Wikipedia:Featured article criteria

Featured article tools:

Afeatured articleexemplifies Wikipedia's very best work and is distinguished by professional standards of writing, presentation, and sourcing. In addition to meeting thepolicies regarding contentfor all Wikipedia articles, it has the following attributes.

It is:
1. well-written:its prose is engaging and of a professional standard;
2. comprehensive:it neglects no major facts or details and places the subject in context;
3. well-researched:it is a thorough and representative survey of the relevant literature; claims areverifiableagainst high-qualityreliable sourcesand are supported by inline citationswhere appropriate;
4. neutral:it presents viewsfairly and without bias;
5. stable:it is not subject to ongoingedit warsand its content does not change significantly from day to day, except in response to the featured article process; and
6. compliant withWikipedia's copyright policyand free ofplagiarismortoo-close paraphrasing.
It follows thestyle guidelines,including the provision of:
1. a lead:a conciselead sectionthat summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the detail in the subsequent sections;
2. appropriate structure:a substantial but not overwhelming system of hierarchicalsection headings;and
3. consistent citations:where required by criterion 1c, consistently formatted inline citations using footnotes—seeciting sourcesfor suggestions on formatting references. Citation templates are not required.
Media.It hasimagesand other media, where appropriate, with succinctcaptionsandacceptable copyright status.Images follow theimage use policy.Non-freeimages or media must satisfy thecriteria for inclusion of non-free contentandbe labeled accordingly.
Length.It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail and usessummary stylewhere appropriate.

Wikipedia:Featured article criteria

See also

FA, A-class and GA

Other featured-content criteria