WikiHow Experience

   

 WikiHow is a website used to search step by step instructions on how to do something, whether that be performing a task or following a recipe. WikiHow is a teaching tool consisting mainly of how-to articles. The website is full of tutorials that include more than one way to do something. For example multiple different chocolate chip cookie recipes or how to fix something specific to a certain vehicle. WikiHow’s website is a large community of creators who can edit each other’s wiki pages and codes if they have an account. A page can only be published if the wikiHow staff approves it. A WikiHow page can only be approved if the editors from the website deem the information you wrote about accurate.

The code to “How to Make Score Bars”, is referenced using a mirrored code from another WikiHow recipe, “How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies”.

    Some difficulty arose when transferring the code and adapting it to the score bars recipe. The code needed to be adjusted to the recipe, with the addition of images for each step to the recipe. Each code and page on WikiHow start off with a brief, attention-grabbing description of what the wiki is about. So if the wiki is a recipe it will describe what it is and why you should be inclined to try the recipe. The recipe description is then followed by the ingredients. The code used for the score bars recipe was also adjusted by moving the “Things You’ll Need” list, to the top of the code right underneath the “Ingredients” section. This was an important adjustment in order to help the viewer gather all ingredients and supplies needed to begin starting the recipe. The list of ingredients and things you’ll need is followed by numbered steps, which is where the viewer starts to assemble or create the thing they are striving to create. Another change to the code was removing a few steps from the Chocolate Chip Cookie code where there were ten total steps because they were not needed for the Score Bars code. The photos throughout the recipe were taken at each step then inserted into the code in order for the viewer to understand how to do each step and have something to compare their process to. While the Cookie Wiki had a series of .gif files for every step, the Score Bar recipe only had pictures. The images will help guide the viewer, the post not only provides a description of the instructions but also a visual representation of the recipe. Some wikis will include videos of the process but none were included in the score bars recipe. After all the numbered steps have been gone through, the viewer will see a list of other viewers’ both answered and unanswered questions about the recipe. These questions consist of people asking, “can I add this” or, “what can I use instead of this”, if there are questions on the recipe, anyone is able to answer those questions, not just the creator of the recipe. Followed by the comments there is a list of tips that may include things like the addition of an ingredient or an additional topping. Other things that may be listed under the tips section could be something like, “when mixing the ingredients be sure to add the ingredients in the listed order” or, “be sure to mix ingredients thoroughly”. The list of tips can be very helpful and might make some of the steps easier. After the tips section, there are the warnings. Listed under warnings could be something like, “be careful when using the stovetop if children are nearby” or, “make sure to use potholders when removing the baking sheet from the hot oven”. Normally after the warnings are the list of things you’ll need which are the extras of the recipe such as a fork, bowl, tin foil, cooking spray, etc. Lastly at the bottom of the page are the related WikiHows which are simply just other recipes related to the one being viewed, for example, other cookies, candies, biscuits, and baked goods. 

  WikiHow is a very useful website when it comes to learning how to do the desired task or learn a new recipe. The layout of each page is simple and straight forward. The labeled steps are very helpful and easy to follow and the information provided on each page is thorough and simple so there is not any confusion. 

Original mirrored WikiHow used to create the Score Bars article:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Chewy-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies

Score Bar: 

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Score-Bars