Difference between revisions of "Submissions:2016/I Don't Get It: Making Your Articles Readable"
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Valswisher (talk | contribs) (Created page with "<!-- Simply provide information about your submission below and save the page. --> ;Title: I Don't Get It - Making Your Articles Readable ;Submissions#Proposal Themes|Theme...") |
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;Abstract: <!-- at least 300 words to describe your proposal --> You spend lots of time working on making your articles as good as they can be. You aim for FA status. But, how readable is your content? In this presentation, I will present information on how to write your articles so that the Wikipedia readership can understand them. I will outline best practices for really readable writing. Using examples from Wikipedia articles, we will look at objective metrics that evaluate current Wikipedia writing. Attendees will come away with practical information that they can use right away to make your articles easier to read and understand. |
;Abstract: <!-- at least 300 words to describe your proposal --> You spend lots of time working on making your articles as good as they can be. You aim for FA status. But, how readable is your content? In this presentation, I will present information on how to write your articles so that the Wikipedia readership can understand them. I will outline best practices for really readable writing. Using examples from Wikipedia articles, we will look at objective metrics that evaluate current Wikipedia writing. Attendees will come away with practical information that they can use right away to make your articles easier to read and understand. |
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| − | Readability is an important topic for writing Wikipedia articles. It is critical that we write articles so that the majority of readers can understand them. The average reading level in the United States is 7th to 8th grade ( |
+ | Readability is an important topic for writing Wikipedia articles. It is critical that we write articles so that the majority of readers can understand them. The average reading level in the United States is 7th to 8th grade (see [[:en:Literacy_in_the_United_States|Literacy in the United States]]). But, how do current articles compare to the standard U.S. reading level? |
| − | Readability is also a well-defined topic on Wikipedia( |
+ | Readability is also a well-defined topic on Wikipedia (see [[:en:Readability|Readability]]). There are articles about a variety of readability measures. Wikipedia contains lots of information on how the brain processes information, reading for special needs, and types of reading. Wikipedia also has a style guide that contains rules for writing Wikipedia articles. However, many articles on Wikipedia are difficult to understand. |
In this presentation, I will use objective metrics to evaluate how easy it is to read Wikipedia articles. My data comes from checking content using a natural language processor, programmed with over 100 best practice writing rules. I will provide examples of good quality content and content that could be improved. |
In this presentation, I will use objective metrics to evaluate how easy it is to read Wikipedia articles. My data comes from checking content using a natural language processor, programmed with over 100 best practice writing rules. I will provide examples of good quality content and content that could be improved. |
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| − | I will present information on how to write in a style of English that is easy to comprehend. This is different from Simple English or Plain English |
+ | I will present information on how to write in a style of English that is easy to comprehend. This is different from Simple English or Plain English as in [[:simple:Wikipedia:Simple_English_Wikipedia|Simple English Wikipedia]]. Simple English and Plain English put a strict limit on the vocabulary words that are allowed. Limiting the vocabulary is not always feasible in a Wikipedia article. However, even using a large variety of words, it is easy – and important – to make sure we create articles that people can understand. |
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'''If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with four tildes. (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>).''' |
'''If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with four tildes. (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>).''' |
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| + | # Content Rules has been offering guidance about readability to Wikipedians since 2012 or earlier. Wikipedia contributors to medical content have especially benefited from their support, but I have always thought that their expertise would be of interest to all sorts of Wikipedia contributors for any subject. I would be excited to hear this talk. With the new translation tool, I would like to see more people contribute more content to Simple English Wikipedia and having better readability guides could help with that. [[User:Bluerasberry|<span style="background:#cedff2;color:#11e">''' Blue Rasberry '''</span>]][[User talk:Bluerasberry|<span style="background:#cedff2;color:#11e">(talk)</span>]] 12:38, 17 August 2016 (EDT) |
