Wikipedia:Article checklist

Checklist for New Article Creation

This checklist has been prepared primarily to help new editors write articles. Not all the points in the checklist below apply to all articles. The "Check" column is for those who want to print the list and tick off as they work on their article.

Check	Task	How-to Link/s	Comments
	Apply {{in use}} or {{under construction}} templates, if appropriate		These make it clear that an article is being worked on and help prevent misunderstandings with other editors. Remove the template when edits are complete.
	Meet Naming Conventions	WP:NC	These help keep Wikipedia article titles consistent
	Meet Style Guidelines	WP:MOS; WP:MOSNUM	Comprehensive style guide; Numbers style guide
	Meet Neutral Point of View requirement	WP:NPOV	Articles must have a neutral POV, representing fairly the main views published by reliable sources
	Check specific Wikipedia Project style guidelines, if applicable	WP:PROJ Example: MOS:FILM	These are guidelines prepared by project groups for specific types of articles, such as the Film Project style guideline
	Ensure Redirects are in place, as appropriate	WP:R
	Ensure Disambiguations are in place, as appropriate	WP:D	Also MOS:DP for further information
	Add appropriate Infobox	WP:INFO	Infoboxes provide a summary of the subject of the article. They are commonly used for people, films, books, albums, countries, cities...
	Add Notes/References/Further reading, as needed	WP:CITE; WP:CIT	CITE is general guide; CIT contains templates
	Add External Links, as appropriate	WP:EL
	Add link to Main article, as appropriate	Main article: Schindler's Ark	For example, in the article on Thomas Keneally, a link is made from the section on Schindler's Ark to the article on the novel
	Add See alsos, if appropriate	See also	Article containing links to managing "See alsos" in Wiki
	Create WikiLinks, as appropriate, and check them	Help:Contents/Links; WP:LINK	Article containing links to managing "Links" in Wiki; Check wikilinks by previewing before saving (but don't forget then to save!)
	Make sure it is not an orphan	WP:Orphan	An orphan is an article which has no articles linking to it. Links to articles make them more accessible/findable. Click "What links here" in the left hand column to check.
	Add Persondata, if biography	WP:PDATA
	Add DEFAULTSORT instruction	WP:CAT	This ensures that articles are filed/sorted/listed accurately e.g. that people are listed under their last name, that articles such as "the", "a" and "an" are ignored in filing/sorting
	Add appropriate Categories	WP:CAT and WP:Categorization	All articles in Wikipedia must have categories. They work like subject headings in a library catalogue and help users find articles on like subjects
	Add Stub Tag/Categories, if appropriate	WP:Stub	This helps ensure that Stubs can be located for expansion by editors
	Add Image, if available	WP:IMAGE
	Rate article on Discussion Page, in Project Banner if appropriate	WP:ASSESS	Normal editors can rate their own articles as Stub, Start, or C
	Add Project Banners to Discussion Page, if appropriate
	Add {{talkpage}} to Discussion Page	WP:TP
	Check for typos – and again!

Other useful sources for creating and editing articles

Source	How-to Link/s	Comments
Help Contents Page	WP:HELP
Glossary	WP:G