Help:How to write a great article

A great article on this wiki is accurate, easy to read, and built the same way as the articles around it. This page shows you what "great" looks like here, using two of the wiki's strongest articles, Tenth Fleet and HMS Medusa (SD-316), as models to follow.

The goal is not fancy writing. It is a page a reader can land on, understand in the first few seconds, and trust. The habits below will get you there.

Open with a strong lead

The first sentence should say plainly what the subject is. Put the article title in bold and give the reader the essentials straight away.

Look at how Tenth Fleet opens: it names the fleet, says it is one of the numbered fleets of the RMN, and gives its commander and area of operations before the first section even begins. A reader who stops after one paragraph still leaves knowing the important facts.

Write the lead last
It is often easier to write the body first and then summarize it. A good lead is a summary of the whole article, not a warm-up to it.

Give it a clear structure

Break the article into sections with == headings, ordered the way a reader would want them. A ship article moves from what the ship is, to its history, to its people, to its records.

HMS Medusa (SD-316) is a good model: an infobox on the right, a lead, a History section, the command staff, a sortable Ship's Orders table, and an Auxiliary Craft section for its pinnaces. Each section does one job, and the reader always knows where to look.

Match the pattern
Before you build a new article, open two or three existing articles of the same kind and follow their section layout. Consistency across pages is part of what makes the wiki feel finished. The Guide to layout gives the standard order.

Write in a plain, factual voice

State what is known and let the facts carry the page. Keep opinion, promotion, and in-character flourish out of the body text. Write in the present tense for current facts and the past tense for history.

Back every claim with a source

Anything a reader might question should trace to a source, usually the fleet order or directive that made it so. This is what separates a record from a rumor, and it is why the wiki is trusted as a training reference.

Example
Instead of writing that a ship "was reassigned to Second Fleet," name and cite the BuShips directive that ordered the move. See Citing sources for how to add a reference.

Link with purpose

Link the first mention of another ship, echelon, rank or office, order, or award, so readers can follow the thread. Do not link the same term over and over, and do not link plain words that lead nowhere useful.

Not a biographical wiki
Link titles and offices, such as RADM or First Space Lord, but not the names of the people who hold them. This wiki documents the organization, not its members.

Use the built-in templates

Do not hand-build a data box or a table when a template already exists. Ships use {{Infobox-chapter}}, echelons use {{Infobox-echelon}}, and awards use {{Infobox-award}}. The Template guide lists them all. Templates keep every article of a kind looking the same and save you a great deal of work.

Keep it verifiable and current

When an order changes something, update the article and cite the new order. Do not mark a ship or unit as dissolved just because a roster has stopped mentioning it. A fact stays true until an order changes it.

Common mistakes to avoid

• A lead that describes the subject's importance or mood instead of saying what it is.
• Sections in no particular order, or one long wall of text with no headings.
• Facts with no source, especially disposition changes such as "decommissioned" or "reassigned."
• Personal names linked as if they were articles.
• Copying another organization's wording. Write it in your own words.

See also

• Manual of Style, the rules for how articles should read.
• Guide to layout, the standard section order.
• Citing sources, how to reference an order.
• Contributor's guide, the full starting path.