Wiki style guide

Titles, headings and sections

The following points should be satisfied when selecting a title for a new wiki article:

• Be natural sounding, something users are most likely to search for
• Not overly long
• Refrain from using tabloid headlines and sensationalist words

Section headings should be used when it is helpful to the reader. They are most typically used in the following situations:

• Article is covering a large topic

• There is an aspect of the topic that will be regularly updated. For example if there are multiple inquiries by the House of Lords Communications Committee which are of interest to us, there should be a heading of 'Inquiries' followed by subheadings discussing a specific inquiry (only if there is enough to write about).

• Completely different aspects of a topic (for example an organisation's mission and their involvement in a campaign should be entered under different subheadings)

Content

An introductory sentence, should always be included to explain the relevance and context of the topic. For example, if writing about the 'Police and Justice Bill', it would be useful for a very brief explanation of when it was introduced and its general purpose.

Writing style and tone

Contributors should write in a neutral tone using encyclopedic language. The purpose of the articles is to inform the reader of facts. Consequently, the first time abbreviations are used, they should be explained, and technical language and jargon minimised, unless explained or tagged to other articles within the wiki that will make it clearer.

Try to use as simple language as possible, with short sentences and paragraphs that are 1-3 sentences. This is easier to read on the web than long blocks of text.

Instructional and presumptuous language that addresses the readers directly or the use of phrases such as obviously, clearly, actually should be avoided, unless:

• It is the language used in direct quotes
• The article is about campaigning material
• The article contains instructions or is instructional in nature

References and in-text citations

While there is no specific style of citation for the whole wiki, contributors should use one consistent style throughout the whole article.

A. References should be included if any of the following is cited:

• Quotation from an article

• Claims on numbers and dates

• Claims about living persons

• In any situation when comments are likely to be defamatory or contentious

B. References should include the following (may vary depending on nature of the source):

• Author

• Title

• Date published

• Link

• Date accessed

It would be beneficial to both the reader and the wiki, if the contributor can, wherever the chance is given, provide embedded references to other relevant articles in the wiki (see help page inter-wiki links). The following are examples of what should be referenced using inter-wiki links:

• International and domestic institutions, organisations or charities
• Any governmental body (this includes government departments, committees etc)
• Bills and Acts of Parliament
• European legislation
• MPs and other politicians
• Wider concepts are sometimes available, such as copyright and privacy (see issues page for list of issues covered)

For a directory of templates, see Wiki templates

Categories

Please ensure your page belongs to a category