Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section

The lead section (also known as the introduction, lead, or lede) of a Wikipedia article is the section before the table of contents and the first heading. The lead serves both as an introduction to the article and as a summary of its most important aspects.

The lead should be able to stand alone as a concise overview of the article. It should define the topic, establish context, explain why the subject is interesting or notable, and summarize the most important points—including any notable controversies. The emphasis given to material in the lead should roughly reflect its importance to the topic, according to reliable, published sources, and the notability of the article's subject should usually be established in the first few sentences.

While consideration should be given to creating interest in reading more of the article, the lead nonetheless should not "tease" the reader by hinting at—but not explaining—important facts that will appear later in the article. The lead should contain no more than four paragraphs, must be carefully sourced as appropriate, and should be written in a clear, accessible style with a neutral point of view to invite a reading of the full article.

Elements of the lead

As explained in more detail below, the lead section may contain optional elements presented in the following order: disambiguation links (dablinks), maintenance tags, infoboxes, foreign character warning boxes, images, navigational boxes (navigational templates), introductory text, and table of contents, moving to the heading of the first section.

Correct Structure of Lead Section
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[table of contents]
== First section ==

• Disambiguation links should be the first elements of the page, before any maintenance tags, infobox or image; if a reader has reached the wrong page, they typically want to know that first. Text-only browsers and screen readers present the page sequentially. A "for topics of the same name ..." disambiguation link is sometimes put at the beginning of an article to link to another article discussing another meaning of the article title. Do not make this initial link a section. In such cases, the line should be italicized and indented using templates. A horizontal line should not be placed under this line. See also Wikipedia:Hatnote.
• The maintenance tags should be below the disambiguation links. These tags inform the reader about the general quality of the article, and should be presented to the user before the article itself.
• Infoboxes contain summary information or an overview relating to the subject of the article, and therefore should be put before any text (though in actuality they will generally appear to the side of the text of the lead). The primary difference between an infobox and a navigational box is the presence of parameters: a navigational box is exactly the same in all articles of the same topic, while an infobox has different contents in each article.
• Foreign character warning boxes, if required, should come adjacent to, or near, any text that has the foreign characters in question, such that scrolling is not required to see the box. This is generally after short infoboxes, but before long ones (if scrolling is required to see the infobox's bottom border on a wide shallow screen, such as a laptop). Foreign character warning boxes let readers know that foreign characters which may not be supported by their platforms/browsers appear in the article.
• Images. An image's caption is part of the article text. If the article has disambiguation links (dablinks), then the introductory image should appear just before the introductory text. Otherwise a screen reader would first read the image's caption, which is part of the article's contents, then "jump" outside the article to read the dablink, and then return to the lead section, which is an illogical sequence.
• Navigational templates (also called "navigational boxes") are a collection of links used in multiple related articles to facilitate navigation between those articles. Vertical navigational boxes, sometimes called "sidebars", and horizontal navigational boxes are sometimes placed in the lead, especially when no infobox is present. If an infobox is present, the navigation sidebar may be moved to either the top or bottom of any other section in the article.
• Link to parent article. In the event that the article is a sub-article (or similarly linked article), that relationship should be clearly outlined just before the opening sentence. For example, Meccan boycott of the Hashemites begins with an indented line stating:

  This is a sub-article to Muhammad before Medina.

• Introductory text. As explained in more detail at § Introductory text, all but the shortest articles should start with introductory text (the "lead"). The lead should establish significance, include mention of consequential or significant criticism or controversies, and be written in a way that makes readers want to know more. The appropriate length of the lead depends on that of the article, but should normally be no more than four paragraphs. The lead itself has no heading and, on pages with more than three headings, automatically appears above the table of contents, if present. See also Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles#Lead section.
• The table of contents (TOC) automatically appears on pages with more than three headings. Avoid floating the table of contents if possible, as it breaks the standard look of pages. If you must use a floated TOC, put it below the lead section in the wiki markup for consistency. Users of screen readers expect the table of contents to follow the introductory text; they will also miss any text placed between the TOC and the first heading.

Citations

Further information: Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Citing sources

The lead must conform to verifiability and other policies. The verifiability policy advises that material that is challenged or likely to be challenged, and quotations, should be cited. Because the lead will usually repeat information also in the body, editors should balance the desire to avoid redundant citations in the lead with the desire to aid readers in locating sources for challengeable material. Leads are usually written at a greater level of generality than the body, and information in the lead section of non-controversial subjects is less likely to be challenged and less likely to require a source; there is not, however, an exception to citation requirements specific to leads. The necessity for citations in a lead should be determined on a case-by-case basis by editorial consensus. Complex, current, or controversial subjects may require many citations; others, few or none. Contentious material about living persons must be cited every time, regardless of the level of generality.

