Help:Formatting References

Section Headings

There are five levels of section headings available in wikitext. Level 1 should not be used — it is reserved for the page title, which is automatically displayed at the top of every page.

Use equal signs to mark the beginning and end of a heading. Do not include any text after the final equal sign on the line.

Example:

== Level 2 ==
=== Level 3 ===
==== Level 4 ====
===== Level 5 =====
====== Level 6 ======

Headings help organize content, create a table of contents automatically, and improve readability for both editors and readers.

Emphasis

Wikitext provides simple markup for emphasizing text. You can italicize, bold, or combine both styles for strong emphasis. These are especially useful for clarity in documentation and highlighting key terms or phrases.

wikitext	Result
''Italics''	Italics
'''Bold'''	Bold
'''''Bold Italics'''''	Bold Italics

Emphasis should be used sparingly and consistently. Avoid mixing styles excessively, and reserve bold italics for special cases where strong emphasis is genuinely needed.

Lists

Bulleted Lists

Bulleted lists are created using asterisks (*) at the beginning of each line. Additional asterisks increase the indentation level.

The following example was pulled from the MediaWiki manual:

wikitext	Result
* Start each line * with an [[Wikipedia:asterisk|asterisk]] (*). ** More asterisks give deeper *** and deeper levels. * Line breaks <br>don't break levels. *** But jumping levels creates empty space. Any other start ends the list.	Start each line with an asterisk (*). More asterisks give deeper and deeper levels. Line breaks don't break levels. But jumping levels creates empty space. Any other start ends the list.
* combine bullet list ** with definition ::- definition ** creates empty space	combine bullet list with definition - definition creates empty space
* combine bullet list ** with definition *:- definition ** without empty spaces	combine bullet list with definition - definition without empty spaces
*bullet list :- definition :* sublist that doesn't create empty :* spaces after definition	bullet list - definition sublist that doesn't create empty spaces after definition

Use bulleted lists to group items without implying order. For steps or procedures, consider using numbered lists instead. Be mindful of nesting — consistent structure improves readability and editing clarity.