Talk:Joshua Soule Zimmerman/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Ruby2010 (talk · contribs) 04:04, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I shall review this soon! Ruby 2010/2013 04:04, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, no copyvios, spelling and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

This is definitely a well-prepared article! Mainly nitpicks below.

Comments

• Per WP:OVERLINK, recommend you unlink American, lawyer, politician, law office, World War I, apple, and orchard. Consider Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia as well (these last ones are more your call but they are "major geographic features and locations" according to the policy).
• Recommend rearranging this sentence "Zimmerman was born in La Plata, Maryland in 1874 to Methodist pastor and church administrator, Reverend George Henry Zimmerman" --> "Zimmerman was born in La Plata, Maryland in 1874 to Reverend George Henry Zimmerman, a Methodist pastor and church administrator". (that will also eliminate the "Zimmerman"s being so close together).
• Also, recommend changing "Zimmerman" to "he" in the next sentence (as that's a lot of Zimmermans already!)
• Can probably convert United States President to just President (with no link, since you've already established you're in the U.S.).

More to follow! Ruby 2010/2013 01:25, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

• Ruby2010, thank you tremendously for conducting this review--I am honored! I've incorporated the suggestions listed above. Thanks again! -- Caponer (talk) 08:08, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Further comments/observations

• Is there any way you can combine the lead into ~2 paragraphs per WP:LEADLENGTH? (Or even 3)? And make the paragraphs more evenly sized?
  • I've reorganized the lede into three paragraphs. Let me know what you think! Thank you for the suggestion! -- Caponer (talk) 18:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
• I'm always a huge fan of careful and detailed citations but... I'm curious about the large number of citations that follow basic facts in this article. Is this because each of the citations are needed to support a fact in the sentence? If not, you might consider trimming some citations so it is easier on readability. In particular, the four citations sourcing the first sentence of the "Early life and family" section jump out at me as excessive.
  • I slimmed down some of the inline citations at the end of sentences so that there are no more than three. Is this still excessive? Let me know, and I'll see if I can slim down more. -- Caponer (talk) 18:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
• "It is likely that Zimmerman's father named him in honor of Joshua Soule (1781–1867)" --- which citation is supporting this claim? I looked at both in the next sentence but didn't see anything supporting this fact, unless I missed it of course!
  • I've removed this, as I had never been able to find a citation for this, and somehow it remained in the prose following the draft phase. Good catch! -- Caponer (talk) 18:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
• Noticed a few more to possibly consider unlinking: pastor, political party
  • I've removed these links among many many others. Thank you! -- Caponer (talk) 18:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
• Are Zimmerman's children still alive, or have you just had trouble finding their death dates? :)
  • I was able to locate death dates on the gravestones of three of the four children. Looks much better! -- Caponer (talk) 18:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
• No dab links, external links look good. Spotchecks reveal no copyvio issues. Images look good as well (the infobox image just squeaked by with a publication date of 1922!) Ruby 2010/2013 01:12, 20 January 2015 (UTC)
  • Ruby2010, thank you for a thorough and stellar review of this article. It looks and reads much better because you've had a hand in it! I appreciate all your guidance and assistance throughout this review process. -- Caponer (talk) 18:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Everything looks great! I'm happy to pass this, as it fulfils the GA criteria. Excellent work, as per usual! Ruby 2010/2013 02:31, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Ruby2010, thank you tremendously for all your diligence and patience throughout this process. This article is truly improved thanks to your guidance! I appreciate you taking the time to review this article and look forward to working with you again on another Wikipedia project! -- Caponer (talk) 03:26, 23 January 2015 (UTC)