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| − | # ''Add your username here.'' |
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| + | # [[User:Thewellman|Thewellman]] ([[User talk:Thewellman|talk]]) 16:00, 17 August 2016 (EDT) particularly interested in preferred options for defining technical vocabulary while avoiding creation of stub articles |
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| + | # [[User:Funcrunch|Funcrunch]] ([[User talk:Funcrunch|talk]]) 16:29, 17 August 2016 (EDT) |
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| − | [[Category:Submissions/2016]] |
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| + | # [[User:CKoerner (WMF)|CKoerner (WMF)]] ([[User talk:CKoerner (WMF)|talk]]) 15:29, 18 August 2016 (EDT) |
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| + | #<span style="background:#006B54; padding:2px;">'''[[User:Imzadi1979|<font color="white">Imzadi 1979</font>]] [[User talk:Imzadi1979|<font color="white"><big>→</big></font>]]'''</span> 02:34, 24 August 2016 (EDT) |
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| + | [[Category:Submissions/2016]] [[Category:Submissions in 2016, community]] [[Category:Submissions in 2016, content]] |
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Latest revision as of 04:25, 31 August 2016
- Title
- I Don't Get It - Making Your Articles Readable
- Theme
- community & education
- Type of submission
- presentation
- Author
- Val Swisher
- E-mail address
- vals@contentrules.com
- Username
- valswisher
- Affiliation
- Content Rules, Inc.
- Abstract
- You spend lots of time working on making your articles as good as they can be. You aim for FA status. But, how readable is your content? In this presentation, I will present information on how to write your articles so that the Wikipedia readership can understand them. I will outline best practices for really readable writing. Using examples from Wikipedia articles, we will look at objective metrics that evaluate current Wikipedia writing. Attendees will come away with practical information that they can use right away to make your articles easier to read and understand.
Readability is an important topic for writing Wikipedia articles. It is critical that we write articles so that the majority of readers can understand them. The average reading level in the United States is 7th to 8th grade (see Literacy in the United States). But, how do current articles compare to the standard U.S. reading level?
Readability is also a well-defined topic on Wikipedia (see Readability). There are articles about a variety of readability measures. Wikipedia contains lots of information on how the brain processes information, reading for special needs, and types of reading. Wikipedia also has a style guide that contains rules for writing Wikipedia articles. However, many articles on Wikipedia are difficult to understand. In this presentation, I will use objective metrics to evaluate how easy it is to read Wikipedia articles. My data comes from checking content using a natural language processor, programmed with over 100 best practice writing rules. I will provide examples of good quality content and content that could be improved.
I will present information on how to write in a style of English that is easy to comprehend. This is different from Simple English or Plain English as in Simple English Wikipedia. Simple English and Plain English put a strict limit on the vocabulary words that are allowed. Limiting the vocabulary is not always feasible in a Wikipedia article. However, even using a large variety of words, it is easy – and important – to make sure we create articles that people can understand.
- Length of presentation
- 30 minutes
- Special schedule requests
- Preferred room size
- 50
- Will you attend WikiConference North America if your submission is not accepted?
- maybe
Interested attendees
If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with four tildes. (~~~~).
- Content Rules has been offering guidance about readability to Wikipedians since 2012 or earlier. Wikipedia contributors to medical content have especially benefited from their support, but I have always thought that their expertise would be of interest to all sorts of Wikipedia contributors for any subject. I would be excited to hear this talk. With the new translation tool, I would like to see more people contribute more content to Simple English Wikipedia and having better readability guides could help with that. Blue Rasberry (talk) 12:38, 17 August 2016 (EDT)
- Thewellman (talk) 16:00, 17 August 2016 (EDT) particularly interested in preferred options for defining technical vocabulary while avoiding creation of stub articles
- Funcrunch (talk) 16:29, 17 August 2016 (EDT)
- CKoerner (WMF) (talk) 15:29, 18 August 2016 (EDT)
- Imzadi 1979 → 02:34, 24 August 2016 (EDT)