Talk:The Cookbook/GA1

GA Review
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Review
I'll be reviewing the article. — Realist  2  16:11, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

OK, a few general points I would like to make.
 * The article doesn't have an international perspective, it's too US focused.
 * The singles section is too small, good, just too small. You could easily expand this.
 * There should be a section on music videos, Music videos have played a huge part in her artistry and image, much like Michael Jackson. Remember that you can use this to provide a summary plot of the videos if you don't have sources.

My only other issue is the lead, it's nothing major though.
 * Give the first release date, 4th July, and remove "in the US".
 * Notice how the lead section dedicated to the singles is as big as the section in the article itself. We definitely need to expand that singles section, it's too small.
 * The critical reception info should come before the commercial reception info (like it does in the article body). The critical reception info of the lead could also do with some expanding.

OK, everything else in the article is good, including references. I just feel that we need more details, less American viewpoint and some minor alterations to the lead. — Realist  2  17:37, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you for reviewing the article. I've resolved most of the issues, I just need to work on the music video information, which I'll do later on tonight. Diverse  Mentality  19:46, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, I think I've done everything now. Hopefully. [[Image:Smile.png|16px]] Diverse  Mentality  06:13, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Please go back and note the changes I just made to the article. US-formatted dates need commas after the year (much like the US "city, state" construction needs a comma after the state) when not ending a sentence. The POV phrases should have been caught. The other copyediting was just to make the article read better; there were too many "Reviewer A gave the album _ out of _ stars, saying, '.......'" instances. (Also, including all the ratings in the prose isn't necessarily frowned upon, but only the reviewer's rationale is insightful.)

There are some other things that need to be addressed, however. While WP:ALBUM allows for a release history section, it is rarely necessary. This information easily can be included in the prose: "The Cookbook was released in the UK on July 4 and a day later in the U.S." (Nobody cares when it was released in the other countries...except maybe Japan if there was some important difference in that country's version.) Also, the Gold certification was already mentioned in the prose, and it is the only certification so far, so let's remove those columns from the chart table. —Zeagler (talk) 12:57, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

The article passes, Zeagler has brought up some interesting points, points I would have rather got to after the additional content was added, I like to review articles in stages, rather than bog the candidate down all at once. So cheers for doing my typing. The other issues are not important for GA criteria and I would look rather DICKISH for holding the article to ransom over it. If D Mentality wan't to take the article further, to FA, I'm sure he will consider it. Happy editing. — Realist  2  15:43, 14 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Thank you for the edit and extra comments, Zealer. I went ahead a removed the extra columns from the 'Charts' section. I wouldn't "Nobody cares when it was released in the other countries", and though release histories aren't required, I keep them in articles, so it doesn't seem like English-speaking countries only matter when it comes to anything on the English Wikipedia. But if my some crazy circumstance this article does make it to become a FAC, I will consider removing it and altering the lead as you've written. Thank you too, Realist, for review the article and also giving me my first GA. Smile.png. Diverse  Mentality  17:54, 14 December 2008 (UTC)
 * It's not a big deal, really. I just see it as trivia.  The U.S. release date is important because Missy Elliott is American, and of the countries that released the album first, the UK is most important (in terms of contributions to the music industry).  So that would be my rationale for including those two.  I can't think of a compelling reason to include any others...unless, again, other countries' versions differ significantly.  Just trying to make you think about what's relevant and what's not.  Congrats on the good article. —Zeagler (talk) 20:42, 14 December 2008 (UTC)