Recommended tools:

1. WikiTree Sourcer is a browser extension that can be used to add a source or inline citation from several genealogical sites.
2. Contact email: wikitrees-usbh-exchange at googlegroups.com (be sure to replace the at with the @ sign)
   In the Subject Heading write: Basic Skills Review.

Basic Skills Exercises

The following items are part of the WikiTree Basic Skills set to get you prepared for working on project teams. These exercises need to be completed within a 24 hour time frame, however, they should not take more than an hour or two (depending on your wiki experience) to actually complete.

STEP ONE From the "My WikiTree" menu go to your watchlist (My WikiTree > Watchlist). Choose a profile that you created that needs cleaning up. For instance, maybe it needs a bio, some sources and/or categories. If your profile is a person with Black Heritage, add the {{African-American Sticker}} below the Biography heading. (African-American Sticker)

While doing the following exercise, review the linked help pages. Help:Biographies#Required: Biography and Sources
If you have any questions, use the email address noted above.

EXERCISE #1
Time given to complete: 24 hours

1. Add birth date and location: (the location can be an uncertain one, as we can best build a report when there is a location)
2. Set the status for locations, dates, and relationships: (Certain or Uncertain)
3. Add a biography: This can be a very basic one. Ex: John Doe was born on 15 Jan 1885 to Derek Doe and Mary Lee, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He married... He died....
4. Add a heading: See these optional headings Help:Biographies#Optional: Additional subsections
5. Use an asterisk: * or a # to create a list. Ex: In Edit mode, #Jane - will produce a number next to Jane: 1. Jane (Help:Editing Tips)
6. Add a source: birth, marriage, census record, FindAGrave memorial (Help:Sources). (If you installed the WikiTree Sourcer use that to add a source or inline citation).
7. Link a person on a profile: If there is a spouse or parent that has a profile on WikiTree, link one of them in the biography like this: Ex: [[Doe-124|John Doe]] There is a shortcut for copying-and-pasting links to profiles: you can click the green Link at the top of a profile and then use Ctrl+V (Command+V for Mac) or right-click to paste it.(Add links to Other Profiles)
8. Add at least one non-USBH category: cemetery, location, occupation, education. Categories go above the Biography Heading.

How to add a category: While in edit mode on your profile, look beneath Edit Text for the toolbar. The category picker looks like a set of steps. (It is the one next to the large C). Click on it. It will open a text box that you can type in. Visit this help page for visual directions: (Help:Categorization)

Example Profile 1: Anna (Unknown) Gibbons
(Unknown is used as a place holder that signals a LNAB needs to be found)

Example Profile 2: Robert Lobbin

When you are done, send the URL of the profile to the email address above. In the Subject Heading write: Basic Skills Review. A guide will respond with any feedback for you to correct. When the profile is in its final form, they will send you the information necessary to do Exercise #2.

While you wait for feedback, read through the following:
Project specific information

1. Add the {{African-American Sticker}} to all profiles of persons with Black Heritage. (African-American Sticker)
2. Understand our Preferred Terminology
3. Be familiar with Project Resources accessed from main USBH page (Project:US Black Heritage)

Need to know how to...

1. Add the Sourcer app browser extension (WikiTree Sourcer) to help with sourcing.
2. Join our Discord server where you can get help in real time. (Help:Discord) (Invite link was given in your Welcome email. If you need a new link contact your guide)
3. Use WikiTree's G2G Forum for help from the whole of WikiTree (G2G forum)
4. Adding Stickers (Help:Stickers)

Feel free to clean up any other profiles while you wait.

EXERCISE #2 FindAGrave Memorial
Time given to complete: 24 hours
In this exercise you will create a new profile from an African-American cemetery. Your Guide will send you, in a new email, the name of the person and a link to the cemetery where they are buried. When you receive the email, please do the following:

1. First, check to see if a profile exists: Search on WikiTree or on Google (WikiTree + name of person, date).
   If the profile already exists, choose another name from the cemetery page on FindAGrave.
2. Create the new profile. Be sure to add the source for the cemetery. Use the category picker to add the category.
3. Review your profile using the checklist from Exercise #1.

When you are done, send the URL to your Guide.

When you have completed Basic Skills, your guide will send you the link to the Profile Improvement track of the Path.

Other Useful pages

US Black Heritage Project Page Directory

African-American Genealogy Resources

US Black Heritage: Notables