Wikipedia:Lead dos and don'ts

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It is not a Wikipedia policy or guideline; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section It may reflect varying levels of consensus.

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WP:LEADDD WP:LEADDD

The lead, or introduction, is the most important text in any article.

To get the lead right, generally:

DO:
Identify the subject and why it's notable early.
Summarize the most important points of the article.
Provide context if necessary.
Bold the subject's full and alternate names on first use.
Use discretion when putting citations in the lead .
See style guidance for leads for more guidance.

DON'T:
Don't promote the subject or use peacock terms .
Don't clutter the first sentence with parenthetical material.
Don't include significant info that is not covered later .
Don't reiterate descriptive article titles awkwardly.
Don't put links in a bolded reiteration of the title.
Don't use teasers .

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Simple rule set - Simple style manual - Style tips - Wikitext cheatsheet

See also