User:Acurc/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Black coral

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

I chose this article to evaluate as black corals are a well studied order of deep sea corals (which is my group's project topic). This order of deep sea corals matters as they are found across a great range of depths (from the surface to the deep-sea) and and can exist individual/ on their own or on reefs possibly contributing to reef building (a significant component of deep sea environments). My preliminary impression is that the information provided in the article is very comprehensive and has very good organization/ layout of the content relevant to the topic of black corals. It also has an ample amount of references indicating that the information provided in the article is generally well supported/ trustworthy.

Evaluate the article
(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 provides a concise overview of Antipatharians (soft deep-water corals),mentioning their global distribution and their ecological role. It introduces this type of coral's classification, etymology, physical characteristics, ecology, life cycle, human use, and threats of black corals, thereby providing a brief description of the article's major sections. It does a good job of providing a clear overview of the topic without delving into excessive detail and does not include information that is not present later on in the article.

Content
The content presented in the article is relevant to the topic of black corals as it covers the taxonomy, physical characteristics, ecology, reproduction, human use, and threats. Furthermore, the content is up-to-date as it was last edited on 2/14/2024 and mentions recent/current threats to the coral such as poaching, ocean acidification and climate change. The article addresses the topic of black corals, which provides insight into a marine species that is not extensively covered much else on Wikipedia. There doesn't seem to be content missing that should be included, although more information on specific species or more recent research findings could enhance the article (as there is only one reference that was published in the past 5 years). It is also well balanced in detail across each section, thereby not giving more weight to certain parts/ neglecting others.

Tone and Balance
The article maintains a neutral tone overall, presenting factual information without bias and there are no apparent claims heavily biased toward a particular position. There are various viewpoints are presented, such as the cultural significance of black corals and their ecological importance, as well as a sufficient amount of reliable references (30+) and the article doesn't attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another. Minority/ fringe viewpoints are not relevant in this context.

Sources and References
The facts in the article are backed up by reliable secondary sources including numerous published/ peer-reviewed scientific papers and studies, as well as references to relevant institutions associated with the topic (I.e. NOAA and World Register of Marine Species). The sources seem thorough, reflecting available literature on black corals which cover different aspects of black corals such as taxonomy, ecology, and threats. The sources are relatively current as they are all published in the last 10-20 years and all links provided for references work.

Organization and writing quality
The article is well-written, with clear and concise language and there do not appear to be any noticeable grammatical or spelling errors. It is also well-organized, with sections covering different aspects of black corals logically structured manner (I.e. becoming more specific in subsections throughout the progression of the article).

Images and Media
The article includes relevant images to enhance to enhance understanding of the topic. There is at least one image provided for each section of the article and for longer sections such as "Taxonomy and classification" and "Ecology" there are multiple relevant images included. Each of the images is accompanied by a concise and comprehensive caption and they are formatted throughout the article text in an aesthetically/ visually pleasing way.

Talk page discussion
The article has an extensive talk page which covers conversation topics such as suggestions regarding formatting, word choice, amount of detail (too much or too little), and the sufficiency/ relevance of sources/ references. The article has been listed as one of the "Natural sciences good articles" and is rate GA-class. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects including Animals, Marine life, and Hawaii.

Overall impressions
Overall, the article appears to be in good standing. It provides a comprehensive overview of black corals, covering various aspects from taxonomy to life cycle/reproduction and human use/ harvesting. It is well-written, neutral in tone, and well-organized. Its strengths include relevance, thoroughness, and clear presentation. To improve, the article could benefit from further expansion on topics such as ecological interactions.