User:David.Kane/External links creation

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[edit] How to link

[edit] External links section

There are two basic formats for external links. The most common is to add a list of external links at the end of an article. Put here, in list form, any web sites that you have used or recommend for readers of the article. The standard format for these is to have a level 2 header (i.e. == Header ==) named "External links" followed by a bullet list of links.

If an article has a large number of external links, it may be helpful to use subheaders to classify them. This can be done using another level of section heading, usually the fifth, which will then appear in the table of contents, like this:

===== Sub-header of links =====
* [http://example.com/link_1 Link 1]
* [http://example.com/link_2 Link 2]

... or with the "semicolon" syntax, like this:

; Sub-header of links
* [http://example.com/link_1 Link 1]
* [http://example.com/link_2 Link 2]

which both yield:

Sub-header of links

If you link to another website, you should give your reader a good summary of the site's contents, and the reasons why this specific website is relevant to the article in question. If you cite an online article, try to provide as much meaningful citation information as possible.

[edit] "External links" vs "External link"

Some editors use the header External link if there is only one link, but others use External links in all cases. There is currently no consensus on the preferred style. Editors who always use the plural form may prefer it for any of the following reasons:

  1. Experience shows that future editors often add links without changing the section heading.
  2. Some contributors may be dissuaded from adding links to a section titled External link, since it seems to suggest that there should only be one link.
  3. Using External links gives greater stylistic consistency to Wikipedia.
  4. Changing a heading breaks any links directly to the External links section.
  5. The purpose of the section is to provide External links rather than a single External link, so it does not matter how many actual links are listed.

The converse arguments are:

  1. Wikipedia's community-editing usually leads to prompt correction of such oversights.
  2. There is no evidence to show that a significant number of contributors may be dissuaded from adding links to a section titled External link.
  3. In one sense, the use of External links to head a section containing a single link is grammatically incorrect.

[edit] Citations

Main article: Wikipedia:Citing sources

The second basic format for external links covers sentences or paragraphs that require specific references. This form can be placed in the body of an article at the end of the relevant sentence or paragraph. These links have no description other than an automatically generated number.

For example,

'''Frankton''' was one of the names considered for the state of Franklin. [http://www.next1000.com/family/GRUBB/sullivan.tenn.html]

would render something like

Frankton was one of the names considered for the state of Franklin. [1]

However, because links often cease to work without warning, the use of more complete citations is recommended.

[edit] See also

For more detailed information regarding Wikipedia policy toward and appropriate syntax for external links, see:

Maintenance coordination