Wookieepedia:Manual of Style



We here at Wookieepedia like things to be uniform and everything, so this Manual of Style is here to set things straight.

For information on the most basic writing techniques and styles, which are used here, see Wikipedia's Manual of Style.

Below are some basic Star Wars formatting do's and don't's.

In-universe
All in-universe articles should be structured as follows:
 * 1) Title/Eras/Infobox
 * 2) Main article
 * 3) Stub
 * 4) Behind the scenes (notice the capitalization)
 * 5) Appearances
 * 6) Sources
 * 7) Succession box
 * 8) Notes and references
 * 9) See also
 * 10) External links
 * 11) Category
 * 12) Interwiki links

For more details as to what each section of an article should contain, see the Layout Guide. Please note that not all articles use every section.

OOU articles on reference works
All out-of-universe articles on books, comics, etc. should generally be structured as follows. This list is typically more flexible than main articles.
 * 1) Title/Eras/Infobox
 * 2) Introduction
 * 3) Stub
 * 4) Editions
 * 5) Publisher's summary
 * 6) Plot summary
 * 7) Excerpts
 * 8) Appearances
 * 9) Behind the scenes
 * 10) Cover gallery
 * 11) Succession box
 * 12) Notes and references
 * 13) See also
 * 14) External links
 * 15) Category
 * 16) Interwiki links

List for "Appearances"
Use App for the list of characters, creatures, etc. under the "Appearances" heading. If an official "Dramatis Personae" is provided, substitute  and   for the current   parameter. For additional subsections such as "Languages", use  under. See the usage notes on Template:App for more information.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/"Characters" or "Dramatis personae"?, Forum:CT Archive/New continuity section, Forum:CT Archive/Characters to Individuals (Again?), Forum:CT Archive/Appearances lists and Forum:CT Archive/Appearances revamp project.

Naming articles
There are some rules regarding how articles on Wookieepedia should be named.
 * Article names should be in singular form, not plural.
 * The titles of articles about individual characters should be the name by which the character was most commonly known in the the Star Wars universe, with later names preferred to earlier names, and full names preferred to partial names or nicknames. Titles, such as military ranks or titles of nobility, should be omitted.
 * Darth is a special, agreed-on exception. The Darth title is not omitted from Sith Lord names.
 * Unless the name of the article contains (or is) a proper noun, none of the words should be capitalized.
 * For articles without a known canonical name, use "unidentified" with no category piping.
 * Example: "Unidentified Blue Blob" as the title and for the category. The title starts with "unidentified," and the lack of piping in the category means, by default, it is categorized under "U" in the "Blobs" category.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Unnamed, unknown, nameless


 * For source books with an edition, use a comma to separate the edition where it is part of the formal title. Use parenthesis only if it is not literally a part of the book's title.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/How to name publication edition, redux

For more details, see the naming conventions (in development; in case of contradictions, regulations of this Manual of Style apply), and the archived Consensus track discussions on article naming conventions.

The name of the article should be bolded in its first usage in an intro, as should any alternate names mentioned in the intro. These bolded titles should not have links within them.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Links in in-article titles

Using the #
Do not use the # in a link unless you intend to direct to a section of that article with the title after the # as a section. When linking to articles, particular books and guides with numbers denoting their order, omit the # and simply put the number. Otherwise the software will look for that number as a section title on the page.

e.g. Star Wars Adventure Journal 4, not Star Wars Adventure Journal 

You can use piped links to account for this. For example,  would give you Star Wars Adventure Journal #4.

In-universe
If something is in-universe, or is described as such, it belongs to the Star Wars universe exclusively and not to the real world. Characters, for example, are in-universe, but the actors who play them are out-of-universe. Another example is that the correspondent in-universe term for the English language is Galactic Basic, which is the common language in Star Wars. Pseudohistory is an integral part of in-universe treatment of canon material.

The only section where out-of-universe information is appropriate is the "Behind the scenes" section and its subsections of an in-universe article. See below for more details.

Out-of-universe
Out-of-Universe refers to the perspective in which an article is written; it is the opposite of in-universe. Something written from an out-of-universe (OOU) perspective is written from a real life point of view. It will refer, for example, to real life publications, actors, authors, events, and so on, acknowledging that its subject is fictional. In contrast, an in-universe perspective will strive for verisimilitude; that is, it will be written as though the author existed within the Star Wars universe. Articles about any in-universe things, such as characters, vehicles, terminology, or species, should always be written from an in universe perspective. If a section in the article is not, such as the listing of a character's published appearances or behind the scenes details, it should be tagged as such. In contrast, articles about books, movies, games, or other real-life Star Wars material should obviously be written from an out-of-universe perspective, but should still be noted as such. Basically, in-universe articles should never refer to Star Wars by name, or any other real life things such as publications, actors, or the like.

