Wikipedia:Explain jargon
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This page is part of the Manual of Style, and is considered a guideline for Wikipedia. The consensus of many editors formed the conventions described here. Wikipedia articles should heed these guidelines. Feel free to update this page as needed, but please use the discussion page to propose major changes. |
Explain jargon when you use it (see jargon). Remember that the person reading your article might not be someone educated or versed in your field, and so might not understand the subject-specific terms from that field. Terms which may go without a definition in an academic paper or a textbook may require one in Wikipedia.
The first time an article uses a term that may not be clearly understood by a reader not familiar with the subject area, such as the terminology of a science, art, philosophy, etc. or the jargon of a particular trade or profession, introduce it with a short, clear explanation that is accessible to the normal English reader or based on terms previously defined in the article. Beware inaccuracies accompanying short explanations of technical terms with precise meanings.
Be sure to make use of the Wiki format and link the term if there is a relevant article.
If it is convenient to bundle all terms and their definitions in a list, do use the appropriate definition list markup: Instead of
*'''term''': definition
use
; term : definition
The aim is to hyperlink all jargon to explain it, and then explain all the jargon you use to explain that, until you've reached terms that ordinary educated people should understand.
[edit] Mathematics
This guideline is especially important for articles related to mathematics. In this context, "jargon" includes special symbols; as a rule of thumb, if expressing an equation requires LaTeX (as most do), do not assume the reader will understand what it means. It is also considered polite (but not always necessary) to explain how the symbols are read, e.g. "A ⇔ B means A is true if and only if B is true, and vice versa". Much of the hassle and redundancy can often be mitigated by proving a link to the extremely helpful table of mathematical symbols and providing a simple warning/disclaimer, such as at the top of the prisoner's dilemma article.
