 | This is an essay on the Wikipedia:Manual of Style. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: An important aspect of writing encyclopedically is using broadly accessible, modern English (but not unpopular neologisms), rather than wording that will sound outmoded (or futuristic) to most readers, even if "standard" in your regional (or personal) idiom. |
The Wikipedia Manual of Style offers a great deal of guidance on article writing. This essay explores in more depth a few points as they relate to contemporary Modern English language style versus archaic or neologistic usages, and makes some recommendations that go beyond the MOS "rules", based on actual cases encountered in Wikipedia articles.