Misplaced Pages

:Manual of Style/Layout: Difference between revisions - Misplaced Pages

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
< Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 19:36, 20 April 2008 view sourceSandyGeorgia (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, Mass message senders, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers, Template editors279,000 edits remove, unclear why we need the same shortcut twice← Previous edit Latest revision as of 12:43, 17 October 2024 view source SMcCandlish (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers, Template editors201,689 edits aNope. That they be consistent within the article is required by WP:CITEVAR, and that people not change from an established style at an article to one they personally like better is required by WP:CITESTYLE. Also "is considered helpful" is a (perhaps pointless) rationale explanation for why WP has such rules. It is not a may vs. should vs. must distinction. Proposals to impose such an IETF-style distinction on Misplaced Pages P&G have been defeated every time they have come up.Tag: Manual revert 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Style guide which presents the typical layout of Misplaced Pages articles}}
{{Subcat guideline|style guideline|WP:GTL|WP:LAY|WP:LAYOUT}}
{{About|the layout of Misplaced Pages articles|the layout of Misplaced Pages talk pages|Misplaced Pages:Talk page layout}}
{{clearright}}
{{Pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{Style-guideline|MOS:LAYOUT|MOS:STRUCTURE|WP:MOSLAYOUT}}
{{Style}} {{Style}}
]


This guide presents the typical '''layout''' of Misplaced Pages articles, including the sections an article usually has, ordering of sections, and formatting styles for various elements of an article. For advice on the use of wiki ], see ]; for guidance on writing style, see ].
The '''Misplaced Pages Guide to Layout''' is an annotated, working example of some of the basics of laying out an article. It is a summary of what some articles look like. For more complicated articles, you may wish to copy the markup of an existing article that appears to have an appropriate structure.


__TOC__
This guide is not about how to use wiki markup (see ] for that); nor is it about writing style (see ] for that).
{{anchor|ORDER}}


==Order of article elements<span id="Order of sections"></span>==
==Lead section==
{{shortcut|MOS:ORDER|MOS:SECTIONORDER|WP:ORDER}}
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Lead section}}
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Guide to writing better articles#Lead section}} {{See also|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style#Section headings}}


A ] should have, at least, (a) a lead section and (b) references. The following list includes additional standardized sections in an article. A complete article need not have all, or even most, of these elements.
Unless an article is very short, it should start with a ] consisting of one or more introductory paragraphs. The lead is shown above the table of contents (for pages with more than three headings). The appropriate lead length depends on the length of the article, but should be no longer than four paragraphs. There is no heading above the lead section.
# Before the article content
## ]<ref>Discussed in ] and ].</ref>
## {{tl|DISPLAYTITLE}}, {{tl|Lowercase title}}, {{tl|Italic title}}<ref>Per the template documentation at {{Section link|Template:Italic title/doc#Location on page}}</ref> (some of these may also be placed before the infobox<ref>Per the RFC at {{Section link|Misplaced Pages talk:Manual of Style/Layout/Archive 14#DISPLAYTITLE}}</ref> or after the infobox<ref>Per the template documentation at {{Section link|Template:DISPLAYTITLE#Instructions}}</ref>)
## ]
## {{tl|Featured list}}, {{tl|Featured article}} and {{tl|Good article}} (where appropriate for article status)
## Deletion&nbsp;/ protection tags (], ], ], ] notices)
## ], ], and ] tags
## Templates relating to ] and ]<ref>The matter was discussed in ], ], and ].</ref>{{efn|These templates (see ]) can also be placed at the end of an article.}}
## ]{{efn|It is important that hatnotes and maintenance/dispute tags appear on the first page of the article. On the mobile site, the first paragraph of the lead section is moved above the infobox for the sake of readability. Since the infobox is generally more than one page long, putting hatnotes, etc., after it will result in them being placed after the first page, making them less effective.}}
## ]
## ]
## ] (])
# Article content
## ] (also called the introduction)
## ]
## ] (see ] for specialized layout)
# ]<ref name="sequence">This sequence has been in place since at least ] (when "See also" was called "Related topics"). See, for example, ].</ref>{{efn|The original rationale for the ordering of the appendices is that, with the exception of "Works", sections which contain material outside Misplaced Pages (including "Further reading" and "External links") should come after sections that contain Misplaced Pages material (including "See also") to help keep the distinction clear. The sections containing notes and references often contain both kinds of material and, consequently, appear after the "See also" section (if any) and before the "Further reading" section (if any). Whatever the merits of the original rationale, there is now the additional factor that readers have come to expect the appendices to appear in this order.}}
## ] (for biographies only)
## ]
## ] (this can be two sections in some citation systems)
## ]
## ]{{efn|There are several reasons why this section should appear as the last appendix section. So many articles have the "External links" section at the end that many people expect this to be the case. Some "External links" and "References" (or "Footnotes", etc.) sections are quite long and, when the name of the section is not visible on the screen, it could cause problems if someone meant to delete an external link but deleted a reference citation instead. Keeping the "External links" last is also helpful to editors who patrol external links.}}
# {{anchor|End matter}}]
## ] and geography boxes
## Other ] (])<ref>]</ref>
## {{tl|Portal bar}}{{efn|This template is primarily used when ] would cause formatting problems.}} (or {{tl|Subject bar}})
## {{tl|Taxonbar}}
## ] templates
## ] (if not in the infobox) or {{tl|coord missing}}
## ]
## ]{{efn|While categories are entered on the editing page ahead of stub templates, they appear on the visual page in a separate box after the stub templates. One of the reasons this happens is that every stub template generates a stub category, and those stub categories appear after the "main" categories. Another is that certain bots and scripts are set up to expect the categories, stubs and ] to appear in that order, and will reposition them if they don't. Therefore, any manual attempt to change the order is futile unless the bots and scripts are also altered.}}
## {{t|Improve categories}} or {{tl|Uncategorized}} (These can alternatively be placed with other maintenance templates before the article content)
## ] (follow ])


==Body sections==
The subject of the article should be mentioned in '''bold text''' (<code><nowiki>'''subject'''</nowiki></code>) at a natural place, preferably in the first sentence. If the article is about a ] (such as a work of art, literature, album, ship, or a foreign phrase), the first mention of the subject should be both '''''bold and italic''''' (<code><nowiki>'''''subject'''''</nowiki></code>).
{{Shortcut|MOS:BODY}}
{{further|Help:Section|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style#Article titles, headings, and sections}}
Articles longer than a ] are generally divided into sections, and sections over a certain length are generally divided into paragraphs: these divisions enhance the readability of the article. Recommended names and orders of section headings may ], although articles should still follow good organizational and writing principles regarding sections and paragraphs.


