Wikipedia:Explain jargon

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This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Use common sense in applying it; it will have occasional exceptions. Please ensure that any edits to this page reflect consensus.

Shortcuts: WP:JARGON WP:EXJARG

Words and phrases used as jargon by any profession or group should usually be avoided or explained.

[edit] Subject-specific terms

Like slang, jargon develops as a kind of shorthand among members of a group. Some articles may never become accessible to a wide readership, but most articles using academic or professional terms should contain more explanation at a more basic level than would be available in the typical academic paper or textbook. On the other hand, an article that defines every term, or every symbol, may be so cluttered that no one can read it.

It is often helpful to wikilink terms not obvious to most readers; sometimes links to Wiktionary may serve the reader as well as links to Wikipedia articles. Pay particular attention to terms for which the technical meaning is different from the commonly understood meaning.

[edit] Related guidelines and templates

Per Wikipedia:Self-references to avoid, do not assume that the readers know anything about Wikipedia. Wikipedian jargon should appear rarely in articles and should always be explained.

Some mathematical symbols might be considered unnecessary jargon. Write them out in words, or explain their meaning and pronunciation (see Wikipedia:Manual of Style (mathematics)).

{{Cleanup-jargon}} or {{Jargon-statement}} can be used to tag articles with jargon problems.

[edit] See also

• Wikipedia:Technical terms and definitions
• Wikipedia:Make technical articles accessible
• WP:OBVIOUS: State the obvious.