Wikipedia:Training/For educators/Choosing articles
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Wikipedia Training
Classroom
Best practices for choosing articles
Choosing the right (or wrong) articles to work on can make (or break) a Wikipedia writing assignment.
There are two primary ways to select articles for Wikipedia assignments:
- The instructor prepares a list of appropriate 'non-existent', 'stub' or 'start' articles ahead of time for the students to choose from. If possible, he or she may want to work with an experienced Wikipedian to create the list. Although this requires more preparation, it may help students start researching and writing their articles sooner.
- Students choose articles that they are interested in working on. This provides them with a sense of ownership and motivation over the assignment, but it may also lead to choices that are further afield from course material. The instructor should approve article choices before students proceed to writing.
While these are not set in stone, educators are strongly encouraged to stick to the following guidelines for the kinds of articles that may be appropriate for student work and what kinds of articles to avoid. These guidelines were created based on feedback and experiences of educators, students and Wikipedians.