===Headings and sections===
Normally, the first paragraph summarizes the most important points of the article. It should clearly explain the subject so that the reader is prepared for the greater level of detail and the qualifications and nuances that follow. If further introductory material is needed before the first section, this can be covered in subsequent paragraphs. Introductions to biographical articles commonly double as summaries, listing the best-known achievements of the subject. Keep in mind that sometimes this is all that is read, so the most important information should be included.
{{shortcut|MOS:OVERSECTION}}
{{further|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style#Section headings}}
]


Headings introduce sections and subsections, clarify articles by breaking up text, organize content, and populate the ]. Very short sections and subsections clutter an article with headings and inhibit the flow of the prose. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheadings.
===First paragraph===
The title or subject should almost always be part of the first sentence or elsewhere in the first paragraph.
*The '''Pythagorean theorem''' is named after and attributed to the ] Greek philosopher and mathematician ]
:<code><nowiki>The '''Pythagorean theorem''' is named after and attributed to the ] Greek philosopher and mathematician ]</nowiki></code>


Headings follow a six-level hierarchy, starting at 1 and ending at 6. The level of the heading is defined by the number of equals signs on each side of the title. Heading 1 (<code>= Heading&nbsp;1 =</code>) is automatically generated as the title of the article, and is never appropriate within the body of an article. Sections start at the second level (<code>== Heading&nbsp;2 ==</code>), with subsections at the third level (<code>=== Heading&nbsp;3 ===</code>), and additional levels of subsections at the fourth level (<code>==== Heading&nbsp;4 ====</code>), fifth level, and sixth level. Sections should be consecutive, such that they do not skip levels from sections to sub-subsections; the exact methodology is part of the ] guideline.{{efn|1=For example, skipping heading levels, such as jumping from <code>== Heading&nbsp;2 ==</code> to <code>==== Heading&nbsp;4 ====</code> without <code>=== Heading&nbsp;3 ===</code> in the middle, violates ] as it reduces usability for users of screen readers who use heading levels to navigate pages.}} Between sections, there should be a {{em|single}} blank line: multiple blank lines in the edit window create too much white space in the article. There is no need to include a blank line between a heading and sub-heading. When changing or removing a heading, consider adding an ] with the original heading name to provide for ] and ]s (preferably using <code><nowiki>{{subst:anchor}}</nowiki></code> rather than using <code><nowiki>{{anchor}}</nowiki></code> directly—see ]).
If the subject of the article has more than one name, each new form of the name should be in bold on its first appearance.
*'''Sodium hydroxide''' (]]]), also known as '''caustic soda''' or '''lye'''...
:<code><nowiki>'''Sodium hydroxide''' (]]]), also known as '''caustic soda''' or '''lye'''...</nowiki></code>


===Section order{{Anchor|Names and orders for section headings}}===
If an article's title has a parenthetical disambiguator, it should not be included in the bold text.
{{short|MOS:SNO}}
* ] should start with "An '''egg''' is an ovum produced by...", not "An '''egg (food)''' is an ovum produced by...".
{{See also|Help:Section|WP:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Headings|WP:Manual of Style#Section headings|WP:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Section headings}}


Because of the diversity of subjects it covers, Misplaced Pages has no general standard or guideline regarding the order of section headings within the body of an article. The usual practice is to order body sections based on the precedent of similar articles. For exceptions, see ] below.
Make the context clear in the first few words.
*In ], the '''Heisenberg uncertainty principle'''...
:<code><nowiki>In ], the '''Heisenberg uncertainty principle'''...</nowiki></code>


===Section templates and summary style===
Avoid links in the bold title words, and avoid circular definitions. However, most words describing titles should be linked to more detail.
<!--Linked from ]-->
*'''Buddhist meditation''', ] used in the practice of ], "includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim." (Kamalashila 1996)
{{further|WP:SUMMARYHATNOTE|Misplaced Pages:Summary style#Templates}}
:<code><nowiki>'''Buddhist meditation''', ] used in the practice of ], "includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim." (Kamalashila 1996)</nowiki></code>


When a section is a ] of another article that provides a full exposition of the section, a link to the other article should appear immediately under the section heading. You can use the {{tlx|Main}} template to generate a "Main article" link, in Misplaced Pages's ] style.
===Disambiguation templates===
{{Main|Misplaced Pages:Disambiguation#Disambiguation links}}


If one or more articles provide further information or additional details (rather than a full exposition, see above), links to such articles may be placed immediately after the section heading for that section, provided this does not duplicate a wikilink in the text. These additional links should be grouped along with the {{tnull|Main}} template (if there is one), or at the foot of the section that introduces the material for which these templates provide additional information. You can use one of the following templates to generate these links:
A "for topics of the same name..." line is sometimes put at the beginning, to link to an article about another meaning of the word, or in the case of a link that many readers are likely to follow instead of reading the article. Do not make this initial link a section. In such cases, the line should be italicized and indented using ]. A ] should not be placed under this line. See also ]
* {{tlx|Further}}{{snd}} generates a "Further information" link
* {{tlx|See also}}{{snd}} generates a "See also" link


For example, to generate a "See also" link to the article on ], type {{tlx|See also|Misplaced Pages:How to edit a page}}, which will generate:
==Links==
{{xt|{{See also|Misplaced Pages:How to edit a page}}}}
Adding square brackets (<code><nowiki>]</nowiki></code>) around a word or phrase is an important part of ] articles. This links significant words to a corresponding article that contains information that will help the reader to understand the original article. For example, an article might mention ']s' without explaining what they are, although a brief phrase explaining the term might be more appropriate in many instances. An article about ] might provide helpful background material when mentioned in passing. '''It is important to follow the links that you have added and check that they lead to the right page.''' For advice about what to link and what not to link, see ], ] and ]. Useful links that are not mentioned in the prose paragraphs can be added to the "see also" section.


==Body sections== ===Paragraphs===
{{shortcut|MOS:PARA|MOS:LINEBREAKS}}
===Headers and paragraphs===
{{redirect|MOS:LINEBREAKS|preventing line breaks|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style#Controlling line breaks}}
The number of single-sentence paragraphs should be minimized, since these can inhibit the flow of the text. By the same token, paragraphs become hard to read once they exceed a certain length.
{{See also|WP:Writing better articles#Paragraphs|Help:Wikitext#Line breaks|WP:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Indentation}}


Sections usually consist of paragraphs of running prose, each dealing with a particular point or idea. Between paragraphs—as between sections—there should be only a {{em|single}} blank line. First lines are {{em|not}} indented.
Headings help to make an article clearer and populate the table of contents, which users can choose under 'Preferences' to view (the default) or not to view; see ] and ].
Headings are hierarchical, so you should start with <code><nowiki>==Header==</nowiki></code> and follow it with <code><nowiki>===Subheader===</nowiki></code>, <code><nowiki>====Subsubheader====</nowiki></code>, and so forth.


Articles generally comprise ] paragraphs, not bullet points; however, sometimes a bulleted list can break up what would otherwise be an overly large, grey mass of text, particularly if the topic requires significant effort on the part of readers. Bulleted lists should not be overused in the main text, but are typical in the reference and reading sections at the bottom. Just as for paragraphs, any sections and subsections that are very short will make the article look cluttered and inhibit the flow. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheading, and in these circumstances, it may be preferable to use bullet points. See also ]. ] should not be used in the lead of an article, and should be used in the body only to break up a mass of text, particularly if the topic requires significant effort to comprehend. However, bulleted lists are typical in the reference, further reading, and external links sections towards the end of the article. Bullet points are usually not separated by blank lines, as that causes an accessibility issue (''see'' ] for ways to create multiple paragraphs within list items that do not cause this issue).


