User talk:ChadRagan

Welcome!

Hello, ChadRagan, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

The five pillars of Wikipedia
Tutorial
How to edit a page and How to develop articles
How to create your first article (using the Article Wizard if you wish)
Simplified Manual of Style

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{help me}} before the question. Again, welcome! Nikkimaria (talk) 16:29, 4 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome to Wikipedia: check out the Teahouse!

Hello! ChadRagan, you are invited to the Teahouse, a forum on Wikipedia for new editors to ask questions about editing Wikipedia, and get support from peers and experienced editors. Please join us!

I, and the rest of the hosts, would be more than happy to answer any questions you have! SarahStierch (talk) 04:08, 10 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Topics

Wow, you've got quite a few potential topics there! I would encourage you to opt for a non-commercial topic - articles on products tend to be promotional in nature, and sometimes end up being deleted or redirected. A topic like iron chair or even Ball Brothers (which has historical elements) would be interesting and easier to deal with, so long as you can find enough sources for it. If you do decide to go with a commercial product or brand, make sure your article is primarily based on secondary sources independent of the company, and maintain an encyclopedic and neutral tone at all times. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:14, 16 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Looking good so far. You're missing a lead section to introduce and summarize the article. Try looking at other articles on similar topics to get an idea of the expected structure. Be careful about using emotional or subjective language - "countless jobs" is one example. You don't want to sound too biased or promotional, and should maintain a neutral and encyclopedic tone. Some general copy-editing needed - seeing some typos and grammatical errors. Nikkimaria (talk) 05:38, 13 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Student orientation: how to edit Wikipedia

Hi! I hope you're excited to edit Wikipedia as a part of your class this semester! Since this is likely a new way of completing an assignment and the community norms and expectations are new to you, we've created this awesome orientation for students. It covers a lot of the basics of editing Wikipedia and ways you can use your coursework to improve the encyclopedia. It takes 1-2 hours to complete, and I believe this thorough introduction will save you time in the end. It will help you figure out how to create content that sticks and can serve as a reference throughout your editing. I hope you'll take a look and see what you can learn about the work that goes into creating good articles. Good luck with your assignment, and thanks for editing! JMathewson (WMF) (talk) 23:42, 26 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]