Theology Wiki:Style Guide

The style guide is intended to set a standard for all Theology Wiki editors. There are many different ways to edit an article, all as good as the other, but if editors collaborated and created a standardized format, the articles will be easy to read, use, edit, and write. A standard format will also allow editors to be consistent with their writing.

Article Titles
Article titles should reflect the main topic of the article. For instance, this article would be called a style guide because it sets standards on how to edit. When beginning the article, try to have the first sentence indicate the meaning of the article. For example, "the style guide is a manual on writing style" would be appropiate, "the style guide contains..." is not.
 * Titles of short works such as poems should be in "quotes" ("Judith's Fancy").
 * Titles of long works or a collection of short works should be underlined or italicized (The Last Supper).
 * Proper nouns should be capitalized if they are within the title.
 * Articles such as a, an, or the should not be capitalized unless they are a part of the noun ("the" in the Bible should not be capitalized).
 * Special characters such as backslash (\), plus sign (+), and brackets ([]) are generally avoided.
 * Avoid long titles.

Section Headings
Section headings are titles of a specific section and make the article easier to navigate. Section headings should follow the same rules applied to article titles.

Markup
Use two equal signs (==) for section headings. Begin with ==, add the section title, and end with ==.

This section was created with the markup:

This subsection was created with the markup:

Bible Citations
Bible citations are helpful as they tell the reader where the quotation was found. Theology Wiki follows the APA format. The correct format for citing the Bible is (Book Abbrv. Chapter:Verse ). The bible edition is nearly always omitted as there is a set bible Theology Wiki uses.
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In almost all cases, the citation follows the quote; however, there are certain instances where the citation may not follow.
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (3 John 16)
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John:3:16)
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
 * }
 * The shortest verse in the Bible is found at John 11:35 "Jesus wept".

When making multi-verse references within the same chapter, make use of the comma and dash (-) characters. The dash is used to show several consecutive verses:
 * He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' " (Luke 5:36-39).

Commas can show verses that are not consecutive.


 * At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' " (Mathew 12:1-4,9-10).

Text elements
Text elements are forms that the editor can use to express their message in a better way. Text elements include bold, italics, and colours.

Font colours
Font colours should be used sparingly as they can be harmful to the reader's eyes. Note that certain colours will not show up on a different coloured skin.

Invisible comments
Invisible comments can be done by wrapping the text inside. These do not show up within articles, hence the "invisible". They can be helpful as to indicate that changing the section title will cause certain links to break or leave helpful notes to other editors.

Bulleted lists
Bulleted lists can be used to show information in a visually appealing format. To bullet a list, prefix the information with an asterisk (*).

would come out as:
 * List name 1
 * List name 1 section
 * List name 1 subsection
 * List name 2
 * List name 3
 * List name 1
 * List name 1 section
 * List name 1 subsection
 * List name 2
 * List name 3

Numbered lists
Numbered lists are almost identical to bulleted lists, but they use numbers instead of bullets. To number a list, prefix the information with a number sign (#).

would come out as:
 * 1) List name 1
 * 2) List name 1 section
 * 3) List name 1 subsection
 * 4) List name 2
 * 5) List name 3
 * 1) List name 1
 * 2) List name 1 section
 * 3) List name 1 subsection
 * 4) List name 2
 * 5) List name 3

Bold and italics
Place two apostrophes in front and at the end of the text to produce italicized text. Italics are used to provide emphasis on a word or to correctly address a long work. Italics should be used sparingly as the effect it produces diminishes after every use within an article.

Place three apostrophes in front and at the end of the text to produce boldfaced text. Boldfaced text provides a stronger emphasis on a word than italics, but should also be used sparingly. The first appearance of the article's title should always be boldfaced.

Placing five apostrophes before and after a text selection will produce text that is both boldfaced and italicized. Together, both provide a strong emphasis, although, should be used rarely. There are no cases where boldfaced and italicized text is required.

Spelling
When spelling words out, use the British English version. Words such as those often have a 'u' after the 'o'.


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 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || The color of Jesus' linen robes was white.
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || The colour of Jesus' linen robes was white.
 * }

In addition to this rule, many British words have have the -re suffix as opposed the American style of -er. Common words that are subjected to this rule are theatre, litre, and centre.


 * {| backgrond="transparent"


 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || Jesus often preached the word of God in the town center.
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || Jesus often preached the word of God in the town centre.
 * }

Abbreviation
Abbreviations are acceptable and can be used on Theology Wiki. When intending to use abbreviations, type out the full word(s) and abbreviation at first occurrence. Enclose the abbreviation in parentheses when next to the full word(s).
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Note that periods are not required when making abbreviations. Certain words such as NATO and NAFTA do not require periods.
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || The National Christian Counselors Association [N.C.C.A] is an association that licenses and certifies Christian counselors.
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || The (N.C.C.A) is an association that licenses and certifies Christian counselors.
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || The National Christian Counselors Association (N.C.C.A) is an association that licenses and certifies Christian counselors.
 * }

Sentence punctuation
The three forms for punctuating a sentence: period (.), question mark (?), and exclamation mark (!), should be used to indicate the meaning of a sentence based on its context. Exclamation marks are seldom used as they undermine the article's tone. Question marks should only be used when inside a title or direct quotation because articles are meant to state facts, not ask questions. In addition, double punctuation should be avoided.
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 * Incorrect: || Jesus was born in Bethlehem!!
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 * Incorrect: || Jesus was born in Bethlehem?
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
 * }

Commas
Commas are the most frequent form of punctuation, and also the most misused.

