User:Elanajp/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: Nepali Sign Language
 * I chose this article because have been to Nepal, spent time with Deaf people there, and learned some Nepali Sign Language. I wanted to learn what existed on Wikipedia for Nepali Sign Language, and I noticed there were some flags at the top of the article, so I thought it would be a good one to practice evaluating.

Lead

 * 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?

Lead evaluation
The lead functions more as a content section than an introduction to the article. While the article discusses many linguistic and sociolinguistic features of Nepali Sign Language (NSL) which are outlined in the Contents section, the lead provides information about the status of the language in Nepal and the UN. This information is not elaborated on later in the article. The opening sentence conveys the main point of the article, but it includes the phrase "deaf sign language" which links to the page for "Sign language," which seems inconsistent. The lead is concise but it doesn't cover appropriate information and it contains punctuation and grammar mistakes.

Content

 * 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?

Content evaluation
The content is relevant to the topic, including history, language relationships, many subsets of linguistics features (phonology, morphology, etc), some information about the deaf population in Nepal. The content does not seem particularly up to date, as there is no mention of recent developments, although I see one citation from 2017. Some of the content seems ambiguous, and there may be more concrete information out there about some of the historical and linguistic points.

The article covers many important topics, but I think it is missing current information about the community of users of this language, primarily the deaf community in Nepal. They could add a list of the current schools for the deaf in Nepal and the current associations for the deaf as well as current numbers on participation in those organizations. They could add information about international relations with deaf organizations. They could add more about sign language interpreters and classes. They could add more about the regional sign languages. They could add more about advocacy around language done by the deaf community in Nepal.

Tone and Balance

 * 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?

Tone and balance evaluation
The article seems neutral, but the tone seems informal, and it sometimes provides opinions. These opinions don't seem particularly politically weighted. An example of an informal opinion statement: "Although the process of collecting signs focused on Nepalese Sign Language itself, it is hard to imagine that the process did not occasionally involve Ross interjecting signs she already knew." In the section about the language family classification of Nepali Sign Language, the article provides opposing view points in a balanced way.

Sources and References

 * 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?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
There are many lines and sometimes whole paragraphs without a citation. Many citations go back to academic journals which seems appropriate for this topic. This may be considered a primary source, but I'm not sure there are many textbooks or secondary sources available on Nepali Sign Language. Some of the sources are graduate thesis work, I'm not sure if this is considered reliable. I'm not sure if the citations reflect the available literature, as I'm not sure what is out there on NSL. The sources are mostly over 10 years old, with only a few post-2010 sources. In this sense, I would guess there is more work out there, and the sources could be more comprehensive and more current. Of the links I tried, all but one worked-- the one that didn't work looked like it had a paywall.

Organization

 * 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?

Organization evaluation
The article is not well written. That is one of the flags on the top of the page: "The specific problem is: the article is full of incoherent sentences." There are many errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The overall organization of the article is fine, although I might make some larger headings and more subheadings to organize historical, cultural, and linguistic information separately.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Images and media evaluation
There are no images in this article.

Checking the talk page

 * 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?

Talk page evaluation
This article's talk page centers around the move from the title being Nepalese Sign Language to Nepali Sign Language. It seems like that discussion is finished. I don't see further discussion topics. This article is part of: WikiProject Languages, WikiProject Deaf, and WikiProject Nepal. All rated Start-class. We haven't talked about this particular topic in class, although we have touched on different sign languages in the world.

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
This article needs work to become a clear, concise, and properly cited article. The strengths include the quantity of information, the breadth of information, and the historical context. The article needs to improve in writing style, fact checking and citing, and possibly updates with current issues.

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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