How To Find Wikipedia Articles That Need Editing

The benefits of having a Wikipedia article about you or your business are obvious, it ranks high in search engine results, and the article can make your online profile more professional and authentic. However, Wikipedia is very different from other internet encyclopedic platforms. There is no guarantee of your article. Wikipedia’s strict brand awareness guidelines and trusted sources can make it difficult for you or your business to stay on the site. This is why individuals and businesses who know how to create Wikipedia articles and how to successfully submit then offer it for a fee.

Wikipedia is actually free encyclopedic platform. Information written by volunteers around the world is available for free without any ads. These paid writing services usually ensure that articles last a long time and have some quality. However, there is no assurance that the article will not be removed or substantially modified by other editors. All articles on Wikipedia are accessible to everyone and can be edited and developed in most cases without an account.

If the Wikipedia development process rejects an article about a company or deletes it during the removal process, those companies usually approach people having the knowledge in the field.

Writing a Wikipedia article is a complex task and requires complete knowledge about the strict rules and guidelines that Wikipedia itself governs. However, if you want to know that how to find Wikipedia articles that need editing, you have to go through a process. Let’s discuss it:

How to know if a Wikipedia page needs editing?

Wikipedia has specific rules and organization methods that can be used to determine if the articles need editing or not. To find such Wikipedia articles, please follow the suggested steps below:

Find the post template or the status of the suggested post

Users can write messages on an article signifying problems with quotes, citations, styles, Wikipedia policy issues, such as “neutral point of view”, “verifiability”, “not verified initially”), etc. To see examples of different messages, search for message templates in Wikipedia. Additionally, articles may have a featured article status (look for a star on the upper right corner), which means they meet certain Wikipedia quality standards.

Are the explanations and facts quoted in the article?

Note the hyperlink in the footer of the article. Are important declarations being cited and what are their sources? If there are resources available, make sure to reference them correctly. Some resources are considered more credible than others, but the type and amount of resources selected depends on the project. Pop culture themes like Pikachu, the character in “Pokémon”, will have a very different font from articles about the president of the United States. Similarly, writers who write about the President of the United States will have more authoritative resources.

View the history of changes made to the project

Every Wikipedia article and page has its own edit records. Find the History tab at the top of the article. The number of changes over time represents the work required to create the article. Similarly, you can see the item anywhere in the revision history and mark all changes. This is a good way to see if an item has been vandalized before deciding whether to use it or not.

Are Wikipedia articles edited anonymously?

The revision history includes the IP address or user name of each issue. Although, we must always question the accuracy of the news, we must question whether it is important to make the news anonymous. Each contributor brings his own level of bias and experience into this article. However, anonymous messages make it difficult to estimate these values. Please note that when tracking IP addresses, some addresses can be traced back to their own organization. Edits done from IP address anonymously within Microsoft, CIA, etc. do tell us about the people who contributed.

If the edits are not anonymous, please refer to the user page

User contributions are listed on the user page, but sometimes they tell their age, interests, education and experience level, etc. Find the user page by clicking on the user name in the edit history. Again, you can’t always rely on anonymous personalities.

Look for different authors when viewing the edit history of an article

Most articles use different materials. Articles in printed encyclopedias are usually based on expert judgment. However, there are many ways to deal with different topics. This also applies to experts. However, this does not mean that all opinions are equal, but that information from multiple sources is usually more complete and comprehensive.

Read discussion notes

Click the “Discussion” tab at the top of the article to learn more about the content of this article. A detailed discussion of the article can provide a lot of important information about the article. For example, you can explain why the article was written this way. Discussion notes include questions, ongoing discussions, and discussions of possible additions and improvements.

Consider how to use information

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. General and special encyclopedias are useful for finding information quickly. It is also a good place to start research projects. But this should be an introduction to your topic, not a last word. Encyclopedias, including Wikipedia, are usually not a good source of citations. Good research requires a rigorous comparison of multiple primary and secondary sources. You can see the whole editing process on official Wikipedia site.

In most cases, you can edit Wikipedia pages anonymously

You can edit Wikipedia article without having an account. However, this ensures that your IP address is listed as the “author” of the edit. It can be traced back to you without trying to hide it.

You can create an account. In this case, your IP address information will still be stored, but only a few users who can run the Checkuser tool can see it. Also, checkusers are not able to run checks on whoever they want. The conditions for using it are very carefully defined. Therefore, the best option is an identified account.

wikipedia article need editing

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However, please note that Wikipedia does not accept unconfirmed information. If the information you have (regardless of accuracy) cannot be verified by a reliable publishing source, you must delete it.

