Basic information
A stub is an article containing only a few sentences of text which — though providing some useful information — is too short to provide encyclopaedic coverage of a subject, and which is capable of expansion. Sizeable articles are usually not considered stubs, even if they lack editing. Note that if a small article has little properly sourced information, or if its subject has no inherent notability, it may be deleted or merged into another relevant article. Non-article pages, such as disambiguation pages, categories, templates, talk pages, and redirects, are not regarded as stubs.
An encyclopaedic article is about the subject denoted by the title but usually has only one definition (or in some cases, several definitions that are largely the same) but there may be several equivalent words (synonyms) or phrases for it.
There is no set size at which an article stops being a stub. While very short articles are likely to be stubs, there are some subjects about which there is very little that can be written. Conversely, there are subjects about which a lot could be written – their articles may still be stubs even if they are a few paragraphs long. As such, it is impossible to state whether an article is a stub based solely on its length, and any decision on the article has to come down to an editor's best judgement. Similarly, stub status usually depends on the length of prose text alone – lists, templates, images, and other such peripheral parts of an article are usually not considered when judging whether an article is a stub.
Ideal stub article
Any registered editor may start a stub article.
When you write a stub, bear in mind that it should contain enough information for other editors to expand upon it. The key is to provide adequate context—articles with little or no context will most likely end up being deleted. Your initial research may be done either through books or reliable websites. You may also contribute knowledge acquired from other sources, but it is useful to conduct some research beforehand, in order to ensure that your facts are accurate and unbiased. Use your own words: directly copying other sources without giving them credit is plagiarism, and may in some cases be a violation of copyright.
Begin by defining or describing your topic and always try to write clearly and informatively. State, for example, what a person is famous for, where a place is located and what it is known for, or the basic details of an event and when it happened.
Next, try to expand upon this basic definition. Internally link relevant words, so that users unfamiliar with the subject can understand what you have written. Avoid linking words needlessly; instead, consider which words may require further definition for a casual reader to understand the article. Lastly, a critical step: add reliable sources for the information you have put into the stub.
Once you create and save the article, other editors will also be able to enhance it.