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Guidance on Writing Articles on Historical Topics on Wikipedia Using Authentic Sources, Along with a Step-by-Step Process.

Greetings!

    I am completely new to Wikipedia, and it is my humble desire to write articles on various historical topics based on reliable and authentic sources, so that readers can receive completely accurate information.

    ​Since I am a beginner on this platform, could you please guide me and explain the step-by-step process of writing an article on Wikipedia? In this regard, what rules do I need to follow, how should I select reliable sources, and what is the proper method for adding references?

   I would be immensely grateful for your invaluable assistance.

Thanks & Regards Muhammad Jafar Shaikh (talk) 18:42, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

I left a default welcome message on your user talk page with a list of some good resources for beginners.Wikipedia:Teahouse is also a great place for asking questions. Adding links looks different if your using the visual or source editor (I recommend the visual editor for a beginner) . The easiest way is simply to place your cursor wherever you want a citation, hit the cite button, and then copy and paste a website link into the box in automatic mode, see Help:Referencing for beginners. The most important things to know starting out is that wikipedia is written from a neutral point of view and that you should be civil to your fellow editor (and assume good faith). A09 can probably provide more help. Cheers! Wik206 (talk) 06:03, 1 August 2026 (UTC)

@Muhammad Jafar Shaikh: Hey, sorry for a longer wait, I took a shorter break. I believe Help:My first page would be of great help, but since you're a beginner I also suggest (on top of what @Wik206 has already said, and am grateful for their answer) to take a look at articles of similar topics of yours and study their internal composition. There are also WikiProjects linked on talkpage of the respective article where you can find more editors in these topics and more nuanced guidances on how to proceed. Your first submissions will need to go through WP:AFC, where a draft reviewer will take a look at your submission and provide feedback on your work.

Hopefully that answers your question, if not, please let me know. Best, A09|(talk) 20:56, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Rrenaux (20:40, 3 August 2026)

Hi, I am a web editor at MGH Institute of Health professions and I was asked to make a bunch of edits to my school's wikipedia page and now a friend of mine says he saw my name is "in red" and I shouldn't make any more edits. However, our school is changing its name and logo on September 1 so I am wondering how I can go about managing that information change on our wiki page without getting banned? I am just updating facts not prose and all is validated on our public facing website. --Rrenaux (talk) 20:40, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

@Rrenaux: Hey, thanks for asking – your friend is mistaken, there is no "red names" nor would that mean disqualification from editing. However, you do have a conflict of interest, so you should avoid from editing the article and rather suggest edits to be done on the article's talkpage where another uninvolved editor will take a look and implement it. Don't forget to add reliable secondary sources for content changes. I see you probably have already read the policy on involved editing as you disclosed the connection on the userpage. Since a logo change (and upload) is of more complex nature (as it also encompasses copyright laws) I suggest dropping a message and someone will handle it (by either uploading the logo to Wikimedia Commons if simple or locally to the English Wikipedia). Hopefully my answers are sufficient, if not, do not hesitate to ask. Best regards, A09|(talk) 21:02, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Fandomshit (23:47, 6 August 2026)

Hello, how do you do? I edited a reference that should be higher up on a Wikipedia page, Alex Bertie’s to be exact, it should be 7, or 5, instead of 29, because of the column board that his other past book was in, that I edited it, and placed the book there, without italics for now, since this is my first time actually using Wikipedia. If you could explain this carefully, thank you, it’d help! --Fandomshit (talk) 23:47, 6 August 2026 (UTC)

@Fandomshoot Not sure how the system got your username wrong XD

I assume you're talking about this diff. Parameter |notable_works= is meant only for the best works an author is known for. Other books should go into an Own work section as per MOS:BIBLIO. Your edit was reverted for being inconsistent with manual of style, which I agree is kinda bitey towards beginners, but I would also like to note the improper way of citing sources. Since that's a complex topic I suggest visiting a beginner friendly page explaining source citations, but essentially one of the most common ways is by using <ref>{{cite web}}</ref>, which invokes {{cite web}}, a handy function that correctly stylises the source. I imagine you're thinking by now what could you do in the future regarding the article. In my opinion, if Alex Bertie has written multiple books, you could compile his bibliography and reinsert it into the article, however sources, such as Linkedin aren't needed – an ISBN should suffice.

I know I gave a lot of links that amount to a huge reading session so if you have any further questions please let me know. Best regards, A09|(talk) 19:37, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Lovely.boi81 (09:28, 7 August 2026)

Hello --Lovely.boi81 (talk) 09:28, 7 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Kyplanet1 (21:36, 10 August 2026)

Hello, I saw you were my mentor and wanted to say hi and mostly I don't need help thanks for the offer! --Kyplanet1 (talk) 21:36, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

Sure, happy to answer any potential queries. Best, A09|(talk) 07:57, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from AmazingMoosh (15:41, 11 August 2026)

Hello! I'm going to be adding some content to the articles on California native languages, since I noticed that many of them have extremely sparse articles. I haven't edited Wikipedia in about twenty years, and I'm not sure how/if the process has changed. Since the article I'm starting with (Bay Miwok Language) is currently only two sentences, would it be best for me to build a draft updated article in my personal sandbox and then push that live, or to gradually add content to the existing article? --AmazingMoosh (talk) 15:41, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Also, the most useful source I've found about Bay Miwok is a JSTOR article that can only be viewed with an account. Are there any policies I should be aware of when using articles on JSTOR as citations? I also found some old papers on archive.org that provide the actual attestation, but the JSTOR article contains some very useful analysis I'd like to refer to. AmazingMoosh (talk) 15:46, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

