User:Alank202/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: Two Treatises of Government
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I chose this article because it covers a text we will be reading later in the course.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Yes.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Not very much.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Yes, it compares its subject with earlier publications from the author.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * It's pretty concise.

Lead evaluation
The lead starts off strong with a concise description of the subject, but later trails off a little bit to talk about Locke's earlier work.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Yes.
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Yes.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * It doesn't look like it.
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?
 * No. It does talk about slavery, but with a focus on Locke's writing on it.

Content evaluation
The content is very relevant to the subject and seems to sufficiently cover various aspects of the work as well as recognizes the varied views people take on it.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Most of the article is solidly neutral, but a few paragraphs seem to have a level of interpretation into Locke's meaning.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * The subsection on "Conquest and Slavery" appears to read into Locke and make claims about scholarly consensus that, according to the talk page, don't exist.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Not outside of parts of the section on the Second Treatise.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * The Second Treatise section aims to explain several core concepts and comes off as someone's own understanding of Locke.

Tone and balance evaluation
Most of the article is well-balanced and neutral. However, the section on the Second Treatise is much over-examined compared to the First and reads as some editor's personal understanding of Locke.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Most of the article, aside from the section on the Second Treatise, is.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * They appear to be. The sources include several university presses and a variety of experts across time.
 * Are the sources current?
 * Some of the sources definitely look fairly recent. Others appear to be older histories.
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * Yes, the sources seem to be from various times as well as include both men and women.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * Most of them do. Some don't.

Sources and references evaluation
The vast majority of the cited sources look really good, but the section on the Second Treatise in particular lacks consistent or reliable citation.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Yes.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * I haven't noticed any.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * Yes.

Organization evaluation
The article is well organized, with a clear table of contents and many sections and sub-sections that make sense.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Yes, it shows Locke as well as early prints of the book.
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Yes.
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * I would think so, as they are all of very old subjects.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
 * More or less. There aren't very many, but they make sense and look fine.

Images and media evaluation
The images are good and relevant, though there aren't a great abundance of them.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * There are some complaints about certain sections and others that point out major areas to work on.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * It's considered a "Level-Unknown Vital Article", and is a part of the WikiProjects for philosophy, books, politics, and England.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * There are a lot of extremely long posts that lay out grand plans for the article and make arguments in themselves at a time.

Talk page evaluation
This article has a very passionate and ambitious talk page.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * Most of the article is really good! It is held back most by the unruly section on the Second Treatise.
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * It extensively covers all the relevant information for basically understanding Locke's two treatises.
 * How can the article be improved?
 * The section on the Second Treatise definitely could use some reworking.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * I'd say that eighty percent of the article is pretty good, but it's held back by one lengthy and poorly developed section.

Overall evaluation
The article is really pretty solid. It covers a lot about an influential work really well, but the section on the Second Treatise, while admirably extensive, could definitely use some work.

Optional activity

 * Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

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