Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Lewis-Clark State College/American National Government (Fall 2019)
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- Course name
- American National Government
- Institution
- Lewis-Clark State College
- Instructor
- Kylee Britzman
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Fall 2019
- Course dates
- 2019-08-20 00:00:00 UTC – 2019-12-12 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 40
The American National Government (POLS 101) course is the introduction to U.S. politics from a political science perspective. My goal for the class is for students to update existing Wikipedia articles on political science topics. I plan to have students work in small groups over the course of the semester (approximately 12 weeks dedicated to the Wikipedia assignments).
Timeline
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Thursday, 29 August 2019
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.
Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 3 September 2019 | Thursday, 5 September 2019
- In class - Discussion
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 10 September 2019 | Thursday, 12 September 2019
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 17 September 2019 | Thursday, 19 September 2019
- Assignment - Exercise
- In class - Discussion
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 24 September 2019 | Thursday, 26 September 2019
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 1 October 2019 | Thursday, 3 October 2019
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 8 October 2019 | Thursday, 10 October 2019
- In class - Strategies for writing articles
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 15 October 2019 | Thursday, 17 October 2019
- Assignment - Bibliography draft
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 22 October 2019 | Thursday, 24 October 2019
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
- Assignment - Plans for revision and drafting your contributions
As a group, discuss the next steps for your project. What do you need to work on as a group to have a full first draft of your article? Are there additional sources you need? Do you need to start writing new content?
Continue to work on the draft of your article edits in your sandbox.
The following elements must be included in the draft:
1. Lead Section
Introductory sentence: States article topic concisely and accurately in single sentence.
2. Article
Content: At least 1-2 paragraph (minimum 4-5 sentences) of new content must be drafted.
3. References
Citations: Using the sources from bibliography, each group should have at least 3-5 sources. Make sure to review that sources meet the Wikipedia standards.
A reminder for your article draft: do not violate Wikipedia plagiarism and copyright standards in your sandbox.
You can always reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.
The Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9 can also be helpful as you continue to develop your article draft
Assignment Grading (10 pts possible):
1 pts: The article draft has been added to the correct place (in your Sandbox).
1 pt: The article draft text includes a lead section with a concise and accurate single sentence.
2 pt: The article draft text includes at least one paragraph of new text.
1 pt: The article draft text includes at least 3-5 sources/references.
1 pt: The citations are relevant and appropriate to the statements where they are cited.
1 pt: The article draft text does not violate Wikipedia plagiarism policies.
1 pt: The writing is high quality (contains no spelling and few grammatical mistakes).
2 pts: Assignment is completed by the deadline (Sunday November 3 11:59PM)
Assignment language adopted from Dr. Jennifer Glass (Georgia Tech)
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 29 October 2019 | Thursday, 31 October 2019
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 5 November 2019
- Assignment - Peer review
The process of peer review is about evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the article draft. As you carefully review the article you will identify what the article does well while also describing what can be improved. This process requires a very close read of the article draft.
How to submit your comments
1. On the “Articles” tab of your Wiki dashboard, find the article that you’ve been assigned to review.
2. In the “My Articles” section of the “Home” tab, assign it to yourself to review.
3. Find the sandbox for this article. A list of the sandboxes is included in the email about the assignment and on Blackboard.
4. Open up the existing article so that you can compare the updated draft with the current version of the Wikipedia article.
Once you’ve written the peer review:
5. Go to the Talk page of the sandbox (at the top left of the page). Click new section.
6. Add a subject like “[Your name’s] peer review”
7. Copy and paste your peer review write-up in this space. Sign your name at the end of the review (use four tildes i.e. Dawsynmarsh11 (talk) 22:52, 25 November 2019 (UTC)Name).
Instructions for writing your peer review
I’ve provided a list of guiding questions that you will use to create your peer review feedback. You will include a short paragraph of feedback for each of the sections listed below.