@AmazingMoosh: Hey and welcome back! What a coincidence it is to receive a linguistical question right after I implemented the latest ISO 639 updates back on homewiki XD. I assume Californian native languages aren't that populous or commonly edited topic so both approaches should work – at least I'm not aware of a policy that'd forbid any of these – so it's mostly up to your personal preferences. Though if extending an article would take a long time I would personally prefer to develop it in a personal sandbox first where no one will interfere with progress. Best of luck and if you have any further questions you know where to find me, A09|(talk) 15:47, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Re the second question, there is The Wikipedia Library which might provide a copy of the full article. JSTOR is only an intermediate here so as long as the original publisher is considered reliable it should be okay (and that the source isn't outdated as well). I can check for the whole copy on the TWL and send it to you. A09|(talk) 15:49, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

I started working on a new version in my sandbox.

I also noticed that there's an error in this image. I made a modified version that shows the correct boundary between Bay Miwok and Chochenyo, but I don't see an option to upload the new version. Is my account too young for that? AmazingMoosh (talk) 18:10, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

@AmazingMoosh: I believe so, yes. It's best to contact commons:Commons:Overwriting existing files/Requests to be able upload a newer version yourself. Best, A09|(talk) 19:45, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Hometexltd (09:36, 12 August 2026)

How I can add a Business Profile? --Hometexltd (talk) 09:36, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Kevryan2001 on Jane Ohlmeyer (06:01, 17 August 2026)

Hi there How do i update a biography with a citation. Thanks --Kevryan2001 (talk) 06:01, 17 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from Kevryan2001 on Talk:Jane Ohlmeyer (06:10, 17 August 2026)

Hi there I’m new to editing Wikipedia so I need some help . Here are the links to my source to update the biography of Dr Jane Ohlmeyer on Wikipedia.https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/our-world-connected-podcast/resetting-relationships

From Our World, Connected: Resetting relationships: UK-Ireland connections, culture and the stories that bind us, Apr 28, 2026

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/resetting-relationships-uk-ireland-connections-culture

You can check the transcript on the Apple Podcast

Here’s what Dr Jane Ohlmeyer talks about her father and mother .

I was born in a place called Kittwee, which is in Zambia. My father was from South Africa. On his side of the family, we were descended from Lithuanian Jews who came to South Africa at the turn of the 20th century.

The Russian pogroms basically drove them out of Lithuania, and they worked then in the gold mines in Johannesburg. That's my father's side of the story. Then my mother was a Magokan from County Tyrone.”

Heres a suggested edit from AI

“Ohlmeyer was born in Kitwe, Zambia, to a Northern Irish mother from County Tyrone and a South African father of Lithuanian Jewish descent. She grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland “

Thanks

Organized Labour September Editing Event

You're invited to join the Organized Labour community editing event, a cross-wiki event taking place throughout September 2026!

The campaign brings together Wikimedians interested in improving coverage of organised labour, workers, trade unions, and labour history. We have confirmed collaborations with Wikipedia language editions in English, Dutch, Persian, Serbo-Croatian and French. If you want to add other language editions or other wiki projects you are strongly encouraged to do so! This event spans geography and languages!

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Regards ~ Shushugah (talk) 14:19, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

Username changes

Hello, A09,

When you change an editor's username, could you please leave a redirect? Otherwise, we end up with broken redirects. Thank you. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 00:39, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

@Liz: Hi, yes, your assumption is correct, however special care should be given to requests dealing with private matter such as this where omitting the redirect is in fact better. Best, A09|(talk) 18:23, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Question from JLamour61 (22:39, 23 August 2026)

Hello, Would you please check out my user page to see if it meets Wikipedia standards? Thanks --JLamour61 (talk) 22:39, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

New pages patrol September 2026 Backlog drive

September 2026 Backlog Drive | New pages patrol
On 1 September 2026, a one-month backlog drive for new pages patrol will begin at a particularly important time for NPP. The backlog has now passed 30,000 unreviewed articles, a level that has been described in current NPP discussions as exceptionally high and potentially difficult to overcome through normal reviewing alone. Backlog drives are one of the few measures that have historically produced a noticeable reduction in the backlog, so the participation of as many active patrollers as possible will matter this month. If you can review during September, please make articles your priority. Every article that is reviewed is a meaningful reduction in the backlog. With the queue at its current size, even a relatively small increase in the number of articles each patroller reviews can add up to a substantial difference over the course of the month. This is a hybrid drive, so redirect reviewing is still included. Redirects can be a useful way for newer patrollers to get comfortable with NPP and can help people build up to reviewing articles. However, the main goal of this drive is to tackle the article backlog, and experienced patrollers are particularly encouraged to spend as much of their available reviewing time on articles as they can. Barnstars will be awarded based on the number of articles and redirects patrolled. Each article review will earn 1 point, while each redirect review will earn 0.2 points. Streak awards will be given out based on consistently hitting point thresholds for each week of the drive. Barnstars will also be granted for re-reviewing articles previously reviewed by other patrollers during the drive. If you have been thinking about doing more NPP, this is an especially good month to jump in. Whether you can review a few pages or hundreds, every review helps. And if you are already an active patroller, please consider whether you can put in some additional time during September to help bring the backlog back under control. Interested in taking part? Sign up here.
You're receiving this message because you are a new page patroller. To opt-out of future mailings, please remove yourself here.

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:49, 24 August 2026 (UTC)