Using "the" before names and labels in quotations

Question

I wrote:

Fig. 1 shows the user interface for creating a contextual rule. The rule shown is intended to eliminate [the?] reference section from the Wikipedia articles.

Do I need the before Wikipedia? Do I need it before reference? What if I write it as "reference" in quotation?

Here are other example:

In this interface, “References” is the name of the rule

In this rule, if the node’s tag is “H1” or “H2”, the algorithm updates the curPart value to “heading” and the curTitle to the text extracted from the node (exText). We used the extracted text instead of the inner text because the node may contain some noise elements that must be excluded (e.g. the "Edit" link in the headings of Wikipedia articles)

Finally, CR3 states if the curTitle is “References”, then the current node must be excluded from the extracted content (References section).

Italic names and names in quotations are some proper names or names I devised for some variables, but I am not sure which needs "the" and which doesn't. What is the rule?

Answer 1

You've got a few different situations going on here.

Fig. 1 shows the user interface for creating a contextual rule. The rule shown is intended to eliminate the reference section from [the] Wikipedia articles.

• Here, the is needed before reference to modify section: "the section." (Reference here functions as an adjective modifying section.) Since section is a singular common noun, it needs an article (the type of word), as either "the section" or "a section." Since there is only one reference section per Wikipedia article, so the is the correct choice.

• Proper nouns like Wikipedia do not take articles (with a few exceptions, like the Internet). But here Wikipedia is functioning as an adjective, modifying articles; whether to use the depends on what is meant by articles.

  • If you mean to say that it can remove the reference section from any Wikipedia article or all Wikipedia articles, it should be "from Wikipedia articles" (no a or an since articles is plural; it would from "from a Wikipedia article" if article were singular).
  • If you mean to say that it can remove the reference section from a group of Wikipedia articles that has already been specified in what you're writing, use the. For example, if you've already described selecting the articles from which the references section is to be removed, it would be "from the Wikipedia articles [that have already been selected]," with the part in brackets understood.

  The distinction doesn't depend on what the rule is actually capable of doing but on the context of your description. Considering just the sentence given, it sounds like it should be "from Wikipedia articles."

In this rule, if the node’s tag is “H1” or “H2”, the algorithm updates the curPart value to “heading” and the curTitle to the text extracted from the node (exText). We used the extracted text instead of the inner text because the node may contain some noise elements that must be excluded (e.g. the "Edit" link in the headings of Wikipedia articles)

• "The curPart value" is fine. The goes with value, specifying that there is only one curPart value and that is what is being referred to ("the value"). The is the same rule as "the [reference] section," above. If there's no ambiguity (e.g., if curPart is just a string), you could just say "updates curPart to", treating curPart as a proper noun (which it functionally is).

• "Updates… curTitle to the text" is also fine. curTitle is treated as a proper noun.

• "Updates the curPart value to “heading” and the curTitle" should change for parallelism. Either use the and value with both (as currently done with curPart) or use neither the nor value (as currently done with curTitle).

• "The Edit link"—correct as it is. This is the same rule as "the reference section" and "the curPart value." The refers to link, so either the (if only one edit link, as there is) or a (if there could be more than one Edit link) is needed.

Finally, CR3 states if the curTitle is “References”, then the current node must be excluded from the extracted content (References section).

• As in the previous paragraph, curTitle should be treated as a proper noun. Use "if curTitle is," "if the curTitle value is," or "if the value of curTitle" (by the same rules as above).