More actions
m Fix typo. Fix link. |
|||
| (12 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
==First section== | ==First section== | ||
*''[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Template messages/General#Disambiguation and redirection|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 will want to know that first. Text-only browsers and [[Wikipedia:Screen reader | *''[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Template messages/General#Disambiguation and redirection|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 will want to know that first. Text-only browsers and [[Wikipedia:Screen reader|screen readers]] present the page sequentially. Do not make this initial link a section. ''See also'' [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Hatnote|Wikipedia:Hatnote]]. | ||
*''Deletion tags'' | *''Deletion tags'' | ||
*''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. | *''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. | ||
| Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
*Similarly, if the page is a [[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Lists|list]], do '''not''' introduce the list as "This is a '''list of X'''" or "This '''list of Xs'''...". A clearer and more informative introduction to the list is better than ''verbatim'' repetition of the title. A good example of this is the [[Wikipedia:List of Benet Academy alumni|List of Benet Academy alumni]]. ''(See also [[#Format of the first sentence|Format of the first sentence]] below)''. | *Similarly, if the page is a [[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Lists|list]], do '''not''' introduce the list as "This is a '''list of X'''" or "This '''list of Xs'''...". A clearer and more informative introduction to the list is better than ''verbatim'' repetition of the title. A good example of this is the [[Wikipedia:List of Benet Academy alumni|List of Benet Academy alumni]]. ''(See also [[#Format of the first sentence|Format of the first sentence]] below)''. | ||
*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 [[Wikipedia:Synonym|synonyms]].<ref>For example, in the article "[[Wikipedia:United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]": | *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 [[Wikipedia:Synonym|synonyms]].<ref>For example, in the article "[[Wikipedia:United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]": | ||
<blockquote>The '''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''', commonly known as the '''United Kingdom''', the '''UK''', or '''Britain''', is a [[sovereignty|sovereign]] [[island country]] located off the north-western coast of [[Wikipedia:Continental Europe|continental Europe]]. | <blockquote>The '''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''', commonly known as the '''United Kingdom''', the '''UK''', or '''Britain''', is a [[sovereignty|sovereign]] [[Wikipedia:island country|island country]] located off the north-western coast of [[Wikipedia:Continental Europe|continental Europe]]. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
</ref> Similarly, if the title has a parenthetical disambiguator, the disambiguator should be omitted in the text.<ref>Thus, the article [[Wikipedia:Egg (food)|Egg (food)]] should start like this: | </ref> Similarly, if the title has a parenthetical disambiguator, the disambiguator should be omitted in the text.<ref>Thus, the article [[Wikipedia:Egg (food)|Egg (food)]] should start like this: | ||
| Line 104: | Line 104: | ||
Links should not be placed in the [[Wikipedia:Emphasis (typography)#Methods and use|boldface]] reiteration of the title in the opening sentence of a lead:<ref>Many, but not all, articles repeat the article title in bold face in the first line of the article. Linking the article to itself produces '''boldface text'''; this practice is discouraged as page moves will result in a useless circular link through a redirect. Linking ''part'' of the bolded text is also discouraged because it changes the visual effect of bolding; some readers will miss the visual cue which is the purpose of using bold face in the first place.</ref><ref>Disambiguation pages are navigational aides rather than articles and where there is a primary topic for a term, the introductory line for that term's disambiguation page does typically have that term both linked and bolded; see [[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages#Linking to a primary topic|UMoS:Linking to a primary topic]]</ref> | Links should not be placed in the [[Wikipedia:Emphasis (typography)#Methods and use|boldface]] reiteration of the title in the opening sentence of a lead:<ref>Many, but not all, articles repeat the article title in bold face in the first line of the article. Linking the article to itself produces '''boldface text'''; this practice is discouraged as page moves will result in a useless circular link through a redirect. Linking ''part'' of the bolded text is also discouraged because it changes the visual effect of bolding; some readers will miss the visual cue which is the purpose of using bold face in the first place.</ref><ref>Disambiguation pages are navigational aides rather than articles and where there is a primary topic for a term, the introductory line for that term's disambiguation page does typically have that term both linked and bolded; see [[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Disambiguation pages#Linking to a primary topic|UMoS:Linking to a primary topic]]</ref> | ||