Introductory text

Provide an accessible overview

The lead section should briefly summarize the most important points covered in an article in such a way that it can stand on its own as a concise version of the article. The reason for the topic being noteworthy should be established early on in the lead. It is even more important here than for the rest of the article that the text be accessible. Consideration should be given to creating interest in reading the whole article. (See news style and summary style.) This allows editors to avoid lengthy paragraphs and over-specific descriptions, because the reader will know that greater detail is saved for the body of the article.

In general, specialized terminology and symbols should be avoided in an introduction. Mathematical equations and formulas should not be used except in mathematics articles. Where uncommon terms are essential to describing the subject, they should be placed in context, briefly defined, and linked. The subject should be placed in a context with which many readers could be expected to be familiar. For example, rather than giving the latitude and longitude of a town, it is better to state that it is the suburb of some city, or perhaps that it provides services for the farm country of xyz county. Readers should not be dropped into the middle of the subject from the first word; they should be eased into it.

Relative emphasis

In general, the emphasis given to material in the lead should reflect its relative importance to the subject, according to reliable sources. Do not tease the reader by hinting at startling facts without describing them. Significant information should not appear in the lead if it is not covered in the remainder of the article, although this does not mean that everything in the lead must be repeated in the body of the text: specific facts will often appear only in the lead, such as quotations, examples, birthdates, and titles, depending on editorial judgment. This should not be taken to exclude information from the lead, but to include it in both the lead and body: in a well-constructed article, the emphasis given to material in the lead will be reflected in the rest of the text..

Opening paragraph

The first paragraph should define the topic with a neutral point of view, but without being overly specific. It should establish the context in which the topic is being considered by supplying the set of circumstances or facts that surround it. If appropriate, it should give the location and time. It should also establish the boundaries of the topic; for example, the lead for the article List of environmental issues states succinctly the limits of that list.

First sentence

The article should begin with a declarative sentence telling the nonspecialist reader what (or who) is the subject.

• If possible, the page title should be the subject of the first sentence. However, if the article title is merely descriptive—such as Electrical characteristics of dynamic loudspeakers—the title does not need to appear verbatim in the main text. Similarly, where an article title is of the type "List of ...", a clearer and more informative introduction to the list is better than verbatim repetition of the title.
• When the page title is used as the subject of the first sentence, it may appear in a slightly different form, and it may include variations, including synonyms. Similarly, if the title has a parenthetical disambiguator, the disambiguator should be omitted in the text.
• If its subject is amenable to definition, then the first sentence should give a concise definition: where possible, one that puts the article in context for the nonspecialist. Similarly, if the subject is a specialised term, provide the context as early as possible.
• For topics notable for only one reason, this reason should usually be given in the first sentence.
• Redundancy should be avoided. For example, avoid leading sentences like 'the Oxford English Dictionary is a dictionary'.
• If the article is about a fictional character or place, say so.
• If the page is a list, do not introduce the list as "This is a list of X" or "This list of Xs...". (See Format of the first sentence below).

Format of the first sentence

Most commonly, the article's subject is stated as early as possible in the first sentence, and placed in boldface:

The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge.

Only the first occurrence of this word or term is placed in boldface.

Descriptive titles

If the page title is descriptive it does not need to appear verbatim in the main text, and even if it does it should not be in boldface. So, for example, Electrical characteristics of dynamic loudspeakers begins with:

The chief electrical characteristic of a dynamic loudspeaker's driver is its electrical impedance as a function of frequency.

Simple descriptions such as "History of the United States" or "Timeline of prehistoric Scotland" may be bold.

Proper names and titles

If the subject of the page is normally italicized (for example, a work of art, literature, album, or ship) then its first mention should be both bold and italic text; if it is usually surrounded by quotation marks, the title should be bold but the quotation marks should not be:

Las Meninas (Spanish for The Maids of Honour) is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, ...

"Yesterday" is a pop song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!.

Biographies

Further information: Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies) and the formatting of the first sentence of biographical articles

Abbreviations and synonyms

If the subject of the page has a common abbreviation or more than one name, the abbreviation (in parentheses) and each additional name should be in boldface on its first appearance.

Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as lye and caustic soda, is ...

Foreign language

Do not boldface foreign names not normally used in English, or variations included only to show etymology. However, some foreign terms should be italicized. These cases are described in the Manual of Style for text formatting.

Chernivtsi Oblast (Template:Lang-uk) is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova.

Inuit (plural; the singular Inuk means "man" or "person") is a general term for a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions ...

Links

Use as few links as possible before and in the bolded title. Thereafter, words used in a title may be linked to provide more detail:

Arugam Bay is a bay situated on the Indian Ocean in the dry zone of Sri Lanka's southeast coast.

