Hello and welcome to the assessment department of the Novels WikiProject! This department focuses on assessing the quality of Wikipedia's novel and novel-related articles. Much of the work is done in conjunction with the WP:1.0 program, the article ratings are also used within the project itself to aid in recognizing excellent contributions and identifying topics in need of further work.

The ratings are done in a distributed fashion through parameters in the {{WikiProject Novels}} talk page project banner; this causes the articles to be placed in the appropriate sub-categories of Category:Novel articles by quality and Category:Novel articles by importance, which serve as the sources for an automatically generated worklist.

Frequently asked questions edit

How do I add an article to the WikiProject?
Just add {{WikiProject Novels}} to the talk page; there's no need to do anything else.
Someone put a {{WikiProject Novels}} template on an article, but it's not a novel or related article. What should I do?
If you notice one, feel free to remove the tag, and optionally leave a note on the talk page of this department (or directly with the person who tagged the article).
How can I get my article rated?
Please list it in the section for assessment requests below.
Who can assess articles?
Any member of the Novels WikiProject is free to add—or change—the rating of an article.
Why didn't the reviewer leave any comments?
Unfortunately, due to the volume of articles that need to be assessed, we are unable to leave detailed comments in most cases. If you have particular questions, you might ask the person who assessed the article; they will usually be happy to provide you with their reasoning.
What if I don't agree with a rating?
You can list it in the section for assessment requests below, and someone will take a look at it. Alternately, you can ask any member of the project to rate the article again.
Aren't the ratings subjective?
Yes, they are (see, in particular, the disclaimers on the importance scale), but it's the best system WP:1.0 have been able to devise; if you have a better idea, please don't hesitate to let us know!
How can I keep track of changes in article ratings?
A full log of changes over the past thirty days is available here. If you are just looking for an overview, however, the monthly statistics may be more accessible.
What if I have a question not listed here?
If your question concerns the article assessment process specifically, please refer to the discussion page for this department; for any other issues, you can ask them on the main project general forum page, or contact one of the other members directly.

Instructions edit

An article's assessment is generated from the class and importance parameters in the {{WikiProject Novels}} project banner on its talk page (see the project banner instructions for more details on the exact syntax):

{{WikiProject Novels| ... | class=??? | importance=??? | ...}}

The following values may be used for the class parameter:

Articles for which a valid class is not provided are listed in Category:Unassessed novel articles. The class should be assigned according to the quality scale below.

The following values may be used for the importance parameter:

The parameter is not used if an article's class is set to NA, and may be omitted in those cases. The importance should be assigned according to the importance scale below.

Quality scale edit

Importance scale edit

The criteria used for rating article importance are meant to be a probable indication of how significant the topic is to a reader of literature, and how likely it would be covered in a serious encyclopedia. Hence, for example, Moby-Dick would be ranked higher than an average Anne Rice or Sidney Sheldon novel.

Note that general notability need not be from the perspective of editor demographics; generally notable topics should be rated similarly regardless of the country or region in which they hold said notability. Thus, topics which may seem obscure to a Western audience—but which are of high notability in other places—should still be highly rated.

Article importance grading scheme
Label Criteria Examples
Top Subject is a "core" topic for literature. Lolita
The Lord of the Rings
Pride and Prejudice
War and Peace
High Subject is very notable or significant within its field of literature. The Name of the Rose
Brighton Rock (novel)
Lucky Jim
Mid Subject is notable or significant within the field of literature (or to a historian), but not necessarily outside it. Rosemary's Baby (novel)
The Body in the Library
Low Subject is not particularly notable or significant even within the field of literature, and may have been included primarily to achieve comprehensive coverage of a notable author or other notable subject. A Fine Night for Dying
The Holy

N.B. Discussion on which articles should be included in the "Top" priority class takes place here, Top priority.

Requesting an assessment edit

See the assessment request archive.

If you have made significant changes to an article and would like an outside opinion on a new rating for it, please feel free to list it below at the bottom of the list. If you are interested in more extensive comments on an article, please use the peer review department instead.

To assess an article, simply update the Novels WikiProject template on the article's talk page. Please also strike out the request on this page by using the <s>Strike-through text</s> command and add a rationale for your assessment. Don't forget to sign your username after your comment.