Commas can be used to combine sentences by inserting a comma and a coordinating conjunction in between two independent clauses, or directly inserting a comma between an independent and dependent clause.
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 * rowspan=2 valign=top|Incorrect: || Jesus died on the cross, Mary witnessed it.
 * (Comma cannot combine two independent clauses alone.)
 * (Comma cannot combine two independent clauses alone.)
 * (Comma cannot combine two independent clauses alone.)


 * rowspan=2 valign=top|Correct: || Jesus died on the cross, and Mary witnessed it.
 * (Comma combines two independent clauses with the use of a coordinating conjunction.)
 * (Comma combines two independent clauses with the use of a coordinating conjunction.)
 * (Comma combines two independent clauses with the use of a coordinating conjunction.)
 * (Comma combines two independent clauses with the use of a coordinating conjunction.)


 * rowspan=2 valign=top|Correct: || When Jesus died on the cross, Mary witnessed it.
 * (Comma combines an independent clause with a dependent clause.)
 * (Comma combines an independent clause with a dependent clause.)
 * (Comma combines an independent clause with a dependent clause.)
 * (Comma combines an independent clause with a dependent clause.)


 * }

Serial commas are used to create a list in successive order. Commonly found in the item, item, and item format, serial commas can be shown in the item, item and item format. In the style guide's case, the former applies.
 * {| background="transparent"


 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || God created the sun, the heavens and the stars.
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || God created the sun, the heavens, and the stars.
 * }

First and second person
First person pronouns should never be used within an article, unless it is taken from a direct quote. Pronouns that fall under this category are I, mine, we, and our. Articles are to be based around the encyclopedic and formal tone, not a personal one.

Second person pronoun use is discouraged. It is suggested to use the passive voice of the sentence or refer to the subject.


 * {| background="transparent" style="text-align:left; cellspacing: 3; cell-padding: 3;"

!Bad: !Better: !Good: !Best:
 * When you sin, you are turning away from God.
 * Those who sin are also turning away from God.
 * People, when sinning, are turning away from God.
 * Sinning results in turning away from God.
 * }

Words to avoid
When creating articles, there are certain words to avoid. In general, you should not use words that imply bias, a certain view point, or undermine the article's tone. Everyone has their own view and theirs may disagree with yours.

The use of contractions—such as it's, we're, they're and he's—should be avoided as they create an informal tone.

Images
Some general guidelines which should be followed are listed below.


 * The first image should be right-aligned. For other images in the article, right-alignment is preferred to left- or center-alignment. It is suggested that images alternate within articles.
 * If there are too many images in a given article, consider making a gallery with a level two heading.
 * Use captions to explain the relevance of the image to the article.
 * Make large images a thumb.
 * Specifying the size of a thumb image is not recommended.

Uploading Images

 * The preferred format for uploading images is .PNG
 * Images of items should have a transparent background
 * Name your uploaded files descriptively. For instance, a picture of a church should not be simply called church.png
 * Personal images are prohibited. Images that fall under this category are subjected to deletion by a person of higher authority.
 * Do not upload images that are currently on the Theology Wiki. If you are unsure of this, search the file.

Wiki links

 * When mentioning an article, wrap the article title within brackets ([ ]). If the article is mentioned several times on the page, link the article only once. For instance, Bible may appear on the page 5 times, but you only have to link the first occurrence.
 * It is possible to change the link name to something more suitable for the sentence in context. For example, if you were going to link the article Bible, but needed the word to appear as biblical doctrines, the format would be biblical doctrines.
 * Use efficient link formats, especially for plurals. For example, Bibles instead of Bibles.

Markup and links
When using markup with links, do not include the wiki markup with the link itself. This will cause the link to be broken.
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 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || was a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || was a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || was a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
 * }

Time
Context determines whether the clock is using the 12 or 24-hour format. Hours, minutes, and seconds are followed or preceded with colons. For instance, 16:49:09 or 4:49:09 pm.


 * 12-hour clock times end with dotted or undotted lower-case a.m. or p.m., or am or pm, which are spaced (2:30 p.m. or 2:30 pm, not 2:30p.m. or 2:30pm). A hard space (see above) is advisable: . Noon and midnight are used rather than 12 pm and 12 am; whether midnight refers to the start or the end of a date will need to be specified unless this is clear from the context.
 * 24-hour clock times have no a.m., p.m., noon or midnight suffix. Discretion may be used as to whether the hour has a leading zero (08:15 or 8:15). 00:00 refers to midnight at the start of a date, 12:00 to noon, and 24:00 to midnight at the end of a date.

Date
In general, all dates will follow the international format (Day Month Year). This is not to be confused with the American format Month Day, Year. It is suggested that the month should not be abbreviated.
 * {| background="transparent"


 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || The current date is: August 27, 2024.
 * -valign=top
 * Incorrect: || The current date is: 27 August 2024.
 * -valign=top
 * Correct: || The current date is: 27 August 2024.
 * }