User:Icepinner/sandbox/How to Improve Articles on Singapore

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This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

So you want to improve articles on Singapore-related subject? You've come to the right place! This essay will detail how to improve Singapore articles.

How to improve

A lot of Singapore-related articles are start classes or even stub classes and could really use your help! You don't have to be a local or dig around the dark corners of the internet just to find a source. It's quite simple, really. Using the following sources can help you a lot:

• Infopedia: most topics on Singapore will usually have an Infopedia article on it, which is very convenient. It's essentially Wikipedia but on Singapore entirely. However, you cannot use it it is not recommended to primarily use the Infopedia as it will become a mirror of it. Instead, cite its articles. Additionally, do be aware that articles get updated every few years or so, which means that some articles can get outdated extremely fast (example: MRT). The Infopedia also has a bunch of articles that aren't worthy under WP:Event, so just merge it with other articles (ex: Faber House explosions with Faber House) or ignore it (first non-stop flight between US and Singapore). Remember, DO NOT COPY!
• OneSearch: quite possibly your best friend. Just search your subject and a wide variety of sources will pop up, including news articles, books, and even artefacts!
• NewspaperSG: a component of One Search except specific to newspapers. Sometimes, your subject may have appeared in an article but in a different name (this is especially true with names of MRT stations, they may be mentioned by their ___location. Ex: Bedok for Bedok MRT station)
  • Here's a hint: 'dissect' the name of the article in the search box. Example: "Aljunied""Mrt""station" for Aljunied MRT station. This is because some news articles may be on the subject but will mention it implicitly
  • Some articles may be locked due to copyright (usually articles written in the 2000s and onwards but also some 80's/90's articles) so use the information from the Infopedia article (if there is one) and cite it as the locked source (it still is technically correct). Alternatively, you can go to the page number and read the article from there and cite the page. If that still doesn't work, just use the article's description when it pops up in the search results.
• Web Archive Singapore: like the Internet Archive except more localised. However, the Singaporean Government only started archiving stuff around the 2000s so for 90's articles (ex: Antarctica 2000), you'll have to rely on the good people of the Internet Archive who were prudent to archive it during the 90's.
• Straits Times, CNA, Today, etc: classic media companies. Do note that there are differences in the source: ST is more focused on Singapore itself, CNA focuses on major events in Asia (some which may not be covered by ST), Today is more casual.

Sources not to use:

Below are a list of sources you should generally not use:

• Mothership: Mothership is infamous for its poor reputation and general unreliability. It's a bit like The Sun I suppose, tabloid-style news and mainly life style focused. Mothership's press accreditation was suspended twice.
  • You could use it in extremely rare scenarios such as phenomenons like the one in Liz Truss Lettuce
• The New Paper: Similar to Mothership but with more editing standards (but it's still a tabloid so do take it with a grain of salt)
• Fandom: user generated and unchecked
• Land Transport Guru/SG trains: even though it may appear as reliable, it's uncited.

If you're unsure if [X] source is reliable, then check Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources or do some basic research on said source.

General Advice

I suggest following these proposed guidelines for writing Singapore-related articles, although the school section is a bit draconian imo. For MRT stations, I suggest looking at Zkang123's essay on improving MRT articles.

References