  1. Tarzan of the Apes: Looks like it was last assessed in 2006, and the article has changed significantly since then. There's enough research out there to make it a GA eventually (though I know it would prob take a lot of work). Just interested in an accurate assessment before diving in.--MattMauler (talk) 18:49, 21 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
      Done Reassessed as C-class: It's a reasonable article but needs to address WP:LEAD, the list-sections per list incorporation (they may be better merged with other sections), and it could use a Reception section (the lead mentions how popular it was but that is not stated in the body). maclean (talk) 03:37, 1 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Legendary Moonlight Sculptor: It's been start-class for a while now. I've worked on it, and hopefully qualifies as more than that. Let me know. - MakersBreath (talk) 13:07, 31 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
      Done Reassessed as C-class by User:DanielleTH.
  3. David Copperfield: I and Prairieplant have recently made major improvements to this article, and wonder if it's now a B category, or if further improvements are needed? Rwood128 (talk) 17:56, 3 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
      Done Reassessed as B-class [1] It reasonably covers the topic, is suitably referenced and reasonably well-written. For a more in-depth review, it can be nominated for GA-status. maclean (talk) 18:49, 11 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Jennifer Government: Recently rewrote the article, pruning out non-encyclopedic material and improving source cites. I'm hoping that I improved it enough to bring it up to B-class. Thanks in advance for your time. Krinn DNZ (talk) 17:42, 30 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Krinndz: That article is still barely a start -- in particular, on literary articles, most of our focus is on reception, themes and other kinds of critical information about how the world engages the book. However, the current version of the articles is alsmost All Plot describing the plot, and its setting. For more recommendations or guidance, see the style guide: Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Novels, Sadads (talk) 19:45, 30 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  1. Enna Burning I recently edited & expanded this article; it shouldn't be stub class Cstickel(byu) (talk) 17:59, 3 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Gideon the Ninth I fixed many factual errors in the plot section, added more references and created a Style section. Dharmaprasanth (talk) 00:22, 6 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  3. The Last Chronicle of Barset I have worked on this page as a university assignment and would like a rating on it. Thank you! User: Cutedogs123 11:56, 9 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
      Done Reasonably meets B-class criteria [2] maclean (talk) 03:01, 10 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Vignettes (literature) I've edited and expanded this article for an assignment at my university. I would be very grateful for someone to assess this article. Thanks! --Penceypug (talk) 02:30, 9 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
      Done Meets C-class criteria [3] maclean (talk) 03:01, 10 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  5. Chronicles of Barsetshire I recently completed a major edit to this page, the topic of which I am very passionate about. I'm really proud of how it turned out, so would love if it could be reassessed. Thanks! BjL1504 (talk) 00:39, 10 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  6. The Tolkien Reader This article is rated start-class, but I have added a significant amount of information to it in the last month, so could someone please reassess it? Like others here, I did this for a university assignment, and would really appreciate a reassessment. Thanks! --Hofendorf (talk) 14:40, 10 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Sweet Caress This article about a novel by William Boyd was first edited three years ago, but hasn't been assessed yet. I'd appreciate a rating, please: thank you. Headhitter (talk) 08:59, 19 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  8. The Zombie Survival Guide I completed an overhaul of this article to bring it up to Wikipedia standards a year ago, and have continued to add information as I've found sources for it. Would appreciate a reassessment, as I think it's no longer start-class. WilliamTravis (talk) 18:58, 5 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Gothic double This article isn't about a specific novel but about a motif in literature, however I did expand it from a stub by adding sections about many different Gothic novels and short stories. Please let me know if this article is suitable for this WikiProject, and if so I would appreciate an assessment please. Thank you!Snowdrop Fairy (talk) 02:43, 25 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Bug Jack Barron I've cut down the plot summary to less than 700 words and rearranged a few ideas for better flow. I feel it's worthy of being raised to start class at this point. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 05:46, 26 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  11. The Unbalancing Requesting initial assessment on this article for the novel The Unbalancing by R. B. Lemberg. This novel is of interest to the Fantasy task force. Thanks. CorundumCat (talk) 13:08, 6 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    The Small-tooth Dog I have recently heavily overhauled the article and would love an outside opinion and a rating if anyone is willing. No rush. Thank you! 11/25/2023 WalkingAsGiants (talk) 18:40, 25 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Statistics edit