The number of single-sentence paragraphs should be minimized, since they can inhibit the flow of the text; by the same token, paragraphs that exceed a certain length become hard to read. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheadings; in such circumstances, it may be preferable to use bullet points instead.
Between paragraphs and between sections, there should be only a single blank line. Multiple blank lines unnecessarily lengthen the article and can make it more difficult to read.


==Standard appendices and footers<span id="Standard appendices and descriptions"></span><span id="standard appendices"></span>==
The degree to which subtopics should appear in a single article or be given their own pages is a matter of judgement and of controlling the total length of the article.
{{shortcut|MOS:APPENDIX|MOS:FOOTERS}}
{{for|the list and order of common appendices and footers|#Order of article elements}}


===Headings===
If the order in which sections should appear is not clear, use an alphabetical or chronological order. An alphabetical order is especially useful when sections are divided for countries, states, or other divisions.
When appendix sections are used, they should appear at the bottom of an article, with <code>==level 2 headings==</code>,{{efn|1=Syntax:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="color: #000000; background: #FFFFFF; padding: 1em; border: 1px solid #8FBC8F; font-size:111%;">
==See also==
* ]
* ]
</syntaxhighlight>


Which produces:
===If a section is a summary of another article===
<blockquote style="background: #FFFFFF; padding: 1em; border: 1px solid #999999; font-size:111%;">
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Guide to writing better articles#Layout}}
{{fake heading|See also}}
* ]
* ]
</blockquote>}} followed by the various footers. When it is useful to sub-divide these sections (for example, to separate a list of magazine articles from a list of books), this should be done using level 3 headings (<code>===Books===</code>) instead of ] (<code>;Books</code>), as explained in the ].


===Works or publications<span id="works"></span><span id="Works or Publications or Bibliography"></span>===
When a section is a summary of another article, it should have a link before the text (but after the section heading):
{{shortcut|MOS:LAYOUTWORKS|MOS:BIB}}
{{further|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists of works}}


'''Contents:''' A bulleted list, usually ordered chronologically, of the works created by the subject of the article.
<code><nowiki>{{main|Circumcision and law}}</nowiki></code>


'''Heading names:''' Many different headings are used, depending on the subject matter. "Works" is preferred when the list includes items that are not written publications (e.g. music, films, paintings, choreography, or architectural designs), or if multiple types of works are included. "Publications", "Discography" or "Filmography" are occasionally used where appropriate; however, "Bibliography" is discouraged because it is not clear whether it is limited to the works of the subject of the article.<ref>]</ref>{{efn|1= of "Bibliography" and "Selected bibliography"}} "Works" or "Publications" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item.{{efn|name=pluralHeading|For further information, see ].}}
which produces:
<div style="background-color: white">
{{main|Circumcision and law}}
</div>


==="See also" for one section=== ==="See also" section<span id="See also section"></span>===
{{shortcut|MOS:SEEALSO|MOS:ALSO}}
If the "See also" refers to articles relevant specifically to a particular section, references to articles that are ''not'' wikilinked from the text may be placed immediately after the section heading for that section:
{{for|the placement of "see also" notes at the top of an article|WP:RELATED}}
{{see also|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists#Related topics (navigational lists)}}
A "See also" section is a useful way to organize ] to related or comparable articles and ]. However, the section itself is not required; many high-quality and comprehensive articles do not have one.


The section should be a bulleted list, sorted either logically (for example, by subject matter), chronologically, or alphabetically. Consider using {{tlx|Columns-list}} or {{tlx|Div col}} if the list is lengthy.
<code><nowiki>{{See also|troll|ogre}}</nowiki></code>


'''Contents:''' Links in this section should be relevant and limited to a reasonable number. Whether a link belongs in the "See also" section is ultimately a matter of editorial judgment and ]. One purpose of "See also" links is to enable readers to explore tangentially related topics; however, articles linked should be related to the topic of the article or be in the same defining category. For example, the article on ] might include a link to ] because it is related to the subject but not otherwise linked in the article. The article on ] might include ] as another example of Mexican cuisine.
which produces:
<div style="background-color: white">
{{See also|troll|ogre}}
</div>


{{shortcut|MOS:NOTSEEALSO|MOS:NOTSEEAGAIN}}
Such additional references should be grouped together at the beginning of the section for easy selection by the reader, rather than being scattered throughout the text of a section:
*{{tl|Main}}
*{{tl|See also}}
*{{tl|Details}}
*<s>{{tl|See}}</s> ''deprecated''
*{{tl|Further}}


{{anchor|NOTSEEALSO}}The "See also" section should {{em|not}} include ], links to ] (unless used in a disambiguation page for ]), or ] (including links to pages within ]). As a general rule, the "See also" section should {{em|not}} repeat links that appear in the article's body.<ref>The community has rejected past proposals to do away with this guidance. See, for example, ].</ref>
==Images==
<div class="noprint" style="clear: right; border: solid #aaa 1px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 90%; background: #f9f9f9; width: 250px; padding: 4px; text-align: left; float: right;">
<div style="float: left;">
]
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 60px;">] is the free media repository of ] and Misplaced Pages
</div>
</div>
{{Clearright}}
{{seealso|Misplaced Pages:Images|Misplaced Pages:Picture tutorial}}


Editors should provide a brief annotation when a link's relevance is not immediately apparent, when the meaning of the term may not be generally known, or when the term is ambiguous. For example:
You should always be watchful '''not to overwhelm''' an article with images by adding more just because you can. '''Unless clearly better or more appropriate images are available, the existing images in the article should be left in place.'''
:* ]{{snd}}made a similar achievement on April 4, 2005
:* ]{{snd}}restriction in blood supply


If the linked article has a ] then you can use {{tl|annotated link}} to automatically generate an annotation. For example, {{tlx|annotated link|Winston Churchill}} will produce:
Images should ideally be spread evenly within the article, and relevant to the sections they are located in. All images should also have an explicative ]. An image should not overwhelm the screen; 300px may be considered a limit, as this is approximately half Misplaced Pages's text space's width on a ]. It is a good idea to try to maintain visual coherence by aligning the width of images and templates on a given page.
:* {{annotated link|Winston Churchill}}


'''Other internal links:''' {{tlx|Portal}} links are usually placed in this section. As an alternative, {{tlx|Portal bar}} may be placed with the end matter navigation templates. See relevant template documentation for correct placement.
Some users prefer images to be all located on the right side of the screen (aligned with boxes), while others prefer them to be evenly alternated between left and right. Both options are valid, although in both cases care must be taken for the images not to clash with nearby contents.


'''Heading name:''' The standardized name for this section is "See also".
In general, it is considered poor layout practice to place images at the same height on both the left and right side of the screen. Not only does this unnecessarily squeeze text, but this might also cause images to overlap text due to interferences. It is usually not a good idea to place an image intended to illustrate a given section above the header for that section. Placing an image to the left of a header, a list, or the Table of Contents is also frowned upon.


