Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Peer review/Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry

This is my first attempt at a full article on Wikipedia and I would appreciate feedback.Kim dent brown 16:19, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

SoLando

Excellent work! Some cosmetic/superficial suggestions, i.e., unconnected to the actual prose:

• Bold the name of the article in the lead.
• Lead should be expanded to two/three paragraphs to adequately summarise the article.
• While not essential, an infobox would be ideal.
• For an article of this size, there needs to be a substantial increase in the number of footnotes. Googlebooks, et al, should facilitate expansion.
• Add categories.

Kirill will probably provide more substantive suggestions. ;-) SoLando (Talk) 18:58, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Many thanks for the feedback, and to the Wikiedians who have already made amendments to the article. Most of SoLando's comments above are now addressed. I have not substantially added to the footnotes yet: most of the specific information on the RWY comes from Platt's regimental history. This is hardly surprising as a single, small unit like this is not going to be mentioned in great detail elsewhere. This means that most of the footnotes (if I were to add to them) would be further page references to Platt. Is this sufficient or do I need other, independent sources? Kim dent brown 10:32, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Kirill Lokshin

Very nice, overall. A few general suggestions:

• Platt's book is sufficiently long that a denser mode of citation would be reasonable, I think. At a minimum, a page (chapter?) range for each paragraph would help the reader follow along in the source, were they inclined to do so.
• The heavy reliance on one source isn't unacceptable, per se, given that the source appears to be the canonical one; but if you can add some others—I'm sure the regiment's actions are mentioned, if only briefly, in other works—it may be helpful.
• The images are a bit too large.
• I would suggest using {{details}} in place of {{main}}.
• Headings should generally omit a leading "The", per the Manual of Style.
• Is there any more information available on the regiment's early service? The first century of its existence is basically glossed over; is this because it didn't do anything worth discussing, a paucity of sources, or some other reason?

Other than that, this is quite good. Kirill Lokshin 12:35, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Kirill. Have reduced image sizes and altered the templates as suggested, removed 'The' from headings. I've added a little to the pre-WWI section, but because the Yeomanry could not serve overseas they have little activity to report from their first 120 years of existence! What's left is to expand the citations, both from Platt and other sources. This will take longer but I'll get on it. Many thanks for the helpful feedback! Kim dent brown 22:14, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

OK, have added further citations from Platt and some other sources, expanded the infobox a little. Also added a separate section at the end on uniforms and insignia, to bring together information that was previously scattered through the article. I haven't gone mad with citations - now up to 25, but have ensured that every substantial paragraph has at least one. Thanks again for the suggestions. Kim dent brown 10:17, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Your changes look very good! The external sites used in the citations need a more detailed citation form, though; at a minimum, they should be accompanied by dates of access, and any normal bibliographic information would be helpful as well. Kirill Lokshin 11:30, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Kirill, have amended the citations to www sites, hope they are more in line with Wikipedia style now. Do you think the article is nearly ready for rating now, or do you have any more suggestions? Kim dent brown 13:05, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Eh, forgot about that. ;-) Kirill Lokshin 17:55, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the feedback and the assessment Kirill! Looking forward to my next... Kim dent brown 18:32, 12 April 2007 (UTC)