If you are a veteran English teacher, you should be able to find another word.

In the thousands of papers I’ve graded in my life (I am white and I have had at least a couple of hundred black students), I have never told a student (of any ethnicity or race) that he or she was articulate. That comment conveys no information at all that they can use to build on their success.

Was it a good word choice? A well-reasoned thought? A particularly eye-opening view?

You might find you can be a more effective teacher by making more effective comments.