User:Cmcopti/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
(Provide a link to the article here.)

Alison Bechdel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Bechdel)

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

I chose Alison Bechdel since she is a good example of a page to aspire to write for my course. She is one of the most well known LGBTQ+ cartoonists and has contributed greatly to the field and to culture overall. My impression was that the page was very detailed and has quite a bit of evidence backing it given it currently has 56 references. I don't think I'll be able to find that many for my own project, nor will my own page be as able to be as detailed as Alison Bechdel's, but it is a good representation of an article that my coursework should strive to resemble.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)


 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Everything seems relevant to the article topic, but the structure was a little distracting, though that might just be my personal taste. The Personal Life section being down at the bottom instead of with Early Life and Career felt out of place; it seems more fitting up with the other sections meant to go more into detail about her personal life.
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * As far as I am aware, all of the information is up to date and it covers most of Alison Bechdel's significant accomplishments.
 * Can you identify any notable equity gaps? Does the article underrepresent or misrepresent historically marginalized populations?
 * There does not appear to be notable equity gaps, and I would argue the article is a good representation of a historically marginalized population, given Alison Bechdel is a LGBTQ+ cartoonist whose works are being detailed and brought to people's attention without bias.
 * What else could be improved?
 * The following line could stand to be removed: "After her father died in 1980, her mother sold the family house, in Beech Creek, Pennsylvania, the small town where Bechdel grew up, and moved to Bellefonte, a less provincial small town near State College with her long-time partner Dr. Robert Fenichel." It might violate the rule of what is absolutely necessary to include in a Wikipedia article. It seems irrelevant to Alison Bechdel's life and like an invasion of privacy.


 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * The article reads as neutral and does not have any heavily biased claims.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * There are no viewpoints that seem overrepresented or underrepresented.


 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * I checked the following citations: 55: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/arts/harvey-awards-comic-books.html; 43: comicsbeat.com/bechdels-are-you-my-mother-gets-100k-first-printing/; and 31 https://web.archive.org/web/20060712101107/http://www.bookcritics.org/?go=finalists. All links worked and all checked sources supported the claims.
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Yes, each one is. The information comes from neutral sources such as articles, documentations of awards and nominations, and books.
 * Do the sources come from a diverse array of authors and publications?
 * Yes, they do.
 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * Conversation topics on the talk page include Alison Bechdel's sexuality, the identity and relevance of her long-term partner, and whether the Bechdel Test should be noted on her page.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * It seems to generally be rated as a B and is a part of the following WikiProjects: WikiProject Biography / Arts and Entertainment; WikiProject LGBT studies / Person; WikiProject Comics / Creators / Strips / United States; WikiProject Feminism; WikiProject Women artists; WikiProject Women writers; WikiProject Pennsylvania; WikiProject United States / Vermont.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * There is more of a discussion on what may be extraneous to include; while we've discussed not including unnecessary personal information in class, our issue for most of our projects is finding enough evidence to list.