User:Dude/Guide to Style

"Please set the record straight for me as a friend. :)"

- CWC

The CWCki Page Formatting Guide is here to help you format articles for great justice!

Introduction
Before we get into the TRUE and HONEST introduction, did you see what I did in that first line? Try to keep the opener to your article short--it's really tempting to blow your load at the top of the article, but be patient! Just give the reader a quick definition of the article title. Then, you can create a framework for the rest of the article using section headings. This will also help keep your table of contents where it belongs--at the top of the article.

The exception, of course, would be those articles which are destined to remain so short that they become *more* cumbersome when you try to hammer them into "sections." Use your best judgement!

Try to keep the introduction brief. Events leading up to the story at hand were probably explained well in other articles; take advantage of them, so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. If your article is about an event, give the basic facts that set up the context of the rest of your article. If it is about a thing or an idea, give the rationale for the article.

Quotes

 * See Also: CWCisms

Quotes are a great way to start an article! If you can, put one at the very top of the page. In really long articles, there may be more than one quotable moment&mdash; these can be good ways to break up the monotony of sections. When you find a particularly good one, put it immediately after a section heading. Try to pick the best, smallest quote you can: it's really easy to end up with a centered, quotationed text wall. Don't force it&mdash;sometimes there just isn't a good quote.

"Something pithy, that really distills the page!"

- Who Said It

Images
The best way to include an image is to use:

Why?


 * 1) Because keeping all of the images the same width, and on the same side of the page, keeps the page stay nice and clean.
 * 2) You won't have to piss around with float, border, or width settings.
 * 3) Your images will be formatted the same as every other (good) page on the CWCki.
 * 4) Your image won't overlap obnoxiously with text, section dividers, other images, etc.

In general, don't place images until you're past the table of contents (that is, start putting them in after your first section heading). If you're making a template and want it to match the defaults, the width of a standard thumbnail image is 180px, not counting the border and padding.

Other Sections
Make your article has a References section. Don't call it Sauces; this isn't 4-Chan. You might also include a See Also section, although "See Alsos" can be included with the relevant section headings (like the one I put in the Quotes section!).

If you want to know more about style (e.g., piping etiquette, formatting dates, etc.), see the guides listed at the end of this article.