User:Denniskuipers/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.


 * Name of article: Environmental science
 * The environmental sciences have a great deal in common with Earth sciences and the resources of Earth.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?

As a very broad topic in of itself, the opening sentences describe environmental science well in terms of its specific categories and gives further links to learn about each topic if desired.


 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?

The lead appears to include very little description of the following sections within the article, but instead points to other articles which share commonalities with the articles major sections The final paragraph of the lead pertains completely to the final topic of the article regarding regulations.


 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?

Yes the lead contains information regarding the origin of the study of environmental science.


 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

The lead is straight to the point and does not stray away from the topic at hand

Lead evaluation
The introduction to the article is written with very concise, well-thought phrasing. Every talking point contains a link to further information of the subject leaving little to no room for improvement.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?

Being such a broad topic with many subtopics it is difficult to find any irrelevant information in the article.


 * Is the content up-to-date?

The article was last updated December of 2019 while the latest reference linked is from February 2010. Considering the environment is an ever changing study with controversial coverage more recent content could be added.


 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?

The article mentions relatively recent history of the topic around the 1970's but none of the publications provided are from the recent works of experts in the subject.

Content evaluation
The content is laid out in a way that the critical information is shown first so the information a reader is looking for would likely be found quickly. The page has links to numerous sub-studies of Environmental sciences in the See Also section.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?

The writer of the article did not put any bias into their work. The article is written in a professional, unbiased manner.


 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?

Not unless standing with science is counted as a bias in today's world.


 * Are there viewpoints that are over represented, or underrepresented?

The points of the article cover each main theme of science equally.


 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

All valuable information provided directly in the article is referenced to credible sources of science articles or websites so any potential persuasion has been made from its sources.

Tone and balance evaluation
The article keeps a professional stance throughout it's body not taking any hard stance away from anything but reliable science papers and websites. As such, no changes can currently be made to improve the balance of the article.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?

All the sources given are verified scientific journals, papers or websites, but the article could still use a few more references to certain sections. For instance the line under Regulations driving the studies "Numerous state laws have echoed these mandates" could link to a set of laws.


 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?

The sources given cover the topic well, but there is far more literature available if the article were to be expanded rather than outsourcing to other pages.


 * Are the sources current?

The sources given are from the 2000's to as old as 1994. While they are sufficient for the reasons of the article, more recent sources are available considering some of the references are to web pages that were accessed over 10 years ago.


 * Check a few links. Do they work?

They are all in a working order and links to books direct to areas that one could find the book.

Sources and references evaluation
The reference section could use some updating and extending if the page wishes to display the most up to date knowledge on the subject.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?

Yes the article is written in a very readable manner with the


 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?

No the article is written in a professional manner.


 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Yes as environmental science is a study containing many others, it makes sense to lay it out in a way to describe that along with the history important to it.

Organization evaluation
The article is well written with no errors to be found in the grammar or organization.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?

Some images provided convey a sense of satisfaction or wonder to the reader more than a source for further understanding. The open coal pit photo in the geosciences subsection gives a nice landscape view of an example area covered by the subject


 * Are images well-captioned?

They provide a simple description catered to the subject image often with links to wiki pages of their contents.


 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?

Most images are from an open source, and a few that are not make reference to the owner and copyright.


 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Yes there is not too many or too little, and each image is accompanied by sufficient related text.

Images and media evaluation
The images in the environmental science article are all relevant in some way to the field of study, but some are unnecessary as they add very little to the reading of the text such as the Blue Marble composite images under Atmospheric Sciences.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?

There are a variety of conversations going on with topics from revising the ecology section of the page to simple wording issues. People generally look happy with the current state of the page.


 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?

The article is rated C in WikiProjects Environment, Technology and Science.


 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

The discussions seem to mostly be one way with little to no back and forth comment chains.

Talk page evaluation
The talk page seems to be active in people proposing new ideas, but there are very few comment chains working towards implementing any of it. For the most part the public seems to be happy with the state of the page as it is right now. In the past there was much disarray calling for total overhauls which appear to have been made.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?

The article is in a good state right now where people feel they it is not in need of touching up


 * What are the article's strengths?

The strengths would be its simplicity. It knows it does not need great detail to describe each piece the study because other more specific pages exist with that information already.


 * How can the article be improved?

Some suggestions would be to modernize it a bit more as the sources are at least 10 years old while the subject is an ever-growing science. Another would be to change around some images as some serve little purpose.


 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

The page was very well developed with all the information necessary to inform the reader.

Overall evaluation
The article is well designed with all subjects being well thought through. Any changes would be minute or controversial so it's best to keep it as is for the time being until a dramatic breakthrough in environmental sciences occurs.