User:Brogandice/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: (link) History of Malawi
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. I hope to focus my wikipedia project on the history of Malawi as it relates to female position within society so understanding the current article on the history of Malawi is crucial to understanding this work.

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 includes a sentence which discusses the topic but is supremely vague. The lead fails to provide an overview of the succeeding sections but does accurately depict information which can be found in the article in the lead. It is concise but detailed enough to provide clear understanding for the rest of the article.

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

 * The content within the article effectively covers the scope of the issue and in doing so the author/s largely avoid placing unneeded information within the article. One particular example is the first sentence within the prehistory subsection, "In 1991, a hominid jawbone was discovered near Uraha village that was between 2.3 and 2.5 million years old, the oldest evidence of the genus Homo ever discovered." The only portion of the article which seems to border an excessive amount of information is the subsection devoted to explaining the history of the Ayao people. The content provided is up to date with the prevailing information on the history of Malawi.

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
The article maintains neutrality for much of the article but a particular subsection lacked the objectivity required for successful articles. The section on the Ayao people reads in a very argumentative and subjective light, almost as if the author attempted to convince the reader of a point of view. This is compounded by the fact that this subsection receives the most space within the article, exacerbating the effect of the subjective tone within the article.

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
Some of the information presented is sourced to other wikipedia articles and lacks outside sourcing for this information. The information which is cited within the article is limited in its expanse as only 5 sources are referenced throughout the entirety of the article. The sources themselves are largely credible, excluding a source which the credibility of is questionable; https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-cult-of-hastings-banda-takes-hold/article4273860/. Four of the five sources listed provide sources with links which work while the 5th presents no link at all.


 * 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
The article is well written and clear throughout but struggles with conciseness in several subsections. Specifically, the section titled Trade and Invasion is lengthy and some parts within the sub sections feel unnecessary. Despite this, the article maintains a clear and concise direction which maintains its organization throughout.

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
Although the images are fairly limited, the images used are very effective at providing context for the source material. The captions are efficient but very limited and the images would be benefitted by more in depth captions. The images appear to be adhere to copyright regulations on wikipedia and they are laid out in such a way that keeps drawing the reader further into the article.

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
The conversation at the forefront of the talk page centered around the relations between Malawi and South Africa; the discussion is built around whether or not a citation was accurate. The article is rated as a level-5 article and is part of the wikiproject history and wikiproject Africa. It is very limited and does not cover the breath of knowledge that our class lecture has.

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
The article is considered a level 5 article which is vital to the greater Malawian project. The strength of the article of the layout and the image selection; both of which are crucial to the success of the article. The primary weakness of the article is the subjectivity and length of some of the subsections specifically the sections within the trade and invasion section. The article is well developed for much of it but the sections which I addressed previously diminish the overall quality of the article.

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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