Claymore Wiki:Article layout guideline

This page contains the Claymore Wiki's . It describes content organization within articles, i.e. how articles should be structured as well as how standard content and sections should be named and ordered.
 * Policies set general rules for the wiki's administration and its content.
 * Any registered editor is free to edit this page to improve its readability as long as the essence of the article remains unchanged.
 * If you would like to suggest content changes or propose a new policy or guideline, please use the wiki discussion forum.
 * See the policies and guidelines page for an overview of this wiki's policies and guidelines.

On structure
One of the most important parts of wiki editing is how to structure an article. Structure dictates what information the reader reads and when he or she reads it. It can influence what people contribute, where they put it and how it is written. Good structure is likely to produce high quality articles.

Organize sections in an article in a hierarchical structure like you would an outline. Try using a shallow structure rather than a deep one. Having too many nested sections usually leads to a confusing or unreadable article.

Section order and naming
The following is a short overview of the Claymore wiki standard article layout. Its purpose is to provide a quick reference for order and naming of standard layout items. Keep in mind that Claymores and Humans have an own layout guide. Note that all toplevel sections are h2 headings.

Generic article

 * Articles should generally start with a lead section which is not more than a few sentences and two paragraphs. Its purpose is to provide a short definition or overview of the article itself; after reading it, a reader should know what the article is about. If possible, the article title should be the subject of the first sentence; alternative titles should be mentioned in the lead section as well. Note: The lead section is mandatory!
 * References have to be used in every article. Without referencing, much of what is written on a page cannot be taken as legit, even if it is and can and will be removed. The reference section is a h2 heading and makes use of the  template. Note: The reference section is mandatory!
 * At least one descriptive image if possible. The image has to be placed at the top right. See the image policy.
 * If additional sections are required in order to structure the article you may do so. Best to discuss that on a case by case basis on the article talk page.
 * Examples for generic articles are Rabona, Black Card or Claymore for a more complex example.

Basic character article
Note: Sections not marked as mandatory are considered good style. This means as soon as the character has enough appearances to describe the section in question the section should be added.


 * Articles should generally start with a lead section which is not more than a few sentences and two paragraphs. Its purpose is to provide a short definition or overview of the character itself; after reading it, a reader should have a basic idea of the character. If possible, the character name should be the subject of the first sentence. Note: The lead section is mandatory!
 * The character Infobox. Used to display the character image (!) and typical data like the Japanese name, occupation etc. Makes use of the Infobox character template. Note: The character infobox is mandatory!
 * Etymology. If the character's name has an unusual meaning or background, it should be explained in this optional section.
 * Appearance. This section describes in detail the overall appearance of the character. The description should contain notes on important details such as hair color, personnel items of importance and the clothes. The description should contain enough detail to give a reader an idea on what the character looks like without a visual aid like a picture. Note: The appearance section is mandatory!
 * Personality. This section basically describes how the character acts overall.
 * History. This section describes the history of the character it had before the plot started. What did the character before the Storyline began?
 * Synopsis. This subsection of History is used to summarize the role the character had in the plot of the manga in since the storyline began. This section is a h3 heading. You may add more h3 headings with explanatory names to structure the content further if that improves readability.
 * Relationships. How and why does the character behaves to an other. What is the bong the character shares with the person in question?
 * Behind the scenes
 * Anime and Manga differences. The one and only section in an article where anime related content is permitted. List here in short sentences the non-canon parts of the anime related to that character.
 * Trivia. Misc. info that cannot be fitted into the article.
 * References have to be used in every article. Without referencing, much of what is written on a page cannot be taken as legit, even if it is and can and will be removed. The reference section makes use of the  template. Note: The reference section is mandatory!

Claymore and Human layout policy
Since Claymore and human are consider a special type of characters and are categorized as such, a different style and slightly adjusted rules apply for them. These are listed in separate articles: ]] ]]
 * Claymore article layout
 * Human article layout
 * [[Claymore_Wiki:Chapter article layout|Chapter article layout
 * [[Claymore_Wiki:Episode article layout|Episode article layout

Why to do Source Referencing?
There are many reasons why it is important to reference information:


 * It proves the information is correct and not some fan speculation.
 * It allows others to look up the information themselves if they want to read further into the subject matter.
 * Conveniently this creates as side effect a list of appearances if the article is about a character and has a plot summary.

Without referencing, much of what is written on a page cannot be taken as legit, even if it is and can and will be removed!

Valid sources
The wiki's information should only come from manga, anime (only for the Anime and Manga differences section), official data books and official art books.

Reference rules
Identical references should be combined. By combining identical references, it will help keep the pages clean and orderly. If you do not know how to do this, see Help:Cite. The name tag is important because if an identical reference will be used later in the article they will be combined. Never forget to add this tag!

Style for manga references: Explanation: The "c" is short for "chapter" the "77" obviously the chapter number.

Style for anime references: Explanation: The "a" is short for "anime", the "03" is the episode in question.