Why Would Your Wikipedia Page Get Declined?

Creating a Wikipedia page is a delicate process that needs a user to carefully follow and abide by the guidelines of Wikipedia page creation. Otherwise, regardless of how much you want to be listed on Wikipedia, your page will automatically decline during the approval process if you don't meet the Wikipedia criteria.

Wikipedia wouldn’t be a very reliable website if it could just include any written materials that are not well researched or poorly written, for that matter. Thus, Wikipedia page guidelines are enforced to ensure the quality of material written or edited is maintained.

Three common reasons why a Wikipedia page can be declines

Knowing that your page can be declined is just the beginning. The real deal is to know what to avoid. The three common slip-ups that have led to many pages being rejected by Wikipedia are:

·        Lack of notability.

·        Lack of credible references.

·        Biased content in writing styles.

Let’s dig deep and see how these factors can actually cause your page to be declined by Wikipedia.

1.      Lack of reliable References

Wikipedia relies on different outside sources for most of its content for credibility. Basically, without proper and credible sources, Wikipedia would be a pool of semi-literate and misguided information. For this reason, Wikipedia requires users to provide proper and credible references for a page to be approved and deemed acceptable. 

Finding a reliable source isn’t easy, but Wikipedia recommends that you include references that support notability, credibility, and reliability. To get started, you can search for a source that has extensively been covered elsewhere. For example, the Olympics are extensively covered in various press outlets, and you can use press releases as your reference. Other credible and reliable references are books, academic sources, news archives, peer-reviewed publications, or journalistic sources. 

Additionally, reliable sources have to be independent as well. In some instances, what this means is, that using a quote, let’s say from the Olympic Committee, to write about the Olympics can be considered as breaking the rules. Therefore, as you search for reliable references, have it in mind that your references have to be independent.

You can learn how to add references to your articles here: Referencing for beginners.

2.      Lack of Notability

Notability is basically established by searching reliable sources. When writing content for your wiki page, observe notability. Notability, in simple terms, is the aspect of being considered worthy of notice or of significance/recognition. Using topics that have been used in important coverage can improve your notability status.

However, Wikipedia can still decline your page even if you use particular notable events. This is possible because not every significant coverage is always notable. Consider a coverage that involves an apartment that caught fire, and let’s say the newspaper covered the news. Although this topic is highly notable, it won’t have an impact on the public for a very long time. Therefore, when choosing topics for your wiki page, consider subjects that will have both important coverages as well as relevance beyond the current events.

3.      Biased content in writing styles

Wikipedia advocates for neutral content. However, writing unbiased content is perhaps the most difficult task for any beginner who is looking forward to creating a Wikipedia page and seeing it approved. Unless you have some practice in writing and editing content, maintaining an unbiased tone is a huge challenge, and the risk of your page being rejected is very high.

Biasness can be obvious or appear lightly in your content. But if you want to get your page approved and surpass the decline threshold of most users, it’s time you start focusing on an unbiased Wikipedia writing style. Wikipedia advocates writers to write content from a neutral point of view, carefully choose words when making comparisons, and be specific about a topic they are discussing.

Other tips to avoid when writing content on your page

·        Avoid writing articles about yourself, friends, family, or a story you wrote;

If a person closely related to you, such as a friend or a family member, is worth mentioning in Wikipedia, don’t add them directly, instead, let someone else add that article for you. Including your friends in an encyclopedia might sound like a great idea. But those articles stand a high chance of being rejected, or you may be completely blocked from writing/editing in Wikipedia. Put a little thought and choose a neutral topic and a highly notable subject if you want to get approved quickly.

·        Attacks on an individual, Organization, or religion;

Don’t write content that violates the biographies of living persons through harassment, defamation, or threatening a subject. Wikipedia considers this a violation of its policies. Writing such articles will get you rejected and possibly banned for life.

·        Don’t violate copyrights;

When writing Wikipedia articles, don’t copy-paste text. Instead, use short statements in quotation marks or an inline citation. Avoid plagiarism at all costs if you want to see your page approved by Wikipedia.

Conclusion

By simply avoiding these blunders, you stand in a better position to see your page get approved by Wikipedia. These guidelines are important and crucial in creating a Wikipedia page that will not be declined. Establish notability, use reliable sources, and write unbiased content. This should help you get approved quickly by Wikipedia.

If you face issues with getting your article on Wikipedia, it’s time you hire a professional. Contact us for further professional assistance.