What can you edit in a Wikipedia page?

As mentioned earlier, any Wikipedia user can edit any Wikipedia article at any place. Nothing is as scary as it seems. You may edit the article for one of the following reasons:

  • Many articles on Wikipedia contain false information; false dates or names, wrong stories used, rumors heard rather than facts, and even deliberate false or ambiguous statements. Wikipedia counts on its user base to discover and correct false information in articles. If you encounter such an error (whether intentionally or not), it is the responsibility of an active user of Wikipedia to correct it.
  • Eliminate any visible deformation. Wikipedia articles are factual and non-judgmental, but not always. Many articles on Wikipedia are written from the same perspective. Others see it as a glorified press release. You are encouraged to take any method that can divert attention and create a more neutral presentation.
  • Add additional information. One of the most common problems with Wikipedia articles are their absence and that they are not complete. Users add information that only they know, but not the whole story. You can significantly increase the value of the article by filling in the gaps in the information.
  • Poor punctuation or grammar. Not all Wikipedia authors are good writers, and most articles are poorly readable. Knowledge may be good, but it is not written like that. You can solve this problem if you have high command in grammar.
  • Format incorrect formatted article. In this case, not all contributors know how to format Wikipedia articles properly. If you are an expert in wiki formatting, you can organize your presentation without destroying the existing text.

Write and edit neutrally and with due weight

All Wikipedia articles must be neutral in tone and content. When writing, include facts about important ideas, but don’t say that your opinions are sincere. Most newbies to Wikipedia will be attracted by articles on controversial topics in which people have very conflicting views. Until you get used to Wikipedia’s recommendations, avoid using them and focus on articles that are easy to maintain and unenthusiastic.

Many researchers on Wikipedia do not realize that objective views are not the same as traditional scientific views. When writing difficult topics, try to cover all the important points and give them their own weight, but not all. For example, an article on scientific debate should describe scientific consensus and important marginal theories, but it cannot delve into or assume that these views are correct.

Editing of Wikipedia article – Expert advice

Many people tend to write or edit Wikipedia articles about themselves. Resist this urge. Wikipedia page creator explains that if you get enough attention to include it in the encyclopedia, another person may write articles about you. Remember, unlike personal web pages, your Wikipedia biography is not yours. Well-praised hagiography has many advantages and can quickly collect information you might not want to publish.

You may have obtained a biography from Wikipedia, but you want to fix some actual errors. How to do this without violating the rules? The Wikipedia manual recommends to create a Wikipedia page for yourself or posting information about yourself on the appropriate discussion page, but allows other editors to include it in the article. Also, think twice before writing information about colleagues, mentors, competitors, inventions or about other articles. This created conflicts of interest and led to unexpected biases. If you have a financial or personal interest in the topic of the article you want to edit, it is recommended to indicate the topic on the relevant discussion page and listen to the suggestions of other editors.

Additional tips

  • Your sandbox content is always subject to Wikipedia rules. Therefore, do not copy information from the source into the sandbox without rewriting, paraphrasing, and citing.
  • If you have time, please write down the key concepts first rather than the source suggestions, and note where they actually came from.
  • Use notes instead of original sources to write drafts so that you don’t subconsciously imitate the original author’s structure or usage.

Frequently asked questions

How to create a Wikipedia page and article?

Creating a Wikipedia article and page is a time-consuming time and requires an expert approach. One has to know all the essential rules and guidelines of Wikipedia before creating or editing anything on Wikipedia. If you are aware of such rules, it’s going to be an easy job for you.

Who can edit my Wikipedia article?

Anyone can edit your article if he sees false information or a necessity to update it. You can track the editors by their IP address or by their account names.

How long does it take to approve a Wikipedia article?

A Wikipedia article takes 2 to 4 weeks to either get approved or rejected by the Wikipedia editors.

Wrapping up

Ultimately, we hope that this guide will help you navigate easier and contribute to the online encyclopedia. If you want to edit or write articles on Wikipedia, we encourage you to participate! As mentioned above, the online encyclopedia will not be interrupted by errors. So be bold and start editing. Even one edit a day will make the difference in making Wikipedia less controversial and racist and increases the coverage of the encyclopedia to better imitate the world we live in today.

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