Cite – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cite – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia ads “cite this article.” Time for a rant: as a former University teacher, this is (to me) like Us Magazine putting a “citation” page in to help you cite it for the real news on a celebrity. Most professors FAIL students who cite Wikipedia, because it is not a primary source and subject to community editing, and therefore under too much flux to be valid as a primary citation. Wikipedia adding this is a desperate attempt for legitimacy, when what Wikipedia’s best function is, IMHO, is as an aggregate summary of other primary sources that you should look up. Its like a big meta card catalog. So you college students: DO NOT CITE WIKIPEDIA. It will hurt your grade.
They’ve had the “Cite This” option for a while now.
A very personal experience with Wikipedia…
Via Blackrimglass.com, I found that Wikipedia actually has a page that teach people how to cite them. They even provide you with bibliographic details! I am very surprised that they have it, since Wikipedia is not considered to be an appropriate acad…