<blockquote>{{notthis|The '''[[Babe Ruth]] Award''' is given annually to the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]] (MLB) player with the best performance in the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball postseason|postseason]].}} | <blockquote>{{notthis|The '''[[Wikipedia:Babe Ruth|Babe Ruth]] Award''' is given annually to the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]] (MLB) player with the best performance in the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball postseason|postseason]].}} | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
<blockquote>{{dothis|The '''Babe Ruth Award''' is given annually to the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]] (MLB) player with the best performance in the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball postseason|postseason]]. The award, created in honor of [[Wikipedia:Babe Ruth|Babe Ruth]], was first awarded in 1949 to the MVP of the [[Wikipedia:World Series|World Series]], one year after Ruth's death.}}</blockquote> | <blockquote>{{dothis|The '''Babe Ruth Award''' is given annually to the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball|Major League Baseball]] (MLB) player with the best performance in the [[Wikipedia:Major League Baseball postseason|postseason]]. The award, created in honor of [[Wikipedia:Babe Ruth|Babe Ruth]], was first awarded in 1949 to the MVP of the [[Wikipedia:World Series|World Series]], one year after Ruth's death.}}</blockquote> | ||
| Line 122: | Line 122: | ||
=====Pronunciation===== | =====Pronunciation===== | ||
If the name of the article has a pronunciation that's not apparent from its spelling, include its [[Wikipedia:Help:IPA|pronunciation]] in parentheses after the first occurrence of the name. Do not include them for common English words with pronunciations that might be counterintuitive for learners ([[Wikipedia:Laughter|laughter]], [[Wikipedia:Sword|sword]]). If the name of the article is more than one word, include pronunciation only for the words that need it. | If the name of the article has a pronunciation that's not apparent from its spelling, include its [[Wikipedia:Help:IPA|pronunciation]] in parentheses after the first occurrence of the name. Do not include them for common English words with pronunciations that might be counterintuitive for learners ([[Wikipedia:Laughter|laughter]], [[Wikipedia:Sword|sword]]). If the name of the article is more than one word, include pronunciation only for the words that need it. | ||
| Line 136: | Line 136: | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
The | The first sentence of an article about a person should link to the page or pages about the topic where the person achieved prominence. | ||
<blockquote>'''Harvey Lavan''' "'''Van'''" '''Cliburn Jr.''' (July 12, 1934 – February 27, 2013) was an American [[Wikipedia:Pianist|pianist]] who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial [[Wikipedia:International Tchaikovsky Competition|International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition]] in Moscow, at the height of the [[Wikipedia:Cold War|Cold War]]. | <blockquote>'''Harvey Lavan''' "'''Van'''" '''Cliburn Jr.''' (July 12, 1934 – February 27, 2013) was an American [[Wikipedia:Pianist|pianist]] who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial [[Wikipedia:International Tchaikovsky Competition|International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition]] in Moscow, at the height of the [[Wikipedia:Cold War|Cold War]]. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| Line 151: | Line 151: | ||
=====Biographies===== | =====Biographies===== | ||
:''For more details on the formatting of the first sentence of biographical articles, see [[ | :''For more details on the formatting of the first sentence of biographical articles, see [[:wikipedia:wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biographies#Opening paragraph|wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biographies#Opening paragraph]] | ||
===Scope of article=== | ===Scope of article=== | ||
In some cases the definition of the article topic in the opening paragraph may be insufficient to fully constrain the scope of the article. In particular, it may be necessary to identify material that is ''not'' within scope. For instance, the [[Wikipedia:Fever|Fever]] article notes that elevated temperature due to [[Wikipedia:Hyperthermia|hyperthermia]] is not within scope. These explanations may best be done at the end of the lead to avoid cluttering and confusing the first paragraph. This information and other meta material in the lead is not expected to appear in the body of the article. | In some cases the definition of the article topic in the opening paragraph may be insufficient to fully constrain the scope of the article. In particular, it may be necessary to identify material that is ''not'' within scope. For instance, the [[Wikipedia:Fever|Fever]] article notes that elevated temperature due to [[Wikipedia:Hyperthermia|hyperthermia]] is not within scope. These explanations may best be done at the end of the lead to avoid cluttering and confusing the first paragraph. This information and other meta material in the lead is not expected to appear in the body of the article. | ||
