2.1.5 Practice :  My Wikipedia Practice Guide Media Literacy (S2318458) Date: ____________ In this assignment, you'll be creating a  Wikipedia -style entry of your own. Your entry can be about anything you want, as long as it's not about yourself. Combine your own expertise with information gathered from at least two sources, and then compose two to three well-organized paragraphs about a topic that fascinates you. Just don't use  Wikipedia  to do your research. Try to add something brand-new to the world's largest encyclopedia.  Make sure to address the following questions in your  Wikipedia  entry: How, when, and where did this topic originate? What are some major characteristics of this topic? How did this topic develop over time and who or what contributed the most to its development? What detail do many people not know about this topic? The key to writing a successful  Wikipedia  entry is researching information that interests you. Your goal is to collect and share your knowledge with a larger audience. To do this, you'll want to select the most interesting details and present them in a clear and organized way that engages your readers.  Hint: If you choose to write a biographical  Wikipedia  entry — whether it is about someone you know personally (such as a teacher or a family member) or a famous person (Cleopatra, Wyatt Earp, or Lady Gaga) — select the most important information you'll want to bring up. For example, you'll want to include where and when this person grew up, as well as highlights from his or her life and career. Don't forget to mention at least one detail that most people don't know about your subject. Step 1: Understanding the Assignment You can choose most any topic you want as long as it interests you and isn't autobiographical. Your topic, for example, could be a music group you like, a scientific theory, an invention, an inspiring public figure, or your dream vacation spot. If you're having a hard time choosing your topic, the following brainstorming activity will help you: On a piece of paper, quickly jot down the answers to the following questions: If you could be anyone from any time in history, who would you be?  What are your three favorite recreational activities? What is your favorite subject in school? If you could visit one city in the world, what would it be and what would you do there? What's the title of your favorite book, film, television program, or work of art? Now review the answers to these questions. Select the answer that seems the most interesting to you and write it at the top of a fresh piece of paper. Pretend that this is the topic of your  Wikipedia  entry. (Hint: If a topic seems too broad, like "watching television" or "English literature," make it more specific; for example, "reality television" or "Jane Austen.") Using a clock or a timer, spend five minutes brainstorming a list of everything you already know about the topic. Don't worry about grammar or the order of the informat.

1. 2.1.5
Practice
:
My Wikipedia
Practice Guide
Media Literacy (S2318458)
Date: ____________
In this assignment, you'll be creating a
Wikipedia
-style entry of your own. Your entry can be about anything you
want, as long as it's not about yourself. Combine your own
expertise with information gathered from at least two sources,
and then compose two to three well-organized paragraphs about
a topic that fascinates you.
Just don't use
Wikipedia
to do your research. Try to add something brand-new to the
world's largest encyclopedia.
Make sure to address the following questions in your
Wikipedia
entry:
How, when, and where did this topic originate?
What are some major characteristics of this topic?
How did this topic develop over time and who or what
contributed the most to its development?
What detail do many people not know about this topic?
The key to writing a successful
Wikipedia

2. entry is researching information that interests you. Your goal is
to collect and share your knowledge with a larger audience. To
do this, you'll want to select the most interesting details and
present them in a clear and organized way that engages your
readers.
Hint: If you choose to write a biographical
Wikipedia
entry — whether it is about someone you know personally
(such as a teacher or a family member) or a famous person
(Cleopatra, Wyatt Earp, or Lady Gaga) — select the most
important information you'll want to bring up. For example,
you'll want to include where and when this person grew up, as
well as highlights from his or her life and career. Don't forget to
mention at least one detail that most people don't know about
your subject.
Step 1: Understanding the Assignment
You can choose most any topic you want as long as it interests
you and isn't autobiographical. Your topic, for example, could
be a music group you like, a scientific theory, an invention, an
inspiring public figure, or your dream vacation spot. If you're
having a hard time choosing your topic, the following
brainstorming activity will help you:
On a piece of paper, quickly jot down the answers to the
following questions:
If you could be anyone from any time in history, who would you
be?
What are your three favorite recreational activities?
What is your favorite subject in school?
If you could visit one city in the world, what would it be and
what would you do there?
What's the title of your favorite book, film, television program,
or work of art?
Now review the answers to these questions. Select the answer
that seems the most interesting to you and write it at the top of
a fresh piece of paper. Pretend that this is the topic of your

