Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Massachusetts Amherst/COMM 375 Junior Year Writing (Fall 2023)

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Course name
COMM 375 Junior Year Writing
Institution
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Instructor
Michelle Ciccone
Wikipedia Expert
Brianda (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Course dates
2023-09-05 00:00:00 UTC – 2023-12-08 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
20


According to the UMass Writing Program, the Junior Year Writing (JYW) Program provides all undergraduate students with practice in the writing of their chosen field of study. Building on the general writing that students practice in CW112, JYW courses foster more advanced writing and thinking within field-specific academic or professional communities. Junior Year Writing became a requirement of all students at UMass in 1984 to provide the opportunity for them to engage in research practices and professional writing within their discipline, field, or major. COMM 375: Writing as Communication, serves this purpose by introducing students to the writing conventions and genres related to the discipline of Communication, ranging from research papers to critical reviews. It also emphasizes writing as a form of communication itself and a number of issues concerning the politics of writing and research.

Timeline

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 24 October 2023   |   Thursday, 26 October 2023
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment

Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:

Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

Assignment - Wikipedia assignment blog

Begin a blog about your experiences. You can use discussion questions to frame your entries, or reflect on the research and writing process. Create at least one blog entry each week during the Wikipedia assignment.

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
In class - Discussion

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 31 October 2023   |   Thursday, 2 November 2023
Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
Assignment - Choose your article
In class - Discussion

Week 10

Course meetings
Tuesday, 7 November 2023   |   Thursday, 9 November 2023
Assignment - Make a small edit
Assignment - Copyedit an article
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 11

Course meetings
Tuesday, 14 November 2023   |   Thursday, 16 November 2023
Assignment - Peer review two articles

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion
Milestones

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Assignment - Respond to your peer review

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:

  • Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
  • Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 28 November 2023   |   Thursday, 30 November 2023
Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Assignment - Continue improving your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 5 December 2023   |   Thursday, 7 December 2023
Assignment - Final article

It's the final week to develop your article.

  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
  • Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!
In class - In-class presentation
Assignment - Reflective essay
Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.