Talk:Isaac Parsons (Confederate military officer)/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Seabuckthorn (talk · contribs) 21:25, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
Nominator: Caponer (talk)

Hi! My review for this article will be here shortly. --Seabuckthorn ♥ 21:25, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

1: Well-written

• a. Prose is "clear and concise", without copyvios, or spelling and grammar errors:
• b. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:

WP:LEAD:

Check for WP:LEAD: Check for Correct Structure of Lead Section:  Done Check for Citations (WP:LEADCITE):  Done Check for Introductory text:  Done Check for Provide an accessible overview (MOS:INTRO):  Done Major Point 1: Early life and family "Parsons served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1854 until 1857." (summarised well in the lead) Major Point 2: Landholdings "" (not a concise summary of the corresponding section in the body) Major Point 3: Political career "Parsons also served as a justice of the peace of Hampshire County's District 3 from 1852 to 1853." (summarised well in the lead) Major Point 4: Jacob Green affair "" (not a concise summary of the corresponding section in the body) Major Point 5: American Civil War "During the American Civil War, Parsons served as a military officer in the Huckleberry Rangers and Company K of the 13th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Confederate States Army." (summarised well in the lead) Check for Relative emphasis:  Done Major Point 1: Early life and family "Parsons served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1854 until 1857." (the lead gives due weight as is given in the body) Major Point 2: Landholdings "" (the lead does not give due weight as is given in the body) Major Point 3: Political career "Parsons also served as a justice of the peace of Hampshire County's District 3 from 1852 to 1853." (the lead gives due weight as is given in the body) Major Point 4: Jacob Green affair "" (the lead does not give due weight as is given in the body) Major Point 5: American Civil War "During the American Civil War, Parsons served as a military officer in the Huckleberry Rangers and Company K of the 13th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Confederate States Army." (the lead gives due weight as is given in the body) Check for Opening paragraph (MOS:BEGIN):  Done Check for First sentence (WP:LEADSENTENCE):  Done Isaac Parsons (January 7, 1814 – April 24, 1862) was an American planter, politician, and military officer in the U.S. state of Virginia (now West Virginia). Check for Format of the first sentence (MOS:BOLDTITLE):  Done Check for Proper names and titles:  Done Check for Abbreviations and synonyms (MOS:BOLDSYN): None Check for Foreign language (MOS:FORLANG): None Check for Pronunciation: None Check for Contextual links (MOS:CONTEXTLINK):  Done Check for Biographies:  Done Check for Organisms: NA Check for Biographies of living persons: NA Check for Alternative names (MOS:LEADALT):  Done Check for Non-English titles: Check for Usage in first sentence: Check for Separate section usage: Check for Length (WP:LEADLENGTH):  Done Check for Clutter (WP:LEADCLUTTER): None

WP:LAYOUT:

Done Check for WP:LAYOUT:  Done Check for Body sections: WP:BODY, MOS:BODY.  Done Check for Headings and sections:  Done Remove the Heading 3s from the Personal life section to improve the flow. I’d recommend that the Heading 2 Landholdings be removed. This article establishes the notability of Isaac Parsons as "an American planter, politician, and military officer". Giving Heading 2 to his landholdings in the body appears a bit inconsistent to me. Adjust any important and notable point from this Heading 2 in other section, although I couldn’t find any, except one "Parsons eventually acquired Wappocomo plantation outright" because it’s related to his notability as a planter. Check for Section templates and summary style:  Done Check for Paragraphs (MOS:PARAGRAPHS):  Done Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheading. Paragraphs should be short enough to be readable, but long enough to develop an idea. (WP:BETTER) Remove the Legacy section. The paragraph is too short. Fix "Parsons was raised through childhood to adulthood on his family's Wappocomo plantation north of Romney." in the Early life and family section. Check for Standard appendices and footers (MOS:APPENDIX):  Done Check for Order of sections (WP:ORDER):  Done Check for Works or publications:  Done Check for See also section (MOS:SEEALSO): None Check for Notes and references (WP:FNNR):  Done Check for Further reading (WP:FURTHER): None Check for External links (WP:LAYOUTEL): None Check for Links to sister projects: None Check for Navigation templates:  Done Check for Formatting:  Done Check for Images (WP:LAYIM):  Done Check for Links:  Done Check for Horizontal rule (WP:LINE):  Done

WP:WTW:

Done Check for WP:WTW:  Done Check for Words that may introduce bias:  Done Check for Puffery (WP:PEA):  Done Check for Contentious labels (WP:LABEL):  Done Check for Unsupported attributions (WP:WEASEL):  Done Check for Expressions of doubt (WP:ALLEGED):  Done Check for Editorializing (MOS:OPED):  Done Check for Synonyms for said (WP:SAY):  Done Check for Expressions that lack precision:  Done Check for Euphemisms (WP:EUPHEMISM):  Done Check for Clichés and idioms (WP:IDIOM):  Done Check for Relative time references (WP:REALTIME):  Done Check for Neologisms (WP:PEA): None Check for Offensive material (WP:F***):  Done Check for WP:MOSFICT:  Done Check for Real-world perspective (WP:Real world):  Done Check for Primary and secondary information (WP:PASI):  Done Check for Contextual presentation (MOS:PLOT):  Done

WP:EMBED:
Done Prose is preferred over list (WP:PROSE): Check for Tables (MOS:TABLES): Remove the table and its contents from the Personal life section.

