CZ:Start Article

The Easy Way

A video demonstration of this method is available Here!

If you don't like long instructions and you learn by doing, just type in the title of the encyclopedia article you want to start, and get to work! That is the kind of boldness we like.

Do use the search box (upper left) to check for related articles that already exist, though.

Using Subpages

For the hard way—which you'll learn eventually, but don't have to learn right away—see Start article with subpages. Or you can just get started with them—see Using the Subpages template or go right to the instructions.

If you add a checklist to the talk page of the article (step 5 in the previous section), then your article will automatically converted to use subpages in a week.

Markup basics

When you work on your article, you'll be typing pretty much as if you were writing an e-mail. But to make text bold or italicized, or to create links, you'll be using wiki "markup." If you've never used this before, don't worry—it's not complicated!

There are just a few bits of code you need to learn, which you'll be using over and over again:

• To start a new paragraph, simply skip down two lines. Skipping down one line has no effect on presentation.
• To make text bold, put three single quotation marks around the text: '''bold'''
• To italicize text, use two single quotes: ''italicize''
• To link to a page, surround the text to be linked with left and right double brackets: [[link]]
• To make a link that points to an article that is different from the text of the link, you use a "pipe," like this: [[Biology|link]]
• To start a new section, surround the section title on both sides by two equals signs (flush left): == My New Section ==
• To make a bulleted list, precede a list item with * and make sure it's flush left: * My bullet point
• To make a numbered list, do the same but with #, like this: # My numbered point

Here's a handy hint: if you see some bit of formatting you'd like to replicate, click the "edit" button and look to see how it's done. This is how many of us learned the code—which, again, isn't hard!

See How to edit an article for a more complete list.

What's a good article like?

Here are some basics about content and formatting of articles. There are many small issues here, but here are a few important ones you should know about.

A good article satisfies many standards. It is an encyclopedia article, first of all, and it is accurate, neutral, coherent, comprehensive, well-written, pitched at the university student level, not original research, family-friendly, and legal and responsible.

Here are some essential points:

• The article title should be uppercase for the first word, then lowercase for the following words unless it is typically written uppercase when used in a regular sentence. So: Computational complexity theory; but American Chemical Society. Unless there is a compelling reason not to, articles about people should begin with the person's first name first, e.g., Albert Einstein.
• Copy and paste the following text onto the bottom of any new articles: [[Category:CZ Live]]. This adds the article to the "live articles" category (which you can view by clicking "Live articles" on the left). This helps mark articles we've actively worked on.
• The first use of the title word, phrase, or name should be bold. For example: "Biology is the science of life."
• Start the article with a definition, if it concerns a concept or general category, or else an explanation of what the person, place, event, etc., is best known for. For example: "Achillea is a genus of flowering plants, commonly referred to as yarrow, that are frequently used in garden borders and beds in ornamental horticulture."
• Link words and phrases (by surrounding the phrases with left and right double brackets: [[ ]]) where, and only where, the links are relevant to the point being made in a sentence, and where following a link will shed important light on the subject of the article.
• Remember that we employ a Neutrality Policy. The policy requires that we include all significant viewpoints on a subject, stated as fairly and sympathetically as possible. It does not mean that we take a mainstream, scientific, skeptical, or "intermediate/compromise" point of view; it means we write neutrally. So we "take a step back" if necessary, and describe any controversies fairly, rather than trying to settle them in any way at all.

For other tips, see Dozen Essentials, Approval Standards, and Article Mechanics.