MTG Wiki:WikiProject Layout

This is a project to create a wiki-wide policy to standardize the layout of articles and the sections within them. The following is a proposal that attempts to provide a guide for organizing this layout. Please feel free to edit in your own amendments.

Order of article elements

A simple article should have, at least, (a) a lead section and (b) references. The following list includes additional standardized sections in an article. A complete article need not have all, or even most, of these elements.

1. Before the article content
   1. {{DISPLAYTITLE}} (lowercase title, italic title, etc.)
   2. Hatnotes
   3. Deletion / protection tags
   4. Maintenance, cleanup, and dispute tags
   5. Infoboxes
   6. Images
2. Article content
   1. Lead section (also called the introduction) — Good leads should summarize their article without directly copying article content, and should generally be between 50 and 300 words.
   2. Table of contents — Automatically generated if the article has three or more sections. {{TOCright}} should only be used when the TOC gets in the way of article content, and generally appears on disambiguation pages. {{TOC Left}} is rarely used when standard TOC placement collides with infoboxes, images, or other parts of an article. __NOTOC__ should only be used in articles with four or more sections that fit on a single page.
   3. Body (see below for specialized layout)
   4. Works or publications (for biographies only)
   5. See also
   6. Notes and references (this can be two sections in some citation systems)
   7. Further reading
   8. External links
3. End matter
   1. Navbox templates
   2. Categories
   3. Stub templates

Body sections

Articles longer than a stub are generally divided into sections, and sections over a certain length are generally divided into paragraphs: these divisions enhance the readability of the article. Recommended names and orders of section headings may vary by subject matter, although articles should still follow good organizational and writing principles regarding sections and paragraphs.

Headings and sections

Headings introduce sections and subsections, clarify articles by breaking up text, organize content, and populate the table of contents. Very short sections and subsections clutter an article with headings and inhibit the flow of the prose. Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheadings.

Headings follow a six-level hierarchy, starting at 1 and ending at 6. The level of the heading is defined by the number of equals signs on each side of the title. Heading 1 (= Heading 1 =) is automatically generated as the title of the article, and is never appropriate within the body of an article. Sections start at the second level (== Heading 2 ==), with subsections at the third level (=== Heading 3 ===), and additional levels of subsections at the fourth level (==== Heading 4 ====), fifth level, and sixth level. Sections should be consecutive, such that they do not skip levels from sections to sub-subsections; the exact methodology is part of the Accessibility guideline. Between sections, there should be a single blank line: multiple blank lines in the edit window create too much white space in the article. There is no need to include a blank line between a heading and sub-heading.

Section headings should generally follow the guidance for article titles, and should be presented in Wikipedia:sentence case (Funding of UNESCO projects in developing countries), not title case (Funding of UNESCO Projects in Developing Countries).

The heading must be on its own line, with one blank line just before it; a blank line just after is optional and ignored (but do not use two blank lines, before or after, because that will add unwanted visible space).

For technical reasons, section headings should:

• Be unique within a page, so that section links lead to the correct place.
• Not contain links, especially where only part of a heading is linked.
• Not contain images or icons.
• Not contain <math> markup.
• Not contain citations or footnotes.
• Not misuse description list markup (";") to create pseudo-headings.
• Not contain template transclusions.

caption=Emulation of types of colorblindness.

These technical restrictions are necessary to avoid technical complications and are not subject to override by local consensus.

As a matter of consistent style, section headings should:

• Not redundantly refer back to the subject of the article, e.g., use Early life, not Smith's early life or His early life.
• Not refer to a higher-level heading, unless doing so is shorter or clearer.
• Not be numbered or lettered as an outline.
• Not be phrased as a question, e.g., use Languages, not What languages are spoken in Mexico?.
• Not use color or unusual fonts that may cause accessibility problems.
• Not be wrapped in markup, which may break their display and cause other accessibility issues.

These are broadly accepted community preferences.

Section order

Because of the diversity of subjects it covers, the order of section headings within the body of an article may vary. The usual practice is to order body sections based on the precedent of similar articles. For exceptions, see Specialized layout below. In general, article sections follow the following order:

Character

• Description/Appearance and characteristics
• Biography ("History" is often used, but Biography is preferred)
  • Early life
  • Death
  • Legacy
• Behind the scenes (includes etymology, inspiration, design, and usage in popular culture)
• In other media
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Artifacts acquired
• Planeswalkers met
• Planes visited
• In-game references
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)
• Story appearances (section should be collapsed if it takes up most of a page or longer)
• Tokens (generally not included on character articles)

Artifact

• Etymology
• Description/Appearance and characteristics
• Background
• History
• Uses
• Behind the scenes (includes etymology, inspiration, design, and usage in popular culture)
• In other media
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)
• Story appearances (not used on most artifact pages, but should appear on story-relevant artifact. Section should be collapsed if it takes up most of a page or longer)

