Wikipedia:Article wizard/biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Does the page already exist?

Before you begin writing, make sure that Wikipedia does not already have an article about your subject.

Search for your article below, making sure to check other possible spellings and capitalizations, then come back to this page.

If you find that the subject searched for already exists under a different name, consider adding "redirects" from plausible alternate titles to the correct title, so that others searching for the article will find it more easily. See Wikipedia:Redirect to learn how to do this. Please do not create a new article on a subject which already exists under another name.


Writer's checklist

Biography requirements General information
  • Writing about yourself or people close to you is strongly discouraged.
  • Wikipedia has a more specific notability guideline for biographies that may help determine notability.
  • Some good indicators of notability are things such as:
    • The person has received significant recognized awards or honors.
    • Politicians who have held international, national or statewide/provincewide office, and members and former members of a national, state or provincial legislature.
    • Entertainers with significant roles in notable films, television shows, stage performances, and other productions.
    • The person is known for originating a significant new concept, theory, or technique.

Living people

Approximately one in ten Wikipedia articles are about a living person. Articles on living people have unique challenges which make them more difficult to maintain. Wikipedia's greatest gaps in content are in other areas. Please consider carefully whether the person merits an article before creation.

Wikipedia has a strict policy about biographies of living persons. Any information about a living person must come from a reliable source.

While Wikipedia is not a paper encyclopedia and includes articles on a wide variety of topics, there are certain types of article we cannot accept due to various content policies summarized below. Click the links for more detailed information. Wikipedia cannot accept:

If you don't think your article meets these criteria, please don't create it; it will eventually be deleted. If you aren't sure your article will meet these criteria, you are encouraged to ask on the Help desk. Note that there are many other things to do on Wikipedia besides creating articles, see Wikipedia:Maintenance for more information.

Are you ready to write?

If your article meets the above criteria, you're almost ready to start writing it! Before you begin writing, there are just a few things to do first.

  • Check your sources. All Wikipedia articles should be written based on reliable sources and those sources should be listed in the article.
  • Check your facts. Make sure everything is correct and you have information to provide adequate context to all potential readers.
  • Consider taking a tour first through our tutorial to learn how to format your text using our easy-to-use markup language.

Then: