Checklist for Contributors

From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Revision as of 20:49, 12 July 2018 by Desy Wahyuni (talk | contribs)

This is a help page for contributors or users.


Please refer to this checklist each time you review your assigned pages, also available in PDF format: Editorial Checklist for Contributors

Clicklaw Wikibooks aims to provide understandable, reliable, up-to-date, plain language information to British Columbians addressing legal problems or learning about the law.

The purposes of reviewing pages are to ensure that: changes in the law are reflected in content; content is well-organized, explains its subject well and is easy to read; and, readers are provided with the most useful, most relevant resources.

  1. Review for accuracy
    • Read each page from beginning to end.
    • Is the law up to date? Has the legislation changed? Are there important new cases?
    • Are descriptions of processes, forms, deadlines and fees up to date?
    • Are resources up to date? Do the links still work? Are there better resources to link to?
    • Is the language clear, consistent and understandable?
  2. Edit and develop content
    • Fix any legal inaccuracies in the existing text.
    • Fix any grammatical or spelling errors in the existing text.
    • Correct, reorganize or replace writing that isn’t clear and concise.
    • Add new content where helpful.
    • Add links to important new cases, new legislation and new resources.
  3. Optional steps
    • Remove irrelevant information and links to irrelevant resources.
    • Check that existing text is approachable and easy to understand.
    • Add links to other relevant pages within the Wikibook.


1. Review for accuracy

Reviewing the law

Review statute law — check statutory excerpts and compare to current legislation, check for recent changes
Check caselaw — note up cited cases in CanLII, note up key sections of legislation
Consult secondary resources — review relevant CLEBC / TLABC materials

Verify descriptions of process and procedure

Procedural steps — have rules or policies changed?
Forms — has a form changed name or been replaced?
Deadlines — are stated deadlines current?

Resource links

Check existing links — make sure they work and point to the intended content
Best external resources — are there newer resources, did the old ones get stale?
Best internal links — are concepts discussed that could be cross linked to more Wikibooks and pages?

2. Edit & develop content

Cure existing legal inaccuracies

Fix incorrect statements — your top priority is to correct wrong information, or at least remove incorrect information
Update citations — add new legislation or caselaw using CanLII's short URLs
Fix broken links — repair or delete broken links

Develop and write

Gaps — are there gaps in the content, is filling them crucial?
Plain language — keep the text simple and sentences short
Comprehension — edits should clarify meaning Organization — lists, subheadings and short paragraphs make reading easier and orient the reader
Legal references — would more citations benefit or just overwhelm the reader, are there too many cites already?

Simple & consistent

Clarify legal terms — include parenthetical definitions where needed
Consistency — be consistent in the terms you use
Familiarize yourself with and apply the Style Guide:

Correct word emphasis, acronyms, and case citation style
Apply bullets/numbered lists and punctuation

3. Optional steps

Superfluous content — is there extraneous information that could be removed?
Clarity and tone — is the overall language clear and approachable?
Cross links — are there other Wikibooks and other pages that would be improved by linking to your content?