WikiIslam:Formatting
Formatting a WikiIslam article differs from when writing on a standard word processor. Wikis use text codes to create particular elements of the page (e.g., headings). This markup language is known as wikitext (or wiki-markup) and is designed for ease of editing.
Contents
Layout
The general layout for each article varies, depending on the subject and type of article. For example, encyclopedic (e.g. 72 Virgins), counter-apologetic (e.g. To You Your Religion and To Me Mine) or list articles (e.g. The Timeline of Muhammad) are all different types of articles. Within each of these types, the layout is further varied depending on each article's individual subject matter and needs (e.g. The Timeline of Muhammad and List of Muhammad's Wives and Concubines, which are both list articles).
There are certain features that most of them share:
- They usually begin with a one-line description covering the objective of the page (e.g. Science and the Seven Earths).
- They are usually organized into several different sections and subheadings for ease of navigation and reading.
- They usually begin with an "Introduction" section and end with a "Conclusion" section, followed by a "See Also", "External Links", then "References" section (always in that order).
Emphasis
Bolding and italicizing are done by surrounding a word or phrase with multiple apostrophes ('):
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| ''italic'' | italic |
|
'''bold''' |
bold |
|
'''''bold italic''''' |
bold italic |
Bold emphasis should only be used within quotation boxes or when the name of an article's subject in an encyclopedic page is first mentioned. In all other cases, italics should be used when emphasis is needed (this should be used sparingly and only when absolutely needed). Underlining and ALLCAPS should be avoided.
Sections
Headings and subheadings are a way to improve the organization of an article. If there are two or more distinct topics being discussed, the article should be made more readable by inserting a heading for each topic — that is making each into its own section. This can go up to subsubsubsubheadings.
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| ==Headings== |
Headings |
|
===Subheadings=== |
Subheadings |
|
====Subsubheadings==== |
Subsubheadings |
If an article has at least four headings, a table of contents will automatically be generated. Headings do not form a part of the main text. They only indicate the general topic of that particular section, and should not contain information not found within its main text. So when choosing titles for headings and subheading, questions or long sentences should be avoided.
Lists
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
|
* Unordered lists can be created by: |
marks the end of the list.
|
|
# Used appropriately, numbered lists can be: |
A new line marks the end of the list.
|
Quotations
When quoting a source, the Quotation template should be used. The first parameter is the reference for the text being quoted (this parameters can be left empty if references are being cited via ref tags). The second parameter is where the actual quotation is placed.
There are many templates available for Islamic sources (e.g. Qur'an, Bukhari, Muslim, Dawud, Malik's Muwatta, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Majah and Tabari). To quote an Islamic text, the relevant template for referencing that particular text must be placed within the first parameter of the Quotation template.
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| {{Quran|2|256}}|Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error...}} |
For quoting general sources, a modified version of the Cite Web template is used. The modified Cite Web template must be placed within the first parameter of the Quotation template.
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| {{Quote|{{cite web quotebox|url= http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=19888|title= Productivity suffers during holy month|publisher= The Jordan Times|author= Mohammad Ghazal|date= September 10, 2009|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=19888&date=2011-04-04|deadurl=no}}|The holy month at the time of the Prophet Mohammad and his companions was a time of great achievements and crucial battles won by the Muslims, Sharia (Islamic law) scholar Hamdi Murad said Wednesday.}} | The holy month at the time of the Prophet Mohammad and his companions was a time of great achievements and crucial battles won by the Muslims, Sharia (Islamic law) scholar Hamdi Murad said Wednesday.
"Productivity suffers during holy month" (archived) Mohammad Ghazal, The Jordan Times, September 10, 2009, http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=19888. |
Links
Internal Links
Internal link can be added by enclosing the name of the target page in double square brackets ([[]]). If the page exists, it is displayed in blue, if it does not, it is displayed in red. Leaving red links should always be avoided. Piped links can be used when the displayed text is required to be different to the page title of the actual target page ([[page title|desired text]]). This is often required because WikiIslam uses title-case for capitalization of headings.
External Links
Most articles also include links to supplementary external web content (i.e. an "External Links" section). These sections should always be placed below the "See Also" section and above the "References" section. Links should be kept to a minimum (about two) and should be beneficial to the page in some way. They should not be provided just for the sake of providing them. They should include additional information that is not available or out of the scope of WikiIslam. External links should always be archived and can be cited using the External link template.
See Also
- Additional help with formatting and other related issues can be found at Help:Contents, WikiIslam:Standardization, WikiIslam:Citing Sources and WikiIslam:Article Style and Content Guide.
