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{{Short description|Page describing essays as used on Wikipedia}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{redirect|WP:ESSAY|the Wikipedia policy on personal essays as articles|WP:NOTESSAY|the WikiProject on Wikipedia essays|WP:WikiProject Essays}}
{{Supplement|shortcut=WP:ESSAY |shortcut2=WP:ESSAYS|interprets=[[Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines#Essays|policy on essays]]}}
{{Essay list}}
'''Essays''', as used by Wikipedia editors typically contain advice or opinions of one or more [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians|editors]]. The purpose of an essay is to aid or comment on the encyclopedia but not on any [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not|unrelated causes]]. Essays have no official status, and do not speak for the [[Wikipedia community]] as they may be created and edited without overall community oversight. Following the instructions or advice given in an essay is optional. Generally soft advice belongs in an essay, thus [[Wikipedia:Avoid instruction creep|avoiding instruction creep]] in Wikipedia's official protocols. There are currently [[Wikipedia:Essay directory|about 2,000 essays]] on a wide range of Wikipedia-related topics.
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==About essays==
Although essays are not [[WP:Policy|policies or guidelines]], many are worthy of consideration. Policies and guidelines cannot cover all circumstances. Consequently, many essays serve as interpretations of or commentary on perceived community norms for specific topics and situations. [[Wikipedia:The value of essays|The value of an essay]] should be understood in context, using [[WP:COMMONSENSE|common sense]] and [[Wikipedia:The rules are principles|discretion]]. Essays can be written by anyone and can be long monologues or short theses, serious or humorous. Essays may represent widespread norms or minority viewpoints. An essay, as well as being useful, can potentially be a [[Wikipedia:Gaming the system#FORCEDINTERPRET|divisive means of espousing a point of view]]. Although an essay should not be used to create an alternative rule set, the Wikipedia community has historically tolerated a wide range of Wikipedia related subjects and viewpoints on [[Wikipedia:User pages|user pages]].

[[Wikipedia:The difference between policies, guidelines and essays|The difference between policies, guidelines, and some essays]] on Wikipedia may be obscure. Essays vary in popularity and how much they are followed and referred to. Editors should defer to official policies or guidelines when essays, [[WP:HOWTOPAGES|information pages]] or [[WP:TDOC|template documentation pages]] are inconsistent with established [[Wikipedia:Expectations and norms of the Wikipedia community|community standards and principles]].

Avoid [[Wikipedia:Don't cite essays or proposals as if they were policy|"quoting" essays as though they are policy]]—including this explanatory supplement page. Essays, information pages and template documentation pages can be written without much—if any—debate, as opposed to Wikipedia policies that have been [[WP:PROPOSAL|thoroughly vetted by the community]] (see [[WP:Local consensus]] for details). In Wikipedia discussions, [[Wikipedia:Quote your own essay|editors may refer to essays]], provided that they do not hold them out as [[WP:Consensus|consensus]] or policy. [[WP:PROPOSAL|Proposals for new guidelines and policies]] require discussion and a [[WP:CONLEVEL|high level of consensus]] from the entire community for promotion. See [[Wikipedia:How to contribute to Wikipedia guidance]] and [[Wikipedia:Policy writing is hard]] for more information.

Essays are located in the ''[[Wikipedia:Namespace|Wikipedia namespace]]'' (e.g., [[Wikipedia:Reasonability rule]]) and in ''[[Wikipedia:User pages|User namespaces]]'' (e.g., [[User:Jimbo Wales/Statement of principles]]). The ''[[WP:Help namespace|Help namespace]]'' contains pages which provide factual (usually technical) information on using Wikipedia and its software (see [[#How to and information pages|below]]). The {{tl|Essay}}-family templates (with several variants like {{tl|Notability essay}} and {{tl|WikiProject advice}}), versus the {{tl|Guideline}} (and variants, like {{tl|MoS guideline}}) and {{tl|Policy}} templates give an indication of a page's status within the community. Some essays at one time were proposed policies or guidelines, but they could not gain consensus overall; as indicated by the template {{Tl|Failed proposal}}. Other essays that at one time had consensus, but are no longer relevant, are tagged with the template {{Tl|Historical}}. Essays currently nominated for policy status are indicated by the banner {{tl|Proposed}}. See [[Wikipedia:Template messages/Wikipedia namespace]] for a listing of namespace banners.

==Types of essays==
=== Wikipedia namespace essays===
{{see|Wikipedia:Project namespace#Essay pages}}
Essays in the Wikipedia namespace – which are {{em|never}} to be put in the main (encyclopedia article) namespace – typically address some aspect of working in Wikipedia. They have not been formally adopted as guidelines or policies by the community at large, but typically edited by the community. Some are widely accepted as part of the Wikipedia gestalt, and have a significant degree of influence during discussions (like "guideline supplements" [[WP:Tendentious editing]], [[WP:Bold, revert, discuss cycle]], and [[WP:Competence is required]]).

