Multimodal Assignment: Writing a Wikipedia Article

ENG 792E
Matthew Vetter
2/14/11

Introduction to Assignment

In the early stages of composing this assignment, I first thought it might be applicable to English 151. However, as I began exploring the process of writing a new article on Wikipedia, I quickly realized that such a project might be too advanced for freshman students. The assignment requires a personal commitment and interest in digital writing, I think, and will involve a lot of trial and error, and frustration. For these reasons, I think this kind of assignment is best suited to a course which is advertised as a “Writing in Digital Culture” or “Online Literacy” which might fit best in either 382: Rhetorical Approaches to Writing or 284: Writing about Culture and Society

The assignment itself will need to be connected to another project earlier in the quarter in which students explore the editing capabilities and limitations of Wikipedia and familiarize themselves with the platform’s policies and procedures. As I make reference to in the assignment, this earlier project would consists of an edit of an existing article most likely paired with a reflection essay.

The justification of the assignment is perhaps expressed best in the pedagogical benefits acknowleged by editors at the online encyclopedia itself:

In contrast to traditional writing assignments, working with Wikipedia may offer several advantages for students:

• students are held accountable to a global audience for what they are doing, and thus may feel more devoted to the assignment as a whole;
• students' work will likely continue to be used and to be improved upon by others after the assignment has ended;
• students learn the difference between fact-based and analytical writing styles;
• students strengthen their ability to think critically and evaluate sources;
• students learn how to work in a collaborative environment
• students gain insights in the creation process of texts on Wikipedia. This enables them to draw conclusions about the purposes for which Wikipedia is best used;
• students gain insights in the creation process of texts on Wikis in general, an increasingly essential skill in a modern IT workplace (that can be put on one's CV); and
• students understand that they not only consume information, they help to create it. (“Wikipedia: School and University Projects”)
  
  

The most exciting (and problematic) aspect of this assignment is that the students produce a very concrete, “real” product that will be subject to extra-academic review. There are real issues involved, however. I’m especially worried about topic generation. A local-interest topic ensures (somewhat) that Wikipedia won’t already have the entry, but it also is risky in terms of notability. If the topic isn’t deemed significant enough, it’s subject to deletion. Any ideas on overcoming this issue?

Project 3: Writing a Wikipedia Article
Matthew Vetter- ENG 382 Rhetorical Approaches to Writing

Introduction

Despite its ever-growing popularity and frequent use by students and professionals alike, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia has been victim to a significant amount of scorn in academic circles. Most students see the encyclopedia as a forbidden research database, having been steered away from using it by countless teachers and instructor in secondary and college English classes. For certain purposes and topics, however, Wikipedia might be the perfect source. For obscure subjects, it might be one of the few places where information is available. Erroneous entries can tell us about public misconceptions and ignorance. That Wikipedia has been vilified in academia is ultimately significant of a tremendous loss, as the database affords an exciting opportunity to produce public writing for a specific audience and venue.

Assignment Goal

With Project 1, we practiced editing existing articles. These editing skills are essential to a successful project 3, so please review the tutorial on editing before beginning this project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial. For this project, your goal is to create a Wikipedia entry on a topic not yet written about. We’ll be generating appropriate topics in class but here are some ideas to get you thinking about the possibilities:

· An Ohio University student organization you belong to or are interested in joining. E.g. People Acting for Gender Equality

· A Local Musical Group / Artist. E.g. Poet Hollis Summers

· A Local Event or Festival. E.g. Ohio Paw Paw Festival

· A Local Place of Interest or History

Refer to the “Things to Avoid” section of the Wikipedia: Your First Article for further guidance. We’ll also be discussing the concept of notability as it is presented in “Wikipedia:Notability” as a way of identifying what topics are desserving of an entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:N

Alternative: A substantial edit to an existing Wikipedia article, one that takes the formal requirements and guidelines of this assignment into consideration, may also be an option. Bring possible ideas to class for discussion.

Assignment Elements and Expectations

A. Compilation and Evaluation of Sources

Generating a suitable entry topic which hasn’t been already written about is just the beginning, of course. You’ll also be expected to compile a list of (8-12) sources from which to draw information. Because your entry will ultimately be subject to editorial review and (worst case scenario) deletion, it is extremely important to evaluate sources carefully before deciding to include them in your entry.

B. Article Entry

The written elements of this project will vary in terms of length, depending on subject, but most entries should range between 800-1200 words. It’s important to remember that the encyclopedic entry, as a genre, necessitates a specific format and style. Most notably, encyclopedia entries are meant to be as objective as possible and should not include analytical or opionion-based writing. We’ll be examining a number of successful and unsuccessful entries in order to learn to recognize and imitate this style.

