Wikipedia:Article checklist

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Checklist for new article creation

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WP:CHECKLIST

This checklist has been prepared primarily to help new editors write new articles. Not all the points in the checklist below apply to all articles. The "Check" column is for those who want to print the list and tick off as they work on their article.

Task	How-to Link/s	Comments
Apply {{in use}} or {{under construction}} templates, if appropriate		These make it clear that an article is being worked on and developed and help prevent misunderstandings with other editors, notably another editor AfDing an under construction article. Remove the template when edits are complete.
Meet Naming Conventions	WP:NC	These help keep Wikipedia article titles consistent and ensure that titles are not inappropriate (e.g., POV forks are not allowed in titles, e.g., Nice referees would not be an allowable article title.
Meet Style Guidelines	WP:MOS; WP:MOSNUM	Comprehensive style guide; Numbers style guide
Meet Neutral Point of View requirement	WP:NPOV	Articles must have a neutral POV, representing fairly the main views published by reliable sources, and not promoting a biased point of view for or against the subject
Check specific Wikipedia Project style guidelines, if applicable	WP:PROJ Example: MOS:FILM	These are guidelines prepared by project groups for specific types of articles, such as the Film Project style guideline
Ensure Redirects are in place, as appropriate	WP:R	Redirects help readers to find the article by sending searches for synonyms to the main article. For example, the British English term Lorry redirects the reader to Truck, the American English term.
Ensure Disambiguations are in place, as appropriate	WP:D	Sometimes the same term or acronym will be used for multiple articles. A reader searching for the term "AusLit" may be looking for the general article on Australian literature or for the journal AustLit. Also MOS:DP for further information
Add appropriate Infobox	WP:INFO	Infoboxes provide a summary of the subject of the article, for at-a-glance reference. They are commonly used for people, films, books, albums, countries, cities...
Add Notes/References/Further reading, as needed	Wikipedia articles need to have information supported by WP:reliable sources, and the reader needs to be informed about these reliable sources using citations, reference lists and other techniques. WP:CITE; WP:CIT	CITE is general guide; CIT contains templates
Add External Links, as appropriate	WP:EL	Note that external links to other websites should only include high-quality, non-commercial websites (with the exception being the official website for the subject, which can be included even if it is a commercial website)
Add link to Main article, as appropriate	Main article: Schindler's Ark	For example, in the article on Thomas Keneally, a link is made from the section on Schindler's Ark to the article on the novel
Add See alsos, if appropriate	See also	Article containing links to managing "See alsos" in Wiki. Add links to other Wikipedia articles that may be of obvious interest to the reader. Sometimes "see also" sections need to be trimmed.
Create WikiLinks, as appropriate, and check them	Help:Contents/Links; WP:LINK	These are often nicknamed "blue links"; links to other Wikipedia articles. These links help to connect one Wikipedia article to other articles.
Make sure it is not an orphan	WP:Orphan	An orphan is an article which has no articles linking to it. Links to articles make them more accessible/findable. Click "What links here" in the left hand column to check. You can make a new article non-orphaned by adding categories, "blue links" and adding the new article to other related articles (e.g., in the "See also" section)
Add Persondata, if biography	WP:PDATA
Add DEFAULTSORT instruction	WP:CAT	This ensures that articles are filed/sorted/listed accurately e.g. that people are listed under their last name, that articles such as "the", "a" and "an" are ignored in filing/sorting
Add appropriate Categories	WP:CAT and WP:Categorization	One article can be in multiple categories. For example, famous actors and musicians are often categorized in many categories.
Add Stub Tag/Categories, if appropriate	WP:Stub	This helps ensure that Stubs (short, new articles) can be located for expansion and development by editors
Add Image, if available	WP:IMAGE	See WP:ADDIMAGE essay for tips.
Rate article on Discussion Page, in Project Banner if appropriate	WP:ASSESS	Normal editors can rate their own articles as Stub, Start, or C-class
Add Project Banners to Discussion Page, if appropriate	For example, an article about a philosophy may be given the "Wikiproject Philosophy" banner. Some articles qualify for multiple banners. An article about a feminist philosophy could be put under the "Wikiproject Feminism" and "Wikiproject Philosophy" banners.
Add {{talkpage}} to Discussion/Talk Page	WP:TP	The Talk Page is an essential part of Wikipedia articles. This is where editors propose changes or improvements to an article and seek ideas from other editors.
Check for typos – and again!	Homonyms are easy to miss, because they are not misspellings (be vs. bee).

Other useful sources for creating and editing articles

Source	How-to Link/s	Comments
Help Contents Page	WP:HELP
Glossary	WP:G