This is similar to wookification.

Headings
Use the  (heading) markup for headings, not the   (bold) markup. Example:



which produces:


 * This is a heading 

If you mark headings this way, a table of contents is automatically generated from the headings in an article. Sections can be automatically numbered for users with that preference set and words within properly marked headings are given greater weight in searches. Headings also help readers by breaking up the text and outlining the article.


 * Capitalize the first letter only of the first word and of any proper nouns in a heading, and leave all of the other letters in lower case.
 * Avoid links within headings.
 * Avoid overuse of sub-headings.

Usage and spelling
Though the readers and editors of Wookieepedia speak many varieties of English, we mandate standard American English spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word usage. This is the variety of English used in the first printings of most primary sources.

If a word has two acceptable variants in American English, the one that is considered "more American" is to be used. Such example is the spelling of judgement as judgment. The only exception of this rule is the spelling of words ending in -ogue: while dialog is an acceptable version of dialogue, the latter is preferred.

If the title of an article differs in different varieties of English, the American title should be the article title, with alternate names being used as redirects (for example, Lightsabre redirects to Lightsaber).

If a source's title is in British English, it must not be converted into American English. The Travelling Jindas must always be referred to as such. Also, if a direct quotation from a British source has a word which is spelled differently in American English, the original British spelling must be preserved. However, a [sic] sign may be put after the word.

Tense
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

- Star Wars films

All in-universe articles should be in past tense, per the quote above.

The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, the articles on Wookieepedia are presented as historical recordings that have been pieced together from scraps of information left over from the Star Wars era. As such, all details pertaining to this history have not yet been uncovered, and more information may be added at a later date. Keeping articles written in past tense provides consistency and flavor. Secondly, the Star Wars universe takes place a long, long time ago, in the past (at least compared to the time the narrative is set in). Writing in-universe articles in past tense properly relates the timeline of that universe with our own perspective.

Despite this, do not include phrases like "his ultimate fate is unknown" or "what happened to the ship after that is a mystery."

Galaxy, sector and system
When the galaxy is linked to, it not to be capitalized. Similarly, when we name systems and sectors, and when we link to them, the words "system" and "sector" should remain in lower case, unless canon dictates otherwise (e.g. Corporate Sector).

Examples: Corellian sector and Corellian system


 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Capitalizing "galaxy" - arguments against, and request for revote
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Capitalizing "sector"

Jedi and Sith
The words "Jedi" and "Sith" must always be capitalized. "Jedi" and "Sith" are metonymies that refer to "a member of the Jedi Order" and "a member of the Sith Order," respectively.

The Force
While "the Force" is a proper noun and therefore must be capitalized, the light and dark sides of the Force are not capitalized in the vast majority of official sources. Therefore, they must not be capitalized on Wookieepedia. For example: "Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side," not "...to the Dark Side."

Please note that this does not apply if force refers to any other meanings of the word: A strike force of stormtroopers entered the system, not A strike Force...

Rebel and Imperial
If these adjectives refer to the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, they should always be capitalized. "Mon Calamari supported the Rebel cause" and "The Imperial base on Kejim was..."

However, note that if the referent of these forms are not either of these organizations, there is no reason to capitalize: "The galaxy was in turmoil by a series of rebellions and civil wars."

Human and other sentient species
In all sections of in-universe articles, the words "Human" and "Near-Human" should be capitalized, just as the name of any other sentient species (Twi'lek, Rodian, Wookiee) in the Star Wars universe would be. The word "humanoid," however, should not be capitalized.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Capitalization of Human, and Forum:CT Archive/Capitalizing "human" -- some more details

Please note that semi-sentient or nonsentient creature names must not be in capitals unless dictated otherwise by canon. Hence, writing "Rancor" instead of "rancor" is agrammatical. As much as we don't capitalize "Dog" or "Cat" in real-life, we shouldn't capitalize fictional creature names.

Ranks and titles
A rank's name is not to be capitalized if it refers to the rank, not a person. "Ackbar was a well-known admiral." or "As a captain, he had many responsibilities."

However, if the word refers to a person, it should be in capitals. "As an experienced leader, Admiral Ackbar..." or "He never liked telling jokes to the Admiral."

There are some ranks the name of which should always be capitalized, no matter the semantics. Such titles are Padawan, Vice Admiral, Flight Leader, and so on.

Class and ship names
Names of specific spaceships should be:
 * Capitalized
 * Italicized
 * Referred to by neutral pronouns (it, its)


 * e.g.
 * "The Chimaera was a Star Destroyer. Its commanding officer was Captain Pellaeon."

