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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.

1. 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.
2. 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 headings and a substantial but not overwhelming table of contents (see section help); and
   • (c) consistent citations—where required by Criterion 1c, consistently formatted inline citations using either footnotes¹ 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).
3. Images. It has images 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.
4. Length. It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).

See also

• 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

Advice from Wikipedians

• 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

Notes

References

• Smith, Jane (2007). The Book of Examples. New York: Best Publishers, Inc.