From LiteracyTentWiki

Directions and Help

You may find it useful to print this page and to keep it handy.

Contents 1 Directions and Help 1.1 Add or change text: 1.2 Add a new Wiki Page 1.3 Format and Style Tips 1.3.1 Bold text 1.3.2 Italicized text 1.3.3 Indented text 1.3.4 Underlined text 1.3.5 Line breaks 1.3.6 Bullets 1.3.7 Numbers 1.3.8 Horizontal bars 1.3.9 A Table of Contents 1.3.10 Adding comments to someone else's post 1.3.11 Revising your post 1.3.12 Web page links 1.3.13 Alternative editing rules

Add or change text:

From a Wiki page which you would like to add to or edit (not necessarily this one) :

1. Select (click on) the edit tab (top of the page).
2. This will take you to an editing page where you can add, change or remove text. In the text window (a big rectangle with a thin line around it) there's a blue slider on the right -- it looks like a long jelly bean. Using your mouse on the slider, slide/scroll down to read what others have written, go to wherever you want to add or change text, and type in your changes. If this is your first time, and you want to add new comments to an existing discussion, slide to the bottom of the text window and type in, or copy-and-paste your new text there (above the Return to the Adult Literacy Education Wiki main page http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page line, if there is one.)
3. When you have finished writing your thoughts, add your name and the date. Then, on the next line, type exactly five dashes. This will create a bar across the page, separating your writing from the next person's.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the button, Save page.
5. This will take you back to the Wiki page you edited. If the changes don't look the way you expected, go back to the Edit page and try again, or read the Tips below.
6. Please note: do not copy copyright published material into the ALE Wiki. If you want to copy in a message posted to a public electronic list see ALEcopying

Add a new Wiki Page

• From an existing page:

1. Select the edit tab at the top of the page.
2. In the text window, type the WikiName of your new page between double brackets. Example: type [[AleNewTopic]] and you'll get the link AleNewTopic. Note that a WikiName is at least two words, has no spaces, and that each word is capitalized. If there is only a WikiName, no actual page yet, the WikiName will be red. If there is a page it will be blue.
3. Select the Save page button at the bottom of the page
4. Go back to your new WikiName and select it. This will take you to a blank page where you can write.
5. Select Save page again, at the bottom of this new Wiki page.

Format and Style Tips

Bold text

is made by typing three apostrophes (not quotation marks) ''' before and after the word or section you want to make bold.

Italicized text

is made by typing two apostrophes (not quotation marks), '' before and after the word or section you want to put in italics.

Indented text

is made by using a colon : at the beginning of a line. Indenting is useful when you are adding your comments to someone else's post.

Underlined text

is made by typing <u> your underlined text here </u> . However, because text that is underlined usually also means that the text is linked, one needs to use this choice carefully, and only if there are no other good choices such as Bold or italicized text

Line breaks

are made by leaving a space

or by typing <br> at the end of a line.

Bullets

• are made by typing * at the beginning of a line. (Don't leave any space before typing.)
  • If you type two asterisks ** you get a second level
    • If you type three asterisks *** you get a third level

Numbers

1. Numbers are made by typing # at the beginning of a line. (Don't leave any space before typing.)
   1. If you type two ## you get a second level
      1. If you type three ### you get a third level

• You can type combinations of # and * to mix numbers and bullets in a list format.

Horizontal bars

are made using five dashes ----- typed at the beginning of a line . These are useful to separate entries on a page.

A Table of Contents

is made by typing __TOC__ (two underline spaces, then TOC, then two underline spaces) where you want the Table of Contents to appear.

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Adding comments to someone else's post

You may read what someone has written and want to add something, answer a question, clarify, extend, disagree, or provide a reference. If so, you can:

• Add your post immediately after the one you are responding to. Make sure there is a horizontal bar at the beginning and end of your post (made with exactly five dashes. Begin your post with the date, your name and (if you want) your e-mail address. Then type your comments. End with your name. Or you can
• Add your comments within the person's post, but so it will be clear that these are not part of the original post
  • be sure your comments are in italics
  • and that each line of your post begins with a colon, and is therefore indented.

Revising your post

Improve your post(s). When you see a simpler, clearer, briefer, or cleaner way to write what you have posted here, revise it. If you change the content (more than edit or proofread), add revised by (your name) on (the date) so readers will know you have changed it.

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If you have difficulty, please see the User's Guide or e-mail < djrosen&comcast.net > (Substitute @ for & with no spaces)

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Web page links

Here are two ways to link to web pages outside the ALE Wiki:

1. In text edit mode, type the full web page address. It will automatically be made as a link

Example: If you type http://www.alri.org you will get http://www.alri.org

2. If you don't want the web address to show, just the name of the web page, in text edit mode type it like this:

Example If you type [http://www.alri.org Adult Literacy Resource Institute ] you will get Adult Literacy Resource Institute

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Alternative editing rules

Here's another set of rules for editing:

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalise.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
17. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
18. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
19. The passive voice is to be ignored.
20. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
21. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
22. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
23. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
24. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
25. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
26. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
28. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
29. Who needs rhetorical questions?
30. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
31. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

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