Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/B-class FAQ

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[edit] Frequently asked questions: B-Class assessment & criteria

How suitable am I?

Q. I'm not certain I am capable of assessing B-class articles, particularly for criteria 2 and 5. What degree of familiarity/expertise would you say this new drive requires?

A. If you've been around for a few months, got your wits about you, and have a "feel" for what B-Class is about, you'll be fine. If you have lingering doubts, try assessing some of the articles at Category:Military history articles with incomplete B-Class checklists. They'll give you a good idea of what to expect.

B-Class not appearing on the banner

Q. What's wrong with the banner? I added and filled in the B-class checklist but B-class is not appearing on the Milhist banner on the talk page when I saved.

A. Nothing's wrong with it. The template now only shows the checklist for Start and B-class articles. As this article is a Stub, the checklist isn't displayed. (If you change the class from Stub to Start and "preview", you'll see how it works.)

B1 - is suitably referenced and cited

Q. How much reference is enough - for eg, what about articles using only the 1911 Britannica or the Dictionary of Fighting Ships? A lot of pages only use information from these sources, which, although is accurate, may not be idea IMO. What is the policy in this regards?

A. Policy is to cite anything that might be challenged but, again, this is B-Class not a FAC so some latitude is permitted. The sources you mention are fine.

B2 - reasonably covers the topic

Q. How comprehensive does the article need to be?

A. You are checking that there are no obvious gaps and that the article will reasonably answer any questions a general reader (not a specialist) might have. For example, a B-class article on an air force base would typically say where the base is, when it was in use, and which notable squadrons used it. Similarly, an article about a battle should say where and when, identify the participating units/armies, and mention the outcome.

B3 - has a defined structure, including a lead section

Q. Organization - What is the minimum to pass the article for organization? If we go by the template comment, as long as it has sections, its ok, irrespective of whether those actually work or if they are not ok.

A. Broadly, yes, though if they're ridiculously irrelevant, consider changing them to something more appropriate yourself on the sofixit principle. B-Class is not a very high bar.

B4 - is free from major grammatical errors

Q. what counts against grammer? - needs a teeny weeny bit of expansion, since this is, from my experience, one of the harder ones to grade.

A. Sure. I wouldn't worry about minor grammatical stuff, spellings errors and so forth. If it makes sense and is reasonably well written, pass it. ("The ship was sunk in 1918 by a torpedo from a German u-boat. Although 20 of her crew were killed, the remainder, including the captain, took to lifeboats and were picked up by HMS Example, which was in the vicinity.") Fail it only if the article is poorly written: "The ship sunk in 1918, by torpedo from a germa uboat. 20 crew went down in it but most with CAPT excvaped in lifeboats and were picked up by example."

Q. Do I pass a two-line stub for grammar if there are no mistakes or do I not as there is not much to judge?

A. Don't bother completing the checklist for something that short.

B5 - contains appropriate supporting graphics, infoboxes, or images

Q. If the page has good images, but lacks a much needed infobox, do we pass it or not.

A. Pass it. Please note that infoboxes not compulsory. The fail really only applies if the article has no graphic (infobox, photos, graphics) at all. What we don't want is pages that are a wall of text, with nothing to break it up or add visual interest.

Q. Does a longer article require more supporting materials than a shorter one in order to pass Criterion 5? E.g. is one infobox at the top sufficient for a 12-screen-long article, or does it need something to break up the rest of the text as well?

A. Just an infoxbox is not sufficient for a longer article. The rest of the text should be broken up a bit as well.