===Notes and references<span id="Notes"></span><span id="References"></span><span id="Notes or references"></span>===
When placing images, be careful not to stack too many of them within the lead, or within a single section to ] in some browsers. Generally, if there are so many images in a section that they strip down into the next section at 1024x768 screen resolution, that probably means either that the section is too short, or that there are too many images.
{{shortcut|MOS:FNNR|MOS:NOTES|MOS:REFERENCES}}
{{hatnote|For how to generate and format these sections, see ], ], and ] (particularly {{slink|Misplaced Pages:Citing sources|How to create the list of citations|nopage=yes}}).}}
{{Redirect|MOS:NOTES|hatnotes|Misplaced Pages:Hatnotes|Musical notes|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Music#Images and notation}}
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Citations}}
]


'''Contents:''' This section, or series of sections, may contain any or all of the following:
If an article has many images, so many, in fact, that they lengthen the page beyond the length of the text itself (this also applies if a template like {{tl|taxobox}} or {{tl|Judaism}} is already stretching the page.), you can try to use a ], but the ideal solution might be to create a page or category combining all of them at ] and use a relevant template ({{tl|commons}}, {{tl|commonscat}}, {{tl|commons-inline}} or {{tl|commonscat-inline}}) and link to it instead, so that further images are readily found and available when the article is expanded.


# ] that give information which is too detailed or awkward to be in the body of the article
==Horizontal dividing line==
# ] (either short citations or full citations) that connect specific material in the article with specific sources
The use of horizontal dividing lines (<nowiki>----</nowiki>) in articles is deprecated. They were once used to separate multiple meanings of a single article name. These days, a ] should be used instead.
# Full citations to sources, if ] are used in the footnotes
# ] (full bibliographic citations to sources that were consulted in writing the article but that are not explicitly connected to any specific material in the article)


], but it should be consistent within an article.
They are occasionally used to provide separation inside some templates (e.g. {{tl|politbox}} derivatives).


If there are both citation footnotes and explanatory footnotes, then they may be combined in a single section, or separated using the ] function. General references and other full citations may similarly be either combined or separated (e.g. "References" and "General references"). There may therefore be one, two, three or four sections in all.
==Standard appendices and descriptions==
Certain optional standard sections should be added at the bottom of an article. There is ] that the plural form of the section name should be used. Changing section names breaks links, so it is best not to change already-established article section names. Common appendix sections:


It is most common for only citation footnotes to be used, and therefore it is most common for only one section ("References") to be needed. Usually, if the sections are separated, then explanatory footnotes are listed first, short citations or other footnoted citations are next, and any full citations or general references are listed last.
*''Quotations (deprecated)''
*'''See also'''
*'''Notes''' (or '''Footnotes''')
*'''References''' (or combined with '''Notes''' into '''Notes and references''')
*'''Bibliography''' (or '''Books''' or '''Further reading''')
*'''External links'''


'''Heading names:''' Editors may use any reasonable section and subsection names that they choose.{{efn|One reason this guideline does not standardize section headings for citations and explanatory notes is that Misplaced Pages draws editors from many disciplines (history, English, science, etc.), each with its own note and reference section-naming convention (or conventions). For more, see ], ], and ].}} The most frequent choice is "References". Other options, in diminishing order of popularity, are "Notes", "Footnotes" or "Works cited", although these are more often used to distinguish between multiple end-matter sections or subsections.
'''Note''':
# If there is an ''External links'' section, it should be last.<ref>So many articles have the ''External links'' section at the end that many people expect that. Some ''External links'' and ''References'' sections are very long, and when the name of the section is not visible on the screen, it could cause problems if someone meant to delete an external link, and deleted a reference instead. Keeping the ''External links'' last is also helpful for editors who patrol external links.</ref>
# Any section which concerns material outside Misplaced Pages (including ''References'', ''Bibliography'', and ''External links'') should come after any section that concerns Misplaced Pages material (including ''See also'') to help keep the distinction clear. When there is a ''Notes'' or ''Footnotes'' section, most editors put it after ''See also'' and before ''References''.<ref>The ''Notes'' or ''Footnotes'' section often concerns both kinds of material.</ref>
# "Notes" is for footnotes containing source citations or commentary on the main text. "References" is a list of referenced materials (books, websites, etc. cited in the main text). Notes and references are often listed under one heading.
# ] and ] go at the end of the article, following the last appendix section, but preceding the "categories and interwiki links".


Several alternate titles ("Sources", "Citations", "Bibliography") may also be used, although each is questionable in some contexts: "Sources" may be confused with ] in computer-related articles, product purchase locations, river origins, ], etc.; "Citations" may be confused with official awards, or a summons to court; "Bibliography" may be confused with the complete list of printed works by the subject of a biography ("Works" or "Publications").
===Quotations===
: ''Note: This header is largely deprecated.''
Under this header, list any memorable quotations that are appropriate to the subject.


If multiple sections are wanted, then some possibilities include:
*"Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted."—Hesketh Pearson, ''Common Misquotations'' (1934)
* For a list of explanatory footnotes or shortened citation footnotes: "Notes", "Endnotes" or "Footnotes"
* For a list of full citations or general references: "References" or "Works cited"


With the exception of "Bibliography", the heading should be plural even if it lists only a single item.{{efn|name=pluralHeading}}
Usually, the most relevant quotes can be placed directly into the article text in order to illustrate the topic, and only a few quotes should ever be part of such a section. Longer lists of quotes are generally moved to ] and the Quotations section as a whole is replaced with a {{tl|wikiquote}} badge, usually placed at the top of the "External links" section.


===See also=== ===Further reading===
<!-- Please note that "Bibliography" is an alternate title for the works section and is also used as a title in some articles' notes and references sections. Accordingly, it is not suggested as a title here. -->
{{shortcut|WP:ALSO|WP:SEEALSO}}
{{shortcut|MOS:FURTHER}}
The "See also" section provides a bulleted list of internal links to related Misplaced Pages articles. A reasonable number of relevant links that would be in a hypothetical "perfect article" are suitable to add to the "See also" section of a less developed one.<ref>This of course refers only to links related to the topic, not links that are incidental, e.g. linking to a jargon word in a sentence</ref> Links already included in the body of the text are generally not repeated in "See also"; however, whether a link belongs in the "See also" section is ultimately a matter of editorial judgment and common sense. A "perfect" article then may not have a "See also" section at all, though some links may not naturally fit into the body of text and others may not be included due to size constraints. Links that would be included if the article were not kept relatively short for other reasons may thus be appropriate, though should be used in moderation, as always. These may be useful for readers looking to read as much about a topic as possible, including subjects only peripherally related to the one in question. The section should not link to ].
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Further reading}}


'''Contents:''' An optional bulleted list, usually alphabetized, of a reasonable number of publications that would help interested readers learn more about the article subject. Editors may include brief annotations. Publications listed in ] are formatted in the same ] used by the rest of the article. The Further reading section should not duplicate the content of the External links section, and should normally not duplicate the content of the References section, unless the References section is too long for a reader to use as part of a general reading list. This section is not intended as a repository for ] or full citations that were used to create the article content. Any links to external websites included under "Further reading" are subject to the guidelines described at ].
A less common practice is to name the section "Related topics". "See also" is the most appropriate place to link a ] with {{tl|portal}}.


