Softstarrs23
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Welcome to Wikinews
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Getting started as a contributor
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Welcome! Thank you for joining Wikinews; we'd love for you to stick around and get more involved. To help you get started we have an essay that will guide you through the process of writing your first full article. There are many other things you can do on the project, but its lifeblood is new, current, stories written neutrally.  | |
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All Wikimedia projects have rules. Here are ours.
Listed here are the official policies of the project, you may be referred to some of them if your early attempts at writing articles don't follow them. Don't let this discourage you, we all had to start somewhere. The rules and guides laid out here are intended to keep content to high standards and meet certain rules the Wikimedia Foundation applies to all projects. It may seem like a lot to read, but you do not have to go through it all in one sitting, or know them all before you can start contributing. Remember, you should enjoy contributing to the project. If you're really stuck come chat with the regulars. There's usually someone in chat who will be happy to help, but they may not respond instantly. |
The core policies
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Places to go, people to meet
Wiki projects work because a sense of community forms around the project. Although writing news is far more individualistic than contributing to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, people often need minor help with things like spelling and copyediting. If a story isn't too old you might be able to expand it, or if it is disputed you may be able to find some more sources and rescue it before it is listed for deletion. There are always discussions going on about how the site could be improved, and your input is of value. Check the links here to see where you can give input to the running of the Wikinews project. |
Find help and get involved
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Write your first article for Wikinews!
Use the following box to help you create your first article. Simply type in a title to your story and press "Create page". Then start typing text to your story into the new box that will come up. When you're done, press "save page". That's all there is to it!
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Hi. Glad you're interested in contributing to Wikinews. Keep in mind, there's a bunch of stuff to learn at first — the way I've seen it put is, our initial learning curve is steep but, usually, thankfully short. Often the first article (or even the first several) a new Wikinews writer submits is a big learning experience but never does actually achieve publication.
This article had some problems, the biggest of which was that the two sources turned out to be one source. I've reviewed it; see my review comments and history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 15:05, 11 August 2015 (UTC)
Big thanks!
editHi. I took a look, as you requested. Some thoughts.
- When creating an article, it's a good idea to use one of the article-creation forms scattered about the site, such as the one at WN:Writing an article. The form provides you with basic formatting elements that all articles need.
- One of those elements is a status tag, which is initially {{develop}}. On English Wikinews, writers don't just post an article. It starts out under development, then when the writer believes it's ready they submit it for review — usually, using the "submit for review" button that's provided on the {{develop}} template, which replaces it with a {{review}} template — and then an authorized reviewer, independent of the authorship of that article, has to give it a rigorous review for conformance to site standards. That's described by the first pillar at WN:Pillars of Wikinews writing.
- This particular article is well below our usual minimal article length. We ask for at least three paragraphs, and total text equivalent to, at least, three medium-sized paragraphs (medium-sized for a news article, that is; that's shorter than medium-sized for an encyclopedia paragraph). You probably need six to ten times as much text. Note that the first paragraph has a special function; it's the lede, which briefly summarizes the focal event of the article by succinctly answering as many as reasonably possible of the WN:five Ws and H about the focal event.
- Take a look at the edits I've made to the article, at its history.
- You may find WN:Pillars of Wikinews writing helpful for overall perspective on our news process, and then WN:Writing an article is a good resource for writing a first Wikinews article.
Football articles
editHello! I see that you are creating football match report. That sounds incredibly great! Even I write most of the articles of football. It has been just four days since you made your first article. So, that tells me that you are a new user (I hope you won't mind if I call you newbie).
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Stoke City and Galatasaray 2 - 2 Sivasspor are the recent articles you are developing. I would like to give you some tips. Be patient. Patience doesn't mean laziness. Just spend some time looking how previously published football match reports looked like. You can find the list of some articles here.
Now, comes the rules of Wikinews. Better say guidelines. Let's go stepwise.
- Notability. If the article is notable, only then go for it. Else move on. It would be a waste of time for all of them around here. Since we are talking about notability, are these matches notable?
I can tell you that if you are writing about BPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Serie A, and their respective cups (FA, Copa del Rey, DFB Pokal etc.) are notable for sure. UEFA Champions league Europa League, Super cup, or better sat FIFA recognised matches, in different confederations like Copa America, Africa Cup etc. are notable. But that doesn't mean that other leagues aren't notable. I am just telling you about those who won't have even an iota of problem. - Headlines it is really important. Use verbs. In present tense. Active voice. No jargon until it is so well known like NASA, UK, FIFA or AIDS. It should be unique. Tottenham and Stoke still have another match this season and it won't stop. There will be many matches as well. A better title could be Manchester United defeats Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in Premier League 2015/2016; FC Barcelona defeats AS Roma 3-0 to win 2015 Joan Gamper Trophy, Arsenal defeats Chelsea 1-0 to win Community Shield 2015 or just see that list of football articles. Then, it is up to you how creative you can, keeping in mind that audience can easily understand it. Do make in interesting. but maintain neutral point of view.
- {{Date}} template will be there. Just type the headlines in this box.
- Infobox is a news box you will find in an article. Recent news of that particular genre appears there. Since we are discussing for football, just use {{football}}. Example at the end.
- First paragraph should answer the primary 5Ws and Hs. (who, what, where, when, why and how). If unable to answer all, it is not compulsory, move ahead. It is called lede and make it in such a way that reader can find all the major information from it.
- WN:Style guide#Article length should be minimum 3 paragraphs. One lined para aren't counted.
- Writing tone and structure should be in plain English, without ambiguity with more important news first. Balanced language with clear meaning and active language.
- Use past or past perfect tense in the article.
There is a lot to tell, which you will find in style guide. Some further small things. Integers till 20 should be spelled. Do not use Crore or lakh.
Write dates in the format August 16, 2015. When you are citing, just place the newer source upper than lower. UK or US English. Choice is yours. Try to stick to the rules as much as possible.
F.C. Barcelona wins La Liga 2014-2015 is a very small article, but fits in the guidelines.
What else to do? As you learn more about this sister project, you will know how to use {{footballbox}} which will make the representation better. Just view sources of the previous articles to know how the template was used.
Ha. How to link to Wikipedia?{{w|Wikipedia article|word to be displayed}}
Infobox usage.
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I hope you can have a good start now.
Well, I have developed some templates to help in statistics. That are currently on my talk page. It might not be easy for you to understand at the moment since I did not use any comments. Still, try it in your own sandbox! Practice. Enjoy. Help. And save time!
Goodbye!
(P.S. I am User:Acagastya).
14.139.242.195 (talk) 00:02, 16 August 2015 (UTC)
Article completed
editI've completed the article. Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Stoke City. But, it needs to be moved. Please move the article to
Late equaliser by Biram Diouf helps The Potters draw against Spurs in Premier League 2015/16.
See the history to know what all I did. Hope that helps.
Goodbye!
14.139.242.195 (talk) 21:09, 16 August 2015 (UTC)