Location

• Description/Appearance/Architecture
• Background
• History
• Geography
• Government and Politics
  • Law
  • Military
• Economy
• Demographics
  • Languages
  • Religion
• Culture
  • Arts and crafts
  • Cuisine
  • Fashion
  • Holidays
  • Music/Media
  • Sports
• Ecology
  • Sapient races
  • Artificial
  • Wildlife
  • Plants
  • Non-native
• Behind the scenes (includes etymology, inspiration, design, and usage in popular culture)
• In other media
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Planeswalkers
  • Native
  • Visitors
  • Non-planeswalker visitors
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)

Event

• Etymology
• Background
• Overview
• Aftermath
• Behind the scenes (includes etymology, inspiration, design, and usage in popular culture)
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)

Creature type

• Etymology
• Description/Appearance
  • [By plane]
• Notable [type]
• Creature type updates
• Kindred type cards
• Typal theme
• Behind the scenes (includes etymology, inspiration, design, and usage in popular culture)
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)
• Tokens

Mechanic

• Description (current implementation of the mechanic)
  • Related terms
• History/Development (history of the mechanic's design, including inspiration or flavor. Can be merged with Description on pages where the two sections are short or significantly overlap)
• Rules
  • Rulings
• Examples
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)

Set

• Subtabs
  • Main set
  • Commander decks
  • Bonus sheet (if applicable)
  • Other product that are part of the main release (Starter Kit, Welcome decks, etc.: if applicable)
  • Card comparisons
    • Functional reprints
    • Strictly better
    • Strictly worse
  • Trivia
  • Art Series
• Product suite/Product details (for sets without multiple products)
  • Preconstructed decks
  • Universes Beyond collaboration(s)
  • Special Guests
  • Showcase and other variants
  • Tokens, emblems, and markers
• Themes and mechanics
  • Limited archetypes
  • Card types
    • Creature types
  • Counters
• Storyline (Short paragraph summarizing the main plot. Includes Story Spotlight cards and Storyline sources table, collapsed)
• Design and development
• Rules changes
• Marketing
  • Headliner
  • Events
  • Promotional cards (including box toppers, buy-a-box, and others)
• Cycles
  • Single cycles
  • Double cycles
  • Pairs
    • Mirrored pairs
    • Matched pairs
  • Vertical cycles
  • Mini-cycles
  • Mega-cycles
  • Mega-mega cycles
• Rarity changes
  • [Rarity descending] to [rarity descending]
  • First time foil
• Notable cards
  • Banned and restricted cards
  • Callbacks
  • Misprints
  • Reprints
• Reception (if notable)
• Gallery (images within the text of the article are preferred, but Gallery can be included if notable, informative, or otherwise relevant images don't fit in the prose)

Real-world work

• Description/Overview/Synopsis/Plot
• Development/Release (if notable)
• Reception (if notable)
• Trivia
• Gallery (featuring notable characters, locations, and events, but should not include an excessive number of entries)

Real-world person

• Biography
  • Early life
  • Career (for players: professional play, accomplishments; for designers: design and development contributions)
  • Personal life
  • Death/Death and legacy
• Works/List of works/Selected works
• Trivia (this section should be avoided when possible, with its contents added into the relevant section of the article)
• Gallery (Pick the images that best illustrate the subject, preferably fewer than ten)

Section templates and summary style

When a section is a summary of another article that provides a full exposition of the section, a link to the other article should appear immediately under the section heading. You can use the {{main}} template to generate a "Main article" link, in Wikipedia's "hatnote" style.

If one or more articles provide further information or additional details (rather than a full exposition, see above), links to such articles may be placed immediately after the section heading for that section, provided this does not duplicate a wikilink in the text. These additional links should be grouped along with the {{main}} template (if there is one), or at the foot of the section that introduces the material for which these templates provide additional information. You can use the following template to generate these links:

• {{see also}} — generates a "See also" link

Paragraphs

Sections usually consist of paragraphs of running prose, each dealing with a particular point or idea. Single-sentence paragraphs can inhibit the flow of the text; by the same token, long paragraphs become hard to read. Between paragraphs—as between sections—there should be only a single blank line. First lines are not indented.

Bullet points should not be used in the lead of an article. They may be used in the body to break up a mass of text, particularly if the topic requires significant effort to comprehend. Sometimes, it may be preferable to use bullet points instead of having a series of very short paragraphs. However, bulleted lists are typical in the reference, further reading, and external links sections towards the end of the article. Bullet points are usually not separated by blank lines, as that causes an accessibility issue.

Standard footers

Works or publications

Contents: A bulleted list, usually ordered chronologically, of the works created by the subject of the article.

Heading names: Many different headings are used, depending on the subject matter. "Works" is preferred when the list includes items that are not written publications (e.g. music, films, paintings, choreography, or architectural designs), or if multiple types of works are included. "Publications", "Discography" or "Filmography" are occasionally used where appropriate; however, "Bibliography" is discouraged because it is not clear whether it is limited to the works of the subject of the article. "Works" or "Publications" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item.

