 | This help page is a how-to guide. It details processes or procedures of some aspect(s) of Wikipedia's norms and practices. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus and vetting. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Helpful tips about how to create and manage a comprehensive lead section. |
Here are some tips that can help editors create and manage a good lead section. This method has produced some very nice leads and is especially useful when dealing with long and controversial articles which are hard to scrutinize, especially if there are many references. It also prevents one from omitting significant content found in the article and/or including content that is missing from the body of the article.
The primary purpose of a Wikipedia lead is not to summarize the topic, but to summarize the content of the article. It should prepare the reader for whatever is in the body of the article, get them interested in the content, and inspire them to read the whole article.[§] The lead should be one to four paragraphs in length and should answer most or all of the 5 Ws.[§] If a subject is worth a whole section, then it deserves short mention in the lead according to its real due weight. There should not be anything in the lead that does not refer to specific content in the article and is not backed up by specific references found in the article. Avoid too much detail. Awaken the reader's interest without satisfying their hunger.[§]
Just as with an article, a lead must adhere to neutral point of view (NPOV), which does not mean "neutral", or that there should be a false balance between opposing POV. All opinions are not equal.[§] Use extreme caution when revamping or updating an existing lead. Any changes to the lead should be based on the content in the body. Always seek a consensus version.[§] Think about what types of definitions to include, and don't hesitate to create a uniquely comprehensive definition based on all the content.[§]
Try to keep the number of references to a minimum, if used at all. Use the short "name" format for any references in the lead. There should not be any references in the lead that have not first been used in the body.[§] The lead in this essay uses clickable "lead to body" (L2B) links. Click them to jump to the relevant section from which wording in the lead is derived.[§] These L2B links were first boldly used in article space by Space4Time3Continuum2x in the lead of the Donald Trump article.[§]
If an editor leaves a maintenance template on an article, it may be intended to give a heads-up to improve the article's lead.[§] The lead from a spun-off child article can be used as a section in the main article.[§] Give child articles their due weight in the lead of the parent article.[§] The included table is easy to use and can be tweaked. It ensures that nothing is missed and provides precise documentation.[§]