Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of New Haven/Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing (Spring 2021)

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Course name
Seminar in Academic Inquiry and Writing
Institution
University of New Haven
Instructor
Mary Isbell
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
English
Course dates
2021-01-20 00:00:00 UTC – 2021-05-12 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
34


The Seminar in Academic Inquiry introduces students to the conventions of academic writing and the habits of critical inquiry they will need in university courses and beyond. Students read and annotate texts on a topic (or topics) selected by the instructor, develop original avenues of inquiry through classroom discussion, and transform their questions into well-supported academic arguments. Assignment sequences incorporate opportunities for research, drafting, revision, editing, and reflection to help students find writing processes that can be replicated in future courses and workplace projects that require only polished work. Because different disciplines and career paths present different scenarios for critical thinking and writing, this course also teaches students how to adapt the conventions of academic inquiry to a variety of contexts.

Between each major writing assignment, students are introduced to Wikipedia by completing trainings through the dashboard and participating in short, in-class activities. The final assignment of the course asks each student to select an article in Wikipedia to improve, emphasising the difference between writing for an encyclopedia and writing an academic argument. We focus specifically on the role of argument in the creation of an encyclopedia article (particularly as it manifests in talk pages).

Student Assigned Reviewing
Joshn49 Non-fungible token
Ntroa1
Kmack3
Ldasi Attleboro, Massachusetts
Aatorres00
Jriger12 Little Red Riding Hood (1997 film)
Cquag1
Mguil2
Kbrad41
Rmeji2
Hmess1
Cferg33
Jdore1
Daniel Thompson326 Figure skating
Mpavlik20 Floor (gymnastics)
Mvill6 Tabletop role-playing game
AshleyM18
Lili813 Competitive Dance
Fgorm1
J.mer22
Dayal24 Bomba (Puerto Rico)
Jcassone Accusations of racial bias in Grammy Awards
Jciri3-19
Poryfruit
Lsand345
Ndani06
Cstev5
End2657
Sbaek20
Irhin1 History of the National Football League
Rzell02
Tcole3421
Ckirb2
Sgonz19 Cuatro (instrument)

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Wednesday, 20 January 2021
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.

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 25 January 2021   |   Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 1 February 2021   |   Wednesday, 3 February 2021
Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
Assignment - Choose possible topics

Exercise

Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

In class - Discussion

What's a content gap?

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 8 February 2021   |   Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Assignment - Add to an article

Exercise

Add a citation

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 15 February 2021   |   Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Exercise

Evaluate an article

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 22 February 2021   |   Wednesday, 24 February 2021

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 1 March 2021   |   Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 8 March 2021   |   Wednesday, 10 March 2021

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 15 March 2021   |   Wednesday, 17 March 2021
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

Week 10

Course meetings
Monday, 22 March 2021   |   Wednesday, 24 March 2021

Week 11

Course meetings
Monday, 29 March 2021

Week 12

Course meetings
Monday, 5 April 2021   |   Wednesday, 7 April 2021

Week 13

Course meetings
Monday, 12 April 2021   |   Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Week 14

Course meetings
Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Week 15

Course meetings
Monday, 26 April 2021   |   Wednesday, 28 April 2021
Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Assignment - Peer review an article

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion

Thinking about Wikipedia

Week 16

Course meetings
Monday, 3 May 2021   |   Wednesday, 5 May 2021
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.
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

Exercise

Add links to 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 17

Course meetings
Monday, 10 May 2021   |   Wednesday, 12 May 2021
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

Guiding questions

Milestones

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