User:HighQualityWater/Evaluate an Article
Evaluate an article
Complete your article evaluation below. Here are the key aspects to consider: Lead sectionA good lead section defines the topic and provides a concise overview. A reader who just wants to identify the topic can read the first sentence. A reader who wants a very brief overview of the most important things about it can read the first paragraph. A reader who wants a quick overview can read the whole lead section.
ContentA good Wikipedia article should cover all the important aspects of a topic, without putting too much weight on one part while neglecting another.
Tone and BalanceWikipedia articles should be written from a neutral point of view; if there are substantial differences of interpretation or controversies among published, reliable sources, those views should be described as fairly as possible.
Sources and ReferencesA Wikipedia article should be based on the best sources available for the topic at hand. When possible, this means academic and peer-reviewed publications or scholarly books.
Organization and writing qualityThe writing should be clear and professional, the content should be organized sensibly into sections.
Images and Media
Talk page discussionThe article's talk page — and any discussions among other Wikipedia editors that have been taking place there — can be a useful window into the state of an article, and might help you focus on important aspects that you didn't think of.
Overall impressions
Examples of good feedbackA good article evaluation can take a number of forms. The most essential things are to clearly identify the biggest shortcomings, and provide specific guidance on how the article can be improved. |
Which article are you evaluating?
[edit]Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
[edit](Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)
I chose this article because I thought it was pertinent to the topics of this course. It matters because scientific literacy is necessary for a firm foundation for any scientist. At first I found the writing of the article to be chunky and transitioning between the different sections felt blocky and unnatural. I found the writing on the talk page to have been written in a flippant and unprofessional manner.
Evaluate the article
[edit](Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)
Lead Section - The lead section does not contain an introductory sentence or describe the upcoming sections. It is overly detailed and contains an abundance of links for it just being the introductory sequence.
Content - The content is outdated. The most recent citation is from eight years ago. Scientific literacy is not a commonly identified equity gap, so the low quality of the article cannot be explained that way. The writing goes on tangents and detract from the main focus.
Tone and Balance - The tone starts off neutral but in the third section the viewpoint shifts and that disrupts the rest of the article. The article is unbiased and unpersuasive and is written in an informative manner.
Sources and References - There is a wide range of sources and viewpoints. However, a number of the links no longer work and at least one source appeared to be an unreliable, blog-type website. There are no sources from with the last eight years, all those that are listed are older.
Organization and Writing Quality - The organization of the article is poor. The grammar is well done and there aren't any spelling mistakes. While the article is broken into different sections, they don't flow well and that makes it difficult to read.
Images and Media - There are no images contained within the article.
Talk Page Discussion - The article is C-rated and part of the education, linguistics, and science WikiProjects. The talk page is written informally in certain sections, and there are gaps of years between the various entries. The talk page is written way more casually than what I was expected based on what was discussed in class.
Overall Impressions - Overall the article is in below average condition. Its strengths lie in the informative and unbiased writing, but it could use improvements in organization and general content. The article is underdeveloped, there is good content there that just needs some time and attention for improvements.