General advice

Advice on structure and tone of a Wikipedia article

Typical structure of a Wikipedia article

  • Lead section — a brief overview of the topic and its significance.
  • Infobox — a summary of key facts (where appropriate).
  • Body of the article — detailed information organised into sections.
  • Images — relevant, freely licensed images that support the article.
  • Appendices and footnotes — references, further reading, and additional resources.

Writing a successful article

To create a high-quality article:

  • Use reliable, published sources to support all key information.
  • Clearly demonstrate the topic’s notability and explain why it belongs on Wikipedia.
  • Write in a neutral, accessible style:
    • Avoid emotional language and personal opinions.
    • Present information fairly and objectively.
    • Use clear language that can be understood by a broad audience.
  • Link relevant terms:
    • Link unfamiliar concepts to existing Wikipedia articles.
    • Only add a link the first time a term is mentioned.
    • Link existing Wikipedia articles back to your new article where relevant.
  • Follow Wikipedia’s Manual of Style for guidance on article structure, formatting, and tone.

To identify existing pages that could link to your article:

Further resources

Reliable sources

Notability criteria

Tone

Manual of Style

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