As you review the article you will assess:
1. The lead section
As a reminder the lead section is the first section of the article. It provides an overview of the rest of the article and contains the most important information about the topic. You should be able to read the lead and feel like you have a good understanding of what the article will be about.
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Does the lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the topic?
- Does the lead include a brief description of the article’s major section?
- Has the lead been updated to reflect new content added by the group?
- Is the lead concise or overly detailed?
2. Content
One of the main additions to the drafts is additional content for each article.
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Is the content added relevant to the topic?
- Is the content added up-to-date?
- Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
3. Tone and balance
Wikipedia articles aim for a neutral point of view which means the article should not be an attempt to persuade a reader about the topic. The coverage should also be a summary of existing sources that presents a variety of viewpoints.
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Is the content added neutral?
- Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented or underrepresented?
4. Sources and references
Articles must include a variety of reliable sources. When you’ve finished reading the article, make sure to also review the references section.
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Is all the new content backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
- Are the sources thorough?
- Are the sources current?
- Check a few links: do they work?
5. Organization
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Is the content added well-written i.e. is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
- Does the content added have any grammatical or spelling errors?
- Is the content added well-organized i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
6. Images and media
Only comment if your peers added images or media to the article
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
- Are the images well-captioned?
- Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
7. Overall impressions
For the peer review you should comment on:
- Has the content added improved the overall quality of the article i.e. is the article more complete?
- What are the strengths of the content added?
- How can the content be improved?
Tips
Many people find peer review to be difficult because they don’t want to criticize their classmates’ work. However, keep in mind that you are critiquing the article. With your review make sure to include suggestions, do not just note what could be improved but provide suggestions for how to improve the article.
Assignment Grading: (10 points possible)
1 pt: The peer review has been added to the correct place (as a new section in the talk page of the article sandbox).
1 pt: The peer review is written respectfully and provides constructive criticism.
1 pt: The peer review provides a short paragraph of comments on the article’s lead section.
1 pt: The peer review provides a short paragraph of comments on the article’s content.
1 pt: The peer review provides a short paragraph of comments on the article’s tone and balance.
1 pt: The peer review provides a short paragraph of comments on the article’s references.
1 pt: The peer review provides a short paragraph of comments on the article’s organization.
2 pts: The peer review provides a short paragraph of comments on your overall impressions.
1 pt: The peer review assignment is completed by the deadline.
Remember the peer review is worth 10% of your Wikipedia project grade.
Due date
Peer reviews must be completed by Tuesday November 12 at 11:59PM.
Assignment adapted from Wikipedia peer review resource and Dr. Jennifer Glass (Georgia Tech)
- In class - Discussion
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You have now received feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.
Resources:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
- Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 13
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 12 November 2019 | Thursday, 14 November 2019
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Exercise
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.
Week 14
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 19 November 2019 | Thursday, 21 November 2019
- Assignment - Polish your work
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!
- Assignment - Final article
It's the final week to develop your article.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
- Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!
- Assignment - Reflective essay
The final writing assignment for POLS 101 is reflecting on your experience with the class Wikipedia project.
In this essay you will assess and write about the following (guiding questions have been provided to help you reflect on each of these items):
Critiquing existing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia when you evaluated the article at the start of the semester? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
Your contributions: Include a summary of your edits and additions to article. Why were these valuable additions to the existing article? How do you feel the article compares to earlier versions?
Content: What new content did you learn from this assignment?
Peer review: What did you learn from the process of peer review? What did your peers recommend you change about your article?
Wikipedia: What did you learn about contributing to Wikipedia? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of political science and why is this important?
Guidelines
Your essay should be at least 2 double-spaced pages (1-inch margin, 12-point font).
The essay is due by Sunday December 1 at 11:59PM. Upload the essay on Blackboard (submission link is located in the Wikipedia project folder).
Week 15
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 3 December 2019 | Thursday, 5 December 2019
- In class - In-class discussion
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.