User:Anna.bolm/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.

Thermocline


 * I like thinking and learning about temperature differences in the ocean and we just covered thermohaline circulation in class.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Yes, the lead gives a clear, concise definition of what thermoclines are.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * There is a table of contents, but no brief descriptions.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * No, it is a short overview which is then described more in detail in the content.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * The Lead is concise.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Yes, it is very relevant and only about the topic.
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * It seems to be but I don't know if any new revelations have been made about thermoclines.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * Not that I can identify. Interesting to learn about how the change in density stops sound from traveling.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Yes
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * No
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * No
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * I don't know of any other opinions on the layer separating two water masses with different temperatures but if there is one it's not represented here.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Most of the article isn't cited, maybe because the information is considered accepted knowledge. It would be good to have sources from their general information.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * No, there are only 2 sources.
 * Are the sources current?
 * Data was retrieved over 10 years ago.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * The links to other wikipedia pages work but the ones to outside websites don't.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Yes, it is a nice overview with links to similar topics for further information.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Not that I noticed.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * Yes, it is broken into 3 groups which are the main sources of thermoclines.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


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

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * One person asked a clarifying question about a comment in the page which is cited.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * It is associated with three WikiProjects: Fisheries & Fishing; Lakes; and Limnology and Oceanography
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * The article is complete and has not been edited for over 10 years.
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * The article is an easily digestible overview of the topic while providing links to similar topics. It allows someone to get a good idea of what thermoclines are and dive deeper if they're interested.
 * How can the article be improved?
 * An update of resources would be helpful.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * Overall I think the article is well developed and accessible.

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

with four tildes — ~


 * Link to feedback: Talk:Thermocline