3. Wikipedia
entry. (Hint: If a topic seems too broad, like "watching
television" or "English literature," make it more specific; for
example, "reality television" or "Jane Austen.")
Using a clock or a timer, spend five minutes brainstorming a list
of everything you already know about the topic. Don't worry
about grammar or the order of the information. Just start
writing. (Hint: If you get stuck, ask yourself this: If you were
explaining this topic to someone who was learning about it for
the very first time, what would you tell that person?)
Now spend another three minutes making a list of the things you
would like to know about the topic.
At this point, you should have quite a bit of information about
this possible topic. You probably won't use it all in your
Wikipedia
entry, but if you were able to come up with a long list of
information you already know and a list of things you still want
to know about the subject, it is probably a good assignment
topic. Congratulations! You're one step closer to writing your
own
Wikipedia
entry. (If you decide you don't want to write on this topic, try
the brainstorming process again with another topic that interests
you.)
Step 2: Researching Key Points
This assignment requires that you quote or paraphrase
information from at least two sources. These sources can
include books, magazines, newspapers, film, videos, radio or
television news reports, or informational websites. (Note:
Remember, don't use
Wikipedia
for this research.) If you use a website as a source, make sure
the information it contains is accurate. One way to do this is to
consult websites with URLs that end in .gov, .net, or .edu. For
example, for information about robots and robotics, you could
consult www.robotics.nasa.gov, http://robots.net, and

4. http://robotic.media.mit.edu. To start researching your topic,
complete the following steps:
Read over what you wrote during the previous brainstorming
activity. From these notes, select three to five key points that
interest you most.
Now you can begin your research. Focus on learning more about
just those three to five key points, as well as where, when, and
how your topic originated.
Start by exploring sources that seem the most helpful. You may
need to visit a library to find print sources, or you may spend
some time conducting research online. If you use online
sources, you may want to search for relevant articles on the
websites of reputable news organizations, such the
New York Times, Washington Post
, or
Newsweek
. These can be reliable sources in addition to websites with
URLs ending in .gov, .net, and .edu.
As you find and read sources about your topic, make a quick
note of any new and interesting details you discovered. Make
sure that you make a copy or printout of potentially useful
sources with their titles and the authors' names.
Step 3: Selecting Details
Once you've located at least two useful sources, review your list
of key points again. This list may have grown as you conducted
your research. Now it's time to decide what your
Wikipedia
page is going to focus on.
Are any of the key points especially interesting to you? Did any
of the information surprise you?
Put a check mark next to key points about which you have
enough information to write a paragraph. Also, note any other
points that relate to the origin of the topic or its major
characteristics.
Step 4: Organizing Your Paragraphs
It's almost time to start writing. First, make a quick outline of

5. your paragraphs to help you organize your information. The
following tips will help you draft an organized
Wikipedia
entry:
Like real
Wikipedia
entries, your first paragraph will be an overview of your topic.
Start with information about the origin (or birthplace) of your
topic. Then, in the rest of this paragraph, describe the topic's
major characteristics and explain how these characteristics
developed and anyone who helped to develop them.
What you write about in the second and optional third
paragraphs is up to you. Look back at the list of interesting
details that you compiled during the brainstorming and
researching steps. Review the key points you put a check mark
next to (the ones about which you have enough interesting
information to fill a paragraph). Which one of these key points
would you like to add to your
Wikipedia
entry? How can you organize this information into a clear and
coherent paragraph? Is there a logical order (such as a
chronological order) in which to arrange this information?
Once you have your organized the ideas you want to include in
your second paragraph, you can start outlining your third
paragraph, if you choose to add it.
Step 5: Drafting Your
Wikipedia
Entry
Now it's time to compose your paragraphs. Using your notes and
your own knowledge, write at least two to three paragraphs
about your topic. Begin with a paragraph about the topic's
origins and major characteristics. Use plenty of examples and
specific details to inform and engage your audience.
Note: When you are writing, include a narrative citation any
time you refer to information from one of your sources. To do
this, just mention the title of the source and its author in the

6. same sentence where the information appears. Here's an
example: In his article "The Origin of Robots," author John
Smith explained that interest in robots was at its height in the
1950s, when universities across the country launched graduate
programs in advanced robotics. (Hint: Note that this sentence
includes both the author's name and the title of his article.)
Use a separate piece of paper if you need more room.
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Step 6: Revising Your Writing
When you're done writing, take a moment to read over your
work. Does it read smoothly? Are the sentences complete and
grammatically correct? Did you catch any spelling or
punctuation errors? Is there any information you forgot to add?
Now is a good time to make any corrections and revisions.
Great — you're almost done. Take out your self-assessment
checklist now. Read and answer the questions on this list. Are
there any other revisions you would like to make to your
Wikipedia
entry now that you've reviewed the list?
Good work! You're finished! Now, if you want, feel free to post
this online in a blog or add it to the real
Wikipedia
.
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