===External links===
It should be a heading of level 2 so that it appears in the ]. For example:
{{shortcut|MOS:LAYOUTEL|MOS:ELLAYOUT}}
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Linking#External links section|Misplaced Pages:External links}}


'''Contents:''' A bulleted list of recommended ], each accompanied by a short description. These hyperlinks should not appear in the article's body text, nor should links used as references normally be duplicated in this section. "External links" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item.{{efn| name=pluralHeading}} Depending on the nature of the link contents, this section may be accompanied or replaced by a ] section.
<nowiki>==See also==</nowiki>


====Links to sister projects====
<nowiki>*]</nowiki><br>
<nowiki>*]</nowiki> {{main article|Misplaced Pages:Wikimedia sister projects}}


Links to ] and {{tlx|Spoken Misplaced Pages}} should generally appear in "External links", not under "See also". If the article has no "External links" section, then place the sister link(s) in a new "External links" section using inline templates. If there is more than one sister link, a combination of box-type and "inline" templates can be used, as long as the section contains ''at least one'' "inline" template.
which produces:


{{commonscat|Misplaced Pages logos}}
<div style="background-color: white">
* Box-type templates (such as {{tlx|Commons category}}, shown at right) have to be put at the beginning of the "External links" section of the article so that boxes will appear next to, rather than below, the list items. (Do {{em|not}} make a section whose sole content is box-type templates.)
: <span style="font-size: 150%;">See also</span>
* "Inline" templates are used when box-type templates are not good, either because they result in a long sequence of right-aligned boxes hanging off the bottom of the article, or because there are no external links except sister project ones. "Inline" templates, such as {{tlx|Commons category-inline}}, create links to sister projects that appear as list items, like this:
:*]
** {{commons category-inline|Wikimedia Foundation}}
:*]
If an external link is added and/or exists in the "External links" section, the "inline" templates linking to sister projects can be replaced with their respective box-type templates.
</div>


===Navigation templates===
It is helpful to alphabetize the links if there are more than a few of them. Also provide a brief explanatory sentence when the relevance of the added links is not immediately apparent - like so:
{{shortcut|MOS:LAYOUTNAV|MOS:NAVLAYOUT}}
*] made a similar achievement on ], ].
{{main article|Misplaced Pages:Categories, lists, and navigation templates#Navigation templates}}


An article may end with ] and footer navboxes, such as ] and geography boxes (for example, {{tlx|Geographic location}}). Most navboxes do not appear in printed versions of Misplaced Pages articles.{{efn|The ] for not printing navigation boxes is that these templates mostly consist of ]s that are of no use to print readers. There are two problems with this rationale: first, other wikilink content does print, for example ] and ]; second, some navigation boxes contain useful information regarding the relationship of the article to the subjects of related articles.<!--This claim should be reviewed periodically; e.g., most hatnotes have been moved to Lua module code which auto-applies the "unprintworthy" class unless told not to, and succession and other navigation boxes may have class="unprintworthy" or equivalent applied to them.-->}}
===Notes===
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Footnotes|Misplaced Pages:Citing sources}}


:{{xref|For navigation templates in the lead, see {{slink|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lead section |Sidebars}}.}}
A footnote is a note placed at the bottom of a page of a document that comments on, and may cite a reference for, a part of the main text. The connection between the relevant text and its footnote is often indicated with a number or symbol which is used both after the text fragment and before the footnote. The note following this sentence is one example.<ref name="notewarn">This is an example footnote. The "Notes" section generally only requires a <nowiki><references/></nowiki> tag or {{tl|reflist}} template. This is automatically populated with <nowiki><ref></nowiki> notes made throughout the article. See ] for details about this developing practice. The system of presenting notes (as well as "References," "Further reading," and "External links") in a Misplaced Pages article may change over time; it is more important to have clarity and consistency in an article than to adhere to any particular system.</ref> Syntax:
<blockquote>
<tt>
According to scientists, the Sun is pretty big.&lt;ref>Miller, E: "The Sun.", page 23. Academic Press, 2005&lt;/ref> The Moon, however, is not so big.&lt;ref>Smith, R: "Size of the Moon", ''Scientific American'', 46(78):46&lt;/ref>
<br/>
&#61;=Notes==
<br/>
&lt;!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the &lt;ref(erences/)> tags-->
<br/>
&lt;references/>
</tt>
</blockquote>


==Specialized layout==
===References===
] and ] have their own layout designs.
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Citing sources|Misplaced Pages:ISBN}}
Put under this header, again in a bulleted list that should usually be alphabetized, any books, articles, web pages, et cetera that you used in constructing the article and have referenced (cited) in the article.<ref name="notewarn" /> You may use a ]; this practice is neither encouraged nor discouraged. Additionally, notes should be added to the end of any reference that may not be self-evident. If you are dealing with controversial issues, it is useful to point out which sources take which stance, and maybe separate the links by proponents and critics. Example:


Certain topics have Manual of Style pages that provide layout advice, including:
* {{cite web
* ]
|url=http://it.slashdot.org/it/06/03/02/006208.shtml
* ]
|publisher=Slashdot
* ], for articles on treatments, procedures, medical products, fields of medicine, and other concepts
|title=Misplaced Pages Reaches 1,000,000 Articles
* ]
|date=] ]
* ]
|accessdate=2007-06-07
}} Popular tech community mentions Misplaced Pages milestone.


Some WikiProjects have ] that include layout recommendations. You can find those pages at ].
The use of abbreviated titles for items included in an anteceding bibliography section is permitted; for instance, you may list "Smith 1957" in references, and give a full reference in the bibliography.


==Formatting==
===Further reading===
===Images===
This section may also be titled "Bibliography", but that title is best reserved for material authored by the article subject, as it is ambiguous and may also refer to the references.
{{shortcut|MOS:LAYIM}}
{{main article|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Images}}


Each image should ideally be located in the section to which it is most relevant, and most should carry an explanatory ]. An image that would otherwise overwhelm the text space available within a ] should generally be formatted as described in relevant formatting guidelines (e.g. ], ], {{Section link|Help:Pictures#Panoramas}}). Try to harmonize the sizes of images on a given page in order to maintain visual coherence.
Put under this header in a bulleted list that should usually be alphabetized, any books, articles, web pages, et cetera that you recommend as further reading, useful background, or sources of further information to readers.<ref name="notewarn" /> This section follows the same formatting rules as the "References" section, but is generally for resources on the topic that are not specifically cited in the article.


If "stacked" images in one section spill over into the next section at 1024×768 screen resolution, there may be too many images in that section. If an article overall has so many images that they lengthen the page beyond the length of the text itself, you can use a ]; or you can create a page or category combining all of them at ] and use a relevant template ({{tl|Commons}}, {{tl|Commons category}}, {{tl|Commons-inline}} or {{tl|Commons category-inline}}) to link to it instead, so that further images are readily available when the article is expanded. See {{section link|Misplaced Pages:Image use policy|Image galleries}} for further information on galleries.
===External links===

{{main|Misplaced Pages:External links}}
Use {{para|upright|{{var|scaling factor}}}} to adjust the size of images; for example, {{para|upright|1.3}} displays an image 30% larger than the default, and {{para|upright|0.60}} displays it 40% smaller. Lead images should usually be no larger than {{para|upright|1.35}}.
Place here, in list form, any relevant websites that you recommend for readers of the article that have not been used as sources.<ref name="notewarn" /> Unlike wikilinks, which are often used within the article's text, external links are limited to the "External links" section. This section follows the same formatting rules as the "References" section. External links used as sources should be listed in the "References" or "Notes" section.

