User:Branskk/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Vestal Virgin

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

I chose the article on Vestal Virgins due to a personal fascination. I have been intrigued by this sector of Roman women since I first heard about them. Their status and role in Roman society is unlike any other, and it presents them with rights that many of the cities other women did not have. Before I started my reading, the first thing I noticed about the article was its succinct and easy-to-understand contents chart.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)

Lead & Content:

-The lead does an excellent job of concisely defining the Vestal Virgins' position in Roman society. Though, I don't quite see the point of including the proposed end-date of the Vestal Virgins in the introduction if you are not also supplying the start-date alongside it.

-Everything contained in the article is relevant to the topic and appears to be up-to-date. Though several of the secondary sources are upwards of forty years old, I have no reason to suspect they contain outdated information.

-Due to the nature of the article, it briefly mentions the status and expectations put onto the Roman woman. There is also brief coverage of the powers a priestess of Vesta held over an enslaved person. However, both of these topics could easily be expanded on to give a clearer picture of a wider social structure.

-The media in the article is relevant and aids in the context of the priestesses in the art and architecture of Rome (both ancient and not).

Tone & Balance:

-The article appears to stay well within the limits of literary indifference. It thoroughly covers the unique privileged position of the priestesses while also following these statements up with the risks proposed if a Vestal Virgin were to break any of her sacred oaths.

-The article is not at all debate-heavy. Leaving room for scrutiny and interpretation, but not having to mend the gap between two distinct points of view. Due to this the article maintains and informative and neutral tone.

Sources:

-The majority of the paragraphs have one, if not multiple, reliable sources attached. However, there are a few that contain well written and informative data that simply lack a direct citation.

-One such sentence suggests a connection between the priestesses and Roman wives due to their clothing, yet does not provide any citation.

-Of the links tested, those that were not hidden behind a paywall, all seemed to work as intended.

-A large number of the sources from this article (of which there are 93) appear to come from well-established and highly thought of academic journals and collections. Though this does not always mean they are completely free of bias, it does confirm they have been peer-reviewed and deemed worthy of the publication.

Talk Page:

-The talk page of this article is heavily centered around the apparent overwhelming inadequacies of the article around the year 2005. Misinformation and grotesque exaggerations were rampant in the article, and resulted in a user showcasing their fury and then effectively turning the article in complete 180.

-Besides the early 00's drama, the article is involved in three WikiProjects, ranging from low to mid-importance.