Guidelines for Creating a Topic Page

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Topic Pages introduce a topic by providing relevant background information and peer-reviewed guidance that follows identified Best Practices Resources and are generally between 100 and 500 words in length. The purpose of these pages is not to document every formula and procedure relating to a topic, but rather to give an overview of the topic and point the user to best practices resources where the topic is addressed in a more comprehensive manner.

Where appropriate, headings should be included to organize and distinguish between subsections of a single topic page. If more than five subsections are needed to convey the information for a single topic page, the creation of new subtopic pages for each of the subsections should be considered. This will help keep topic pages concise and focused, thereby increasing the ability to link between subtopic pages and reducing the potential for redundancies in content.

Naming a New Topic Page

Care should be taken when naming a new topic page. Avoid simplistic titles or terms that can mean multiple things or apply to multiple disciplines. Rather, names of topic pages should be as specific as possible. For example, if creating a page about the design of relief wells, the page should be called "Design of Relief Wells." If it was simply called "Design", this generic page title may inadvertently auto-link to other pages on the website where the term "design" is used but a link to the very specific topic of relief wells is not appropriate.

Typical Topic Page Content

At a minimum, a topic page will include a page name/title and introductory text (e.g., a definition of a given term). A thoroughly developed topic page may include any and all of the following content:

1. Topic Page Title (see section above regarding the importance of naming a new topic page)
2. Breadcrumb Menu Navigation Links
   • Learn more about how to create breadcrumb menu navigation links
3. Introductory Paragraph (typically 100 to 500 words in length)
4. Pertinent Figures or Images (for demonstrative or aesthetic purposes)
   • Learn more about copyright law and the policies on using images on this site.
   • Learn how to use the picture template for inserting images into Topic Pages
5. Links to Related Subtopic Pages or Sections with Guidance on Related Subtopics (when content for related subtopics is limited).
   • Learn more about how to create internal and external links
6. List of Examples that illustrate the concepts explained in the previous section(s). These can be links to content on other websites such as ASDSO's DamFailures.org, news articles, videos, etc.
   • Learn how to create a new Example Page
7. List of Best Practices Resources that are applicable to the topic of interest.
   • Learn how to create a New Best Practices Resource Page
8. List of Trainings that are applicable to the topic such as webinars, presentations, etc. and consist of more than just cursory or introductory information on the topic (if applicable).
   • Click here for guidance on creating a new Training Page
9. List of Citations (if any) used in the previous sections. Click here for guidance on using the Citations Template.
   • Click here for guidance on using the Citations Template

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New Topic Page Template Code

<!-- Delete any sections that are not necessary to your topic. Add pictures/sections as needed -->

<!-- Remove Table of Contents from page -->
__NOTOC__

<!-- Add Category to drive breadcrumb menus -->
[[Category:<!-- Insert parent category here -->]]

<!-- Add link break between breadcrumbs and page content -->
----

<!-- Insert image using {{Picture}} template -->
{{Picture
<!-- Add image file name (ex.image.jpg) -->
|image=
<!--Add link if applicable -->
|link=
<!-- Add picture caption -->
|caption=
}}

<!-- Introductory paragraph or topic page summary -->
Paragraph text

== Heading Title ==
Paragraph text

== Examples ==
{{Website Icon}} <!-- Internal Link Format --> [[Page Name | Internal Link Text]]
{{Website Icon}} <!-- External Link Format --> [External-Link Displayed-Text]
{{Video Icon}} <!-- Internal Link Format --> [[Page Name | Internal Link Text]]
{{Video Icon}} <!-- External Link Format --> [External-Link Displayed-Text]

== Best Practices Resources ==
{{Document Icon}} [[Page Name | Title, Author, Publication Date]]

== Trainings ==
{{Website Icon}} <!-- Internal Link Format --> [[Page Name | Internal Link Text]]
{{Website Icon}} <!-- External Link Format --> [External-Link Displayed-Text]
{{Video Icon}} <!-- Internal Link Format --> [[Page Name | Internal Link Text]]
{{Video Icon}} <!-- External Link Format --> [External-Link Displayed-Text]

<!-- In the location of an in text citation, simply enclose the citation as follows: <ref name="[reference name]"> citation </ref>. Additional citations for the same source use <ref name="[reference name]"/> at the end of the citation. Citations will automatically populate. Learn more at the Guidelines for Inserting a Citation page or visit https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Cite. -->
{{Citations}}

<!-- Revision history information -->
{{revhistinf}}

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Revision ID: 6295
Revision Date: 12/23/2022