User:Cdb1220/sandbox

Article Evaluation

 * Name of article: Shark threat display

I have chosen this article to evaluate because this is a topic that I would like to learn more about, and this article is very short and could probably be expanded and improved with more information.

Lead
The Lead includes an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic. The introductory sentence describes 'Shark threat display' as a type of agonistic behaviour performed by sharks (including links to the respective Wikipedia articles for agonistic behaviour and sharks). The Lead does not include a brief description of the article's major sections, because the article does not make use of sections. The Lead includes some information that is not present in the article. The Lead refers to other species of sharks which perform threat displays but does not explain these behaviours in more detail. The article only explains the threat display behaviours of the grey reef shark (C. amblyrhynchos) in great detail. As a result of the article not making use of sections, and presenting all of the content in the Lead section, the Lead section is overly detailed.

Content
The article's content is relevant to the topic. The article provides a definition of shark threat display, an in-depth example of this behaviour in the form of the threat display behaviour of the grey reef shark, and a brief list of which species of shark perform the threat display behaviour. The most recent cited source was published in 2007, so there is likely more up-to-date literature on the subject of shark threat displays that can be included in this article. The article was last edited in August of 2019 and is a part of two WikiProjects, so it is currently undergoing the process of updating by several users. Some content is missing, including: examples of circumstances in which sharks would perform the threat display behaviour (merely saying the behaviour occurs "when the shark feels threatened or protective" is too vague), and further explanation of the the threat display behaviours of other shark species (perhaps highlighting similarities and differences in the behaviour between species could provide more information to the reader). Some content in this article does not belong. The article refers to the breaching and tail-slapping behaviour exhibited by great white sharks, but goes on to explain that this is an example of agonistic behaviour, but not necessarily a threat display. Given that this claim is supported by multiple sources, this example should not be included in the shark threat display article

Tone and Balance
The article is properly neutral in tone. There are no claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position, and no viewpoints that are overrepresented or underrepresented. Also, the article does not attempt to persuade the reader in favour of one position or away from another.

Sources and References
The majority of facts in the article are backed up by one, or multiple, reliable secondary sources of information. Notable, however, is that there is no source cited for the actual definition of shark threat display. Several facts presented, including the explanation of threat display behaviour in grey reef sharks and the list of shark species which perform threat display, are backed up by multiple secondary sources. As stated above, the most recent source was published in 2007, so the sources could be more thorough as to include the most recent findings on shark threat displays. Furthermore, the sources are not up to date, as the most recent source was published over a decade ago. All links, except for the final source, a PDF file titled " The hunting strategy of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) near a seal colony", work properly.

Organization
The article is well-written and very concise, however, this may be at the detriment of not including some content. The writing uses some longer sentences and confusing wording that may not be understandable by all readers. The article contains one minor grammatical error (an issue with verb tense), and no spelling errors. The article lacks organization; there are no sections, and the content is merely presented as one lard Lead section with no added organization.

Images and Media
There is one image included in the article. This image features an illustration of the threat display behaviour of a grey reef shark. This image could help enhance the understanding of the topic, but the caption is unclear. The image features a red line figure that is unaddressed in the caption. From interpreting the image, it appears that one half of the image shows normal behaviour and the other half shows the threat display, however, this should be explained better in the caption. The image was created personally by an editor of the article, Chris_huh, and as such is deemed to be in the Public Domain. Therefore, this adheres with Wikipedia's copyright regulations. In terms of the layout of the image and text, this article contains a single image, which is situated at the upper-right corner of the article. This is visually appealing and consistent with the majority of Wikipedia articles, which feature the most relevant image situated at the upper-right corner of the article.

Checking the Talk Page
Only a single conversation has happened on the talk page. The only comment present was someone asking the editor a question relating to the content within the article, but the answer contains information found in another article. The editor answers the question, providing a link to the article containing the answer. This article is a part of two WikiProjects: WikiProject Sharks and WikiProject Fishes. In both WikiProjects, this article is rated as a Start-class on the quality scale, and a Mid-importance on the importance scale. As a Start-class article, this article provides some brief meaningful content, however, most visitors to the article will require more information than is found in the article.

Overall Impressions
The article's overall status is Start-class. The article's strengths are the basic introduction to shark threat displays and the in-depth example of the threat display behaviour of the grey reef shark. Also, the tone of the article was appropriate for Wikipedia articles - it was neutral and informative, but did not contain any opinions or overrepresented or underrepresented viewpoints. The article can be improved by increasing the number of up-to-date sources that are cited, especially with regards to citing a source for the definition of shark threat displays. The article could also be expanded, and content could be added to provide more information to potential readers on shark threat displays. The article should be more organized using sections, and more images and videos of the behaviour being performed should be included. Overall, I would assess the article's completeness as slightly developed. Some brief content is given, but it must be expanded on and organized better for the article to become more developed.