Template:Essay/doc

This template is about the tag for unapproved Wikipedia guidance. For the article maintenance tag, see Template:Essay-like.

Usage

Further information: WP:Essays

This template adds the page to Category:Wikipedia essays or to Category:User essays, depending on namespace.

Please do not subst this template.

If you place this template on a mainspace article, it will redirect to Template:Essay-like anyway.

• {{essay|WP:SHORTCUT1}} becomes:

Parameters

This template has an |interprets= parameter. Replaces "This page is an essay" with "This page is an essay on [whatever you put in the parameter]":

• |interprets=the [[Wikipedia:No original research]] policy
• |interprets=the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]] guideline
• |interprets=the [[Wikipedia:No original research]] and [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view]] policies
• |interprets=the [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]] policy and [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources]] guideline
• |interprets=Wikipedia:Reliable sources – this simpler syntax will automatically link to the page if it exists.

You can also use {{section link}} to produce better-looking links to page sections, e.g.: |interprets=the {{section link|Wikipedia:Article titles#Deciding on an article title}} policy, which renders as "the Wikipedia:Article titles  Deciding on an article title policy".

You can have up to 5 shortcuts displayed. The shortcut parameters can also be named as |shortcut= or |shortcut1=, |shortcut2= ... |shortcut5=.

You can also use |cat= or |category= to specify a more specific category than the default Category:Wikipedia essays or (in userspace) Category:User essays. It can be done with or without "Category:"

• |cat=Wikipedia essays on consensus
• |category=Category:Wikipedia essays on consensus
• |category=User essays on style‎
• |cat=Category:User essays on style‎

Userspace essays should remain categorized in Category:User essays or one of its subcategories with this template.

Essays are sorted by their page name, or in userspace by subpage name.

If you want to use a different category sort, you can specify an entire category link with a sort key:

• |cat=[[Category:User essays on style|Comprise, Use of]]‎

Additional categories (and sort keys) are added at the bottom of the essay page, as at any other page. User essays can be additionally categorized in topical subcategories of Category:Wikipedia essays in this way.

Display

• {{essay|WP:SHORTCUT1|WP:SHORTCUT2|interprets=the [[Wikipedia:Consensus|Consensus]] and [[Wikipedia:Ignore all rules|Ignore all rules]] policies}} becomes:

Variant templates

To place essays in appropriate sub-categories by subject, you can use:

• {{Behavioral essay}}

• {{Civility essay}}

• {{Deletion essay}}

• {{Notability essay}}

• {{Template essay}}

• {{Orphaned essay}}

• {{Essay in development}}

The following templates are available to WikiProjects for clarifying the distinction between WikiProject guidance and other essays and information pages:

• {{WikiProject content advice}}

• {{WikiProject notability advice}}

• {{WikiProject style advice}}

See also

Alternatives

• {{Information page}} – the banner template for pages that are more just informational and non-opinionated like WP:GOV.
• {{Wikipedia how-to}} – the banner template for pages that are more directly instructional and non-opinionated like H:EDIT.
• {{Supplement|interprets=}} – to tag a well-established page that adds something to a policy or guideline, to make up for a deficiency, and when it is referenced in the guideline or policy; e.g.: WP:BRD.
• Wikipedia:Template index/Wikipedia namespace – for more examples of related templates.

Article notice

• {{Essay-like}} – designed for the main namespace, not "Wikipedia:" namespace; use if an article reads like an essay.

Talk pages

• {{WikiProject Essays}} – for talk pages of essays.

Data

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikipedia essays/Assessment/Links – list of essays sorted by impact score]]