Avoid article text referring to images as being to the left, right, above or below, because image placement varies with platform (especially mobile platforms) and screen size, and is meaningless to people using screen readers; instead, use captions to identify images.


===Horizontal rule<span id="Horizontal dividing line"></span>===
External links may be listed under "Further reading," as suggested in ], instead of having a separate section specifically for external links,
{{shortcut|MOS:HR|MOS:----}}
] are sometimes used in some special circumstances, such as inside {{tl|sidebar}} template derivatives, but not in regular article prose.


===Collapsible content===
Links to ] should be under the last appendix section. If there is no external links section to integrate the {{tl|commons}}, {{tl|wikibooks}}, {{tl|wikinews}}, etc., template into, inline versions ({{tl|commons-inline}}, {{tl|wikibooks-inline}}, {{tl|wikiquote-inline}}, etc.) version is usually available. See ] to check whether one exists.
As explained at ], limit the use of {{tl|Collapse top}}/{{tl|Collapse bottom}} and similar templates in articles. That said, they can be ].


==See also== ==See also==
*] * ]
* ]&nbsp;– shows how to use headings on talk pages
*]
*] shows how to use headings on talk pages


==Notes== ==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
<!--<nowiki>
See http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how
to generate footnotes using the <ref> and </ref> tags, and the template below
</nowiki>-->
{{FootnotesSmall|resize={{{1|100%}}}}}


==References==
{{Writing guides}}
{{Reflist}}


{{Writing guides|state=expanded}}
]
{{Style wide}}
]
{{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines}}


]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 12:43, 17 October 2024

Style guide which presents the typical layout of Misplaced Pages articles This page is about the layout of Misplaced Pages articles. For the layout of Misplaced Pages talk pages, see Misplaced Pages:Talk page layout.

This guideline is a part of the English Misplaced Pages's Manual of Style.
It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.		Shortcuts
Manual of Style (MoS)

Content
Formatting
Images
Layout
Lists
By topic area
Legal
Arts
Music
History
Regional
Religion
Science
Sports
Related guidelines
An article with a table of contents block and an image near the start, then several sections
Sample article layout (click on image for larger view)

This guide presents the typical layout of Misplaced Pages articles, including the sections an article usually has, ordering of sections, and formatting styles for various elements of an article. For advice on the use of wiki markup, see Help:Editing; for guidance on writing style, see Manual of Style.

Order of article elements

Shortcuts See also: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style § Section headings

A simple article should have, at least, (a) a lead section and (b) references. The following list includes additional standardized sections in an article. A complete article need not have all, or even most, of these elements.

  1. Before the article content
    1. Short description
    2. {{DISPLAYTITLE}}, {{Lowercase title}}, {{Italic title}} (some of these may also be placed before the infobox or after the infobox)
    3. Hatnotes
    4. {{Featured list}}, {{Featured article}} and {{Good article}} (where appropriate for article status)
    5. Deletion / protection tags (CSD, PROD, AFD, PP notices)
    6. Maintenance, cleanup, and dispute tags
    7. Templates relating to English variety and date format
    8. Infoboxes
    9. Language maintenance templates
    10. Images
    11. Navigation header templates (sidebar templates)
  2. Article content
    1. Lead section (also called the introduction)
    2. Table of contents
    3. Body (see below for specialized layout)
  3. Appendices
    1. Works or publications (for biographies only)
    2. See also
    3. Notes and references (this can be two sections in some citation systems)
    4. Further reading
    5. External links
  4. End matter
    1. Succession boxes and geography boxes
    2. Other navigation footer templates (navboxes)
    3. {{Portal bar}} (or {{Subject bar}})
    4. {{Taxonbar}}
    5. Authority control templates
    6. Geographical coordinates (if not in the infobox) or {{coord missing}}
    7. Defaultsort
    8. Categories
    9. {{Improve categories}} or {{Uncategorized}} (These can alternatively be placed with other maintenance templates before the article content)
    10. Stub templates (follow WP:STUBSPACING)

Body sections

Shortcut Further information: Help:Section and Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style § Article titles, headings, and sections

Articles longer than a stub are generally divided into sections, and sections over a certain length are generally divided into paragraphs: these divisions enhance the readability of the article. Recommended names and orders of section headings may vary by subject matter, although articles should still follow good organizational and writing principles regarding sections and paragraphs.

Headings and sections

Shortcut Further information: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style § Section headings
The same article, with the central left highlighted: it contains just text in sections.
Body sections appear after the lead and table of contents (click on image for larger view).

Headings introduce sections and subsections, clarify articles by breaking up text, organize content, and populate the table of contents. Very short sections and subsections clutter an article with headings and inhibit the flow of the prose. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheadings.

Headings follow a six-level hierarchy, starting at 1 and ending at 6. The level of the heading is defined by the number of equals signs on each side of the title. Heading 1 (= Heading 1 =) is automatically generated as the title of the article, and is never appropriate within the body of an article. Sections start at the second level (== Heading 2 ==), with subsections at the third level (=== Heading 3 ===), and additional levels of subsections at the fourth level (==== Heading 4 ====), fifth level, and sixth level. Sections should be consecutive, such that they do not skip levels from sections to sub-subsections; the exact methodology is part of the Accessibility guideline. Between sections, there should be a single blank line: multiple blank lines in the edit window create too much white space in the article. There is no need to include a blank line between a heading and sub-heading. When changing or removing a heading, consider adding an anchor template with the original heading name to provide for incoming external links and wikilinks (preferably using {{subst:anchor}} rather than using {{anchor}} directly—see MOS:RENAMESECTION).

Section order

Shortcut See also: Help:Section, WP:Manual of Style/Accessibility § Headings, WP:Manual of Style § Section headings, and WP:Manual of Style/Capital letters § Section headings

Because of the diversity of subjects it covers, Misplaced Pages has no general standard or guideline regarding the order of section headings within the body of an article. The usual practice is to order body sections based on the precedent of similar articles. For exceptions, see Specialized layout below.

Section templates and summary style

Further information: WP:SUMMARYHATNOTE and Misplaced Pages:Summary style § Templates

When a section is a summary of another article that provides a full exposition of the section, a link to the other article should appear immediately under the section heading. You can use the {{Main}} template to generate a "Main article" link, in Misplaced Pages's "hatnote" style.

If one or more articles provide further information or additional details (rather than a full exposition, see above), links to such articles may be placed immediately after the section heading for that section, provided this does not duplicate a wikilink in the text. These additional links should be grouped along with the {{Main}} template (if there is one), or at the foot of the section that introduces the material for which these templates provide additional information. You can use one of the following templates to generate these links:

  • {{Further}} – generates a "Further information" link
  • {{See also}} – generates a "See also" link

For example, to generate a "See also" link to the article on Misplaced Pages:How to edit a page, type {{See also|Misplaced Pages:How to edit a page}}, which will generate:

See also: Misplaced Pages:How to edit a page

Paragraphs

Shortcuts "MOS:LINEBREAKS" redirects here. For preventing line breaks, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style § Controlling line breaks. See also: WP:Writing better articles § Paragraphs, Help:Wikitext § Line breaks, and WP:Manual of Style/Accessibility § Indentation

Sections usually consist of paragraphs of running prose, each dealing with a particular point or idea. Between paragraphs—as between sections—there should be only a single blank line. First lines are not indented.