2: Verifiable with no original research

• a. Has an appropriate reference section: Yes
• b. Citation to reliable sources where necessary: excellent (Thorough check on Google. Cross-checked with other GAs)

WP:RS:

Done Check for WP:RS:  Done Cross-checked with other GAs: Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser, Confederate Memorial (Romney, West Virginia), Wirgman Building, Wappocomo (Romney, West Virginia), Christian Streit White, Valley View (Romney, West Virginia), Alexander White (Virginia), Francis White (Virginia) Check for the material (WP:RSVETTING): (not contentious)  Done Is it contentious?: No Does the ref indeed support the material?: Check for the author (WP:RSVETTING):  Done Who is the author?: Does the author have a Wikipedia article?: What are the author's academic credentials and professional experience?: What else has the author published?: Is the author, or this work, cited in other reliable sources? In academic works?: Check for the publication (WP:RSVETTING):  Done Check for Self-published sources (WP:SPS):

WP:MINREF:
Done Check for inline citations WP:MINREF:  Done Check for Direct quotations:  Done Check for Likely to be challenged:  Done Check for Contentious material about living persons (WP:BLP): NA

• c. No original research:  Done

WP:NOR:
Done Check for primary sources (WP:PRIMARY):  Done Check for synthesis (WP:SYN):  Done Check for original images (WP:OI):  Done

3: Broad in its coverage

a. Major aspects:

Done Cross-checked with other GAs: Virginia Argus and Hampshire Advertiser, Confederate Memorial (Romney, West Virginia), Wirgman Building, Wappocomo (Romney, West Virginia), Christian Streit White, Valley View (Romney, West Virginia), Alexander White (Virginia), Francis White (Virginia) Check for Article scope as defined by reliable sources: Check for The extent of the subject matter in these RS: Check for Out of scope: Check for The range of material that belongs in the article: Check for All material that is notable is covered: Check for All material that is referenced is covered: Check for All material that a reader would be likely to agree matches the specified scope is covered: Check for The most general scope that summarises essentially all knowledge: Check for Stay on topic and no wandering off-topic (WP:OFFTOPIC): Fix the Personal life section. It appears a bit off-topic to me. Remove the table containing the details about the children.

b. Focused:
Done Check for Readability issues (WP:LENGTH): Check for Article size (WP:TOO LONG!):

4: Neutral

WP:NPOV:

Done 4. Fair representation without bias:  Done Check for POV (WP:YESPOV):  Done Check for naming (WP:POVNAMING):  Done Check for structure (WP:STRUCTURE):  Done Check for Due and undue weight (WP:DUE):  Done Check for Balancing aspects (WP:BALASPS):  Done Check for Giving "equal validity" (WP:VALID):  Done Check for Balance (WP:YESPOV):  Done Check for Impartial tone (WP:IMPARTIAL):  Done Check for Describing aesthetic opinions (WP:SUBJECTIVE):  Done Check for Words to watch (WP:YESPOV):  Done Check for Attributing and specifying biased statements (WP:ATTRIBUTEPOV):  Done Check for Fringe theories and pseudoscience (WP:PSCI): None Check for Religion (WP:RNPOV): None

5: Stable: No edit wars, etc: Yes

6: Images  Done (PD)

Images:

Done 6: Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:  Done Check for copyright tags (WP:TAGS):  Done Check for copyright status:  Done Check for non-free content (WP:NFC):  Done Check for valid fair use rationales (WP:FUR):  Done 6: Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:  Done Check for image relevance (WP:IMAGE RELEVANCE):  Done Image 1 (Charles J. Faulkner 1806-1884 - Brady-Handy.jpg): Relevant. Image 2 (Old Hampshire County Courthouse Romney WV.jpg): Relevant. Image 3 (Wappocomo Romney WV 2013 07 14 01.jpg): Relevant. Check for Images for the lead (WP:LEADIMAGE): None Check for suitable captions (WP:CAPTION):  Done Caption 1: "Charles James Faulkner" succinct and informative Caption 2: "Hampshire County Courthouse" succinct and informative Caption 3: "Wappocomo, viewed from Cumberland Road (West Virginia Route 28) in July 2013." succinct and informative

I'm glad to see your work here. As per the above checklist, I do have some insights that I think will be useful in improving the article:

• I think the lead can be improved in order to provide an accessible overview and to give relative emphasis.
• I think the layout and the Personal life section needs to be fixed.

Besides that, I think the article looks excellent. Caponer, please feel free to strike out any recommendation you think will not help in improving the article. All the best, --Seabuckthorn ♥ 20:42, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Seabuckthorn, thank you for taking the time to conduct this very comprehensive and thoughtful review. I promise to address all the above issues you've listed within the next few days. Thanks again! -- Caponer (talk) 14:26, 9 March 2014 (UTC)

Seabuckthorn, I've addressed all your above concerns except for one. I'd like to maintain the table of Parsons' children, as it includes their biographical information in an orderly template format. There will be future articles on some of Parsons' notable children and their spouses, so this would be an appropriate way to link to those articles upon their creation. I did consolidate the paragraphs in that section, so that they are not so short. Let me know if this will work for you. -- Caponer (talk) 21:04, 10 March 2014 (UTC)