Difference between revisions of "Checklist for Contributors"

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Please refer to this checklist each time you review your assigned pages: [[File:Checklist for Contributors (Nov 2016).pdf|thumbnail|Editorial Checklist for Contributors]]
{{GUIDEPAGE}}


# The purpose of reviewing pages is to ensure changes in law are reflected in content. 
Please refer to this checklist each time you review your assigned pages, '''also available in PDF format''': [[media:Checklist for Contributors.pdf | Editing Guide and Checklist for Contributors]]
# Clicklaw Wikibooks provide reliable, up-to-date, plain language information to help British Columbians address legal problems or learn about the law.
# Some Wikibooks offer brief, punctual tips — other titles offer more comprehensive guidance. 
# What is your Wikibook's editorial objective? Consider the purpose, tone and audience of the title as a whole when making edits.


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


'''1. REVIEW FOR ACCURACY'''
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.  
<br /><br />


For each page you review, please go through the following steps:
# Review for accuracy
<br /><br />
#*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?
# 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.
# 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.


'''Read each Page''' — read and take notes on pages assigned to you .......................................
<br />
'''Review the Law'''
* Read laws in context — start with existing citations in the article ...................................
* Review statutory law — check statutory excerpts and compare to current legislation; check Proclamations (BC & Canada) for recent changes ...............................
* Check caselaw — note up cases in CanLII; note up key sections of legislation to find new cases .............................................................................................
* Consult secondary resources — CLE articles, treatises, journals, etc. ..............................
'''Verify Statements and Specifics'''
* Procedural steps — have rules or policies changed? .......................................................
* Forms— has a form changed name or been replaced? ....................................................
* Deadlines — readers rely on these being correct ............................................................
* Monetary amounts, costs or limits — have these details changed? ................................
'''Resource Links'''
* Check existing links — make sure they work and ALSO make sure they still point to the intended content ..........................................................................................
* Best external resources — have newer resources arrived and did old ones get stale? ...........................................................................................................................
* Best internal links — are concepts discussed that could be cross linked to more Wikibooks and pages? .............................................................................................
<br />
Once you've reviewed your pages for legal accuracy, you may decide:
<br />
1. Edit not needed → Just update the “last reviewed for legal accuracy” date .................. 
2. Edit is needed → See step 2.


2. EDIT & DEVELOP CONTENT
== 1. Review for accuracy ==
Cure Existing Legal Inaccuracies
• Fix incorrect statements — top priority is to correct wrong information, or at least remove the incorrect information ....................................................................... 
•Update citations — add new legislation or caselaw (use CanLII's short URLs) ................................................................................................................................. 
•Fix broken links and resources .......................................................................................... 
Develop & Write — write new content when tweaking existing content won't do. Please consider:
• Gaps — what is the gap in information and is filling it crucial? ....................................... 
• Plain language — keep writing simple (here are some tips) ............................................ 
• Brevity —edits should clarify meaning, not add length ................................................... 
•Organization — lists, subheadings and short paragraphs make reading easier and orient the reader ............................................................................................. 
•Legal references — would more citations benefit or just overwhelm the reader? .............................................................................................................................. 
Simple & Consistent
• Clarify legal terms, include parenthetical definitions where needed .............................. 
•Be consistent in word choice (e.g. choose either “renter” or “tenant”) .......................... 
• Familiarize yourself with and apply Style Guide:
o Correct word emphasis, acronyms, and case citation style ........................... 
o Apply bullets/numbered lists and punctuation .............................................. 
• Format neutral language — writing "See the chapter/page on…" is better than "Click here for information on…" since Wikibooks are also printed ........................ 


3. OPTIONAL CHECKLIST
=== Reviewing the law ===
• Is there extraneous information that should be removed? ............................................. 
{{checkbox}} Review statute law — check statutory excerpts and compare to current legislation, check for recent changes <br/>
•Is the overall language clear and approachable? ............................................................. 
{{checkbox}} Check caselaw — note up cited cases in [http://www.canlii.org CanLII], note up key sections of legislation <br/>
•Are there other Wikibooks pages that would be improved by linking to your content? Speak to that other editor ......................................................................... 
{{checkbox}} Consult secondary resources — review relevant CLEBC / TLABC materials
 
=== Verify descriptions of process and procedure ===
{{checkbox}} Procedural steps — have rules or policies changed? <br/>
{{checkbox}} Forms — has a form changed name or been replaced? <br/>
{{checkbox}} Deadlines — are stated deadlines current?
 
=== Resource links ===
{{checkbox}} Check existing links — make sure they work and point to the intended content <br/>
{{checkbox}} Best external resources — are there newer resources, did the old ones get stale? <br/>
{{checkbox}} Best internal links — are concepts discussed that could be cross linked to more Wikibooks and pages?
 
== 2. Edit & develop content ==
 
=== Cure existing legal inaccuracies ===
 
{{checkbox}} Fix incorrect statements — your top priority is to correct wrong information, or at least remove incorrect information <br/>
{{checkbox}} Update citations — add new legislation or caselaw using CanLII's short URLs  <br/>
{{checkbox}} Fix broken links — repair or delete broken links
 
=== Develop and write ===
 
{{checkbox}} Gaps — are there gaps in the content, is filling them crucial? <br/>
{{checkbox}} Plain language — keep the text simple and sentences short <br/>
{{checkbox}} Comprehension — edits should clarify meaning <br/>
{{checkbox}} Organization — lists, subheadings and short paragraphs make reading easier and orient the reader <br/>
{{checkbox}} Legal references — would more citations benefit or just overwhelm the reader, are there too many cites already? <br/>
 
=== Simple & consistent ===
{{checkbox}} Clarify legal terms — include parenthetical definitions where needed <br/>
{{checkbox}} Consistency — be consistent in the terms you use <br/>
{{checkbox}} Familiarize yourself with and apply the [[Clicklaw_Wikibooks_Style_Guide|Style Guide]]: <br/>
:{{checkbox}} Correct [[Clicklaw_Wikibooks_Style_Guide#Emphasis|word emphasis]], [[Clicklaw_Wikibooks_Style_Guide#Acronyms|acronyms]], and [[Clicklaw_Wikibooks_Style_Guide#References|case citation style]] <br/>
:{{checkbox}} Apply [[Clicklaw_Wikibooks_Style_Guide#Lists|bullets/numbered lists]] and [[Clicklaw_Wikibooks_Style_Guide#Punctuation|punctuation]] <br/>
 
== 3. Optional steps ==
 
{{checkbox}} Superfluous content — is there extraneous information that could be removed? <br/>
{{checkbox}} Clarity and tone — is the overall language clear and approachable? <br/>
{{checkbox}} Cross links — are there other Wikibooks and other pages that would be improved by linking to your content?
 
 
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__NOTOC__
[[Category:Clicklaw Wikibooks Guides]]

Latest revision as of 22:48, 3 August 2018

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: Editing Guide and 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?