User:Cathryn25/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: Economics of marriage
 * I've chosen to evaluate this article because it relates to the first unit in our course, the economics of marriage. Therefore I'll have a good idea if any basic information is missing.

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 introductory sentence is concise and clearly describes the articles topic. However, the rest of the lead does not describe the article's major sections. Rather than including a sentence or two about the economic origins of marriage or the benefits of marriage, it instead describes the three main approaches to the subject. This is useful information, however it would make more sense if the body of the article included sections that discussed these approaches. Furthermore, the end of the lead includes a handful of marriage facts that don't seem to fit with any part of the article. The concluding sentence on the the Uniform Premarital Agreements does a good job of introducing the section of legislation and reform on marriage, but could be more general, and instead save the precise description of the act until later in 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 article's content is relevant to the topic, however it is missing some important sections. Specifically, it does not provide detailed description of the three main approaches to the economics of marriage identified in the lead. Furthermore, the three sections included in the article: the economic origins of marriage; the benefits of marriage; and legislation and reform of marriage provide limited information. For example, in the economic origins of marriage section, only two scholarly view are put forward when surely there are more. Likewise, the benefits of marriage section only focuses on tax and wage benefits, while ignoring important economic benefits discussed in models of economic marriage, such as easier access to children, etc. Finally, the legislation and reform of marriage section only considers marriage legislation in the United States. While the section can obviously not cover every country in the world, it could state some common elements of Western marriage institutions.

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 appears to provide a neutral and accurate representation of the sources cited, however it lacks balance. The content of the article summarizes a limited number of sources, and in doing so excludes other significant points of view, such as those mentioned in the article's lead but not further developed in its body. The article would be stronger if its summary of the research was more comprehensive.

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 of the links seem to function. Most facts are backed up by a reliable secondary source, however a couple of facts near the end of the article's lead are missing citations. The sources are current, however they could be more thorough. Only a limited perspective on the topic is given.

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
The article is clear and easy to read with little to no spelling errors. However, the organization could be greatly improved. The main topics do not align with what is discussed in the article lead, so it is not clear why they are important to the topic. It is missing sections that summarize the three main approaches to the topic. In addition, different pieces of information within the same section do not flow together nicely. For example, in the economic origins of marriage section, it skips from the Wrangham's analysis of the economic origins of marriage to Greenwood and Guner's analysis without any transition. As a result, it feels like Greenwood and Guner's article is out of place.

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
The article does not include any images or media.

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 comments on incorrectly cited sources, as well as conversations about the significance of the content. The article is part of the Economics, Sociology and Family and Relationships WikiProjects (although the Family and Relationships project appears to be defunct). The article is rated as start, i.e. it is still being developed but is quite incomplete. From what I've read I would agree with this rating based reasons I note in my above evaluation. In terms of importance, however, it has a high rating.

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 provides relevant information on the topic, but it is far from being complete or thorough. The main way it can be improved is by adding sections on the three main approaches to the economics of marriage, which are listed in the article's lead but not elaborated on in their own sections. In addition, more care could be taken to make sure sources are properly cited, and better connections should be made between different pieces of information within individual sections. As it stands, this article is extremely underdeveloped.

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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