Wikipedia:Peer review/Timeline of the 2011 Egyptian revolution under Hosni Mubarak's rule/archive1

Timeline of the 2011 Egyptian revolution under Hosni Mubarak's rule
This peer review discussion has been closed. I've listed this article for peer review because I am hoping to get this up to the status of a Good Article and I wanted to run it through peer review to see what I need to work on. Thanks, ''The Egyptian Liberal (talk) 07:42, 1 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Comments by Dana boomer

As you said you are interested in taking this to GA status, I am looking at this article like I would if I saw it in the GAN queue. From a quick initial look, this article has a ways to go before it would be awarded GA status. Here are some starter comments:


 * At over 137 kb and 8,800 words, this article is quickly approaching the maximum size recommended by Wikipedia. They recommend no more than 6,000 to 10,000 words per article, and this article is quickly approaching that top limit.
 * For an article of this size, a lead of 3-4 paragraphs is appropriate per WP:LEAD. The lead should be a summary of the information covered in the body, while including no new information.
 * There are 13 dead links in the article, most of which are marked, but some of which aren't. You can see them all by using the link checker in the toolbox on this review page. Also note that contemporary online news articles are especially prone to linkrot, so you should be prepared to replace more links over the next few months.
 * Pick either British or American English and standardize the article. For instance, there is both organize and organise present in the article.
 * The prose needs a good bit of work - this will probably be one of the biggest things that needs work before you go to GAN. For instance, there are partial sentences ("Celebratory gunfire in Gaza." in the Celebration section), lots of one and two sentence paragraphs, and a severe lack of flow. The article reads much like it was randomly tossed together by a bunch of different editors from a bunch of different sources, with no one paying attention to the overall feel of the article. It jumps from subject to subject and place to place. For instance, at the end of the Celebration section you jump from the stock market to the government to celebrations in Cairo and Giza to the rape of a reporter. Major lack of flow.
 * Text should not be sandwiched between images or images and various boxes, which it is in several places currently.

The prose and the link rot are the two largest issues to deal with. I'm also not sure a "Timeline of..." article has ever gone through GAN - you may want to post at WT:GAN to make sure that they are eligible. Hope these comments help, please let me know if you have any questions - Dana boomer (talk) 02:31, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Comments by Chipmunkdavis
As said by the previous reviewer the lead needs to be massively expanded, with a summary of events. Additionally as they noted, text should not have images on both sides of it. Move what can be moved, and delete the rest. I suggest no more than two pictures per section, probably only one in most section. This is a long article, with a lot of good content. It does need copyediting though, the word "also" is used many times when it probably shouldn't be. Perhaps ask for an edit from a member of the WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors? Hope this helps, good luck with GA (if it's possible), if it's not, try A-class. Chipmunkdavis (talk) 15:04, 18 March 2011 (UTC)
 * 25 January
 * Don't start the list of protestor numbers with "Thousands protested in Cairo," as you can simply state the number of protestors in Cairo, and because thousands protested in other cities too.
 * "A policeman was reported to have died in Cairo, while in Suez two protesters were killed." Seems strange to note that a policeman was reported to have died, but state with certainty two protesters were killed.
 * "''It was reported that many police had also been restrained in their use of violence.'"" Once again the "it was reported" is weird, if you write this you should note reported by who or simply remove it and just say that it happened (depends on the wording of the source really). In addition, this sentence is probably better placed as a contrast to "Deadly clashes broke out during the protests."
 * 26 January
 * "although no accurate estimate has yet been made." This could be removed, or replaced by something much simpler, such as "the exact numbers are unknown".
 * "dramatic uprising" Words like "dramatic" are best avoided
 * 27 January
 * Link Muslim Brotherhood
 * "a protester of Bedouin descent" Is the bedouin part necessary?
 * Who is Mohammed El Baradei? If this is the IAEA person, link to him, although I'm not sure how necessary the quote is.
 * 28 January
 * Replace "Torched up" with something more academic
 * This section could do with being rearranged, and is long enough to maybe include one subsection. Perhaps military involvement could be a subsection.
 * Join together short paragraphs.
 * 29 January
 * "The night of 28/29 January was quieter in Cairo with fewer reports of looting than in previous days." This sentence seems to be out of place, not much about nights or looting was discussed before.
 * "the position of the army in the course of events continued to be critical but ambiguous" Critical how?
 * "Many tourists sites have been disrupted, " This needs to be rewritten in a different tense. Were disrupted? Same with "Chaos had been reported"
 * 30 January
 * Once again the tense is off in some places. For example "They, among others, have called for a new constitution and a transitional government." The previous statement is also quite a weasel word, you should name "others".
 * "Food and water were offered at the scene" by who?
 * "politically reliable nature." What is this nature?
 * Once again, rearrange and join shorter paragraphs.
 * 31 January
 * You quote "What we have begun cannot go back" again, when it appeared in the previous section. Did he say it two days in a row?
 * "Since police forces disappeared from Cairo, and the military took key positions there, the degree of connection between the military and the current system (government, economic circles) and its position became critical." This sentence needs major rewording.
 * 1 February
 * "with coils of barbed wire to ensure that the protesters can not get there." needs to be reworded.
 * "Demonstrators in Tahrir Square at prayer" During prayer?
 * "get cash" should be changed to "obtain money" or something of a more encyclopaedic tone.
 * "for those that have money, prices are skyrocketing as consumers flood the few open stores." needs a tense change.
 * "He also accepted the legal charges against the parliament members which means a great amount of the parliament members will be changed through the legal process."" I'm not sure what this sentence is trying to say. Is that quotation mark at the end of the sentence meant to be there?
 * 2 February
 * This whole section should be rearranged. Perhaps create a subsection devoted to foreign response?
 * 3 February
 * "Anti-government protesters were seen banging on metal railings while rocks were thrown at them." Is there any significance to this?
 * Join information about vodafone and the giving of food together.
 * 4 February
 * Join together the short paragraphs
 * 5 February
 * "During the night of 4–5 February, a few protesters continued to camp out in Tahrir Square, though it was largely quiet." seems unnecessary, especially as the same thing is said immediately below.
 * "(seen as a member of the liberal wing of the party)" What are the brackets and italics for?
 * "thankfully empty church" thankfully is not needed here
 * 6 February
 * "Christians started their Sunday Mass in Cairo's Tahrir Square as Muslim protesters formed a ring around them to protect them during the service." The first half of this sentence can go, it has been covered alraedy.
 * Join up short paragraphs.
 * 7 February
 * Who is "Ahmed Mahmoud"?
 * Fix tenses again, it reads as if it is currently happening.
 * 8 February
 * The two political committees were mentioned the day before too. Which day were they announced?
 * "Suleiman reiterated his view that Egypt is not ready for democracy," Can this view be clarified? There are elections in Egypt.
 * 9 February
 * "Sinani province" Typo?
 * "also accused the US of trying to impose its will" on the government of Egypt? on the people of Egypt? on Egypt?
 * Explaing Gaber Asfour more, first time the name comes up.
 * 10 February
 * "Protesters watched in stunned silence or in anger to his speech, some crying or waving their shoes in the air" needs to be reworded in a more neutral and less emotional manner.
 * 11 February
 * Combine the two subsections into just "Resignation of Mubarak"
 * More information about Mubarak's resignation would be useful. Did he go without saying anything? Did anyone else in the government say anything? Responses of the military and foreign governments?