==Alternative names== | ==Alternative names== | ||
| Line 174: | Line 168: | ||
==Length== | ==Length== | ||
The appropriate length of the lead section depends on the total [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Article size|length of the article]]. As a general guideline—but not absolute rule—the lead should usually be no longer than four paragraphs. The length of the lead should conform to readers' expectations of a short, but useful and complete, summary of the topic. A lead that is too short leaves the reader unsatisfied; a lead that is too long is intimidating, difficult to read, and may cause the reader to lose interest halfway. The following suggestions about lead length may be useful ("article length" refers to [[Wikipedia:WP:LENGTH|readable prose size]]): | |||
The appropriate length of the lead section depends on the total [[Wikipedia:Article size|length of the article]]. As a general guideline—but not absolute rule—the lead should usually be no longer than four paragraphs. The length of the lead should conform to readers' expectations of a short, but useful and complete, summary of the topic. A lead that is too short leaves the reader unsatisfied; a lead that is too long is intimidating, difficult to read, and may cause the reader to lose interest halfway. The following suggestions about lead length may be useful ("article length" refers to [[WP:LENGTH|readable prose size]]): | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| Line 192: | Line 185: | ||
|} | |} | ||
Lead sections that reflect or expand on sections in other articles are discussed at [[Wikipedia:Summary style|Summary style]]. Journalistic conventions for lead sections are discussed at [[News style]]. | Lead sections that reflect or expand on sections in other articles are discussed at [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Summary style|Wikipedia:Summary style]]. Journalistic conventions for lead sections are discussed at [[Wikipedia:News style]]. | ||
==Clutter== | ==Clutter== | ||
Because the lead is the first section a visitor reads, it is also the one most frequently edited and may become cluttered with parenthetical details (sometimes to the point of absurdity). If this happens, the lead may need to be reduced. Some parenthetical material may be notable enough to be among the first information presented, but much of it can be moved to footnotes, to infoboxes, or into the body of the article. If this results in extensive footnotes which themselves contain references, then notes and references can be split, as explained at [[Wikipedia:WP:REFNOTE|Wikipedia:Footnotes]]. | |||
Because the lead is the first section a visitor reads, it is also the one most frequently edited and may become cluttered with parenthetical details (sometimes to the point of absurdity). If this happens, the lead may need to be reduced. | |||
Some parenthetical material may be notable enough to be among the first information presented, but much of it can be moved to footnotes, to infoboxes, or into the body of the article. If this results in extensive footnotes which themselves contain references, then notes and references can be split, as explained at [[WP:REFNOTE]]. | |||
==Editing the lead section== | ==Editing the lead section== | ||
Editing the lead section can be cumbersome in long articles, because by default there is no edit link. The primary option 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 [[Help:Edit conflict|edit conflicts]] in popular articles, and [[Wikipedia:Article size#Technical issues|may cause problems]] if the page being edited is too large | Editing the lead section can be cumbersome in long articles, because by default there is no edit link. The primary option 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 [[Wikipedia:Help:Edit conflict|edit conflicts]] in popular articles, and [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Article size#Technical issues|may cause problems]] if the page being edited is too large. | ||
All users can use the following: | All users can use the following: | ||
*Click "edit" for any section and, in the resulting [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]], replace the trailing <tt>&section=</tt>'''n''' with <tt>&section='''0'''</tt> before re-loading the page. | *Click "edit" for any section and, in the resulting [[Wikipedia:Uniform Resource Locator|URL]], replace the trailing <tt>&section=</tt>'''n''' with <tt>&section='''0'''</tt> before re-loading the page. | ||
==Comparison to the news-style lead== | ==Comparison to the news-style lead== | ||
