It’s there – it’s the first thing you do when you need to learn about anything. You look it up on Wikipedia, or it’s the first thing Google turns out.

You need information. You find the information on Wikipedia. You do it when you are curious about some small idea in the middle of the night, when you are trying to win an argument, etc. It’s the first stop for all answers to things we don’t know.

But you really can’t cite Wikipedia.

At least, if you have an assignment that requires four authoritative sources, Wikipedia isn’t one of them. You are a college student. That requires a greater level of knowledge than whatever anyone with Google can find in 20 seconds. Find sources that involve vetting of the author and either a reasonable degree of objectivity or a stated and ethical bias.

Essentially, you need to do a bit more.

I attend quite a few seminars and workshops and other public speaking events. Sometimes I go for work, sometimes for professional development, and sometimes because I’m just interested. The best speeches (and the best articles, podcasts, documentaries, and personal testimonies) offer facts or insights that I can’t easily find by typing something into a search engine. They have something special to offer – some expertise that makes me trust them and makes it worth my time to listen.

When a speaker quotes Wikipedia, I lose some respect for them. They’re supposed to know more than I do. Why are they using the easiest possible source? Do they really know so little about this? Do they think I can’t understand more advanced information? Regardless, I don’t feel informed, challenged, or respected when that happens.

So don’t quote Wikipedia. Usually you shouldn’t quote the dictionary either (again, it’s too simple, often doesn’t fit the nuance of an advanced topic, and is also a pretty tired cliche. Go bigger!)

If you don’t know very much about something, go ahead and start your research with Wikipedia or the dictionary. Check if there have been articles in a high-quality newspaper or magazine. But then take the next step and find out where they got their information. Usually within a couple of links, you’ll find the original research or report. You can see the credentials of the researchers. You can see if the information was peer reviewed – if other professionals in the field sign their names to attest to the fact that the information was correct. Experts don’t get it right every time. But they usually do. And when they get it wrong, they usually (and should!) publish a retraction.

In the process of moving beyond Wikipedia, you are likely to encounter new and important insights – possibly taking your argument in an entirely different direction. This process gets easier with practice — you will be able to skim and read efficiently and optimize your notes.

You are a scholar. This makes you someone who has (or will soon have) above average understanding of some topic. Do better than Wikipedia. Do better than the dictionary.

I will freely admit that my first stop is Wikipedia. But that’s not where my work ends. It’s the first launching point to my deeper research.

I hope I have convinced you that there are good reasons that you should go beyond Wikipedia and leave it out of your Works Cited page. If I haven’t convinced you, how about this for a reason: most instructors hate it. It’s one of the things that is most likely to make an instructor roll their eyes. So even if it’s irrational, just trust me. Don’t quote Wikipedia. Don’t do it. Not ever. And if you think you’re creative and quirky enough to use it in my class to prove me wrong, just try it Buster. I promise I will not be impressed.

Don’t do it. Keep Wikipedia out of your academic papers. If you won’t do it for any other reason, please just do it for me.

Please leave a comment trying to convince me that you should be exempt from the “no Wikipedia” rule. Just give it a try. Get it out of your system now.
You might also be interested in another rant post about why you should never, ever pay for someone else to write your essays. Other posts to check out: “What is College For?” “Peer Editing: Guest Advice from an ‘Editee’” and a fan favorite “The Nun and the Rockstar: Lessons in Captivating an Audience”