Bullet points should not be used in the lead of an article, and should be used in the body only to break up a mass of text, particularly if the topic requires significant effort to comprehend. However, bulleted lists are typical in the reference, further reading, and external links sections towards the end of the article. Bullet points are usually not separated by blank lines, as that causes an accessibility issue (see MOS:LISTGAP for ways to create multiple paragraphs within list items that do not cause this issue).

The number of single-sentence paragraphs should be minimized, since they can inhibit the flow of the text; by the same token, paragraphs that exceed a certain length become hard to read. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheadings; in such circumstances, it may be preferable to use bullet points instead.

Standard appendices and footers

Shortcuts For the list and order of common appendices and footers, see § Order of article elements.

Headings

When appendix sections are used, they should appear at the bottom of an article, with ==level 2 headings==, followed by the various footers. When it is useful to sub-divide these sections (for example, to separate a list of magazine articles from a list of books), this should be done using level 3 headings (===Books===) instead of definition list headings (;Books), as explained in the accessibility guidelines.

Works or publications

Shortcuts Further information: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists of works

Contents: A bulleted list, usually ordered chronologically, of the works created by the subject of the article.

Heading names: Many different headings are used, depending on the subject matter. "Works" is preferred when the list includes items that are not written publications (e.g. music, films, paintings, choreography, or architectural designs), or if multiple types of works are included. "Publications", "Discography" or "Filmography" are occasionally used where appropriate; however, "Bibliography" is discouraged because it is not clear whether it is limited to the works of the subject of the article. "Works" or "Publications" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item.

"See also" section

Shortcuts For the placement of "see also" notes at the top of an article, see WP:RELATED. See also: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lists § Related topics (navigational lists)

A "See also" section is a useful way to organize internal links to related or comparable articles and build the web. However, the section itself is not required; many high-quality and comprehensive articles do not have one.

The section should be a bulleted list, sorted either logically (for example, by subject matter), chronologically, or alphabetically. Consider using {{Columns-list}} or {{Div col}} if the list is lengthy.

Contents: Links in this section should be relevant and limited to a reasonable number. Whether a link belongs in the "See also" section is ultimately a matter of editorial judgment and common sense. One purpose of "See also" links is to enable readers to explore tangentially related topics; however, articles linked should be related to the topic of the article or be in the same defining category. For example, the article on Jesus might include a link to List of people claimed to be Jesus because it is related to the subject but not otherwise linked in the article. The article on Tacos might include Fajita as another example of Mexican cuisine.

Shortcuts

The "See also" section should not include red links, links to disambiguation pages (unless used in a disambiguation page for further disambiguation), or external links (including links to pages within Wikimedia sister projects). As a general rule, the "See also" section should not repeat links that appear in the article's body.

Editors should provide a brief annotation when a link's relevance is not immediately apparent, when the meaning of the term may not be generally known, or when the term is ambiguous. For example:

  • Joe Shmoe – made a similar achievement on April 4, 2005
  • Ischemia – restriction in blood supply

If the linked article has a short description then you can use {{annotated link}} to automatically generate an annotation. For example, {{annotated link|Winston Churchill}} will produce:

Other internal links: {{Portal}} links are usually placed in this section. As an alternative, {{Portal bar}} may be placed with the end matter navigation templates. See relevant template documentation for correct placement.

Heading name: The standardized name for this section is "See also".

Notes and references

Shortcuts For how to generate and format these sections, see Help:Footnotes, Help:Shortened footnotes, and Misplaced Pages:Citing sources (particularly § How to create the list of citations). "MOS:NOTES" redirects here. For hatnotes, see Misplaced Pages:Hatnotes. For Musical notes, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Music § Images and notation. See also: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Text formatting § Citations
The same article, with a horizontal section near the bottom highlighted, containing a two-column and a one-column section.
Notes and References appear after See also (click on image for larger view).

Contents: This section, or series of sections, may contain any or all of the following:

  1. Explanatory footnotes that give information which is too detailed or awkward to be in the body of the article
  2. Citation footnotes (either short citations or full citations) that connect specific material in the article with specific sources
  3. Full citations to sources, if short citations are used in the footnotes
  4. General references (full bibliographic citations to sources that were consulted in writing the article but that are not explicitly connected to any specific material in the article)

Editors may use any citation method they choose, but it should be consistent within an article.

If there are both citation footnotes and explanatory footnotes, then they may be combined in a single section, or separated using the grouped footnotes function. General references and other full citations may similarly be either combined or separated (e.g. "References" and "General references"). There may therefore be one, two, three or four sections in all.

It is most common for only citation footnotes to be used, and therefore it is most common for only one section ("References") to be needed. Usually, if the sections are separated, then explanatory footnotes are listed first, short citations or other footnoted citations are next, and any full citations or general references are listed last.

Heading names: Editors may use any reasonable section and subsection names that they choose. The most frequent choice is "References". Other options, in diminishing order of popularity, are "Notes", "Footnotes" or "Works cited", although these are more often used to distinguish between multiple end-matter sections or subsections.

Several alternate titles ("Sources", "Citations", "Bibliography") may also be used, although each is questionable in some contexts: "Sources" may be confused with source code in computer-related articles, product purchase locations, river origins, journalism sourcing, etc.; "Citations" may be confused with official awards, or a summons to court; "Bibliography" may be confused with the complete list of printed works by the subject of a biography ("Works" or "Publications").

If multiple sections are wanted, then some possibilities include:

  • For a list of explanatory footnotes or shortened citation footnotes: "Notes", "Endnotes" or "Footnotes"
  • For a list of full citations or general references: "References" or "Works cited"

With the exception of "Bibliography", the heading should be plural even if it lists only a single item.

Further reading

Shortcut See also: Misplaced Pages:Further reading

Contents: An optional bulleted list, usually alphabetized, of a reasonable number of publications that would help interested readers learn more about the article subject. Editors may include brief annotations. Publications listed in further reading are formatted in the same citation style used by the rest of the article. The Further reading section should not duplicate the content of the External links section, and should normally not duplicate the content of the References section, unless the References section is too long for a reader to use as part of a general reading list. This section is not intended as a repository for general references or full citations that were used to create the article content. Any links to external websites included under "Further reading" are subject to the guidelines described at Misplaced Pages:External links.

External links

Shortcuts Main pages: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Linking § External links section, and Misplaced Pages:External links

Contents: A bulleted list of recommended relevant websites, each accompanied by a short description. These hyperlinks should not appear in the article's body text, nor should links used as references normally be duplicated in this section. "External links" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item. Depending on the nature of the link contents, this section may be accompanied or replaced by a "Further reading" section.

Links to sister projects

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Wikimedia sister projects

Links to Wikimedia sister projects and {{Spoken Misplaced Pages}} should generally appear in "External links", not under "See also". If the article has no "External links" section, then place the sister link(s) in a new "External links" section using inline templates. If there is more than one sister link, a combination of box-type and "inline" templates can be used, as long as the section contains at least one "inline" template.

