How to Avoid Using Personal Reference on wikiHow
Have you noticed an article tagged with a template that states “This article contains personal references?” Review this procedure to have a better understanding:
[edit] Steps
- Recognize personal or subjective reference as “I, me, my, mine, we, our or us.”
- Understand that personal reference is not suitable within a wikiHow article, because it refers to the author or editor. WikiHow articles need to address the “reader’s” thoughts and actions as they proceed through a set of instructions.
- Utilize objective words such as “you or your” to address the reader.
- Understand that personal reference will be removed by other editors. Some articles may be “Nominated for Deletion” if subjective reference cannot be easily removed from the context of the article.
- Do not reveal your name as an author within a wikiHow article. The initial author and subsequent editors are listed at the bottom of every article. You must be a registered user for your name to appear with the others. It would be inappropriate for “Written by Jane Doe” to be used within a wikiHow article.
- Do not include your email address within an article. Personal promotion is “only” acceptable within your "User" pages.
[edit] Examples of Personal Reference Use
| Instead of... | Consider... |
|---|---|
| "Hi, my name is Jane and I will teach you how to bake a chocolate cake." | "This article will teach you how to bake a chocolate cake." |
| "I've studied martial arts for 20 years, so you can count on me." | (Delete the statement entirely. This is extraneous information.) |
| "I recommend using butter, as margarine doesn't give it quite the right consistency." | "Consider using butter in place of margarine, as it gives it a better consistency." |
| "If you have any questions, you can e-mail me at john@doe.com." | (This is irrelevant information that should be deleted.) |
| "Be careful when working with hot liquids. Trust me—I know." | "Be careful when working with hot liquids." |
