User:Anne181625/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
I evaluated Wikipedia's article about Topaz.

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because considering that topaz is a popular gemstone, holding the title as November's birthstone, the article is not that well developed. This article matters because it provides valuable information about one of our earths resources and it is important that Wikipedia can provide thorough and accurate knowledge about this gemstone. My first impression was that There could be more information about the process of extracting topaz from the earth and any ethical problems associated with it.

Evaluate the article
Lead sections:

Quite a short lead section that mostly just goes over the different colours of topaz and its use as a gemstone. Could talk more about how it is the November birthstone and more specifics about the different varieties.

Content:

All the information in the article is relevant to the topic. There could be more information about how topaz is mined and processed for retail. The article does include mention of other civilizations around the world that have created words for this gemstone but perhaps more research could be done on how they used it. Most of the history is about the Middle Ages in Europe so more research could be done about this minerals place in other times around the world. Some more chemistry behind why certain colours of topaz occur would be interesting for the reader. Also a more organized list of the different varieties of topaz along with images of each would be beneficial information to add.

Tone and Balance:

The tone and balance od this article are good. There is no claims that are biased and the article remains neutral towards the subject. Always discusses the facts associated with topaz without opinions.

Sources and Referencing:

Citation links work and they support the corresponding text. Most of the sources are from scientific sources but some are general mineral websites with unknown credibility. Sources aren’t biased, just discuss the facts around topaz. Some sources come from various universities and states like Texas and Cambridge university.

Organization and writing quality:

All information is sorted into sections which makes this article neat and easy to find information. Some of the paragraphs don't have a good flow and jump to different topics without a proper flow. Turning these paragraphs into a list of qualities might help with the formatting style.

Images and Media:

A few images of the different styles of polished topaz and their colours along with a map of where topaz is mined which provides a good visual component to this article.

Talk page discussion:

Talk page doesnt have many discussions on it. Many of the postings are very outdated. The conversations that did take place are productive and discussing if certain information, like blue topaz, is factual information. This is a level-5 vital article and it a C-class article. It is part of the Gemology and Jewelry, Geology, and rocks and minerals WikiProjects.

Overall Impressions:

I would consider this an underdeveloped article. This is a good base for the article on topaz but a lot of the information could be developed further to provide more in-depth information about topaz to the readers. Also getting more into the modern day appearances of topaz, like how it is Novembers birthstone, could make the article more relevant to readers.