Mathematical Wiki:Manual of Style

Because Mathematical Wiki is a fairly large wiki with many contributors, having an agreed upon style is important. While these guidelines may not apply in every case, they should be used as often as possible.


 * Pages should begin with an introduction to the subject matter at hand. Using the page antiderivative as an example, here is an example of an appropriate (above) and inappropriate (below) introduction. Also note how the first mention of the subject is in bold text by using boldtexthere.


 * An antiderivative, also called a primitive, as its name implies, is the opposite of a derivative in calculus.


 * What would happen if we did the opposite of taking a derivative? We would get an antiderivative.


 * Use links when applicable by typing text shown, or just link if they are the same.


 * Only add pages to the most specific categories possible, and do not "double add". For example, quadratic function should not be placed in Category:Mathematics, since it is already in Category:Algebra which is in the mathematics category. An exception to this rule is the use of a stub template.


 * Article titles should have only the first letter capitalized (unless there is proper noun of course, such as Stefan Banach).


 * Do not copy and paste articles from anywhere, including Wikipedia. If all of our content comes from elsewhere, there is no point to having a separate wiki. However, using images and problems from other sources is fine as long as they are correctly licensed.


 * Preferably, all mathematics should be displayed with LaTeX rather than regular text. For example,
 * $$V = \frac{4}{3} \pi r^3$$
 * is much better than
 * V = 4/3 π r3
 * When it is appropriate to mention a variable or formula in regular text, such as in a paragraph, it should be written in italics by typing italictexthere . For more information on LaTeX, see wp:Help:Displaying a formula.


 * Always use proper spelling and grammar. Please refrain from using first and second person pronouns, such as "I" and "you". For example,


 * If you want to find the quotient you divide the dividend by the divisor.


 * could be better stated as


 * The quotient is found by dividing the dividend by the divisor.


 * Another example of an inappropriate statement would be


 * That's how you take an indefinite integral. I'll write about how to take a definite integral soon.


 * Articles on this wiki are not yours, even if you wrote them, so refrain from writing sentences such as


 * Written by Bobby, age 17, grade 11.