We have all been told don’t use Wikipedia. It is not a trustworthy source. But is it accurate to say that we should never use Wikipedia? I will provide some answers to this question.

We have all had an experience where we know about a case study, fact or study that would be very valuable to our argument or claim and been unable to remember the basics of what happened. Wikipedia is great if you’re looking for a refresher on the basics of the incident or fact you’re trying to remember. This is important because, if you can’t name the basics of a key argument that will prove your point, it not only doesn’t help your argument but it weakens your argument. Wikipedia is also great for getting the general gist of what a historical figure did in their lifetime or a particular movement. Everyone has had the experience of receiving an assignment about a historical figure or movement that they have heard absolutely nothing about. Wikipedia is a good place to start. While Wikipedia can’t be trusted with specifics, it is great at briefly listing ways in which these movements and figures have impacted society. Wikipedia is also great for finding a lot of more credible sources. Wikipedia pages have sources listed on the bottom that people who edited the page used when searching to see that their information is accurate.

That being said, there are also instances where Wikipedia is not appropriate. If you need to cite anything, Wikipedia is not the site to use. Wikipedia is a nightmare to cite. Names can be hard to find. Some editors use usernames that give no hint of their real name. Other times, the editor made their username a random bunch of numbers that hasn’t been used yet. As a result, the credibility of the people who wrote or edited the article is nearly impossible to find. If you are lucky enough to find an editor that did use their real name, it still doesn’t mean that you can show that it is a credible source. In addition, failure to cite the correct Wikipedia citation, which is a very easy error to make, can mean that others don’t know where you got that idea from or if they can trust your idea. This is because another editor might have taken out the edit that gave you that idea. Any paper requiring an in-depth review of a historical figure or movement. Wikipedia editors are volunteers and they aren’t always the most knowledgeable source or get the details right. Some troublemakers attempt to sow chaos. Wikipedia editors do their best but incidents such as the time when someone wrote a whole article of senseless letters and claimed that it was written in ancient language can still happen. Also, if you’re not sure that a historical incident happened, don’t use Wikipedia. Again, Wikipedia tries its best but cases such as The Last Pirate, a fictional account of the last person to ever be a pirate, can still happen.