Hyphenate qualifiers formed with two or more adjectives, with an adverb and an adjective or with an adjective and noun/gerund.
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a little-discussed problem |
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a low-prevalence phenomenon |
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a well-meaning intervention |
However, do not hyphenate compound adjectival forms in which the first element is an adverb ending in either –ly or in -y.
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a compellingly argued paper |
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a highly detailed research proposal |
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a very engaging argument |
Additionally, do not hyphenate compound adjectival forms in which the first element is a comparative or superlative.
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the most cited research paper |
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a less complicated suggestion |