Help:Introduction to the Manual of Style/1: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 18:54, 10 February 2010

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{{nutshell|The Manual of Style exists to provide a clear, consistent and stable standard with which to format written Wikipedia articles.}}

{{nutshell|Write <s>good</s> well.}}

The [[WP:MOS|Manual of Style]], sometime abbreviated at MoS, is a long guide that provides standards on how to format written Wikipedia articles. Because there are so many articles out there, it is important to follow it as a guideline as best you can; this is so that your contribution can remain clear, consistent and stable. The simplest way to do this is just to find a well written article and copy it's formatting.

This introduction provides a light gloss of some of the most important features of the Manual of Style that will help in getting you around.

Best to find a well made article and copy it's formatting and everything. It's fine to do, really.

[[File:Wikilink example small.png|thumb|290px|right|Example of good wiki linking.]]

===Links===

Wikilinks, save real links mostly for external links section (might see templates/info boxes, ignore)

*Explain Wikilinks, their general incidence

*Real links tend to be for external links sections (with rare exception), don't lace them into the article

Linking through hyperlinks is an important feature of Wikipedia. While external links help to embed Wikipedia into the external World Wide Web, internal links (or 'wiki links') bind the project together into an interconnected whole. Links provide instant pathways to locations outside and within the project that are likely to increase our readers' understanding of the topic at hand.

For how many internal links to include, you want to ask yourself, "How likely is it that a reader of this subject may be interested in that other article, or does it cover a concept not fully explained in the article?"

For how many internal links to include in an article, you want to ask yourself, "How likely is it that a reader of this subject may be interested in that other article, or does it cover a concept not fully explained in the article?"

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Lennie and George came to a ranch near [[Soledad, California|Soledad]] southeast of [[Salinas, California]], to "work up a stake".

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IfFor external links, if there is an external website that is highly relevant to the article or provides more detail than the article contains, it should be listed in the 'External links' section with a short description. TheseIf linksan shouldexternal notwebsite beis used inas a reference to the article's body textcontent, norput shouldit theyin usedthe be'References' ifsection. theyExternal arelinks, alreadywith rare exception, should not be used in the referencesarticle's orbody notestext.

[[User:Tony1/Build_your_linking_skills]]

If there is an external website that is highly relevant to the article or provides more detail than the article contains, it should be listed in the 'External links' section with a short description. These links should not be used in the article's body text, nor should they used be if they are already in the references or notes.

[[Image:Encyclopaedia Britannica 15 with 2002.jpg|thumb|Write like you're an author of one of these.]]

Encyclopedic tone

* NPOV

* Be simple/clear with prose

* English + everyone else's is fine, just make it consistant

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