Wikiquote:Manual of Style

Shortcuts: WQ:MoS WQ:MOS WQ:STYLE This page is a guideline on Wikiquote. It tells about ways to do things, which many users agree should be the way things should be done. Major changes to this page should be talked about on the talk page before changing.

The Manual of Style is the way of making all pages look the same. These guidelines are not policy, but most editors agree that it is the way things should be done. When every page looks similar, Wikiquote looks professional. The following is generally the guide and layout of a proper page on Wikiquote, the Manual of Style.

At the beginning of an article, there should at least one of the following templates: {{simple quotes}} (if all quotes on page are translated, see Wikiquote:Simple quotes), {{needs translation}} (if quotes need to be translated), or {{needs sources}} (if sources are need for quotes on page). This should be placed above images and the first paragraph.

The title of the page should be bold, like this: '''Example'''. If the page is about a person, it should have the date of birth or date of death or both. This can be done using the {{Date}} template. Right after that, there should be a part (about a paragraph) telling about the person or thing. This should not be a long article, just basic information and about the subject. This is an example of the first part:

{{simple quotes}}
'''[[w:Example|Example]]''' (born {{date|March 3|1948}}) is an author. She started writing at age 12.

The quotes section should start with headers before the quotes, like these: "=== Sourced quotes ===" for referenced quotes and "=== Unsourced quotes ===" for non-referenced quotes. There may also be a section for Quotes that other people have said about the person or thing, like "=== Quotes about "Example" ===." This is an example:

=== Sourced quotes ===
*"This is a sourced quote."
=== Unsourced quotes ===
*"This is an unsourced quote."
=== Quotes about "Example" ===
*"I think that he is cool (just an example)."

Pages should have an asterisk " * " right before each quote. Then there should be a quotation mark " at the start of a quote. Then the quote, and end each one with another quotation mark ".

*"This is an example quote."

If there is a reference for the quote, add the the reference in <ref> </ref> tags. This could also be done with {{Cite web}} or another citation template. Then there should be a simple version of the quote, right under the quote itself. This should be done with {{simple}}. If the quote has a background and/or reason the quote was said, this should be done by putting {{meaning}} under that. This is an example:

*"This is an example quote."
{{simple|This is a simple version of the above quote.}}
{{meaning|This is what the above quote means.}}

A page may have a "See also" section that links to similar or important pages to the current page. This is an example of a "See also" section:

== See also ==
* [[Wikipedia]]
* [[Main Page]]

The "References" section should be done with the {{reflist}} template. This is an example:

== References ==
{{reflist}}

Pages should have a few other websites. Complex English calls this "External links," but Simple English Wikiquote uses "Other websites." Do not use too many, only a few of them will do fine. No spam or advertising is allowed. This is an example:

== Other websites  ==
[http://www.example.com/ Example]
[http://www.example.com/ Example2]

There may also be links to other Wikimedia projects, these should go in the "Other websites" section; please use {{other wikis}} to do this (and put it above any other links). If the page is short, there should be {{stub}} or a similar template below any "other websites."

Pages should have the right categories. A major template to use is {{BD}}, which adds the person's birth and/or death years. Adding a stub template to a page may add a category, but most pages should have more than one. This is an example:

[[Category:Baseball players]]
[[Category:Musicians]]
{{BD|1950|1995|Smith, John}}

Most pages will have "Interwiki links" (link to other Wikiquotes). Interwiki links should be at the very bottom of a page, right below the categories. It should have a language code, example "en" for English or "es" for Spanish. Then the page's title. This is an example:

[[en:Example]]
[[es:Example]]

You can put images (pictures) on a page, this way:

[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Example words about the image]]

Simple English Wikiquote has decided that, in general, dates should not be linked, and it is unhelpful to link them. Dates should be formatted as follows: December 2, 2024.

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