Sample Article Structure

The purpose of this document is to provide a guideline and suggestions as to how an article in MRT SIG Wiki should be structured and written. The following provides suggested "chapter" headings, with a brief description of what should be included.

The structure of the article may change based on its purpose. For example, an explanation of something may not require any sectioning as done below, but instead may require sections to describe alternatives or substitutions. And subheadings are going to be needed in most of the articles. So feel free to use as many sub-chapter headings as needed.

Guidelines on how to write the article are of course extremely subjective. But for the most part, the following should be attempted:

• Be concise; discuss only the main issues of the article as a whole, being more focused in each chapter or subchapter.
• Be clear; don't use words or acronyms without explaning them.
• Be complete; cover all the relevant issues regarding this topic, but don't get too verbose. Include pictures/videos. But remember to be consise.
• Be correct. I know you are, but check your work for typos, links to other references that don't work, missing references and links.

Note the Table Of Contents on this page, up and to the right. It is probably a good thing to include. To do that, just include a line at the very top of your article like this:
{{rtoc}}
Note that it must be to the far left of the line.

It is also a good idea to include your article in one or more categories of related articles. To include it in a category of the MRT SIG Wiki, include a line of the following form:
[[Category:Article Category]]
somewhere in your article (I prefer the top, right after the {{rtoc}}, but the Wiki help files prefer the bottom, but it can go virtually anywhere, on a separate line) where you supply the "Article Category". If the category doesn't exist, that's OK. Just let the MRT SIG Chair know, and s/he will take care of it.

Synopsis:

Describe what this article is about. Obvious, right? This article may describe a particular product. Or provide the steps in performing a specific task. Or provide an explanation of something.

Product or Item Description:

This may be all that is needed for a particular item. But there may be other products that are similar or related to this product. Put references in here to those. If what you are writing is a "how-to", then this should describe the end result, to include its physical appearance and expected usage and function.

Materials Needed:

For performing a task, such as building a house, laying out track, putting features (ponds, roads, forests, people) in the layout, creating control items (switches, RR crossing gates, sensors to light buildings or active other things). List the materials, and the tools. Provide alternatives if possible and appropriate.

Steps:

List the steps needed to perform the task in a logical manner. Ya, I know you will. This is pretty obvious.

● Bullet list of steps for actions that can be done in any order.

1. Numbered steps for actions that must be done in a specific order.

Include pictures and videos where possible and appropriate.

Uses and Alternatives:

Describe where the product or item might be used and what alternatives there are to using it. You might include a list of pros and cons to using the product or its alternatives.

Cautions:

Identify uses to which the product should NOT be applied. Identify things that should be done, or not, to protect or preserve the product. Identify things that should be done when making or using the product, or materials used in making the end product, such as environmental conditions (eg., use a fan, do it outdoors, wear mask or googles) or special materials to use or avoid (eg., certain filaments or resins for specific 3D printers).

References and Additional Info:

There is a way to create a list of references made throughout your article and have it presented here. See the Wiki Usage and Editing page for an explanation of how to do this.