User:Trystan/sandbox

Plain language

• Plain language writing would greatly improve many Wikipedia articles.
• Plain language writing is hard, particularly for complex ideas. It is comparatively easy to express ideas in a precise, technical way. That is accurate for the expert but means nothing to the general reader.
• Sentences should convey a clear idea. (Find a convoluted opening sentence and use as an example.)
• All of Wikipedia is a general encyclopedia. Even very specific topics can be written for a general audience.
• Different from simple English Wikipedia.
• Information should be presented in a way that relates to its importance and relevance.
• Write for the reader, not the editor.
• Don't lead with trivia that editors (but not readers) have been trained to ignore. Note how Google strips out the parenthetical.

• Das Kapital, also called Capital. A Critique of Political Economy (German: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, pronounced [das kapiˈtaːl kʁɪˈtiːk deːɐ poˈliːtɪʃən økonoˈmiː]; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist philosophy, economics and politics by Karl Marx.
• Even for a trained Wikipedian, parsing that sentence is a journey. We should not be throwing up such complicated barriers at the start of articles.
• Even if one thinks most readers will be able to stumble through that opening knot, it is still bad writing, because it does not prioritize information and present it appropriately. It presents:

1. The common short title
2. The full English title
3. The full German title
4. The IPA code for the German title’s pronunciation
5. A date range without clear meaning
6. A description of the subject matter of the book.

• No one would think that reflects what a reader needs to know.
• Das Kapital is an 1867 text by Karl Marx. It is a foundational theoretical text in materialist philosophy, economics and politics.

The link excuse

Many editors take the view that linking a word means no explanation for it is required in the text. If the reader wants to know more about the concept, they can click the link. This view is detrimental to writing a general purpose encyclopedia.

Good example: Euler's identity lead. Find bad example, and rewrite.