"See also" section

A "See also" section is a useful way to organize internal links to related or comparable articles and "build the web". However, the section itself is not required; many high-quality and comprehensive articles do not have one.

The section should be a bulleted list, sorted either logically (for example, by subject matter), chronologically, or alphabetically. Consider using {{columns-list}} or {{div col}} if the list is lengthy.

Contents: Links in this section should be relevant and limited to a reasonable number. Whether a link belongs in the "See also" section is ultimately a matter of editorial judgment and common sense. One purpose of "See also" links is to enable readers to explore tangentially related topics; however, articles linked should be related to the topic of the article or be in the same defining category. For example, the article on Wikipedia:Jesus might include a link to Wikipedia:List of people claimed to be Jesus because it is related to the subject but not otherwise linked in the article. The article on Wikipedia:Tacos might include Wikipedia:Fajita as another example of Mexican cuisine.

The "See also" section should not include red links, links to disambiguation pages (unless used in a disambiguation page for further disambiguation), or external links. As a general rule, the "See also" section should not repeat links that appear in the article's body.

Editors should provide a brief annotation when a link's relevance is not immediately apparent, when the meaning of the term may not be generally known, or when the term is ambiguous. For example:

• Jace Beleren — made a similar achievement on April 4, 2005
• Phyresis — restriction in blood supply

The "—" dash can be generated using {{-}}.

Heading name: The standardized name for this section is "See also".

Notes and references

Contents: This section, or series of sections, may contain any or all of the following:

1. In-game references (appears as a separate section above any other references)
2. Explanatory footnotes that give information which is too detailed or awkward to be in the body of the article
3. Citation footnotes (either short citations or full citations) that connect specific material in the article with specific sources
4. Full citations to sources, if short citations are used in the footnotes
5. General references (full bibliographic citations to sources that were consulted in writing the article but that are not explicitly connected to any specific material in the article)

Editors may use any citation method they choose, but it should be consistent within an article.

If there are both citation footnotes and explanatory footnotes, then they may be combined in a single section. General references and other full citations may similarly be either combined or separated (e.g. "References" and "General references"). There may therefore be one, two, three or four sections in all.

It is most common for only citation footnotes to be used, and therefore it is most common for only one section ("References") to be needed. Usually, if the sections are separated, then explanatory footnotes are listed first, short citations or other footnoted citations are next, and any full citations or general references are listed last. General references should be sorted logically (for example, by subject matter), chronologically, or alphabetically.

Heading names: Editors may use any reasonable section and subsection names that they choose. The most frequent choice is "References". Other options, in diminishing order of popularity, are "Notes", "Footnotes" or "Works cited", although these are more often used to distinguish between multiple end-matter sections or subsections.

If multiple sections are wanted, then some possibilities include:

• For a list of explanatory footnotes or shortened citation footnotes: "Notes", "Endnotes" or "Footnotes"
• For a list of full citations or general references: "References" or "Works cited"

The heading should be plural even if it lists only a single item.

Further reading

Contents: An optional bulleted list, usually alphabetized, of a reasonable number of publications that would help interested readers learn more about the article subject. Editors may include brief annotations. Publications listed in further reading are formatted in the same citation style used by the rest of the article. The Further reading section should not duplicate the content of the External links section, and should normally not duplicate the content of the References section, unless the References section is too long for a reader to use as part of a general reading list. This section is not intended as a repository for general references or full citations that were used to create the article content. Any links to external websites included under "Further reading" are subject to the guidelines described at Wikipedia:Wikipedia:External links.

External links

Contents: A bulleted list of recommended relevant websites, each accompanied by a short description. These hyperlinks should not appear in the article's body text, nor should links used as references normally be duplicated in this section. "External links" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item. Depending on the nature of the link contents, this section may be accompanied or replaced by a "Further reading" section.

Links to other wikis

Links to other wikis should be placed in the last section of the page, which is usually "External links". When possible, linking to fandom wikis should be avoided.

Navigation templates

An article may end with Navigation templates and footer navboxes, such as geography boxes (for example, {{dominaria}}).

Specialized layout

Stand-alone lists and talk pages have their own layout designs.

Formatting

Images

Each image should ideally be located in the section to which it is most relevant, and most should carry an explanatory caption. An image that would otherwise overwhelm the text space available within a 1024×768 window should generally be formatted as described in relevant formatting guidelines (e.g. Wikipedia:WP:IMAGESIZE, Wikipedia:MOS:IMGSIZE, Wikipedia:Help:Pictures#Panoramas). Try to harmonize the sizes of images on a given page in order to maintain visual coherence.

If "stacked" images in one section spill over into the next section at 1024×768 screen resolution, there may be too many images in that section. If an article overall has so many images that they lengthen the page beyond the length of the text itself, you can use a gallery. See Image galleries for further information on galleries.

Avoid article text referring to images as being to the left, right, above or below, because image placement varies with platform (especially mobile platforms) and screen size, and is meaningless to people using screen readers; instead, use captions to identify images.