From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a summary and comparison of
the standards for
good
articles
and
featured
articles
.
A
good article
meets a
basic set of editorial standards
and is all around
decent
. It has the following attributes:
- Well written
: prose and layout are clear; it complies with the
Manual of Style
guidelines for
lead sections
,
layout
,
words to watch
,
fiction
, and
list incorporation
.
- Accurate and
verifiable
: sources are
reliable
, listed, and
cited
; no
original research
,
copyright violations
, or
plagiarism
are present;
- Broad
: it covers the main aspects of the topic without going into unnecessary detail.
- Neutral
: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias.
- Stable
: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing
edit war
or content dispute.
- Images
: it is illustrated, if possible and relevant, by images with acceptable copyright status and fair use rationales where necessary.
A
featured article
exemplifies
our very best work
and has the following attributes:
- High and reliable quality
?(a) engaging prose of a professional standard; (b) comprehensive coverage of major facts, details, and context; (c) factual accuracy, with citations for verification against high-quality reliable sources; (d) neutral presentation of viewpoints; and (e) stable content.
- Style compliance
: it follows the
entire
Manual of Style
and has?(a) a concise, summarizing
lead
; (b) a substantial but not overwhelming table of contents; and (c) consistently formatted
inline citations
.
- Media
. It has images in accordance with image use policies; in particular, they have acceptable copyright status and fair use rationales where necessary.
- Length
. It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail.
- Both criteria require: compliance with the general
policies regarding content
for all Wikipedia articles; avoidance of unnecessary detail; stability; neutrality; factual accuracy and
verifiability
; and acceptable copyright status for media.
- Neither has absolute length requirements, although featured articles tend to be long; one of the original purposes of the GA process was to recognize short articles of good quality.
- Featured
articles must be
our very best
work;
good
articles meet a more
basic set of core editorial standards
and are
decent
.
- A
good
article must be
well written
; a
featured
article must have an
engaging, professional
standard of writing.
- A
good
article must comply with
only
five
style guidelines
;
featured
articles must comply with
all
style standards.
- A
featured
article must have consistently formatted inline citations; a
good
article need only have enough information about the source so that the reviewer can figure out which source is being cited, and formatting is optional.
- A
good
article must be
broad
; a
featured
article must be
comprehensive
. The "broad" standard merely requires coverage of the main points; the "comprehensive" standard requires that no major fact or detail is omitted.
- A
good
article must be verifiable against
reliable
sources; a
featured
article must cite
high-quality
sources. The inline citation requirements are stricter with featured articles.
- Good
articles are generally not required to be as well-illustrated by media.