User:Alisa.coffey/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: Bernart de Ventadorn
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. This article was assigned.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Lead evaluation
The lead covers Ventadorn's significance as a troubadour, and his contributions to the genre. It probably should mention his geographical placement. And should rely a little less on source quotes. It could include clearer general descriptions.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Content evaluation
I don't know a lot about Ventadorn to know if the article is exhaustive or thorough. The latest source cited, however, is 2002, which is not particularly recent.

I'm not familiar with Wikipedia equity gaps. The person being covered does not fall into a minority group classification. However, Ventadorn wrote poetry chiefly about women in the Middle Ages, and his approach to courtly love and the understanding of or perception of women in the Middle Ages could be an interesting discussion that would be relevant to discussions of minorities.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


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

Tone and balance evaluation
The article seems to represent the viewpoints of scholars. Sometimes the scholars are quoted without much explanation or the viewpoint could be further contextualized. For example, the explanation of Ventadorn's discussion of women could be more thorough (the poem and situation could be further explained with examples and explanation given).

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
The article seems to rely heavily on the James Wilhelm source. It's the only source referenced even though others are listed in the bibliography. The sources are not very current, the latest source is 2002. And there is only one link listed besides the ISBN numbers.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Organization evaluation
So far the article only has one heading: biography. There could be other headings such as "works" or "style" that discuss Bernard's poetry and genre/stylistic contributions. At the end of the biography section the author includes a few popular culture references to Ventadorn - these could probably have a separate heading, not included in biography. Other than that the article seems to be fairly well-written.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Images and media evaluation
The article includes the wikipedia image for medieval music as well as a digital public domain image of Ventadorn from a vida. The public domain image is referenced, but not the book or hard copy that it comes from. More than likely, this information could be located?

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Talk page evaluation
This page is older and has not recently been edited. It looks like the last edit was made in 2013, with the conversations being very peripheral and not scholarly. The article belongs to a couple WikiProjects and is rated as "start class".

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Overall evaluation
The fact that this page exists is great! It touches on great highlights from Ventadorn's life and the significant marks of his life. It lists good sources. However, the source work could be updated. The topic could be more thoroughly organized and expounded upon. It's relatively underdeveloped.

Optional activity

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