Help:Guidelines

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Before we get into editing articles, we need to talk about some basic editing guidelines concerning things like style, structure, layout, and etiquette. Mistakes are okay, but let's do our best to keep the quality high by following these guidelines.

Style

Below are some key points about style.

General Style

Information, not opinion

This is an encyclopedia and it should read as such. Statements should be referenced where possible.

Non-evidence based topics

If a condition, procedure, or other topic is not considered mainstream, then a warning should be placed at the top of the page. For more on this, see Help:Nonmainstream.

Paraphrase sources

Try to paraphrase things in your own works where possible, rather than quoting.

Limit links

You are encouraged to provide links to other articles as related terms appear in the text. In general, this can be limited to the first appearance of a term in a given article. (e.g. Don't link to the "Tendinopathy" article every single time "Tendinopathy" appears in the "Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy" article.) However, links in infoboxes should not count toward the one link limit.

Word processors

Avoid preparing your contributions in rich word processors (like Word). The quotation marks, apostrophes, and dashes won't work properly here. Use two hyphens (--) instead of a dash.

Writing Conventions

Always use proper English. Here are a few other more specific guidelines:

Grammar

Never speak in first person and never address the reader directly.

Tense

Try to maintain a consistent tense. Present tense is preferred.

Capitalisation

Follow standard English and Medical conventions for capitalisation.

Other

Use British English spelling.

In general, spell out the numbers 1-10 rather than using numerals. (e.g. use "four" not "4")

Use a single space to separate sentences. (not two)

References at the end of sentences should be placed directly after the period.

Titles

Article Titles

Titles of articles should generally be singular.

Capitalise subsequent words in a title

Section Titles

Do not apply formatting (e.g. bold, italics, etc.) to section titles.

Do not use internal or external links in section titles.

Article Structure

If you're starting a new article, don't worry about getting the structure right the first time--getting information onto the page is more important than proper structure and formatting. The admins regularly scan through new edits and tweak structure where necessary.

Initial Templates

An infobox should be the first thing in most condition and procedure articles. This is directly followed by any relevant spoiler or Nonmainstream tags.

Summary

Article content should typically begin with a brief summary.

Article Body

Some recommendations of typical headings to use may be found here: Help:Article structure. For more guidance, find a similar article to the one you are working on and use it as a guide.

Download or Embed Section

An article may include a section for downloading relevant PDFs or other files or embeded objects like youtube videos and PDFs

Reference Section

This section should contain a <references /> tag, to provide a home for references and citations.

Finish Up

The article should conclude with an article status/quality tag, any relevant navigation boxes, and any extra categories.

Layout

Good layout is important for readability and flow of the article. For examples of good layout, take a look at articles marked as exemplary.

Structure

Good structure, as discussed above, is very important. But also note that deviations from standard structures may be desirable in some cases. If there's little information available under a given section, for example, it may be better to find another place for this information than to have an awkwardly short section. You are also encouraged to create additional sections and subsections as needed, to visually break down the article into more digestible pieces.

Flow

Always consider the overall flow of the article. Reading the article from start to finish should tell a story. Make sure an article doesn't seem to jump around between unrelated topics if possible. Ensure images and quotes relate to the surrounding article text and that they aren't out of place.

Images

Images are a fantastic way to liven up an article. As always, make sure you have each individual artist's permission first. Take into consideration size and spacing; the image should be clearly visible, but not obtrusive to the article text. Try mixing up the alignment of images so that they appear at different locations along the page rather than cascading down one side. Use captions to explain what the image consists of. And realize that too many images can also be a problem. If you believe a large number of images are important to an article, consider using a gallery. We'll talk about how to do all of this on the Help:Images page.

Quotations

Quotes are another great way to provide a visually appealing layout to articles. As discussed above, we don't want to quote large portions of text in the body of articles. But use of relevant quotes is a great way to let the books speak directly into the article. Just like with images, try mixing up the location of any quotes that you use. Creating quotes is covered on the Help:Markup page.

New Editor's Guide
Getting Started	Guidelines	Markup Basics