The knowledgeable material that is available on the Wikipedia platform, is generated and edited by thousands of editors and writers . It would be right to say that “Wikipedia” is an outsourcing platform that is present because of the untiring efforts and contributions made by the volunteers. As it is an open-source platform that simply means anyone can contribute to it.
If a person has enough knowledge regarding any specific topic along with research and writing skills then he can provide useful insights with ease. Though, while editing and writing for Wikipedia , it is obligatory to look for a few things in order to avoid rejection from, the Wikipedia authorities.
Newbie editors and writers, who contribute to Wikipedia always wonder how long does it take for Wikipedia to approve an edit? So, for clarity, they should keep in mind that the page approval process could be a bit time taking.
Though, Wikipedia edits can get approved by going through the two-step process.
As countless individuals are contributing to Wikipedia on a daily basis, so there is a bundle of work for the Wikipedia authorities which is why a simple edit approval process can be a bit time-consuming sometimes.
The most edited Wikipedia Articles from 2005 to 2015
A Wikipedia edit refers to an alteration or change in the content of a Wikipedia page, performed by any contributor and recorded separately. In order to edit Wikipedia pages, two editing environments are used by the contributors. These two editing environments are wiki markup and Visual Editor .
Two editing environments : wiki text and Visual Editor
Let’s have a look what are those things that come under the shadow of Wikipedia editing.
As you know Wikipedia is an encyclopedia so it is obligatory to add proper references, and links, listing authentic websites, newspapers, articles, books , and other sources that were utilized in the process of content creation for articles.
It is important to keep in mind that the above-mentioned sources should be verifiable. Though, you need to be cautious and keep in mind that you cannot copy-paste any text even if you provide citations.
Formatting plays an important role in making the text readable, skimmable and scannable. For article creation, Wikipedia proposed an appropriate structure and formatting. Editors can edit the layout of the already existing articles as per the formatting guidelines proposed by Wikipedia.
Editors can perform editing with ease, using the Wiki markup environment which is used to edit, delete, or add hyperlinks, tables, and columns, footnotes, inline citations, special characters to the article.
Prior to start writing any Wikipedia article, it is suggested to the writers that they must give a thorough read and try to understand Wikipedia’s notability requirements . To keep it short, in this guide it is stated that the topic of an article must be already published by any authentic publication.
For instance; notable magazines or newspapers, websites, peer-reviewed journals, and those books that are published by major publishing houses.
Wikipedia pages can easily get renamed. Just by moving the page to a new title, the page can be renamed without any hassle. But at first, it is obligatory that the contributor must have a verified Wikipedia account and must be an autoconfirmed user, only then he will be able to rename the page.
Though there is a certain checklist proposed by Wikipedia that needs to be thoroughly read prior to moving any page. The checklist has all the essential information that a volunteer might require in case of moving any page. Along with it, they also have a look at the guidelines proposed by Wikipedia regarding the article titles, before editing any title / renaming it.
However, be clear about one thing Wikipedia pages can be edited or moved by anyone but to maintain transparency, the pages can only get deleted by the administrators. In case any editor clears the overall page by erasing the whole text, even then the page cannot be deleted. It will still as exist as a blank page. This practice is really dejected by Wikipedia administrators and authorities. As it creates ambiguity among the readers and contributors.
Images, sounds, and videos without any doubt enhance the beauty of articles. Inserting these can make the article more notable and attractive. It also enhances the readability of the article. However, those Wikipedia contributors or volunteers who have verified accounts and are autoconfirmed users of Wikipedia can upload or add these files to the article.
Though, to avoid any hassle for instance; disapproval or rejection of the article, it is suggested to stick with Wikipedia policies with the utmost dedication.
At this time Wikipedia contains 6,568,528 articles that are available in the English language. It is without any doubt the huge collection of insights that are accumulated together online and can be accessed by anyone all across the globe.
Contributing to the Wikipedia platform can be one of the best virtual help that one can do by sharing thoughts cited by notable sources. To edit Wikipedia pages, a certain amount of knowledge and understanding is required.
Though, those who want to make their journey hassle-free should keep in view the 8 golden rules of Wikipedia editing. By adhering to these rules an editor can easily edit any page and the edit will get approved without any objection.
Let’s have a look at them closely.
Anyone can edit Wikipedia pages. But having a registered Wikipedia account provides countless benefits. It’s totally up to the editor, that either he wants to reveal his identity or want to perform edits by keeping himself anonymous. Moreover, having a registered account provide the privilege to the volunteer to contribute on the discussions or talk pages.
Wikipedia proposed five pillars for the editors and writers. By sticking to which they can easily create a well-versed content and the page will definitely get approved. Especially for the editors, it is obligatory to follow the five pillars to make sure the edit they proposed gets approved by the authorities.
For editors, it is highly suggested that they should keep an eagle eye on every detail of the article while editing. They are fully independent and edit whenever necessary with boldness. Though it is also said by the authorities that the editors should perform, edits boldly but they should avoid getting reckless. To get the utmost success they should take start by making slight modifications.
Wikipedia is a platform where the volunteer will meet or can connect with a diverse audience. It is obvious to stay aware who is the audience whom the editor or writer is going to target. Having a keen understanding of the target audience is necessary in the first place. Once the editors are aware of whom they are targeting then they will choose their words wisely.
However, this could be quite challenging to produce complex ideas in a simple way as per the mindset of the audience. For instance, if there is an article about a specific disease, which is targeting surgeons or doctors, so the writer or editor can easily use specific medical terms. On the contrary, if the article’s motive is to target common folks, then it would be a foolish strategy to use medical terminologies.
In order to, meet Wikipedia standards it is necessary to add citations from authentic sources. One of the core values of Wikipedia is verifiability . Along with primary sources, contributors should also consider secondary sources. The only condition is that the sources they add must be verifiable.
Wikipedia strongly discourages the practice of self-promotion. Because it brings a solid element of the biasness to the platform. No matter how notable an individual you are, or what your profession is, if you write about your own self on Wikipedia, it will not come out in your favor.
Wikipedia encourages the practice of impartiality. One of the core reasons why it is the most trustable platform over the internet is because of its certain policies such as a “ neutral point of view ”. In this policy, it is clearly stated that articles must not take sides to avoid partiality. On contrary, the writers or editors should propose both sides of points in order to maintain the neutrality of the content.
No matter if an editor is experienced or inexperienced, in both cases, he will require guidance at some stages. So, rule number 8 for editors or writers is to never hesitate from asking for help. To deal with this, they should have a close look at Wikipedia’s guidance and policies. There is also a separate page for the new editor’s name “ welcoming new editors ”.
Once the Wikipedia page is created after adhering to the guidelines and policies then after submission, the next phase is to get the page approved. Let’s have a look at the page approval timeline.
To get the Wikipedia page approved, 3 to 6 months are required. The timeline can be varied s as per the circumstances. Wikipedia admins have a lot of tasks and pages to be reviewed so the page process is a bit longer. The authorities make sure that the page they approved must be flawless or error-free.
Before we initiate the project, we collect every piece of information and data from you & try to keep up with the idea of your process.
When you share your idea with our experts, they will compose a draft that gets approved by you then we can start the further procedure.
After the content creation, we send the file to our experts and connoisseurs’ editors & proofreaders. They do thought-provoking editing to make error-free content.
Once we are done with all the steps, and after getting your approval, we submit the project and successfully get the page published on Wikipedia.
Experience more than the ordinary, and give your profile a boost.
