Talk:Lamar Parks/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Figureskatingfan (talk · contribs) 02:35, 10 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I'm reviewing this article as part of the June Backlog drive.

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

It is reasonably well written.
a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):
I don't see any grammar issues. The lead is too short; please expand it and make sure that it summarizes the article. The tone is a bit too informal for encyclopedic writing, but it's adequate for a GA. This is especially true in the "HIV diagnosis" section; for example, you state that Clark weighed "just 64 pounds". The word "just" doesn't fit the tone of typical encyclopedic writing, but like I say, it's adequate for a GA. If you want to tighten up the prose, I suggest that you go through the article for other instances, although I'm not requiring it for this review.
It is factually accurate and verifiable.
a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism):
I unfortunately was only able to check a few sources because most of the sources you use are from Newspapers.com and require a subscription. All your sources are reliable, since they're mostly of reliable newspapers like The Greenville News, but their inaccessibility doesn't allow me to check for plagiarism or close paraphrasing, or if your sources support your assertions. As a result, I'm AGF that they're fine. Is there a ref available for the chart in the "Professional boxing record"? If so, please include it.
It is broad in its coverage.
a (major aspects): b (focused):
Parks' story seems to end in 1995, when he had to leave boxing. You only state that he lived near Greenville. The War, Baby source (ref35) says that he owned a small business (p. 49) as of 1995, so you should include that info. Is there any information out there about his life in the past 30 years? As a reader, that's something I'd like to know, but I won't require it for this review. If you can find the information, I suggest adding it anyway.
It follows the neutral point of view policy.
Fair representation without bias:
It is stable.
No edit wars, etc.:
Newer article with no evidence of edit warring.
It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
No images, I assume because there are no free ones available in Commons. If you reassure me that there aren't, I'll overlook it.
Overall:
Pass/Fail:
You're almost there. Take care of the issues I've raised and I'll happily promote to GA. Best, Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 03:27, 10 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. Thank you for taking this on. I'm not the greatest at writing up the lead sections. How do you suggest I improve on this one? Also, WP:MOSBoxing says that "references are not needed within the table" so I've never really included them. How would you add the BoxRec source to the professional boxing record section? Best, JTtheOG (talk) 06:44, 10 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@JTtheOG:, you're welcome. I didn't know about the boxing style guide's recommendation about charts; thanks for letting me know and please ignore that piece of feedback. Yah, I've always struggled with leads, too. I suggest that you read MOS:LEAD; the boxing style guide also has some tips about writing leads. Ya know, technically the current lead is fine because it's two paragraphs long, which is appropriate for an article less than 15,000 characters. My problem with it, IMO, is that it doesn't summarize the article enough. Now that I think about it, the current verison is adequate for a GA. If you want to practice writing leads, though, I suggest that you add more to better summarize the article, but I don't think I should require it in order for it to pass to GA status. All that being said, in my characteristic long-windedness, I'll go ahead a pass this to GA. Congrats, and best. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 17:09, 11 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]