Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Texas AM University/Technical Editing (Spring 2023)

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Course name
Technical Editing
Institution
Texas AM University
Instructor
Jessie Cortez
Wikipedia Expert
Brianda (Wiki Ed)
Subject
English
Course dates
2023-01-18 00:00:00 UTC – 2023-05-05 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
25


This is an applied course meant to prepare students to function as an editor in technical and professional venues. We will use Wikipedia to target certain less-tangible skills necessary for advanced editing: the ability to join a community of editors that already have standards in place, learn to read and improve writing within those conventions, and learn to facilitate good writing within this existing community. Rather than simply copyediting existing articles, creating new articles, or adding new content to existing articles, the students will focus on finding articles that have a good base of content but which need editorial intervention to help the larger community of potential editors continue to improve the articles. Students will focus primarily on issues of organization, appropriateness, and Wikipedia style, with the aim of significantly improving the existing content of an article. Students will be expected to work within the Wikipedia infrastructure, including engaging with current interested editors and leaving traces of their work to assist with future editing of the articles they worked on.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Annclaale Vistaprint, South Seas
AbelsFriend Car chase, Tram accident
Pug888 Goalkeeper, Pet adoption
.ariel looks
Lis139
Stephaniegarciaa188
Ryan Gosling0
CherryPanda12
Kagilcrease
Penguin91 Si Me Llevas Contigo
MinatureNalgene Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, Orthodoxy (book)
Wikiscopic
Jacobnlloren Social experiment, Texas Civil Rights Project
Eros Pyrkaeus
Cupcakehinata
GooglyEyedRock
ALCH3MIST1011 Osu!, Grandfather clock
Wetpuppydog1
Pinkythecat01

Timeline

Week 3

Course meetings
Wednesday, 1 February 2023   |   Friday, 3 February 2023
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment

Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:

Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
In class - Discussion

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 6 February 2023   |   Wednesday, 8 February 2023   |   Friday, 10 February 2023
Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
Assignment - Choose possible topics

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

In class - Discussion

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 13 February 2023   |   Wednesday, 15 February 2023   |   Friday, 17 February 2023
Assignment - Make a small edit
Assignment - Copyedit an article
Assignment - Finalize your topic and find sources
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 20 February 2023   |   Wednesday, 22 February 2023   |   Friday, 24 February 2023
Assignment - Peer review two articles

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion
Milestones

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Assignment - Respond to your peer review

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:

  • Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
  • Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 27 February 2023   |   Wednesday, 1 March 2023   |   Friday, 3 March 2023
Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Assignment - Continue improving your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 6 March 2023
Assignment - Final article

It's the final week to develop your article.

  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
  • Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!
Assignment - Reflective essay
Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.