User:Cbergamini/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.


 * Domovoy: (Domovoy)
 * The Domovoy is a household spirit from Russian and Slavic folklore that I have recently been learning about and I am interested in getting more involved in the Folklore and Mythology Wikipedia projects.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? The language could be simplified for readability and accessibility.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? If by this you mean a "Contents" section, then yes.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? Explanation of the "supreme Rod" is not within the article, despite it being mentioned in the lead.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? It's short, but the description (1) assumes readers have prior knowledge (on folklore, religion, and other jargon) and (2) focuses more on the domovoy's role as a member within kinship relations and largely ignores other important features of the domovoy.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic? yes, but the organization could be improved on. For instance, why does the first section jump into comparison with Roman folklore, rather than giving a more detailed explanation of the domovoy itself?
 * Is the content up-to-date? There is no section on the invocation of domovoy in contemporary periods or in popular media
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? I think this article could be re-organized to ensure clarity and I think a number of sections could be added, such as: a general summary of the domovoy's behavior and characteristics; a list of related stories and details featuring the domovoy, contemporary usage and belief associated with the domovy; a history of the domovoy (reviewing what periods the lore was more popular and how it manifested during different times and where); a reference to the Folklore wikiproject

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral? yes.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? No
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? Underrepresented viewpoints common to wikipedia pages on folklore -- statements like "They are believed..." -- who is believing?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? not exactly, but without a section that historicizes the domovoy readers might assume that the reader intends to explain that the domovoy and the beliefs associated with it are still commonly in practice

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? Yes
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? There are only 3 sources, so not necessarily.
 * Are the sources current? Some, but for folklore, recent literature is not necessarily essential.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? Yes

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? No
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? No
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? Not very well.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? A few
 * Are images well-captioned? Yes
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? I believe so.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? Yes.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Conversations are being had about whether or not to create stand-alone article for related creatures of folklore (namely the Dvorovoi) and similar conversations about whether or not there needs to be more stand-alone articles in English the mirror those in Russian.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? Rated B, part of mythology project and Eastern Europe project (which is inactive)
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? More about specifics on how content is being portrayed, what should/shouldn't be excluded, but mostly about what needs it's own page vs. what can be merged together into one page.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status? Okay? I wouldn't have rated it a B.
 * What are the article's strengths? Vairety of pictures and links to other related characters of Russian folklore.
 * How can the article be improved? Can be re-written to be more concise and detailed.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? I think it is relatively underdeveloped and could be significantly expanded.

Optional activity

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