Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/UW Bothell/B WRIT 135 Research Writing Sec 2 (Winter 2016)

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Course name
B WRIT 135 Research Writing Sec 2
Institution
UW Bothell
Instructor
Ianjporter
Subject
Course dates
2016-01-04 – 2016-03-14
Approximate number of student editors
48


This is a research writing course focused on the topic of sustainability. Please note that this Wikipedia site serves two sections (G and I) of the same course during Winter 2016.

Timeline

Week 1

In class - 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


Assignment - Learn the basics
  • 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

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  • Is any information out of date?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

Assignment - Copyedit an article
  • Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve and correct its language and grammar, and make the appropriate changes. (You do not need to alter the article's content.)