User:Dmpopson/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Phycology

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I study algae. I think this topic is important because algae are extremely important primary producers and their role in carbon fixation and oxygen production is hugely important even on a global scale. My first impression of the page was that it provides a clear, concise introduction to what phycology is and its history.

Evaluate the article
Lead Section- The first sentence gives a good basic definition of the term. The rest of the lead section expands more on what is studied in phycology, but does not outline what the rest of the article talks about. Also, the lead section gives information that is not covered in the following sections and as a result is a bit more detail heavy than it needs to be.

Content- The content heavily focuses on the history of phycology, but does not include much about the field of study or more recent work. The article does do a good job of linking to other articles about related topics.

Tone and Balance- The tone of the article is neutral. It does not offer any interpretation or judgement of the content. The content does not seem to heavily favor one viewpoint over another.

Sources and References- The history section of the article has references that support the statements being made and seem to be reputable. However, the introductory material in the lead section lacks any references.

Organization and Writing Quality- The article is easy to read and there aren't any noticeable spelling or grammar errors. The organization of the article could have been helped by the addition of an overview section that gives a more thorough background into the topic which would lead more into the history and notable people. It would also provide more context for the related articles.

Images and Media- There is one image on the page. It is cited, but it doesn't really add anything to the understanding of the topic.

Talk Page Discussion- This article is part of the wikiprojects for algae and plants. For both it is rated as a start. There is limited discussion about the article with the most notable topic being about different interpretation of the term algology.

Overall Impressions- As the two wikiprojects have identified, this article is a good start on explaining phycology but has room for expansion and improvement. The strength of this article is in the history of phycology, but everything else seems fairly underdeveloped.