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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Ohio University/Writing for Biologists (Spring 2017)

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Course name
Writing for Biologists
Institution
Ohio University
Instructor
Sarah Wyatt
Subject
science writing
Course dates
2017-01-10 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-04-27 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
20


Current research in biology, with an emphasis on plant science, will provide students with opportunities to practice and improve skills needed for successful written communication in the sciences.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Kaylee.maples
Alexis redmond Marine pollution
Tm526212 Environmental impact of agriculture
Chancepatznick Western blacknose dace
MBatOU Hemlock woolly adelgid
Kellynbobellyn Psychedelic therapy
Ep895713 Humulus lupulus
Bm910713 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Kk544014 Green wall
Kb826615 Coral sea
Vagabond95 Mason bee
Cgndiaye Aquaponics
Mr397912 Restoration ecology
Rlfay Old-growth forest
Gabbylexy Occupational Therapy
Skihm1244 Wetlands International
Allosaurusofsteel Barred owl
KayAcer Defaunation

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Tuesday, 24 January 2017   |   Thursday, 26 January 2017
Assignment - Wikipedia essentials
  • Overview of the course
  • Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
  • Understanding Wikipedia as a community, we'll discuss its expectations and etiquette.




Handout: Editing Wikipedia


In class - Create your account and learn the basics
  • Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.



Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 31 January 2017   |   Thursday, 2 February 2017
Assignment - What's your article?

Bring a Wikipedia article to class that you will critique.

Assignment - Critique an article
  • Review pages 4-7 of the Evaluating Wikipedia brochure. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
  • Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
  • A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these): 
    • Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
    • Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
    • Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
    • Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
    • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?




Resources: Evaluating Wikipedia, Using Talk Pages

Week 3

Course meetings
Tuesday, 7 February 2017   |   Thursday, 9 February 2017
Assignment - Add to an article
  • Add material to your Wikipedia page based on your critiques.  Be sure to add in-text citations and the references to the reference list. You may do other edits to the page as needed.  Typically, students should add information from at least 2 references for full credit.