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 well written, comprehensive, factually accurate, neutral and stable.
(a) "Well written" means that the prose is engaging, even brilliant, and of a professional standard.
(b) "Comprehensive" means that the article does not neglect major facts and details.
(c) "Factually accurate" means that claims are verifiable against reliable sources and accurately represent the relevant body of published knowledge. Claims are supported with specific evidence and external citations; this involves the provision of a "References" section in which sources are set out, complemented by inline citations where appropriate.
(d) "Neutral" means that the article presents views fairly and without bias; see neutral point of view.
(e) "Stable" means that the article is not the subject of ongoing edit wars and that its content does not change significantly from day to day; reversions of vandalism and improvements based on reviewers' suggestions do not apply.
(a) a concise lead section that summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the higher level of detail in the subsequent sections;
(b) a system of hierarchical headings;
(c) a substantial but not overwhelming table of contents (see section help); and
(d) 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 or endnotes, the meta:cite format is recommended.)