User:Nathan.brenn/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article

Complete your article evaluation below. Here are the key aspects to consider:

Lead section

A 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.

Does the lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
Does the lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
Does the lead include information that is not present in the article? (It shouldn't.)
Is the lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Content

A good Wikipedia article should cover all the important aspects of a topic, without putting too much weight on one part while neglecting another.

Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
Is the content up-to-date?
Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Tone and Balance

Wikipedia 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.

Is the article neutral?
Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
Are minority or fringe viewpoints accurately described as such?
Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Sources and References

A 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.

Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
Are the sources current?
Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
Are there better sources available, such as peer-reviewed articles in place of news coverage or random websites? (You may need to do some digging to answer this.)
Check a few links. Do they work?

Organization and writing quality

The writing should be clear and professional, the content should be organized sensibly into sections.

Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Images and Media

Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
Are images well-captioned?
Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Talk page discussion

The 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.

What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Overall impressions

What is the article's overall status?
What are the article's strengths?
How can the article be improved?
How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Examples of good feedback

A 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.

Peer review of this article about a famous painting

Article #1

Community gardening in the United States

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?

This article is quite specific to my sector and the need that it addresses. On this page, they discuss the history and impact of community gardening in the US with examples given. I believe I could add value to this page and improve on all the information already present.

Evaluate the article

This page has a solid baseline structure that includes a detailed overview defining community garden and its role in the United States. They give a well rounded history of community gardening and its trajectory throughout American history, including its ties to post-war eras and food provisioning. The following sections discuss the benefits of community gardening and what problems it addresses. This section could benefit from more elaboration in the "Cultural" section because it is quite limited in scope/lacks detail. The next section gives countless examples of states and cities that have integrated community gardening into their city planning, out of necessity or recreation. They discuss more established organizations on a broad scale rather than specific organizations. Perhaps including some case studies would beneficial present community farms in the most accurate light. Overall, the article is quite detailed and while could use some improvement, gives great insights into the role of community gardening in various spaces across the US.

Article #2

Urban agriculture

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?

This article is precisely what my PE org is addressing with a slightly more general approach. It seems to be short in length so I will have many opportunities to add to the current content.

Evaluate the article

The article has comprehensive information about urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture. It discusses in depth the main principles of UA, its potential impacts, and the methods and challenges to implementation. At times, certain sections get sidetracked and begin giving a lot of information about an a different topic. Some sections could be developed further and include some more recent information. Their source seem to be reliable, scholarly sources from what a quick skim can gather. Improvements include making urban agriculture the center, apart from peri-urban agriculture (which should probably only have its dedicated wiki page).