Merlin Wiki:Manual of Style

The Manual of Style is the official style guide for all articles on the Merlin Wiki. Its purpose is to outline the wiki's specific style so that editors can produce articles with consistent structure, language, layout, and formatting.

Writing Conventions

 * Please use British English, as it is the language and grammar adopted for the show.
 * Contents should be clear and easy to understand.
 * Only include information relevant to the article.
 * No speculation, only actual events.
 * Articles must be written in past tense.
 * Articles must be written from an In-Universe Perspective. For example, instead of writing "At the end of the episode, Merlin was seen riding away," you would write "After the aforementioned events, Merlin rode away."
 * This rule does not apply to real world articles such as Actor pages.

Linking

 * Articles should contain links where readers can navigate to related pages.
 * Linking is usually limited to the first mention of a subject's name in a section, excluding infoboxes, image captions, and quotes.
 * Episode titles should always be linked to a relevant page, no matter how many times they have been linked previously in a section.
 * If the link is within this wiki, input intended name . The "intended name" field is not required if it is the same name as the article name.
 * If the link is to a Wikipedia page, input intended name.
 * For any other external links, input [URL intended name] (e.g. [google.com Google]).

Formatting

 * When source editing, infoboxes must be placed at the top of the page, while navboxes, categories, and interwiki links must be placed at the bottom.
 * Bold the article's title (and its alternatives) at its first occurrence.
 * Use italics when referring to Merlin the show, not Merlin the character. Italics should also be adopted for episode titles, as well as the titles of books, songs, etc.
 * Quotes should be included at the lead section of an article and must be relevant to the article's subject. It is also acceptable to include them at the start of new subsections.
 * Article titles and headings should have the first word capitalized, along with every other word that isn't an article (e.g.: "the", "a/an", "and"). The same applies for categories and subpages.

Article Structure
This section specifies how each type of article should be structured. Each bullet point represents a header within the article.

Episodes

 * Synopsis
 * Plot
 * Cast
 * Gallery
 * Transcript
 * Release & Reception
 * Behind the Scenes
 * Production Errors
 * Trivia
 * References
 * See Also

Characters

 * Biography
 * Personality
 * Relationships
 * Abilities
 * Etymology
 * Near-Death Experiences
 * Trivia
 * Behind the Scenes
 * In the Legends
 * Memorable Quotes
 * Gallery

Locations

 * History
 * Known Residents
 * Appearances
 * Trivia
 * In the Legends
 * Gallery

Creatures

 * History
 * Description
 * Abilities
 * Weaknesses
 * Appearances
 * Trivia
 * Mythology
 * Gallery

Objects

 * History
 * Abilities
 * Appearances
 * Trivia
 * In the Legends
 * Gallery

Cast/Crew

 * Background
 * Filmography
 * Awards & Nominations
 * Trivia
 * Gallery

Article Illustration

 * Images used to illustrate articles must be either size 200px or 220px.
 * The images must follow a zigzag pattern (when one goes right, the next goes left).
 * Only one image per paragraph.
 * An image caption must be provided.
 * Images must be screencaps from actual episodes, not fan art (unless official).

Infoboxes

 * Images used to illustrate infoboxes must be size 250px or close. Make sure the image is of good quality and slots into the infobox nicely.
 * Images must be professional stills, by the BBC. Merlin's Keep is a good source of these.
 * The image must not be watermarked.
 * Use the most recent image possible for the character.

Categories

 * A category should consist of no more than three words.
 * It must follow a non-narrative form and contain no narrative-like characteristics. For example, something like "Enjoyed the coronation of Gwen" would be unacceptable.
 * A category should contain more than five pages. Any less makes the category irrelevant; it won't link to many pages and will hardly be seen.
 * When creating a new category, be careful that it isn't too similar to an already existing one. For example, "Sorcerer" and "Practitioner of Magic" are the same thing.

Transcripts

 * Transcripts should show what the characters said in an episode, not what you think should have been said.
 * Italics should be used when describing actions.
 * Avoid referencing other shows or using complex terms.