to demonstrate that you have already mastered the basic principles of editing the encyclopedia and contributed at least 500 edits to MAINSPACE.

When you have shown through training that you understand the principles of AfC Review and can apply them with accuracy, and are able to communicate correctly and effectively with new users of all kinds, you will be contributing to what is one of the most important maintenance tasks on Wikipedia, while understanding that speed alone is not essential - the target is accuracy. When you have achieved these goals, you can display the Reviewer:Articles for Creation userbox on your user page.

Syllabus
Competency Fail Pass
Knowledge and Understanding of Concepts

Able to correctly define and describe:

  • Cannot describe these concepts at a comprehensible level.
  • Unable to differentiate the difference between vandalism and good faith edits
  • Does not understand the key purpose of reverting vandalism
  • Can concisely and elaborately describe each of these concepts.
  • Can describe the proper use of warning templates.
Critical Thinking Correctly assessed fewer than 85% of the examples provided by their instructor. Correctly assessed at least 85% of the examples provided by their instructor.
Communication

Able to effectively communicate with other editors regarding proposed and speedy deletions.

Communicates inconsistently with editors via talk page comments or in response to editors who question or challenge their contested deletions. Communicates in a polite and professional manner and avoids biting other editors and harsh comments.
Application

Effectively applies the concepts and tools of page reviewing in a productive and proficient manner.

  • Cannot consistently assess submissions correctly.
  • Is inconsistent in use of comments/advice on user talk pages.
  • Has reviewed fewer than 10 new pages in the two weeks prior to graduation - or – has reviewed more than 10 pages with a high degree of inaccuracy.
  • Demonstrates proficiency in performing reviews, either manually or with a tool (Helper Script, etc.).
  • Consistently leaves the correct messages where appropriate on creators' talk pages explaining the reason for tagging, and is able to further explain the reasoning for tagging if prompted.
List of available trainers (Purge to update)

Add yourself by clicking here!

Available trainers

Check Instructor Activity
Trainer Current students Student slots available Graduates trained Time zone Comments
Callanecc (talk · contribs) Jianhui67 (talk · contribs) 1 AEST/AEDST (UTC+10:00/UTC+11:00) I've done training at WP:CVUA, and am involved in the Articles for Creation review process. My time on Wikipedia is limited by the other areas I'm involved with, but I'm happy to help and train when I can.
Kudpung (talk · contribs) Foo (talk · contribs) 0 EDT (UTC+06:00) Not currently available due to time consuming commitments on other Wikipedia projects
Theonesean (talk · contribs) none currently 2 I've mentored some people, but no official trainees. EST (UTC-04:00) mostly available weekends and evenings
Trainers' resources (for trainers only)

Wikipedia:Articles for Creation Academy/Instruction methods Lesson plans, tests, quizzes, and more.

General Practices

Academy Page

It is recommended to create student's own "academy page", as a subpage of your talk, i.e. User talk:Example/AFC/Example.

You are free to teach however you like - the goal is that the student will have demonstrated knowledge and use of all the points in the syllabus.

Graduation

Essential further reading


Userboxes

AfC Reviewer Userbox
Regular AfC Reviewers may wish to put one of the AfC Reviewer userboxs on their user page by adding {{User wikipedia/AFC}}:
This user is an articles for creation reviewer on the English Wikipedia.
The Counter Vandalism Unit

The Counter Vandalism Unit
How to effectively recognize and remove vandalism from Wikipedia.

Online Ambassadors
A program to help those who want to use Wikipedia in the classroom

Adopt-a-User
A mentorship program for new users who are interested in learning more about Wikipedia.

New Page Patrol School
A training program for new users who are interested in patrolling new pages.