User:Ben Novotny/sandbox

Article Evaluation

 * "Guillaume de Machaut" (Guillaume de Machaut)
 * After reading about de Machaut in the textbook, I turned to his Wikipedia page to find out more. I feel that it is a good choice for evaluation as its B-class rating indicates that there are flaws worth discussing.

Evaluation Questions

 * 1) Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * 2) * While all of the sections (Life, Poetry, Music, Recordings) are relevant to Machaut, they do feel a bit unorganized. The Poetry section's example feels awkward because it does not expand on the poem's noteworthy elements. In addition, I would argue the list of recordings could be incorporated into the "List of Compositions by Guillaume de Machaut" article. This would improve the flow of the article. The article could also benefit from adding an infobox.
 * 3) Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * 4) * In the Poetry section, the article reflects bias by claiming, "Machaut did much to perfect and codify these fixed forms." This praise of Machaut seems to be the opinion of the contributor due to the lack of a source. Bias is presented again later in the section with the statement, "Machaut was a master of elaborate rhyme schemes." Again, the claim lacks a reference to any relevant person/group that may have held this impression of Machaut, leaving readers to conclude that the claim is an opinion of the contributor. This contrasts the statement in the lead, "he is regarded by many musicologists as the greatest and most important composer of the 14th century." Here, it is acknowledged that the opinion belongs to "many musicologists" and is supported by sources.
 * 5) Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented or underrepresented?
 * 6) * Wikipedia articles are required to be neutral, though this one seems to sway toward praising Machaut by repeatedly mentioning his influence on others and touting his skills often without references to sources.
 * 7) Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * 8) * There are very few links provided for references, but the references that are there do seem to support the article's claims.
 * 9) Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * 10) *The majority of the facts presented in the article are not referenced with a source. This flaw is likely the main reason for the article's B-class rating. That said, the provided references seem to be unbiased and are from academic publications and books published by authors with professional experience in the topic/related topics. These are appropriate sources for Wikipedia.
 * 11) Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * 12) *Many of the sources are from the 1980s and 1990s. While this does not make them incorrect, the article could benefit from the utilization of more recent sources. More sources need to be added to back up unsupported claims.
 * 13) Check out the Talk page. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * 14) *One conversation on the talk page involves part of the Guillaume de Machaut 's name (de Machaut) possibly being a reference to his hometown. This resulted in an acknowledgement of the possibility in the article. There are also brief conversations about adding images, finding poetry translations, as well as mistaken contributions.
 * 15) How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * 16) * The article has a B-class rating. It is a point of interest of the WikiProjects for Composers, France, Biography, and Middle Ages.
 * 17) How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we’ve talked about it in class?
 * 18) *I would say that the article is more focused on the individual topic while the textbook is more focused on linking Machaut to other topics. Though the textbook gives a brief biography similar to the Wikipedia article, the overall section is titled "Machaut and the French Ars nova." On Wikipedia, Machaut and the Ars nova have their own pages. So the textbook tends to tie together topics in more depth to help students learn about the era, while Wikipedia discusses the topic in a more narrow fashion.
 * 19) Are images used properly?
 * 20) *The provided image clearly identifies Machault, though the caption could be improved by noting the image depicts a scene from Machault's poetry. The image is also under public domain and is found in the Wikipedia Commons, indicating that it is being used correctly.
 * 21) What is your overall opinion of the article?
 * 22) *Overall, this article needs improvement. The clear lack of references is a major flaw that can be addressed (I will certainly consider the topic for my Wikipedia article assignment). I feel the flow of the article could be improved as well. There are instances where a fact feels out of place or in need of expansion. For example, the Poetry section states that Machaut influenced other poets. However, the rest of the paragraph focuses on the "improbable" potential meeting of poet Geoffrey Chaucer and Machaut. This could be more concise organized more clearly. That said, there is quality information and writing within the article. It just needs some improvements.
 * 23) Talk page interaction
 * 24) *Talk:Guillaume de Machaut
 * 1) *Talk:Guillaume de Machaut

Option 1

 * Article title

(Fanny Mendelssohn)


 * Article Evaluation
 * This article is in need of improvement. It received a C-class rating from the WikiProjects for Biography / Arts and Entertainment, Women's History, and Women in Music. The WikiProject for Composers gave it a Start-class rating. After doing some research, I believe that Fanny Mendelssohn's musical style could warrant its own section (or at least be explored in greater detail). The "Grandchildren" section could be changed to a "Legacy" section incorporating the children/grandchildren, The Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn Museum, and any other information might find regarding her legacy. The limiting gender attitudes toward women that Fanny Mendelssohn faced at the time could also be expanded on. They deeply impacted her life by convincing her not to publish her works until just a year before her death.  There are also many facts in the article that need inline citations. If I choose this article, contributing specific inline references would be beneficial.  An infobox could also be added to the article.

Option 2

 * Article title

(Guillaume de Machaut)


 * Article Evaluation
 * The style of Machaut's works is something that could be discussed in greater detail and could have its own section. In addition, the factors of Machaut's life that influenced his music, like his career, could be beneficial to the article. Reorganizing, improving neutrality, and adding inline citations would also help. The article's ratings also suggest the need for improvement. The Composers and France WikiProjectes gave the article a B-class rating, while the Biography and Middle Ages WikiProjects gave it a Start-class rating.

Option 3

 * Article title

(Chanson)


 * Article Evaluation

This article needs to focus more on the chanson as a genre rather than just the different types of chanson. Perhaps some of the existing content could be incorporated into a "History" section. In addition to an overall expansion, more information could be added about the Nouvelle Chanson, increasing the scope and accuracy of the information. The Start-class rating indicates that this could be a good article for expansion. As with the other articles under consideration, the addition of inline citations would be an improvement.

Planned Contributions to Fanny Mendelssohn

 * Some reorganization should be done. The Life section could be organized with sub-headings.
 * Sub-sections for compositions and style could be incorporated into the Music section.
 * A Legacy section can be added, replacing the Grandchildren section and adding a mention of the Museum from the lead and details about posthumous publications as well as Sebastian Hensel's role in preserving documentation and portraits.
 * Add an infobox.