A basic article must at the very least have a short introduction, a reasonably-sized body and some references. The general structure of a complete article should draw from the framework mentioned below. However, it is not compulsory to have all of the elements mentioned herein.
Contents Of An Article Page
The sub-sections included in this section are not editable on article editor page. These are given here for the sake of completion of documentation.
Article Title
The Article Title appears at the top of the webpage and informs the reader about the specific theme of the article. It is meant to be an identifier which informs the reader about the core area of focus the article deals with. The Article Title must be clear, succinct and non-ambiguous.
Short Description
It is meant to serve as a crisp description of the subject at hand. It not only provides some basic and popular information about the subject, but is framed in a manner which best manages to pique the readers curiosity, and draws him to read ahead.
Content Navigation Grid
It includes all the section headings throughout the article in an ordered fashion, and can be used to navigate between different sections. It can be looked upon as a table of contents which tells the reader about all the sub-themes and topics explored in the article. Importantly it also signifies the flow of the article, and helps the reader avoid an overtly cumbersome reading experience.
Contents Of An Article
The sub-sections included in this section are editable in article editor and are useful for user while editing an article.
Lead section
The introduction makes up the first part of the actual body of the article. It is meant to serve as a general survey of the scope of the article. A good introduction should briefly inform the reader with basic information about the subject, as well as provide a outline as to the structure and contents of the article.
Infobox
This section conveys some basic facts about the subject of the article (for e.g. information about the birth, death, education, family members, etc., in the case of a personality). The information reflected here is that which is entered under infobox section of article editor.
Parts of article
The article is divided into sections by providing headings to the article. Headings are divided into 3 parts : Heading 1 (For sections), Heading 2 (for sub-sections) and Heading 3 (for sub-sub-sections)
- Sections (Heading 1) : The body of the article is to be organized under various sections, basically sub-parts of the body. They are the first level of classification within an article. Two distinctly different aspects of a subject must necessarily be covered under different sections.
- Sub-sections (Heading 2) : The body of a section is to be further organized under various sub-sections, basically sub-parts of a section. They are the second level of classification within an article. Two distinctly different aspects of a section must necessarily be covered under different sub-sections.
- Sub-sub-sections (Heading 3) : The body of a sub-section is to be even further organized under various sub-sub-sections, basically sub-parts of the sub-section. They are the third and final level of classification within an article. Two distinctly different aspects of a sub-section must necessarily be covered under different sub-sub-sections.
Conclusion of article
This is the final section as well as the final part of the body of an article. The contributors can use this section to add some concluding thoughts, or make the readers aware of any latest developments or ongoing research-works in the area.
References
The References section is one of particular importance to the overall academic sanctity of any article created/edited. Any claims, thoughts, figures, arguments that find place in the article must be adequately referenced. This is the place for the contributors to duly acknowledge any works they may have cited or consulted in the writing/ editing of the article. Contributors add references via the Cite Tab on the Formatting Bar, which get displayed in the References section. The References section is what provides credibility to any article and hence is a key indicator in judging the scholarly foundations of any article.
Guidelines for Formatting
Headings
All headings must comply with the following :
- Only the first letter of every word in the heading must be in Uppercase. The entire Heading need not be in capitals.
- All Section Titles must be written using the Heading 1 Font Style.
- All Sub-Section Titles must be written using the Heading 2 Font Style.
- All Sub-Sub-Section Titles must be written using the Heading 3 Font Style.
- One must follow the sectional classification hierarchy at all times in adding headings. One should not go directly from Heading 1 to Heading 3 bypassing Heading 2. (or directly listing Heading 2 without nesting it under the Heading 1)
- Headings themselves specify the starting of section. Hence they should not be followed by colon (:) or dash (-) etc.
- Headings already have specific styling to show up on an article. They should not be styled more. For example by adding underline or making them bold.
Interlinking
This formatting tool performs a specialised function, i.e. of inter-linking the various articles within Historical India. To link any particular article with another, one has to select a word or phrase, click on the Interlink button (shown as a chain with a link on editor toolbar) on the Formatting Tab, and then enter the URL of the article to be linked in the prompted window, following which the word originally selected functions as a hyperlink to the linked article. Go to Interlinks document for more information.
Ordered and un-ordered list
These tools are often overlooked by new editors. The listing tools should be used for creating an ordered or unordered list instead of numbering them manually.
Cite
This tool is used for another exceptionally important function- to add suitable references. Contributors may select a word or a phrase for which they intend to provide references and then specify the Name of the book/research paper/journal article used, and if possible also enter the URL of the same in the prompted pop-up window, following which the reference will get cited both within the body of the work as well as towards the end of the article.
