Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/U of Maryland/Writing Genres as Social Action (Fall 2020)
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- Course name
- Writing Genres as Social Action
- Institution
- U of Maryland
- Instructor
- Melanie Kill
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Course dates
- 2020-09-01 00:00:00 UTC – 2020-12-11 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
A rhetorical genre studies approach to understanding the work that texts do in the world. Examines issues of identity, power, and medium as they relate to writing in various contexts. Students analyze the texts, context(s), and social significance of a public, professional, digital, and/or advanced academic genre and produce writing that meets, modifies, and subverts expectations.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 1 September 2020 | Thursday, 3 September 2020
- Introduction to the Wikipedia Project
Welcome to your Wikipedia project timeline! If you are here, you've successfully created an account and joined this course page using the enrollment link that I (Dr. Kill) shared with you.
This timeline page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete as we progress through this project. Using the tabs in the menu across the top of this page, you can also get an overview of our collective efforts (Home), find your classmates on Wikipedia (Students), view the articles we are editing (Articles), view files we've uploaded to Wikimedia Commons (Uploads), check recent activity (Activity), and find additional Wiki Ed resources and training modules (Resources).
Our class has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. Any time you have a question about Wikipedia, you can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.
We'll use the following guides this semester. Begin to get oriented by reading the opening pages of each:
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 8 September 2020 | Thursday, 10 September 2020
- Listen to Wikipedia
Before we dive into policies and page types, I recommend spending a few minutes listening to Wikipedia. It is really quite a beautiful way to get a sense of how Wikipedia is made.
About: Listen to the sound of Wikipedia's recent changes feed. Bells indicate additions and string plucks indicate subtractions. Pitch changes according to the size of the edit; the larger the edit, the deeper the note. Green circles show edits from unregistered contributors, and purple circles mark edits performed by automated bots. You may see announcements for new users as they join the site, punctuated by a string swell. You can welcome him or her by clicking the blue banner and adding a note on their talk page.
- Assignment - Get to know Wikipedia
This week you'll learn about Wikipedia's core policies and the pages where editors draft, discuss, and keep tabs on articles.
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 15 September 2020 | Thursday, 17 September 2020
- Assignment - Get started editing Wikipedia
Now you are ready to get started editing by making some small edits on one or more articles of your choice. Try looking for opportunities to fix punctuation, improve wording, add links to other articles, and so on. Leave an edit summary and publish changes after each small change. Aim for at least 10 edits. When you are done, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
Resources:
- ** Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
- Wondering where to start?
You might take a look at WikiProject:Guild of Copy Editors to get ideas about where to start. WikiProjects are spaces where editors interested in a particular topic or task organize their efforts.
There is also a list of all articles tagged as needing copy editing.
- Where is my user contributions page?
- Milestones
Congratulations! You're now a Wikipedia editor.
Week 4
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 22 September 2020 | Thursday, 24 September 2020
- In class - Discussion
- Content gaps
- Assignment - Evaluate an article
- Presentence investigation report
For this exercise, everyone will evaluate Wikipedia's article on the Presentence investigation report. Keep the issue of content gaps in mind as you work through the evaluation form. Once you've published your completed evaluation form, be sure to go to the article's talk page to leave a note sharing your most pressing concern about the article and any questions you have for other editors about next steps for improving it. Post a link to your completed article evaluation and your talk page note in ELMS.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 29 September 2020 | Thursday, 1 October 2020
- Wikipedia as an encyclopedia
This week we are reading and thinking about Wikipedia in the context of the history of encyclopedias as well as the current moment of widespread misinformation.
- In class - Discussion
- What is the encyclopedia?
- In class - Discussion
- Sources and plagiarism
- Assignment - What makes a good article?
Now let's evaluate Wikipedia's article on the Encyclopedia. If you look at the talk page, you'll see that multiple WikiProjects rank it as B-class on the article quality grading scheme. What would it take to get it ready to nominate for good article status? Keep both the good article criteria and the issue of content gaps in mind as you work through the evaluation form. Post a link to your completed article evaluation in ELMS.
NOTE: If the evaluation form autogenerated through the link at the beginning of the exercise module interferes with your PSI article evaluation from last week, you'll need to create a new subpage and respond to each set of questions in the module (i.e., no need to copy the form text). Reach out to our Wikipedia expert if you have any questions.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 6 October 2020 | Thursday, 8 October 2020
- Assignment - Practice adding citations and new information
This week you'll learn about adding citations and get a little practice doing so. Begin by completing the training module linked just above.