C. Photographic Element

In addition to the written requirement, you are also asked to add a photographic element to the entry and incorporate at least two photographs into the entry. It’s important that these photographs pertain to your topic. They have the power to increase the notability of local-interest entries, as suggested in “Wikipedia: Your First Article”: “There is no consensus about such articles [local interest], but some will challenge them if they include nothing that shows how the place is special and different from tens of thousands of similar places. Photographs add interest. Try to give local-interest articles local colour.”

D. Reflection Essay

The final element to this assignment consists of a reflection essay in which you examine one or more rhetorical concepts of notability, authority, audience, and purpose. How much has your attention to one or more of these concepts influenced your composition process and product? Furthermore, how are open content platforms such as Wikipedia changing the way information is shared and disseminated? See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_content. A final elements of your essay should address the function and efficacy of your photographs. How do these images increase the article’s notability? What do they add to the composition that cannot be accomplished in alphabetic text?

Composing Processes

1. 1. Review the Wikipedia Editing Tutorial at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial. The “Becoming a Wikipedia Editor: An Overview” video tutorial found on this page is also very helpful. Remember you can always experiment / play in the Sandbox as we did leading up to the first project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sandbox.

2. 2. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Starting_an_article to learn more about the process of starting a new entry.

3. 3. Begin generating a possible article topics by searching the encyclopedia. Be sure to use different search terms, both broad and specific, to ensure that a topic hasn’t already been written about. We’ll read the entry on notability (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:N) and discuss the concept in class to get a better idea of what topics will be most appropriate. The Article Wizard can also help you figure out if your topic is sufficiently notable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard.

4. 4. Begin compiling sources. Be sure to review the section on “Gathering References” at “Wikipedia: Your First Article,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Your_first_article.

5. 5. We’ll read and discuss a number of example directly from Wikipedia, then you’ll begin drafting your own article. Review the guidelines under “Content” at the Article Wizard. Your article should adhere to the following:

Your article submission must not violate copyright.
Your article should also establish notability.
Your article must be neutral in its tone.
Your article should not engage in puffery.

Using a digital camera (can be checked out at 215 McCracken Hall), you’ll also want to take some photographs at this point to add to your entry. Have numerous options (pictures) for your peer reviewer to examine. Together, you can decide which are most appropriate at the peer review.

6. We’ll hold an in-class peer review to workshop these drafts in groups of three. Reviewers will evaluate how well you meet the above criteria, your inclusion of at least two photographic images, the selection of sources, and how well those sources are incorporated and documented with the ultimate goal of providing constructive feedback for the writer.

A Note on Delivery: While you might be drafting on your “user space” in Wikipedia, for the peer review-paste your article into a Word document and print out for your reviewer. Images can be uploaded on to a laptop which can be brought to class, brought on a flash drive and put on the classroom projector, or displayed on the digital camera itself.

7. After additional revision, you’ll submit your article for review at Article for Creation (AfC) using the Article Wizard.

8. With feedback and approval of your AfC reviewer, Go Live! Using the Article Wizard.You should also save the final version of your entry in your user space, as it may be edited by other Wikipedia members very quickly.

Schedule

Week 8-Discussion of Assignment; students locate example articles.

Week 9-Draft and Photographs Due for Peer Review

Week 10-Submit article to (AfC) for Wikipedia Review

Final-Submit final version to Wikipedia / Reflection Essay Due

Example Articles

As an introduction to the assignment, you’re each asked to e-mail me one existing Wikipedia article. Pay close attention to the format, style and content of these articles as we’ll be discussing further the characteristics of the genre. We’ll review these Week 8.

A Note on Copyright and Citation

Incorrect citations are among the most common reasons for an article deletion on Wikipedia. The success of your project depends on your careful adherence to quotation and documentation standards. The photographs you end up using should be copyrighted in the photographer’s name (you).

Evaluation

This assignment is worth 35% of your total course grade and is broken down in the following elements: Final Article: 20%; Reflection Essay: 10%; Process (Example Article, Rough Draft and Photographs): 5%

The final draft of the article will be assessed for content, neutral style, documentation, source selection. The photographs will be assessed in terms of notability. That is, how does the photograph’s content increase the article’s notability. This is not a class in photography and your efforts will not be graded on an aesthetic scale. Your reflection essay will be assessed in terms rhetorical organization, level of engagement with the process / understanding of the key concepts, and clarity of analysis. The peer review will be modeled after the guidelines laid down by Wikipedia regarding copyright, notability, neutrality, puffery.