User:EcoWarrior22/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: Anaerobic Digestion (Anaerobic digestion)
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I have chosen to evaluate this article because I have managed my own anaerobic digestion research projects. The lit review on these projects make me feel equipped with the background knowledge necessary for my first evaluation.

Lead
The lead is appropriate for introducing the reader to anaerobic digestion, but could be improved in its layout. For example, the number of stages of anaerobic digestion could be appropriate in the opening paragraph. There is a sentence relaying where anaerobic digestion occurs naturally in the environment, but the lead is biased towards human applications of anaerobic digestion. The lead is not overly detailed, though, and is an good overall introduction to the article.
 * Guiding questions
 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Content
The content is all relevant to the topic, but could certainly be expanded on. For example, there is an unequal amount of information about each of the stages of the anaerobic digestion process. Additionally, there is little to no information about the presence of anaerobic processes in nature.
 * Guiding questions
 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Tone and Balance
The article is neutral in terms of what the process of anaerobic digestion is and how it is used. It does not appear to sway the reader in any direction. The only issue is see is the lack of information on natural occurrences of anaeorbic digestion in the environment, which is more of an issue of content than of tone.
 * Guiding questions
 * Is the article neutral?
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Sources and References
All facts presented in the article were sourced, and most listed references seemed like reliable information sources. There were a few sources I found that seemed like inappropriate information sources [ #113-115]. There was a lack in references more recent that 2012, however, which suggests that some recent applications or innovations may be appropriate to update the article with. Links in the article worked.
 * Guiding questions
 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Are the sources current?
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Organization
The article seems to be well written and easy to understand throughout. Proper grammar and spelling was employed. Organization of the article seems a bit odd to me, because it seems tailored or biased to human applications of anaerobic digestion. Additionally, some of the sections lack an introduction statement that clearly summarized the elements discussed in the section.
 * Guiding questions
 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions
 * There were not very many images included to enhance understanding of anaerobic digesters, but there were a decent quantity. Some images included were not properly introduced, and did not make sense in their current configuration. There were a good number of images to support the way anaerobic digestion is used in Waste Water Reclamation Facilities. Some images could have benefitted from a more detailed description in the caption to tell you what you were supposed to get out of the image, such as "acidogenic anaaerobic digestate".


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Checking the talk page
From the talk page, I learned that this article has been listed as a level-5 "vital" article in an unknown topic. This means that it is important to be a "good" article. I also learned the article is currently rated as B-class, and its rating as a "good" article was removed in 2010. There has been conversation about how to achieve the "good" article ranking, but it is outdated. There are plenty of notes about topics that should be added, but that have not been added yet. We have not talked about this particular topic in GEOL 562, but the article seems to have an emphasis on application of anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment which is congruent with the way I have discussed the topic in university courses (background = Environmental Engineering).
 * Guiding questions
 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * How can the article be improved?
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Overall evaluation
The article's overall status is B-class at best. The article does a good job providing an overview of anaerobic digestion process, introduction to the chemistry, and how the process is used for water treatment and renewable energy, but it lacks a history section and an ecological section. I believe the article is underdeveloped, as there has been a lot of significant science revolved around anaerobic digestion come about in the last 7 years.

Optional activity

 * Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

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