Raw counts edit

All figures given for the end of each month
Jun 2006 Jul 2006 Aug 2006 Sep 2006 Oct 2006 Nov 2006 Dec 2006 Jan 2007 Feb 2007 Mar 2007 Apr 2007 Feb 2009
  FA 8 0.37 % 8 0.29 % 7 0.20 % 6 0.14 % 6 0.11 % 7 0.12 % 7 0.10 % 9 0.11 % 10 0.11 % 10 0.10 % 10 0.09 % 21 0.0009 %
  A 0 0.00 % 0 0.00 % 2 0.06 % 4 0.10 % 4 0.07 % 4 0.07 % 6 0.10 % 5 0.06 % 4 0.04 % 4 0.04 % 4 0.03 % 1 ~0 %
  GA 0 0.00 % 3 0.11 % 8 0.23 % 7 0.17 % 8 0.15 % 8 0.14 % 8 0.11 % 7 0.08 % 10 0.11 % 10 0.10 % 10 0.09 % 60 .0028 %
B 7 0.32 % 82 2.96 % 170 4.81 % 313 7.50 % 398 7.44 % 472 8.19 % 559 7.67 % 718 8.59 % 768 8.54 % 779 7.57 % 810 7.00 % 946 .0437 %
C N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 246 .0114 %
Start 32 1.46 % 256 9.24 % 416 11.78 % 712 9.97 % 1011 18.91 % 1190 20.66 % 1499 20.57 % 2167 25.92 % 2474 27.50 % 2558 24.86 % 2868 24.79 % 4679 21.61 %
Stub 24 1.10 % 353 12.74 % 540 15.29 % 1022 24.50 % 1771 33.12 % 2238 38.85 % 3455 47.41 % 4799 57.41 % 5724 63.64 % 6920 67.24 % 7453 64.42 % 15589 71.99 %
Unassessed 2114 96:75 % 2069 74:76 % 2388 67.63 % 2108 50.53 % 2049 38.32 % 1842 31.97 % 1753 24.06 % 654 7.82 % 5 0.05 % 9 0.09 % 415 3.59 % 0 0 %
Top 0 19 0.69 % 51 1.44 % 69 2.40 % 73 1.37 % 73 1.27 % 76 1.04 % 81 0.97 % 89 0.99 % 87 0.85 % 90 0.78 % 109 .0050 %
High 0 105 3.79 % 170 4.81 % 417 10.00 % 551 10.30 % 601 10.43 % 652 8.95 % 712 8.52 % 747 8.30 % 756 7.35 % 777 6.72 % 839 .0387 %
Mid 0 359 12.96 % 598 16.94 % 1077 25.81 % 1517 28.37 % 2060 35.76 % 3070 42.13 % 4634 55.44 % 5349 59.47 % 5609 54.51 % 6149 53.15 % 8092 37.37 %
Low 0 172 6.21 % 271 7.67 % 440 10.55 % 1000 18.70 % 1181 20.50 % 1734 23.80 % 2272 27.18 % 2802 31.15 % 3413 33.17 % 4132 35.71 % 11224 51.83 %
Total 2185 2771 3531 4172 5347 5761 7287 8359 8995 10290 11570 21654

Monthly changes edit

Percent change is given relative to the prior count in each class.
Jul 2006 Aug 2006 Sep 2006 Oct 2006 Nov 2006 Dec 2006 Jan 2007 Feb 2007 Mar 2007 Apr 2007 May 2007 (tba)
  FA +0 0.00 % -1 -12.50 % -1 -14.29 % 0 0.00 % +1 16.67 % 0 0.00 % +2 28.57 % +1 11.11 % 0 0.00 % 0 00.00 %
  A +0 +2 +2 100.00 % 0 0.00 % 0 0.00 % +2 50.00 % -1 -16.67 % -1 -20.00 % 0 0.00 % 0 00.00 %
  GA + 3   +5 166.67 % -1 -12.50 % +1 14.29 % 0 0.00 % 0 0.00 % -1 -12.50 % +3 42.86 % 0 0.00 % 0 00.00 %
B +75 1071.43 % +88 107.32 % +143 84.12 % +85 27.16 % +74 18.59 % +78 16.53 % +159 28.44 % +50 6.96 % +11 1.43 % +31 3.98 %
Start +224 700.00 % +160 62.50 % +296 71.15 % +299 41.99 % +179 17.71 % +309 25.97 % +668 44.56 % +307 14.17 % +84 3.40 % +310 12.19 %
Stub +329 1370.83 % +187 52.97 % +482 89.26 % +749 73.29 % +467 26.37 % +1217 54.38 % +1344 38.90 % +925 19.27 % +1196 20.89 % +533 07.70 %
Unassessed -45 -2.13 % +319 15.42 % -280 -11.73 % -59 -2.80 % -207 -10.10 % -89 -4.83 % -1099 -62.69 % -649 -99.24 % +4 80.00 % +406 4511.11 %
Top +19   +32 168.42 % +18 35.29 % +4 5.80 % 0 0.00 % +3 4.11 % +5 6.58 % +8 9.88 % -2 -2.25 % +3 3.45 %
High +105   +65 61.90 % +247 145.29 % +134 32.13 % +50 9.07 % +51 4.89 % +60 9.20 % +35 4.92 % +9 1.20 % +21 2.81 %
Mid +359   +239 66.57 % +479 80.10 % +440 40.85 % +543 35.79 % +1010 49.03 % +1564 50.94 % +715 15.43 % +260 4.86 % +540 9.63 %
Low +172   +99 57.56 % +169 62.36 % +560 127.27 % +181 18.10 % +553 46.82 % +538 31.03 % +530 23.33 % +611 5.84 % +719 21.07 %
Total +586 +26.82 % +760 +27.43 % +641 +18.15 % +1175 +28.16 % +404 +3.57 % +1526 +26.49 % +1072 +14.71 % +636 +07.61 % +1295 +14.40 % +1280 +12.44 %

The full log of assessment changes for the past thirty days is available; due to its size (ca 100 kB), it cannot be transcluded directly.