Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Louisiana State University/ENGL2000 (Spring 2018)

This Course Wikipedia Resources Connect
Questions? Ask us:

contact@wikiedu.org

Course name
ENGL2000
Institution
Louisiana State University
Instructor
Josef Horacek
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
English Composition
Course dates
2018-02-05 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-05-05 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
20


This course improves students' writing and communication skills. Students will learn about different genres of writing and their conventions, pay attention to the different steps of the writing process, engage in the collaborative aspect of writing, and develop their research skills.

On Wikipedia, students will complete three assignments: 1. correct a few errors in an article that needs copyediting; 2. add reliable sources to an article lacking citations; 3. and write a lead for an article that needs one.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Dpappa3 Delhi Dragons, Amelia Bloomer Project, Ray Charles, Lorella Jones
Devin 40 Cocaine Cowboys 2, Heavy rescue vehicle, 2012 IAFL season 2012 IAFL season
Mickeymaitre Corruption in Finland, 101st Airborne Division, Sociality and Disease Transmission
Lwareh1 Illegal immigration to Malaysia, Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, History of medical cannabis
Victoriageiger Prince Harvey, Arbor Day, History of medical cannabis
Lily huval Family policy in Japan, Politics of France, Music history of the United States during the colonial era
Charliek7133 Earless seal, CIA activities in Colombia, Army Body Composition Program
Monicaviloria The Beautifyl Island, Dog aggression, Sport in London, Sports equiptment
Kabdelnoor Buffalo, New York, Seahorse, Transport in South Africa
RIP Papa Franku 2011-2017 The Batman, Pooh's Hunny Hunt, Italian Army ranks
NJ151 Chernobyl New Safe Confinement, Argentine Revolution, Nautical time, Japanese swords in fiction, University of Alabama
Mzeri13 Bimbo Jones, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (soundtrack), R.S.C. Anderlecht in European football
RuztyChanger Afghan Civil War (1996-2001) The Batman, CIA activities in North Korea
Accerniglia Dog with a Blog, Herbal tea, Vegaphobia, CIA activities in Colombia
Victoriaherrera An Elephant Never Forgets, American comedy films, Buffalo Bulls football records
Apalmi9 Blackjack (1998 film), Kermit's Swamp Years, List of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers merchandise
Rgree46 Luxury train, Disney Channel (Italy), Animal Feed, Clog dance (British)
Harleywisdom32 Green Party of Albania, German Empire, Nautical time

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Monday, 5 February 2018   |   Wednesday, 7 February 2018   |   Friday, 9 February 2018
Assignment - Create your account and learn the basics

Create an account and complete the two online training modules. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia. Be prepared to take a quiz in class. You won't have access to the training modules during the quiz, so take notes. Deadline: Wednesday, February 7, at 11:30am.

Assignment - Copyedit an article
  1. Choose an article that needs improvements in style and grammar. You can find a list of suitable articles here. Take some time finding a good article to work on, as this will save you time in the long run. For example, some articles have been written by non-native speakers and contain obvious grammatical errors, which should be easy to fix.
  2. Add the article next to your name in the course page. Make sure no one else in the class has already claimed the same article.
  3. Edit the article, improving at least two sentences. You do not need to change the article's content. In this assignment, you're only focusing on style and grammar. Don't forget to briefly explain the changes in the edit summary. Deadline: Thursday, February 15, at 8:00pm.

Additional advice on copyediting Wikipedia articles is available here

Week 2

Course meetings
Friday, 16 February 2018
Assignment - Add sources to an article
  1. Find an article in need of better or additional sources and citations. Use this link to look up suitable articles: Articles needing additional references. Again, taking some time to choose a good article will make for easier work later on. The article should be well developed so that you have plenty of opportunities to add sources without having to add new content.
  2. Add the article next to your name in the course page. Make sure no one else in the class has already claimed the same article. Deadline for steps 1 and 2: Thursday, February 15, at 8:00pm.
  3. Complete the two training modules below.
  4. Find two sources using electronic databases or other LSU library resources. Post a list of citations in your sandbox. These must be properly formatted citations, not links. Keep in mind that links to database articles will not work for everyone.
  5. Copy the excerpts from the WP article that you intend to supports with sources and paste the excerpts into your sandbox. Then, find the exact passages in your sources that support the uncited information in the WP article and copy those passages to your sandbox, below the corresponding excerpts from the WP article. Use headings to keep your sandbox organized. Deadline for steps 3-5: Monday, February 19, at 8:00pm.
  6. Once your suggested edits are approved by the instructor, integrate the sources in the article. Be sure to follow the citation conventions established by the previous editors of your article. Deadline: Monday, February 26, at 8:00pm.

Here's a good help page for your questions: References for beginners.

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 19 February 2018   |   Wednesday, 21 February 2018   |   Friday, 23 February 2018
Assignment - Add a lead to an article
  1. Find an article with a missing or insufficient lead. Use this link to look up suitable articles: Pages missing lede sections. As usual, taking the time to find a suitable article is essential. Choose well-developed articles with plenty of information that can be summarized in your lead.
  2. Add the article next to your name in the course page. Deadline for steps 1 and 2: Thursday, February 22, at 8:00pm.
  3. Once your article is approved, draft a new lead and post it in your sandbox for review. Deadline: Tuesday, February 27, at 8:00pm.
  4. I will leave comments in your sandbox talk page, and you may be asked to revise your lead. Once your lead is approved, add it to the article. Deadline: Tuesday, March 6, at 8:00pm.

More information about the lead section can be found here. A one or two-paragraph lead is typically sufficient.