Of course, Wikipedia is an open source platform, so anyone can upload any type of information, but there are certain limits to it. However, in this article you will know about what are the big mistakes you should avoid while creating article. It is always tricky for newcomers to navigate the strict guidelines and editorial standards at Wikipedia. You can also take help from Wikipedia article creation agency to avoid these mistakes. So, if you are going to create a Wikipedia page, here are the key mistakes you should avoid:
Top Mistakes to Avoid During Wikipedia Article Creation
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Ignoring Notability Guidelines
Probably the most common reason articles get deleted is that the subject is not notable enough. Wikipedia expects topics to have enough coverage in any independent sources. This implies that press releases, self-published contents, or blogger mentions are not given that mush priority. Make sure you have sufficient, reliable and independent sources that cover the subject so that you can draft it in the first place as per Wikipedia’s notability standards.
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Using Poor or Unreliable Sources
References are the backbone of a good Wikipedia article. Using unreliable sources (such as a personal blog, forum, or self-publishing material) loses the article’s power. Good sources include reputable news websites, academic journals, and books from established publishers. Especially that primary sources (the subject’s website, for example) should be used limitedly and in balance with secondary sources.
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Creating Articles about Yourself or Your Business
Wikipedia is an information sharing platform. You are not allowed to write articles for you or your organization; you intentionally or unintentionally will break the content neutrality. Wikipedia does promote the fact to not write any article if you are personally associated with the subject. Wikipedia discourages autobiographical content, especially because it’s hard to be objective when it hits close to viewpoint. Wikipedia has strict rules and regulations about what information to upload. So, always try to follow it.
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Not Following Wikipedia’s Manual of Style
Wikipedia has a detailed Manual of Style that describes how to organize and format articles. Common style related mistakes include improper use of headings, missing introduction, varying reference citation styles, etc., and linking to other articles on Wikipedia. Understand how similar articles in its category are structured, and mirror that structure.
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Not Providing Sufficient Information
Don’t ever author your own Wikipedia page unless you’re well set for it. Wikipedia always aims to provide complete information to a user. That is exactly why you can republish an existing article to add more info. But keep in mind that if you are not providing sufficient information into it then the article might get rejected. So, always be very careful about it.
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Uploading Content that Goes Against the Policies
Being a content writing services agency that writes Wikipedia pages, everyone will suggest that you go through the complete set of Wikipedia rules and regulations because Wikipedia is very selective when it comes to what kind of content it publishes. You can contact with some top quality Wikipedia article writing agency and create your content with their help.
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Ignoring the Talk Page and Community Feedback
Wikipedia is a collaborative platform. Each article has a “Talk” page, where editors write about how to make it better and also flag issues. New contributors ignore this page or get defensive when they are criticized. After understanding the feedbacks and questions you can continue to improve your article, and grow your bio as a contributor in Wikipedia platform.
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Copying Content from Other Sources
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited on Wikipedia. Thus, if you have approval to use content from another site, you must also rewrite it and appropriately reference it. Providing references is not the same as citing references. Using copied text will probably declare plagiarised and the article will be flagged for copyright.
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Failing to Monitor Edits After Publication
After an article is published, it is important to keep track of any changes made by others. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, so you have to aware of it otherwise anyone can change it and you will be left with bad impression. By monitoring the page continuously and doing edits on regular basis, you should ensure the integrity and quality of the article over time.
Conclusion
In this article we have discussed some top mistakes to avoid during Wikipedia article creation. You should also read the Wikipedia guidelines so that you can avoid other mistakes. For a platform that is unique and open enough to allow anybody to contribute, there must come very complex rules and regulations. But that doesn’t mean you can’t write an article without mistake. You just need to avoid the mistakes mentioned above.