Your choice of article to work on and your contributions to it will also serve as a proposal. For this reason you'll want to be sure to:
- choose an article for this exercise that you'd like to work on for the remainder of our Wikipedia Project and
- demonstrate that you have the subject matter knowledge to improve it substantially.
You might want to start looking for ideas by using the Article Finder. This tool will show you articles related to a keyword. You can sort by article evaluation class, completeness score, and average views per day to get a sense of how far along each article is and how well-trafficked.
If you don't find the right article that way, you might browse through Wikipedia's list of vital articles. The page offers a currently incomplete list of 50,000 subjects for which the English Wikipedia should ultimately have featured-class articles.
Once you have chosen an article, please:
- add at least one citation/source to support an existing statement or claim that is uncited or could benefit from the addition of a better source and
- add 1-2 sentences supported by the citation of another source (i.e., one not yet cited in the article).
When you are done, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 13 October 2020 | Thursday, 15 October 2020
- Assignment - Choose your article, identify reliable sources, and make a plan
You will either be assigned an article (following a successful proposal) or you will assign yourself an article from the list of those successfully proposed by others.
This week you'll begin planning and doing research for your revision/development of this article. Start by evaluating what is already there (no form this time) and outlining what should be there. Keep in mind what we've covered about content gaps, the encyclopedia genre, and Wikipedia's good article criteria. Then start working out a plan with other editors on the article's talk page.
Leave a note on your article's talk page sharing:
- your understanding of where work is needed and your 2-3 priorities for revision
- 2-3 representative and reliable sources you'll be drawing from in your revision of the article
Give feedback and encouragement to any classmates working on the same article. Don't be surprised if editors outside the class reply to your comments.
When you are done, post a link to your talk page comment(s)/conversation(s) in ELMS.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 20 October 2020 | Thursday, 22 October 2020
- Assignment - Write your first draft
Aim for a sandbox draft that offers each of the following:
- A lead section that is easy to understand
- A clear structure
- Balanced coverage
- Neutral content
- Reliable sources
Post a link to your sandbox draft in ELMS for peer review.
Resources:
- [1]Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 9
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 27 October 2020 | Thursday, 29 October 2020
- Assignment - Peer review two articles
Guiding framework - peer reviewFollow the Guiding framework instructions for peer review to assign yourself two of your peers' articles to review and provide with ideas for improvement.
Post links to your User Talk page messages (peer reviews) to our ELMS discussion board.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 3 November 2020 | Thursday, 5 November 2020
- Assignment - Respond to your peer reviews
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide where and how you can make your article more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
- Assignment - Move your revised draft into the live article
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, if you have been working in a sandbox it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace." When you are done, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
Resources
- Editing Wikipedia, page 13
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 10 November 2020 | Thursday, 12 November 2020
- Assignment - Continue improving 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.
When you are done, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
Week 12
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 17 November 2020 | Thursday, 19 November 2020
- Assignment - Polish your work
Continue to expand and improve your work, formatting your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards detailed at Wikipedia:Manual of Style. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!
When you are done, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
Week 13
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 24 November 2020
- Assignment - Finalize your 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!
When you are done, post a link to your user contributions page in ELMS.
- Show your work to family and friends
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Week 14
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 1 December 2020 | Thursday, 3 December 2020
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Once you have completed each of the trainings and tasks for the previous weeks, it's time to reflect on what you've contributed to Wikipedia and what you've learned as a writer of Wikipedia articles that you didn't learn as a researcher studying the genre.
Post a 300-500 word reflection to our ELMS discussion board that considers the most relevant of the following questions:
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? Why is this important?
- Knowledge gaps: Did your contributions improve Wikipedia's coverage of historically underrepresented or marginalized populations or topics? If so, were there any challenges unique to contributing in these subject areas?
- Evaluating articles: What did you learn about writing for Wikipedia by evaluating existing articles?
- Summarizing your contributions: Include a quick summary of your edits and your goals for revision. How does the final version of article you improved compare to the version you started with?
- Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
Week 15
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 8 December 2020 | Thursday, 10 December 2020
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.