Wikipedia:Featured article criteria
Featured article tools: |
A featured article exemplifies our very best work and features professional standards of writing and presentation. In addition to meeting the requirements for all Wikipedia articles, it has the following attributes.
- It is—
- (a) well-written: its prose is engaging, even brilliant, and of a professional standard;
- (b) comprehensive: it neglects no major facts or details and places the subject in context;
- (c) factually accurate: claims are verifiable against reliable sources, accurately represent the relevant body of published knowledge, and are supported with specific evidence and external citations; this requires a "References" section in which sources are listed, complemented by inline citations where appropriate;
- (d) neutral: it presents views fairly and without bias; and
- (e) stable: it is not subject to ongoing edit wars and its content does not change significantly from day to day, except in response to the featured article process.
- It follows the style guidelines, including the provision of:
- (a) a lead—a concise lead section that summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the detail in the subsequent sections;
- (b) appropriate structure—a system of hierarchical section headings and a substantial but not overwhelming table of contents; and
- (c) consistent citations—where required by Criterion 1c, consistently formatted inline citations using either footnotes[1] or Harvard referencing (Smith 2007, p. 1) (see citing sources for suggestions on formatting references; for articles with footnotes, the meta:cite format is recommended).
- Images. It has images that follow the image use policies and other media where appropriate, with succinct captions and acceptable copyright status. Non-free images or media must satisfy the criteria for inclusion of non-free content and be labeled accordingly.
- Length. It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).
| The path to a Featured Article |
|---|
| Start a new article Develop the article Check against the featured article criteria Get creative feedback (Peer review) Apply for featured article status Featured articles |
- Wikipedia:Featured list criteria
- Wikipedia:Featured picture criteria
- Wikipedia:Featured portal criteria
- Wikipedia:Featured sound criteria
- Wikipedia:Featured topic criteria
- Wikipedia:Article development
- Wikipedia:The perfect article
- Wikipedia:Featured article advice
- User:Tony1/How to satisfy Criterion 1a
- User:Jengod/Some common objections to featured status and how to avoid them
- User:AndyZ/Suggestions
- User:Yannismarou/Ten rules to make an article FA
- User:Giano/A fool's guide to writing a featured article
- User:Dweller/Dweller, on Featured Article Candidates
- ^ Smith 2007, p. 1.
- Smith, Jane (2007). The Book of Examples. New York: Best Publishers, Inc.