UniWiki leads are not written in [[Wikipedia:News style|news style]]. Although there are some similarities, such as putting the most important information first and making it possible for any reader to understand the subject even if they only read the lead, there are some important differences. The [[Wikipedia:Lead paragraph|lead paragraph]] (sometimes spelled "[[wikt:lede#Etymology 2|lede]]") of newspaper journalism is a very compressed summary of only the most important facts about a story. These basic facts are sometimes referred to as "the [[Wikipedia:Five Ws|five Ws]]": ''who'', ''what'', ''when'', ''where'', and ''why''. Journalistic leads normally are only one or two sentences long. By contrast, in UniWiki articles, the first sentence is usually more similar to a definition, the lead is longer, and it ultimately provides far more information, as its purpose is to summarize the article, not just introduce it. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| Line 226: | Line 206: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|width="50%" valign="top"|"Toxic gas leaking from an American-owned insecticide plant in central India killed at least 410 people overnight, many as they slept, officials said today. At least 12,000 were reported injured in the disaster in the city of Bhopal, 2,000 of whom were hospitalized." <br><small>Hazarika, Sanjoy (3 December 1984) [http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/04/world/gas-leak-in-india-kills-at-least-410-in-city-of-bhopal.html "Gas leak in city kills at least 410 in city of Bhopal"] ''The New York Times''</small> | |width="50%" valign="top"|"Toxic gas leaking from an American-owned insecticide plant in central India killed at least 410 people overnight, many as they slept, officials said today. At least 12,000 were reported injured in the disaster in the city of Bhopal, 2,000 of whom were hospitalized." <br><small>Hazarika, Sanjoy (3 December 1984) [http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/04/world/gas-leak-in-india-kills-at-least-410-in-city-of-bhopal.html "Gas leak in city kills at least 410 in city of Bhopal"] ''The New York Times''</small> | ||
|width="50%" valign="top"|The '''Bhopal disaster''', also referred to as the '''Bhopal gas tragedy''', was a [[gas leak]] incident in India, considered [[ | |width="50%" valign="top"|The '''Bhopal disaster''', also referred to as the '''Bhopal gas tragedy''', was a [[Wikipedia:Gas leak|gas leak]] incident in India, considered [[Wikipedia:List of accidents and disasters by death toll#Industrial disasters|the world's worst]] [[Wikipedia:List of industrial disasters|industrial disaster]]. It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the [[Wikipedia:Union Carbide India Limited]] (UCIL) [[Wikipedia:Pesticide|pesticide]] plant in [[Wikipedia:Bhopal|Bhopal]], Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to [[Wikipedia:Methyl isocyanate|methyl isocyanate (MIC)]] gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the [[Wikipedia:Shanty town|shanty towns]] located near the plant. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The [[Wikipedia:Government of Madhya Pradesh|government of Madhya Pradesh]] confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. Others estimate 8,000 died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases. A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. | ||
|} | |} | ||
Tabloid, magazine and broadcast news leads may be "teasers" that intentionally omit some crucial details to entice readers to read or watch the full story, and may even "bury the lead" by hiding the most important fact. This style should never be used on Wikipedia. | Tabloid, magazine and broadcast news leads may be "teasers" that intentionally omit some crucial details to entice readers to read or watch the full story, and may even "bury the lead" by hiding the most important fact. This style should never be used on Wikipedia. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[Help:Section]] | *[[Wikipedia:Help:Section|Wikipedia:Section]] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:How to create and manage a good lead section]] | *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:How to create and manage a good lead section|Wikipedia:How to create and manage a good lead section]] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence content]] | *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence content|Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence content]] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence format]] | *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence format|Wikipedia:Lead section TT first sentence format]] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:Lead section TT text]] | *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Lead section TT text|Wikipedia:Lead section TT text]] | ||
*[[ | *[[UniWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility]] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia | *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Writing better articles#Lead section|Wikipedia:Writing better articles#Lead section]] | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||