The use of the definite article should follow the most common use for that ship in canonical sources.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/"The" in front of ship names - another vote and Forum:CT Archive/"the" ship names

Class names are italicized only when a spaceship in the class bears the same name. The definite article may be used, but it is not required.
 * When a ship's class is a modifier, use a hyphen:
 * "Quasar Fire-class bulk cruiser"


 * When it is a noun, do not use a hyphen:
 * "Ships of the Victory class were often overlooked"


 * e.g.
 * An Executor-class Star Dreadnought

Do not italicize a class name when:
 * Using the class name and type, but without "-class"
 * "Venator Star Destroyer"


 * It is being used alone as a noun
 * "Most models of the Broadside were lightly armored and ran with a small crew."

Starfighter, missile, and other craft types where a specific spaceship does not bear the class name should be
 * Capitalized
 * Un-italicized
 * Preceded by the full technical designation in the first instance, and may be referred to solely by type name or common name in all succeeding instances.
 * Referred to with neuter pronouns (it)


 * e.g.
 * The T-65 X-wing, or X-wing in all further instances

Apostrophes and possessives ending in "s"
While plural nouns ending in "s" should be made possessive by adding only an apostrophe, singular nouns ending in "s" can be made possessive by adding either an apostrophe followed by another "s" or simply an apostrophe, providing each article is consistent throughout. Users are encouraged, but not required, to use only an s' for possessive nouns ending in a Z-sound. For example, while discussing the armor of multiple Mandalorians, one would write "Mandalorians' armor"; but while discussing the armor of Darth Nihilus, one could write "Nihilus's armor" or "Nihilus' armor."


 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Punctuation and Forum:CT Archive/Re-evaluating the S apostrophe issue

Quotations
Quotations should follow this general format:
 * If the quote is less than a paragraph long, simply including it in the article's body with "quotation marks" will suffice.
 * If the quote is at least a paragraph in length, or a dialogue, insert as a block quote:


 * "Block quotes are indented with a colon at the beginning of each new paragraph. Each paragraph needs only one colon, not a new colon for each line (word wrap will accomplish this automatically).


 * New paragraphs, however, do require their own colon."

Please be sure to provide as much information as possible (for instance: source, page if applicable, and characters speaking if applicable).


 * Users should not correct the capitalization, spelling, grammar, or word usage within direct quotes taken from copyrighted sources as such modifications jeopardize our Fair use claim on that material. Article quotes ought to be verbatim and any changes, edits, or exclusions should be explicitly noted by using square brackets ("[ ]"). Any errors made by the author may be noted by using "[sic]." This includes words such as Human, which the community has decided to capitalize in all other contexts, and the word galaxy, which is to be de-capitalized in all other contexts.
 * However, the community has decided that quotes taken from comics should not mimic emphasized boldfaced wording. Instead, only italics are to be used for emphasis.
 * Quotes that serve as introductions to article subsections should not contain internal links because they appear unprofessional and are generally distracting. The only exception to this rule would be in-universe words or phrases of an obscure nature (ie. blue milk).
 * Redundant internal links should not be added to quotes because they serve little purpose beyond making the quotes appear cluttered and messy. Links should only be added to quotes if they contain a specific article's ONLY mention of a particular concept, but even then, it is better to integrate the internal link into the body of the article's text.
 * Piped links should be avoided as much as possible. If the context of the quote is not readily apparent, it is best to add appropriate information to the quote attribution field of the quote template rather than adding piped links to ambiguous pronouns such as "you," "he," or "they."
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Quotes

Per standards of American English, double quotation marks (" ") should be used and the period (full stop), comma, question and exclamation marks should be within the quotation.

Single quotation marks (' ') should only be used when there is a quotation inside a quotation: "I never liked 'May the Force be with you.'"

A quote used in a Wookieepedia article should only include:
 * 1) Text that is presented within actual quotation marks, or otherwise clearly marked as spoken dialogue.
 * 2) Text that is clearly presented within the confines of someone's memoirs, journal, or diary. This includes in-universe written works, such as catalogs, news reports, historical chronicles, government documents, personnel dossiers, and the like.
 * A quote is NOT:


 * 1) Narrative prose that is not actual spoken dialogue or a character's personal memoirs, journal, or diary. This means that thoughts are not considered quotable material.


 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Making an official policy for "What a Quote is" and Forum:CT Archive/Quote policy addendum

Examples
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
 * Single speaker

- Han Solo, to Luke Skywalker

"I prefer more straightforward methods.''" "''Master of understatement."
 * Two speakers

- Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi


 * For more than two speakers, dialogue templates can be used.
 * → See Forum:CT Archive/Quotations

Units of measurement
For consistency, all in-universe articles should use metric units of weight, mass, length, and other measurements. This follows the practice in most sources of official Star Wars canon. (See also List of measurement units.)