User:Beccyw/Maternal behavior in vertebrates/Bksy4312 Peer Review

General info

 * Whose work are you reviewing?

Beccyw


 * Link to draft you're reviewing
 * User:Beccyw/Maternal behavior in vertebrates
 * Link to the current version of the article (if it exists)
 * Maternal behavior in vertebrates

Evaluate the drafted changes
Peer review of article Maternal behavior in vertebrates by user Bksy4312

Lead:

The introductory sentence is great, and it is an exceptional improvement from the current article, since it is actually defining the articles topic as opposed to parental care. I think the Lead is very concise and provides a great overview of the topic. My main suggestion here would be to add a bit more of a description about the articles main sections. Perhaps after you speak about the species that exhibit parental care, you could list the species talked about in the article (fish, amphibians, mammals, birds, reptiles). I would also very briefly introduce brood parasitism and neurobiological influences in one sentence each as well, however, this does not need to go into any great detail.

Content:

All content added is relevant to the topic and adds to what is currently there. The updates to the lead in particular makes the overall content more specific to the term in question-Looking at the references, all of the information appears to be up to date. I looked at the article before reading your contribution and I noticed the message regarding the two sections that needed expansion, I am glad you chose one of those to fix up! If you have time or if any of your sources contain information on it, maybe you could add a sentence or two to the reptile section as well.

Tone:

This topic is not controversial or one that someone can take sides on, therefore, it is presented very neutrally. All of the sections and viewpoints are very balanced and well-represented.

Sources:

I checked all 17 links provided in the reference section and they all worked. It is clear that the current literature was thoroughly searched in the development of this new contribution, and all claims in the article were properly backed up and sourced. All sources came from books (online or text), journals, and the Oxford University Press for the dictionary definitions, which were all reliable. I checked all of the journals used and they were all peer-reviewed. The sources are current, and the older articles come from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. All of the claims made in the article can be found in the source that was provided. This article was an exceptional way to take scholarly literature and make it more accessible to the public in your own words!

Organization:

I did not find any spelling errors in this piece; it was extremely well-written and well-organized. Moving the brood parasitism section out of the bird section and expanding on it was a great idea. It will make the article flow better once these changes are made. I have listed a few grammatical things that you may wish to look at below:


 * I would look out for the placement of the citations and ensure there is a space between the number citation and the next word of the following sentence. For instance: see the oviparous section where it cites numbers 2 and 6.
 * In the brood parasitism in fish section I would split the second sentence into two (I.e., put a period after “when” instead of a comma)
 * I would edit the second sentence in the lead and break it up into two. It is a bit lengthy and I think it would be easier to comprehend if it were to be separated.

Images and Media:

The images and captions were a nice touch to the article, since the original one was a bit bland and did not include any. They are very eye-catching and species specific to support what appears in the text. The images come from the Wikimedia Commons and adhere to the copyright guidelines.

Overall Impressions:

I appreciated how clear the plans for improvement were laid out on top. It made it clear what changes were being made to the article when comparing it to the current version. The article is definitely more complete, well-organized, and clear due to the students contributions. The strengths include the addition of the images, strong and concise wording, and the inclusion of more species as examples of ones that exhibit maternal behaviour. To me, it appears that there is not much left to add to this article and that it is very close to completion. I think it was an excellent job, and the suggestions listed above were only minor due to this. Best of luck on making the final completions to your article!