Biographies

Main page: Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons

When writing about controversies in the lead of the biography of a living person, notable material should neither be suppressed nor allowed to overwhelm: always pay scrupulous attention to reliable sources. Write clinically, and let the facts speak for themselves.

Well-publicized recent events affecting an article subject, whether controversial or not, should be kept in historical perspective. What is most recent is not necessarily what is most notable: new information should be carefully balanced against old, with due weight accorded to each. When an article subject dies, the lead does not need to be radically reworked. Unless the cause of death is itself a reason for notability, a single sentence describing it is usually sufficient.

Alternative names

By the design of Wikipedia's software, an article can only have one title. When this title is a name, significant alternative names for the topic should be mentioned in the article, usually in the first sentence or paragraph (see Lead section). These may include alternative spellings, longer or shorter forms, historical names, significant names in other languages, etc. There is also no reason why alternative names cannot be used in article text, in contexts where they are more appropriate than the name used as the title of the article. For example, the city now called Gdańsk is referred to as Danzig in historical contexts to which that name is more suited (e.g. when it was part of Germany or a Free City). The editor needs to balance the desire to maximize the information available to the reader with the need to maintain readability.

Non-english titles

Although Wikipedia's naming convention guidelines recommend the use of English, there are instances where the subject of an article is best-known in English-speaking sources by its non-English name. In this case, the non-English title may be appropriate for the article.

Usage in first sentence

In articles about places, people, literary and artistic works, scientific principles and concepts, and other subjects, the title can be followed in the first line by one or two alternative names in parentheses. The following are examples of names that may be included parenthetically, but this is not mandatory, and inclusion should reflect consensus.

• Archaic names, including names used before the standardization of English orthography should be clearly marked as such, i.e., (archaic: name1).
• Relevant foreign language names, such as in an article on a person who does not herself write her name in English, are encouraged.

If known, the name of a person is presented in full, including any given names that are not included in the article's title or are abbreviated there. For example, the article on Calvin Coolidge gives his name as John Calvin Coolidge, Jr.. If a person has a commonly known nickname, used in lieu of a given name, it is presented between quotes following the last given name or initial, as for John F. Kennedy, which has John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy . Note that the quote signs are not bold. A nickname that comes in place of the whole name should be presented after the full name, in parentheses, as explained above for alternative names in general. Also acceptable are formulations like "Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli", when applicable.

Separate section usage

Alternatively, if there are more than two alternative names, these names can be moved to and explained in a "Names" or "Etymology" section; it is recommended that this be done if there are at least three alternate names, or there is something notable about the names themselves. Once such a section or paragraph is created, the alternative English or foreign names should not be moved back to the first line. As an exception, a local official name different from a widely accepted English name should be retained in the lead "(Foreign language: Local name; other names exist)".

See also: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)

Stubs

Where the article is a stub, a lead may not be necessary at all. Wikipedia encourages expanding stubs, but if reliably sourced information is not available, this may not be possible. Once an article has been sufficiently expanded, generally to around 400 or 500 words, editors should consider introducing section headings.

Length

The appropriate length of the lead section depends on the total length of the article. As a general guideline, the lead should be no longer than four paragraphs. The following suggestion may be useful:

Article Length	Lead Length
Fewer than 15,000 characters	One or two paragraphs
15,000–30,000 characters	Two or three paragraphs
More than 30,000 characters	Three or four paragraphs

Lead sections that reflect or expand on sections in other articles are discussed at Summary style. Journalistic conventions for lead sections are discussed at News style.

Editing the lead section

Editing the lead section can be cumbersome in long articles, because by default there is no edit link.

Registered users can override this default via:

• checkbox on Special:Preferences > Gadgets > User interface gadgets: editing called "Add an [edit] link for the lead section of a page".
• checkbox on Special:Preferences > Editing called "Enable section editing by right clicking on section titles" (requires JavaScript)

All users can use the following:

• Another way to work around this is by clicking "edit" for any section, and in the resulting URL, replace the trailing &section=n with &section=0.
• A more cumbersome alternative is to open the entire article in the editing window by clicking on the "Edit" or "edit this page" tab at the top. However, this method increases the risk of edit conflicts in popular articles, and may cause problems in some web browsers if the page being edited is too large. There are also some user-written scripts that enable you to edit section 0.

Cleanup

For a list of template messages related to the clean-up of lead sections, see Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup#Introduction. Editors are encouraged to improve leads rather than simply tagging them.

See also

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (accessibility)
• Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence content
• Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence format
• Wikipedia:Lead section TT text
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Introductions
• Wikipedia:Writing better articles
• Wikipedia's Good definition policy
• Help:Section