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How to Write a Good Edit Summary on wikiHow
An 'Edit summary' is the best way to communicate to patrollers about the intention of your edits. For future editors, it also provides a quick reference in the history page of an article. In order to prevent having your new edits revoked, write a descriptive edit summary in the small 'summary' box prior to publishing.
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Steps
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1Click on the Edit tab at the top of an article.
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2Edit the page.
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3Click on Preview, at the bottom of the article, to review your changes.- Submit only the final draft of your work.
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4Write a note in the Edit Summary, at the bottom of the article, to clarify your improvement.- Use our Abbreviations.
- Otherwise, provide a brief, informative explanation, such as:
- Organize, format, syntax, introduction, add detail, verbs, personal reference, links, photo, tip, warning, citation, improved stub, bold edit, add or removed template, etc.
- If you are reverting an edit: "Reverted edits by (username goes here) to last revision by (username goes here).
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5Click in the space provided to indicate a minor edit.- Correct minor spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors.
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6Click on the green Publish button, at the bottom of the article, to save your changes.Ad
Tips
- If you do not provide adequate information:
- Your edit may be reverted, because it may not be well understood.
- The article may be tagged with a template.
- To clarify a reversion, click on "undo" and leave an explanation in the Edit Summary.
- Remember, any type of explanation is always better than none at all.
Article Info
Categories: Writing and Editing
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