User:Icem4k/Work space1: Difference between revisions

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Wikipedia is not a manual, guidebook, textbook,
or scientific journal . Articles, and other
encyclopedic content, should be written in a
formal tone. Standards for formal tone vary
depending upon the subject matter, but should
follow the style used by reliable sources, while
remaining clear and understandable. Formal
tone means that the article should not be
written using argot , slang, colloquialisms,
doublespeak, legalese, or jargon that is
unintelligible to an average reader; it means
that the English language should be used in a
businesslike manner.
Articles should generally not be written from a
first- or second-person perspective. In prose
writing, the first-person (I and we) point of
view and second-person (you and your) point of
view typically evoke a strong narrator. While this
is acceptable in works of fiction, it is generally
unsuitable in an encyclopedia, where the writer
should be invisible to the reader. Moreover,
pertaining specifically to Wikipedia's policies,
the first person often inappropriately implies a
point of view inconsistent with WP:NPOV , and
second person is inappropriately associated with
step-by-step instructions of a how-to guide
(see WP:NOTHOWTO ). First- and second-person
pronouns should ordinarily be used only in
attributed direct quotations relevant to the
subject of the article. As with many such
guidelines, however, there are exceptions: for
instance, the " inclusive we " is widely used in
professional mathematics writing. Use common
sense to determine whether the chosen
perspective is in the spirit of this guideline.
Gender-neutral pronouns should be used where
the gender is not specific; see Gender-neutral
language for further information.
Punctuation marks that appear in the article
should be used only per generally accepted
practice. Exclamation marks (!) should be used
only if they occur in direct quotations.

Latest revision as of 21:55, 27 June 2017

Wikipedia is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal . Articles, and other encyclopedic content, should be written in a formal tone. Standards for formal tone vary depending upon the subject matter, but should follow the style used by reliable sources, while remaining clear and understandable. Formal tone means that the article should not be written using argot , slang, colloquialisms, doublespeak, legalese, or jargon that is unintelligible to an average reader; it means that the English language should be used in a businesslike manner. Articles should generally not be written from a first- or second-person perspective. In prose writing, the first-person (I and we) point of view and second-person (you and your) point of view typically evoke a strong narrator. While this is acceptable in works of fiction, it is generally unsuitable in an encyclopedia, where the writer should be invisible to the reader. Moreover, pertaining specifically to Wikipedia's policies, the first person often inappropriately implies a point of view inconsistent with WP:NPOV , and second person is inappropriately associated with step-by-step instructions of a how-to guide (see WP:NOTHOWTO ). First- and second-person pronouns should ordinarily be used only in attributed direct quotations relevant to the subject of the article. As with many such guidelines, however, there are exceptions: for instance, the " inclusive we " is widely used in professional mathematics writing. Use common sense to determine whether the chosen perspective is in the spirit of this guideline. Gender-neutral pronouns should be used where the gender is not specific; see Gender-neutral language for further information. Punctuation marks that appear in the article should be used only per generally accepted practice. Exclamation marks (!) should be used only if they occur in direct quotations.