Wikipedia:Writing better articles

5 days ago 4

Colloquial, emphatic, or poetic language: Copy edits

← Previous revision Revision as of 02:48, 5 July 2025
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==== Colloquial, emphatic or poetic language<span id="WPCOLLOQUIAL"></span><span id="WPCONVERSATIONAL"></span><span id="WPEMPHATIC"></span><span id="WPFORMAL"></span><span id="WPINFORMAL"></span><span id="WPPOETIC"></span> ====
==== Colloquial, emphatic, or poetic language<span id="WPCOLLOQUIAL"></span><span id="WPCONVERSATIONAL"></span><span id="WPEMPHATIC"></span><span id="WPFORMAL"></span><span id="WPINFORMAL"></span><span id="WPPOETIC"></span> ====
{{shortcut|WP:COLLOQUIAL|WP:COLLOQUIALISM|WP:EMPHATIC|WP:FORMAL|WP:INFORMAL|WP:POETIC}}
{{shortcut|WP:COLLOQUIAL|WP:COLLOQUIALISM|WP:EMPHATIC|WP:FORMAL|WP:INFORMAL|WP:POETIC}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Puffery|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Editorializing|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Euphemisms}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Puffery|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Editorializing|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Euphemisms}}


Another error of writing approach is attempting to make bits of material "pop" (an [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view#Due and undue weight|undue weight]] problem), such as with excessive [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Emphasis|emphasis]], over-[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters|capitalization]], use of [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Contractions|contractions]], unnecessary [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Abbreviations|acronyms and other abbreviations]], the inclusion of [[Hyperbole|hyperbolic]] adjectives and adverbs, or the use of unusual synonyms or [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch|loaded words]]. Just present the sourced information without embellishment, agenda, fanfare, cleverness, or conversational tone.
Another error of writing approach is attempting to make bits of material "pop" (an [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view#Due and undue weight|undue weight]] problem), such as with excessive [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Emphasis|emphasis]], over-[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters|capitalization]], use of [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Contractions|contractions]], unnecessary [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Abbreviations|acronyms and other abbreviations]], the inclusion of [[Hyperbole|hyperbolic]] adjectives and adverbs, or the use of unusual synonyms or [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch|loaded words]]. Present the sourced information without embellishment, agenda, fanfare, cleverness, or conversational tone.


An extreme example of hyperbole and emphatic language taken from [[Special:Permalink/932854447|Star Canopus diving accident]] as of 28 December 2019 (fixed in the next two revisions) read:
An extreme example of hyperbole and emphatic language taken from [[Special:Permalink/932854447|Star Canopus diving accident]] as of 28 December 2019 (fixed in the next two revisions) read:
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:{{xt|Both divers survived the 294-foot fall.}}
:{{xt|Both divers survived the 294-foot fall.}}


See [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch]] for other examples. Avoid using words and phrases like ''{{!xt|terrible}}'', ''{{!xt|rising star}}'', ''{{!xt|curiously}}'', ''{{!xt|championed the likes of}}'' or ''{{!xt|on the other side of the pond}}'', unless part of a quotation or stated as an external viewpoint.
See [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch]] for other examples. Avoid using words and phrases like ''{{!xt|terrible}}'', ''{{!xt|rising star}}'', ''{{!xt|curiously}}'', ''{{!xt|championed the likes of}}'', or ''{{!xt|on the other side of the pond}}'', unless part of a quotation or stated as an external viewpoint.


Punctuation marks that appear in the article should be used only per generally accepted practice. [[Exclamation mark]]s (!) should be used only if they occur in direct quotations.
Punctuation marks that appear in the article should be used only per generally accepted practice. [[Exclamation mark]]s (!) should be used only if they occur in direct quotations.
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