Writing in Wikipedia Style

Neutral Point of View

Neutral Point of View

According to Wikipedia, Neutral point of view means, "representing fairly, proportionately, and as far as possible without bias, all significant views that have been published by reliable sources."

Neutral Point of View

You writing with neutral point of view in two main ways.

1 - Word Choices

2 - Content Choices

Neutral Point of View

You writing with neutral point of view in two main ways.

1 - Word Choices: select words that do not suggest value, bias, or preference. If your word choices are neutral, your style will not convey your personal perspective on the topic.

Neutral Point of View

You writing with neutral point of view in two main ways.

2 - Content choices: select content from all significant published sources. When you write, include information that is negative, positive, critical, and celebratory. Wikipedia collects all significant knowledge on a topic. This means that you must include diverse perspectives.

Guidelines: 1

Avoid stating opinions as facts.

Example: 

Wrong: Casablanca is one of the 100 greatest hollywood films. (This states an opinion as a fact)

Correct: Casablanca is on AFI's list of the 100 greatest hollywood film. (This states a fact.)

Guidelines: 2

Avoid stating seriously contested assertions as facts.

Example: 

Wrong: President John F. Kennedy was shot by a single gunman. (This is the official record, but this claim has been seriously contested.)

Correct: According to official police reports, President John F. Kennedy was shot by a single gunman. 

Guidelines: 3

 Avoid presenting uncontested assertions as mere opinion.

Example: 

Wrong: The United States government has argued that the September 11th, 2001 attacks were committed by members of Al-qaeda. (This can be stated as a fact because no significant, reputable source contests this fact.)

Correct: The September 11th, 2001 attacks were committed by members of Al-qaeda. 

Guidelines: 4

Prefer non-judgmental language.

Example: 

Wrong: Towards the beginning of World War II, the U.S. government ignored the plight of Jews seeking asylum from Nazi persecution. (The phrase "ignored the plight" is a really judgmental phrase.)Correct: Towards the beginning of World War II, the U.S. government did not make immigration accommodations for Jews seeking asylum from Nazi persecution. 

Guidelines: 5

Avoid Imprecise language

Example: 

Wrong: Farm animals produce significantly more manure than humans. (Several of the words here are vague.)Correct: "Animal feeding operations produce about 100 times more manure than the amount of human sewage sludge processed in US municipal waste water plants each year." (Agricultural pollution on Wikipedia)  

What is wrong with this example?

"Blackwater (coal) contains copious amounts of hazardous substances...Burning coal is one of the worlds largest pollutants in fact it is the leading cause of global warming, acid rain, smog, and air toxins....These are just a few of the environmental concerns that follow burning coal."

Side note: I pulled this off the Blackwater page, which really needs a lot of work.

What is wrong with this example?

"Blackwater (coal) contains copious amounts of hazardous substances...Burning coal is one of the worlds largest pollutants in fact it is the leading cause of global warming, acid rain, smog, and air toxins....These are just a few of the environmental concerns that follow burning coal."

1 - This needs a citation.2 - This needs to be copy edited. Can you find the grammatical errors? 3 - The words in red suggest judgement.4 - The words in orange are likely contested and should not be stated as fact without supportive data.

What is wrong with this example?

Since the 1980s The Age, despite the loss of its corporate independence, has remained a successful and influential newspaper. It has a range of high quality writers and contributors. The investigative team have broken a number of major stories. Its arts and lifestyle content - increasingly important in all newspapers as the leading role in news coverage is lost to television and the internet - is generally regarded as comprehensive.

What is wrong with this example?

Since the 1980s The Age, despite the loss of its corporate independence, has remained a successful and influential newspaper. It has a range of high quality writers and contributors. The investigative team have broken a number of major stories. Its arts and lifestyle content - increasingly important in all newspapers as the leading role in news coverage is lost to television and the internet - is generally regarded as comprehensive.

Answer: all of the words in orange are imprecise. They could be replaced with precise facts. (Also some grammatical problems.)

Highlights from Style ManualWords to WatchAvoid these words

Avoid these words: Puffery 

legendary, great, acclaimed, visionary, outstanding, leading, celebrated, cutting-edge, extraordinary, brilliant, famous, renowned, remarkable, prestigious, world-class, respected, notable, virtuoso ...

Contentious Labels 

... cult, racist, perverted, sect, fundamentalist, heretic, extremist, denialist, terrorist, freedom fighter, myth, pseudo-, -gate, controversial ...

Expressions of Doubt 

... supposed, purported, alleged, accused, so-called ...

Editorializing 

... notably, interestingly, it should be noted, essentially, actually, clearly, without a doubt, of course, fortunately, happily, unfortunately, tragically, untimely ...

Relative Time

... recently, lately, currently, presently, to date, 15 years ago, formerly, in the past, winter, spring, summer, fall, autumn ...

Note: remember that the content you add will continue to be read for months and years. If you write 'currently' in an article, in one year that information will be inaccurate.

What is wrong with this sentence?

It was especially competitive for out-of-state students in that it's a state-supported institution.

It was especially competitive for out-of-state students in that it's a state-supported institution.

Answer: No contractions!

When any student breaks that rule, he loses privileges.

When any student breaks that rule, he loses privileges.

Answer: Must use gender neutral language. Revise 'he' to 'he or she' or 'that student'.

Interestingly, most Clemson students are from southern states.

Interestingly, most Clemson students are from southern states.

Answer: 'Interestingly' is one of the words to watch. It is an example of editorializing. Do not tell your reader what he or she should find interesting!

With increased recycling now, hopefully the U.S. will reduce the rate of landfill growth in the next 10 years.

With increased recycling now, hopefully the U.S. will reduce the rate of landfill growth in the next 10 years.

Answer: Relative time. 'in the next 10 years' will mean something different in 15 years.

The End

Keep writing, revising, and asking questions.