Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 23:11, 25 March 2008

A good article is a satisfactory article that has not met the criteria for featured articles. The good article criteria measure decent articles; they are not as demanding as the featured article criteria, which determine our best articles.

What is a good article?

A good article has the following attributes:

1. It is well written. In this respect:

   (a) the prose is clear and the spelling and grammar are correct; and

   (b) it complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, jargon, words to avoid, fiction, and list incorporation.

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable. In this respect, it:

   (a) provides references to all sources of information, and at minimum contains a section dedicated to the attribution of those sources in accordance with the guide to layout;

   (b) at minimum, provides in-line citations from reliable sources for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons; and

   (c) contains no original research.

3. It is broad in its coverage. In this respect, it:

   (a) addresses the major aspects of the topic; and

   (b) stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary details (see summary style).

4. It is neutral; that is, it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias.
5. It is stable; that is, it is not the subject of an ongoing edit war or content dispute. Vandalism reversion, proposals to split or merge content, good faith improvements to the page (such as copy editing) and changes based on reviewers' suggestions do not apply. Nominations for articles that are unstable because of constructive editing should be placed on hold.
6. It is illustrated, where possible and appropriate, by images. In this respect:

   (a) images used are tagged with their copyright status, and fair use rationales are provided for non-free content; and

   (b) the images are appropriate to the topic, and have suitable captions.

What is not a good article?

Lists, portals, and images are not reviewed by the GA system; these items should be nominated for featured list, featured portal or featured picture status. Disambiguation pages and stubs cannot meet the good article criteria. Lastly, a good article loses its status if it becomes featured.

See also

• Misplaced Pages:Reviewing good articles for a more detailed treatment on the mechanics of reviewing an article for GA status.

Notes

1. It is strongly recommended that the Manual of Style is broadly followed, but this is not required for good articles.
2. ^ In-line citations, if provided, should follow either the Harvard references or the cite.php footnotes method, but not both in the same article. Science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines.
3. This requirement is significantly weaker than the "comprehensiveness" required by WP:FAC; it allows shorter articles, articles that do not necessarily outline every part of the topic, and broad overviews of large topics.
4. Other media, such as video and sound clips, are also covered by this criterion.
5. The presence of images is not, in itself, a requirement for Good articles. However, if images (including other media) with acceptable copyright status are appropriate and readily available, then they should be used.

• WikiProject Good articles