User:Jengod/Some common objections to featured status and how to avoid them

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The featured article process is becoming increasingly stringent as overall standards on Wikipedia improve. This can make FAC frustrating for editors who aren't aware of how articles are judged against the featured article criteria.

Featured article candidates are expected to meet a series of objective and subjective standards; it's not a prize that rewards any particular editor's work on an article or dedication to a subject. As Michael Corleone once said, "It's not personal. It's strictly business."

Here are some tips that can help you decide if your article is ready to be nominated. In addition to this page, read all the guidelines at WP:FA, read as many recently approved featured articles as you can stand to see what gets through, and take a look at other archived nominations to note (and hopefully surmount!) the obstacles faced by other nominees.