User:Bldansereau/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: Fannie Lou Hamer
 * I have chosen to evaluate this article because the subject interests me, the article is medium-length and has several sources, but is not so long that there must be gratuitous details to evaluate.

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 has a concise and descriptive introductory sentence.
 * The Lead seems to have a brief description of major sections, with early life excepted.
 * All information in the Lead is also present in the article. Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * The Lead is moderately detailed, with some adjectives and one sentence that I might take out. I would remove the sentence about "hymnals" from the Lead just to tighten it a bit.

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?

Content evaluation

 * Content is relevant and up-to-date. Everything seems to belong. There are a couple sections (namely the quote from the subject about her daughter's broken legs) that I would cut for brevity, but otherwise seems suitable.

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

 * This article is balanced. The tone may be a smidge biased in Hamer's favor; on the other hand, she has done many remarkable things. If it were were rebalanced, it might be too in favor of white supremacists', and these subjects are not at all equal.

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?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation

 * Most references are books. These are current.
 * Several of the articles cited in the article are not referenced themselves, and a few are archived links. These archived links all work as far as I see.

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

 * Article is well-written, with few if any grammatical errors, and is organized well.

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

 * There are three images. 2 are works honoring Hamer. I would cut one of these two as I don't find the presence of both necessary.
 * The quotation boxes(?) are usually helpful, but I would cut the one about her daughter as I said above.

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

 * There are a few conversations by self-identified white people doubting Hamer's involuntary sterilization, as well as the necessity of Hamer's identification as the granddaughter of slaves. There are also some people who are not being civil or acting in good faith.
 * The article is rated as a good history article, and is part of several WikiProjects including ones about Mississippian history, the Civil Rights Movement, and Women's History.

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

 * Overall a good article.
 * Strengths: organization, a few topical quotes from the subject, well-sourced.
 * A few sentences could be cut for brevity and conciseness, especially ones that are not about the subject (such as the one about one of her protege's being murdered), or are seemingly not relevant to the article.
 * This article is complete, with only minor tightening up left to do.

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

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