User:Confusedjury/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
EcoPeace Middle East

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I believe that the concept of an environmentally focused organization with the primary goal of protecting water resources in the Middle East is extremely important and relevant in today’s world. However, I had not heard of EcoPeace Middle East before this assignment, so I wanted to learn more about it.

My initial impression was that there did not appear to be a lot of information about the organization itself. Only one project was mentioned, “Good Water Neighbors project,” and even that had very few details on its processes and results. I thought that by evaluating this article, I could help identify where it can be improved, encouraging a greater understanding of the EcoPeace Middle East’s work.

Evaluate the article
·       The introductory sentence accurately and concisely explains the organization’s primary purpose. The contents of the article are briefly mentioned in the table of contents section, and all of the information in the lead in also mentioned throughout the article.

·       I feel that the “Actions” section regarding EcoPeace’s scientific research is underdeveloped. The article does not provide any details or examples of this research, and it is not linked anywhere. The article’s content is mostly relevant to the topic. However, the last paragraph of the “Actions” section focuses primarily on a pipeline that has the potential to save the Dead Sea, not the EcoPeace Middle East. Specifically, these sentences do not appear to be directly related to EcoPeace Middle East:

o  “ In June 2009, after a meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick, the Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister, Silvan Shalom, announced a pilot project to build a "pilot" pipe 180 km (110 mi) long from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The pipe would pump 200 million cubic meters per year. Half of this would be desalinated for Jordanian consumption and half put into the Dead Sea. Some experts questioned this project. Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Avner Adin said more studies were needed on the potential environmental impact.”

·       While the article is generally neutral, there are some positively connotative words, such as “bringing together” and “leading role.” Since this article is just a simple explanation of the mission of EcoPeace Middle East, there are not many other viewpoints represented.

·       Each claim does not have a citation, and the citations present look relatively reliable. However, the majority of the sources are relatively old (2008-2009), which limits the accuracy of the article.

·       The article is broken down into clearly defined sections, and I do not see any glaring grammatical or spelling errors. Overall, the article seems concise, but some sentences could be clearer, such as the following quote from the “Actions” section:

o  “Various groups and government officials from several countries say that a pipeline from the Red Sea is needed to save the Dead Sea.”

·       I believe that the images do enhance the reader’s understanding of the topic. The article includes pictures of the organization’s logo, the directors of the program, and a group (assumingly from EcoPeace) on the Jordan River. One of the images is in the public domain, and while the other is copyrighted, it is free to be shared as long as it is correctly attributed.

·       There is basically no discussion in the Talk Page besides a bot’s comment about a link modification. The article itself is rated as “Start-Class” and “Low-Importance,” and it is part of “WikiProject Palestine.”

·       I think that the article does accurately define what the organization does, and the information is clearly laid out. However, more recent sources and detail could be added to enhance readers’ understanding. Overall, I would say that the article is underdeveloped.