For a really high score in this category, yes.
However, someone could still get a good score (3.5 to 3.9) or even a very good score (4.0 to 4.4) if it was very well written but wasn't the freshest thing on the block.
Put it this way, a fresh article that is topical (without already being done to death) will always have strong publishing potential, even if it needs a bit of a tweak here and there. So minor editing issues will be overlooked if the article is really, really strong in that way. But if there's a lot of work needed, it will rate middle of the road for this category, even if it has potential.
Love, Deb







