User:Claire Yeiji Hong/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Beloved (novel)

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because Beloved is one of my favorite books and because I already have some knowledge about the book and its background that I can use to evaluate the article. Beloved is critically acclaimed and seen to have widespread impact even today.

Evaluate the article
Overall, this was a very well-written article with a lot of good content. Here are my main suggestions:

Lead Section


 * While this article had a good description of the novel, the second paragraph "Garner was subject... had edited in 1974" would be more relevant when moved to the "Background" section under the lead section. While it is important information, it is too detailed to be a part of a concise overview of the book.
 * The last paragraph of the lead section "The novel won the Pulitzer... starring Oprah Winfrey" can be better organized by deleting the second sentence about the survey of writers and focusing on the numerous other awards the novel received. For instance, adding that Beloved also received additional awards apart from the Pulitzer Prize and being a finalist for the National Book Award.

Content

Psychological Effects of Slavery, Pain (under Major Themes)


 * Adding the pain section and psychological effects of slavery together would make it more organizationally clear. The Pain section seems to touch on the same idea, but on a big picture scale. Because the Pain section also touches on the effects of slavery, you can include subsections under the theme relating to the effects of slavery, such as a subsection on "Psychological Effects" and other subsections about the attitude of many former slaves (such as beautifying the pain).
 * You mentioned in the "Psychological Effects" section that Denver also lost her sense of self. However, Denver was never a slave, which makes her less relevant to the section. If you want to include Denver, you can also add a note describing how slavery affects not just the individual, but also the family (which you could also include in the "Family relationships" section underneath).

Definition of manhood (under Major Themes)


 * The first sentence in this section notes that Beloved "depicts slavery in two main emotions: Love and Self-Preservation. However, there is no citation or quote to support this statement.

Family Relationships (under Major Themes)


 * The first paragraph includes a note about the Emancipation Proclamation (also seen in the "Pain" section) but there is no associated citations or links to support this statement.

Heroism (under Major Themes)


 * You include how Morrison has a specific definition of heroism that she reveals through the character of Sethe, but the definition is unclear. You mention later in the next paragraph how her heroic acts are "freeing others from their past" which you could include in the second paragraph of the section as part of a clear definition.

Major Characters


 * Including the character of "Stamp Paid" would be beneficial because he is continually referenced in the article without much information provided about the character. For instance, while he is quoted in the plot and "Definition of Manhood" sections, there are no other details given.

Legacy, Critical Reception


 * There is some content within these two sections that appear blurred together. For instance, the paragraph "Since the late 1970s... suggests that Morrison's stories unite communities" from the Critical Reception section can be moved up to Legacy. Because the paragraph touches on how it affects and benefits many communities and unites individuals together, this paragraph talks more about the long-term impacts and effects of the novel rather than the critical reception of the public.

Trilogy


 * This section seems very out of place at the end of the article. Placing this in the "Background" section can help provide more information to the readers about the surrounding context of the novel.

Tone and Balance


 * Yes, the article appears to have a good neutral tone and maintains a neutral position on issues that could be considered controversial. The article also used a lot of citations to support multiple points of view in the "Banning and controversy" section.

Sources and References


 * The article pulls from many reputable sources such as literary reviews and newspapers such as the New York Times. Many of the sources are current and peer reviewed.

Organization and writing quality


 * Some parts of the article needs work to create a more organized structure (as mentioned above), but the writing quality is strong with little to no grammatical errors. The sections under Major Themes also helps create more clarity in the structure of the article.

Images and Media


 * The article doesn't use many images, except for a cover of the novel and a picture of the Emancipation Proclamation. I don't believe that a picture of the Emancipation Proclamation is necessary for this article and appears out of place as the Proclamation was briefly referenced and is not as relevant to the novel.

Talk page discussion


 * The Talk page discussion is very respectful and has a lot of contributors either asking specific questions about the book or agreeing about specific edits to make on the article.
 * Currently this article is rated "B-Class" but also is listed as a "Top Importance" piece of work.

Overall Impressions


 * The article is overall not bad. There is a lot of good content related to the novel that can be further improved by grouping information for more clarify and adding more information on sections that need more evidence.
 * Currently, the article is well-developed and pretty much complete.