Wikipedia article classes: Understand quality ratings and how articles are assessed

When you see a Wikipedia article labeled as Stub, a minimal entry that needs expansion, Start, a basic outline with some useful content, or Featured article, one of the highest-quality entries on Wikipedia, you’re seeing the Wikipedia article classes. These aren’t just labels—they’re part of a system used by thousands of volunteers to measure how complete, accurate, and well-sourced an article is. It’s how the community keeps track of what needs work and what’s already top-tier.

This system is managed through WikiProject assessment guidelines, a set of community-driven standards for evaluating article quality across topics. Each article gets rated based on its depth, structure, citations, and neutrality. A Stub might be a single paragraph with no references. A Good article has solid coverage and reliable sources. A Featured article has passed a rigorous review and is considered among the best on Wikipedia. These ratings aren’t random—they’re assigned by editors who follow clear criteria, often using tools like TemplateWizard, a form-based tool that helps apply quality templates without wikitext errors. The goal isn’t to gatekeep, but to guide improvement.

These classes also help readers know what they’re getting. If you’re researching for school or work, a Featured article gives you confidence. A Stub tells you to dig deeper. And behind every rating is a network of volunteers—editors, librarians, educators—who spend time reviewing, tagging, and upgrading content. The system works because it’s transparent: you can see who rated it, why, and what’s still missing. You can even join in. Whether you’re fixing a typo or expanding a half-written page, your edits can move an article up the scale. The articles below show how this system plays out in real time—from how edit-a-thons boost underrepresented topics, to how conflict of interest policies keep ratings fair, to how tools like diff and history let you trace an article’s journey from rough draft to polished resource.