  • Box-type templates (such as {{Commons category}}, shown at right) have to be put at the beginning of the "External links" section of the article so that boxes will appear next to, rather than below, the list items. (Do not make a section whose sole content is box-type templates.)
  • "Inline" templates are used when box-type templates are not good, either because they result in a long sequence of right-aligned boxes hanging off the bottom of the article, or because there are no external links except sister project ones. "Inline" templates, such as {{Commons category-inline}}, create links to sister projects that appear as list items, like this:

If an external link is added and/or exists in the "External links" section, the "inline" templates linking to sister projects can be replaced with their respective box-type templates.

Navigation templates

Shortcuts Main page: Misplaced Pages:Categories, lists, and navigation templates § Navigation templates

An article may end with Navigation templates and footer navboxes, such as succession boxes and geography boxes (for example, {{Geographic location}}). Most navboxes do not appear in printed versions of Misplaced Pages articles.

For navigation templates in the lead, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Lead section § Sidebars.

Specialized layout

Stand-alone lists and talk pages have their own layout designs.

Certain topics have Manual of Style pages that provide layout advice, including:

Some WikiProjects have advice pages that include layout recommendations. You can find those pages at Category:WikiProject style advice.

Formatting

Images

Shortcut Main page: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Images

Each image should ideally be located in the section to which it is most relevant, and most should carry an explanatory caption. An image that would otherwise overwhelm the text space available within a 1024×768 window should generally be formatted as described in relevant formatting guidelines (e.g. WP:IMAGESIZE, MOS:IMGSIZE, Help:Pictures § Panoramas). Try to harmonize the sizes of images on a given page in order to maintain visual coherence.

If "stacked" images in one section spill over into the next section at 1024×768 screen resolution, there may be too many images in that section. If an article overall has so many images that they lengthen the page beyond the length of the text itself, you can use a gallery; or you can create a page or category combining all of them at Wikimedia Commons and use a relevant template ({{Commons}}, {{Commons category}}, {{Commons-inline}} or {{Commons category-inline}}) to link to it instead, so that further images are readily available when the article is expanded. See Misplaced Pages:Image use policy § Image galleries for further information on galleries.

Use |upright=scaling factor to adjust the size of images; for example, |upright=1.3 displays an image 30% larger than the default, and |upright=0.60 displays it 40% smaller. Lead images should usually be no larger than |upright=1.35.

Avoid article text referring to images as being to the left, right, above or below, because image placement varies with platform (especially mobile platforms) and screen size, and is meaningless to people using screen readers; instead, use captions to identify images.

Horizontal rule

Shortcuts

Horizontal rules are sometimes used in some special circumstances, such as inside {{sidebar}} template derivatives, but not in regular article prose.

Collapsible content

As explained at MOS:COLLAPSE, limit the use of {{Collapse top}}/{{Collapse bottom}} and similar templates in articles. That said, they can be useful in talk pages.

See also

Notes

  1. These templates (see Category:Use English templates) can also be placed at the end of an article.
  2. It is important that hatnotes and maintenance/dispute tags appear on the first page of the article. On the mobile site, the first paragraph of the lead section is moved above the infobox for the sake of readability. Since the infobox is generally more than one page long, putting hatnotes, etc., after it will result in them being placed after the first page, making them less effective.
  3. The original rationale for the ordering of the appendices is that, with the exception of "Works", sections which contain material outside Misplaced Pages (including "Further reading" and "External links") should come after sections that contain Misplaced Pages material (including "See also") to help keep the distinction clear. The sections containing notes and references often contain both kinds of material and, consequently, appear after the "See also" section (if any) and before the "Further reading" section (if any). Whatever the merits of the original rationale, there is now the additional factor that readers have come to expect the appendices to appear in this order.
  4. There are several reasons why this section should appear as the last appendix section. So many articles have the "External links" section at the end that many people expect this to be the case. Some "External links" and "References" (or "Footnotes", etc.) sections are quite long and, when the name of the section is not visible on the screen, it could cause problems if someone meant to delete an external link but deleted a reference citation instead. Keeping the "External links" last is also helpful to editors who patrol external links.
  5. This template is primarily used when Template:Portal would cause formatting problems.
  6. While categories are entered on the editing page ahead of stub templates, they appear on the visual page in a separate box after the stub templates. One of the reasons this happens is that every stub template generates a stub category, and those stub categories appear after the "main" categories. Another is that certain bots and scripts are set up to expect the categories, stubs and interlanguage links to appear in that order, and will reposition them if they don't. Therefore, any manual attempt to change the order is futile unless the bots and scripts are also altered.
  7. For example, skipping heading levels, such as jumping from == Heading 2 == to ==== Heading 4 ==== without === Heading 3 === in the middle, violates Misplaced Pages:Accessibility as it reduces usability for users of screen readers who use heading levels to navigate pages.
  8. Syntax: 
    ==See also==
* ]
* ]

    Which produces:

    See also
  9. Find all examples of "Bibliography" and "Selected bibliography"
  10. ^ For further information, see Misplaced Pages:External links § External links section.
  11. One reason this guideline does not standardize section headings for citations and explanatory notes is that Misplaced Pages draws editors from many disciplines (history, English, science, etc.), each with its own note and reference section-naming convention (or conventions). For more, see Misplaced Pages:Perennial proposals § Changes to standard appendices, § Establish a house citation style, and Template:Cnote2/example.
  12. The rationale for not printing navigation boxes is that these templates mostly consist of wikilinks that are of no use to print readers. There are two problems with this rationale: first, other wikilink content does print, for example "See also" sections and succession boxes; second, some navigation boxes contain useful information regarding the relationship of the article to the subjects of related articles.

References

  1. Discussed in 2018 and 2019.
  2. Per the template documentation at Template:Italic title/doc § Location on page
  3. Per the RFC at Misplaced Pages talk:Manual of Style/Layout/Archive 14 § DISPLAYTITLE
  4. Per the template documentation at Template:DISPLAYTITLE § Instructions
  5. The matter was discussed in 2012, 2014, and 2015.
  6. This sequence has been in place since at least December 2003 (when "See also" was called "Related topics"). See, for example, Misplaced Pages:Perennial proposals § Changes to standard appendices.
  7. Rationale for placing navboxes at the end of the article.
  8. Rationale for discouraging the use of "Bibliography."
  9. The community has rejected past proposals to do away with this guidance. See, for example, this RfC.
Writing guides
Starting an article
Getting started
Layout
Visual structure of articles
The perfect article
A checklist of components
Article development
Suggested stages of an article
Manual of Style
Comprehensive style guide
Writing better articles
A collection of advice
Manual of Style
Content
Formatting
Images
Layout
Lists
By topic area
Legal
Arts
Music
History
Regional
Religion
Science
Sports
Related guidelines
Search
Misplaced Pages key policies and guidelines (?)
Content (?)
P
G
Conduct (?)
P
G
Deletion (?)
P
Enforcement (?)
P
Editing (?)
P
G
Style
Classification
Project content (?)
G
WMF (?)
P
Categories: