Develop a Stub Into a Better Article

A stub is an article that still needs work. Oftentimes, it provides a basic outline, but not enough information for the reader to complete the task. Other times, reader feedback has shown that it's not helping people as is, or perhaps it has accuracy issues. While all wikiHow articles are in progress, stubs need significant help to reach their full potential. You can help to improve the quality of a stub with more useful or detailed information. You may even polish it into a Featured Article!

Click Stub for a list of articles currently tagged as stubs on wikiHow. Why not pick one to improve?

Steps

  1. Dedicate the time to really expanding the topic. Unless it's a topic you know extremely well already, it will likely take you anywhere between two and five hours to write a helpful article.[1] Look at the articles featured on the Main-Page to get an idea of how comprehensive an article should be. Be prepared to dive in deeply to "de-stub" an article, if your goal is actually removing the stub tag.
    • There are no set length requirements for topics on wikiHow, but in many cases, you'll want to shoot for:
      • the article having at least ten steps
      • the article having multiple Divide a wikiHow Article into Subsections
      • each step having at least four sentences
      • the article telling the reader something that other articles on the web don't
  2. Research the topic. Even if it's a topic you know little about, you can search the Internet for more information, and put that information in your own words to add to the article. Use reputable websites to back up your advice, and list them as references.
    • Be sure you reword any content you find elsewhere online. It's most helpful to use a variety of reputable, neutral sources and synthesize their advice. Make sure you attribute any sources.
  3. Add instructions and steps to the article. Many stub articles contain only the very essential steps to perform the task at hand or even, sometimes, incomplete set of steps. Look for the following cases, and if one of them applies, add the steps necessary:
    • See if the steps are incomplete, very brief or lacking one or more steps. If so, add the steps that are not there.
    • Check for alternative methods to achieve this specific step. If some exist, add them. Most of the time, a substep or separate method section is how this is done.
  4. Expand steps of the article. Usually, stub articles contain very brief instructions that need more explaining or clarifications. Some ways you can do this:
    • Check if the step contains vague or very generic instructions. In such cases, try to make the step more specific to the main purpose of the article. Depending on the topic, it can help to provide detailed examples, scripts to follow, details for particular scenarios, and any particular techniques, measurements, or tricks needed to complete the step successfully.
    • Check if the step only states what to do but provides no details on how to do it. Sometimes, adding examples could clarify things that are otherwise harder to understand. In other cases, the step itself is a whole complete procedure with sub-steps of its own (in which case you add the sub-steps as a sub-list, or put the step into a whole parts section of its own).
    • Check if the step involves the use of measurement units. If it does, add alternative measurement system.
    • Check to see if there are alternative ways or methods to accomplish or achieve the goal set forth by the title of the article. If so, add the alternative Divide a wikiHow Article into Subsections.
  5. Fact check. Sometimes, articles are marked as stubs because readers have reported not finding them helpful. In that case, it often helps to double-check any and all advice on the page already. Is each step backed up by reputable sources? Is the method given universally accepted as a best practice for how to tackle that part of that task, or is it just one person's idea of how to do it? Some advice on wikiHow does come from personal experiences, but you want to be sure it's advice that will apply and be helpful to the majority of readers, not just a person or two.
    • If you're not sure why an article was stubbed, it often comes down to depth and detail. However, you can also ask an admin or booster to let you know what feedback readers have submitted on the topic, too. Sometimes, those ratings can lead you in the right direction for fixing any issues on the article.
    • Use reputable websites to back up your advice, and list them as references.
  6. Review the advice for flow. Put yourself in the reader's shoes. Does the article, as a whole, make sense? Can the reader follow along from beginning to end to get the task done, or does it jump around or get confusing? Does it actually address the topic, and what most people are looking for when they search for that query?
    • Ideally, readers can both skim an article for the main points, and dive into the detail they need to actually achieve the task. It can help to make sure the bolded first sentences of each step "sum up" the main parts of the process, for anyone reading in a big rush who just wants the overview. This allows readers to get the gist quickly, and then dive in more deeply by reading the whole step and sub-steps, as desired.
    • If the article contains multiple methods, they should stand more or less alone, so that a reader could read only one method alone and it would make sense, allowing them to complete their goal.
    • If you're not sure what readers are looking for when they search for that how-to query, try putting the query into Google or another search engine. Read over the first results that come up; they can give you an idea of what readers may be looking for on that topic.
  7. Put a Photo in a wikiHow Article. If you own the copyright to step-by-step images that illustrate the method, or if you can get permission from the copyright owner to share their relevant images here, add them (with any required licensing/attribution). You can also Reuse a wikiHow Image on wikiHow, if they fit the steps well enough.
    • Go through the steps and see if you can add an existing image to them that will actually clarify the step.
    • If you have the capability and willingness, you may create an image suitable for the step. For example, some steps can be clarified using a diagram or chart, others can be clarified using a photo and so on.
  8. Embed a Video on wikiHow. Sometimes you can find a very helpful video that the reader can watch to supplement the instructions.
    • Again, if you can, and are willing to, you may create a video and upload it to one of the video hosting services such as YouTube and add it. Sometimes, it might be necessary to ask for the help of an admin in adding the video if you can't add it through the wikiHow Importvideo Tool.
  9. Add any needed tips and warnings. Some stub articles mix the "Tips" or "Warnings" sections with the "Steps" one. Some of them do not include tips at all. If needed, separate the tips, warnings, and the steps in their respective sections. Add any other crucial tips or warnings you can think of.
    • Check out our Format a wikiHow Article for an idea of our normal section names and layout.
  10. Copyedit and clean up as needed. Before they're ready to go live for readers, wikiHow articles do need to be copyedited. Try to catch any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. Use your browser's built-in spellchecker, if you have one. If possible, ask someone else to proofread the work, too, to catch anything you missed. Also make sure the article follows our Format a wikiHow Article.

Examples

Tips

  • Useful ideas and "nice to know information" may be good tips (but they are unnecessary for the steps).
  • Use our Writer's Guide and Format a wikiHow Article to help guide your layout and writing style.

Warnings

  • "Warnings" reveal and help avoid dangers and pitfalls that seem likely, especially for the novice/new in that kind of "How to".

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://forums.wikihow.com/discussion/20187/how-long-does-it-take-you-to-write-or-rewrite-a-complete-article

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