Many essays, however, are obscure, single-author pieces. Essays may be [[WP:Userfication|moved into userspace]] as user essays {{see below}}, or even [[WP:PRJDEL|deleted]], if they are found to be problematic.<ref>Miscellany for deletion ([[WP:MFD]]) is one process that can be used by Wikipedians to decide what should be done with problematic pages in the namespaces which aren't covered by other specialized deletion discussion areas. Items sent here are usually discussed for seven days; then they are either deleted by an administrator or kept (sometimes with modifications, which may include moving or merging), based on community consensus as evident from the discussion, consistent with policy, and with careful judgment of the rough consensus if required. Pages which are not specifically being posted for deletion can also be moved through the requested moves ([[WP:RM]]) process.</ref> Occasionally, even longstanding, community-edited essays may be removed or radically revised if community norms shift.<ref>Two examples are "WP:Don't be a dick" and "WP:Don't feed the divas", replaced by the heavily revised [[WP:Don't be a jerk]] and [[WP:Don't be high-maintenance]], respectively, after too many [[Wikipedia:Civility#Incivility|incivility]] complaints. Conversely, an attempt to replace the rather stern [[WP:Give 'em enough rope]] with a much more mild-toned "WP:Let the tiger show its stripes" was rejected by consensus, and the latter eventually deleted as redundant. Some essays, like [[WP:Advice for hotheads]], are intentionally written with such history in mind, and are worded to not offend and to advise against using them in attempts to offend.</ref>
{{See also|:Category:Wikipedia essays}}
{{See also|:Category:High-impact WikiProject Wikipedia essays pages}}
===== How to and information pages=====
{{see|Wikipedia:Information pages}}
Wikipedia's [[WP:HOWTOPAGES|how-to and information pages]] are typically edited by the community and can also be found in the [[Wikipedia:Help namespace|help namespace]]. They generally provide technical and factual information about Wikipedia or supplement guidelines and policies in greater detail. Where "essay pages" often offer advice or opinions through viewpoints, information pages are intended to clarity and explain current community practices in an impartial way (e.g., [[Wikipedia:Administration]]).

{{See also|:Category:Wikipedia information pages|:Category:Wikipedia how-to}}

====WikiProject advice pages ====
{{see|Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Guide#Advice pages}}
[[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProjects]] are groups of editors who like working together. [[Wikipedia:Advice pages|Advice pages]] written by these groups are formally considered the same as pages written by anyone else, that is, they are essays unless and until they have been formally adopted as community-wide guidelines or policies. WikiProjects are encouraged to write essays explaining how the community's policies and guidelines should be applied to their areas of interest and expertise (e.g., [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Bibliographies#Recommended structure]]).
{{See also|:Category:WikiProjects}}

=== User essays===
{{see|Wikipedia:User pages}}
{{shortcut|WP:USERESSAY}}
According to [[WP:POLICIES|Wikipedia policy]], "Essays that the author does not want others to edit, or that are found to contradict widespread consensus, belong in the [[Wikipedia:User pages|user namespace]]." These are similar to essays placed in the Wikipedia namespace; however, they are often authored/edited by only one person, and may represent a strictly personal viewpoint about Wikipedia or its processes (e.g., [[User:Jehochman/Responding to rudeness]]). Some of them are widely respected by other editors, and even occasionally have an effect on policy (e.g., the [[WP:General notability guideline]] originated in a user essay). Writings that contradict policy are somewhat tolerated within the User namespace. The author of a personal essay located in their user space has [[WP:UP#OWN|the prerogative to revert]] any changes made to it by any other user, within reason. [[WP:POLEMIC|Polemics]] against particular people, or [[WP:NOTHERE|against Wikipedia itself]], are generally just deleted, as unconstructive or [[WP:Disruptive editing|disruptive]].
{{See also|:Category:User essays}}

=== Historical essays===
The Wikimedia Foundation's [[meta:|Meta-wiki]] was envisioned as the original place for editors to comment on and discuss Wikipedia, although the "Wikipedia" project space has since taken over most of that role. Many historical essays can still be found at [[Wikipedia:Meta|Meta.Wikimedia.org]].
{{See also|:Meta:Category:Essays}}

==Creation and modification of essays==
{{main|Wikipedia:Wikipedia essays}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:Project namespace#Creating new project pages|Wikipedia:Project namespace#Deletion of project pages|Wikipedia:Content forking/Internal#Essay forks}}
Before creating an essay, it is a good idea to check if similar essays already exist. Although there is no guideline or policy that explicitly prohibits it, [[Wikipedia:Avoid writing redundant essays|writing redundant essays is discouraged]]. Avoid creating essays [[Wikipedia:Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point|just to prove a point]] or [[Wikipedia:Gaming the system|game the system]]. Essays that violate one or more Wikipedia policies, such as [[WP:SPAM|spam]], [[WP:ATTACK|personal attacks]], [[WP:COPYVIO|copyright violations]], or [[WP:NOT|what Wikipedia is not]] tend to get [[WP:MFD|deleted]] or [[WP:USERFY|transferred to user space]].

You do not have to have created an essay to improve it. If an essay already exists, [[Wikipedia:Be bold|you can add to, remove from, or modify it as you wish]], provided that you use good judgment. However, essays placed in the [[Wikipedia:User pages|User: namespace]] are often—though not always—meant to represent the viewpoint of one user only. You should usually not substantively edit someone else's user essay without permission. To be on the safe side, discuss any edits not covered by [[WP:REFACTOR|REFACTOR]] and [[WP:MINOR|MINOR]] before making them. If the original author is no longer active or available, seek consensus on the essay's talk page (other editors who have worked on the essay are likely to care about it), or just write a new one.

==Finding essays==
[[Wikipedia:Essay directory]] lists about 800 essays to allow searching for key words or terms with your browser. The gist of user-written essays can be found at [[Wikipedia:Essays in a nutshell]]. Essays can also be navigated via [[:Category:Wikipedia essays|categories]], the [[Template:Wikipedia essays|navigation template]] (as seen below), or [[Special:Search]] (as seen below; include the words "Wikipedia essays" with your other search-words).
<inputbox>
type=fulltext
width=35
namespaces=Wikipedia**
searchbuttonlabel= Search
bgcolor=white
break=no
placeholder= include the words "Wikipedia essays"
</inputbox>

==Data==
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikipedia essays/Assessment/Links|Wikipedia:list of essays sorted by score]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{Wikipedia essays}}
{{User essays}}

[[Category:Wikipedia essays]]

Wikipedia:Essays - Revision history

Tachyony: Imported page