User:Ella1772/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: Drosophila melanogaster
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * In addition to being assigned this specific article for this evaluation, we are learning about Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism in class and lab. Evaluating this article will provide useful information for our experiments in lab.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Yes, the introductory sentence gives the family, genus, and species as well as the common names for D. melanogaster.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * I did not see a brief description of the article's sections in the Lead. Instead, there were descriptions of its use in research and geographic range.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Yes, the information about geographic range is only in the Lead.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * The Lead is concise. It briefly describes the lineage, geographic range, and reasons why D. melanogaster is used in the laboratory.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Yes, the content covers only information about D. melanogaster.
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * For the most part the content is up-to-date. There have not been many edits in the past year, but the page does include some information about known genetic mutations.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * All of the content is relevant. The section on relation to humans could use more information.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Yes, the wording is appropriate for communicating information about fruit flies in a neutral manner.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * I did not notice any claims that seemed biased.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * The misconceptions section could include more detail.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * No, the article states facts about Drosophila melanogaster without the use of persuasive language.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Yes, the article consistently uses citations to back up the facts that are stated.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Yes, the sources appear to be from published journal articles from a range of years.
 * Are the sources current?
 * Yes, there are some older sources as well as recent sources.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * Yes, the links I checked brought me to the source.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Yes, the article is easy to read and the statements are clear.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * I did not notice any grammatical or spelling errors.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * The first half of the article is well organized, but towards the end some of the topics have less information and do not follow a clear direction.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Yes, the images are clear and pertinent.
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * The images all have adequate captions. Some captions are more detailed than others but are appropriate for the content.
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * All images were listed as own work, Creative Commons, or Public Domain. One picture is own work assumed.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
 * Yes, the images are laid out in a sensible manner.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * The majority of the talk page consists of edits that were made soon after the creation of the page over a decade ago. The more recent talk is about fixing a few misstated facts and adding to the content of the page.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * The article is rated as B-Class.
 * WikiProjects:
 * WikiProject Molecular and Cell Biology
 * WikiProject Insects
 * WikiProject Genetics
 * WikiProject Diptera
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * So far we have not learned about D. melanogaster in as much detail as the Wikipedia page includes. The article has details about topics such as development and immunity that we have not covered.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * The article has been removed from the Natural sciences good articles until suggested edits have been made to improve the article (currently a "Delisted good article").
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * The article does have sufficient detail about D. melanogaster to educate someone on what the organism is and its importance in scientific research.
 * How can the article be improved?
 * More editors can provide new information about fruit flies as this information comes forth, such as known genetic mutations. When looking at the rating and status, it is obvious that Wikipedia would like to see improvements made to the article before it can be listed as a good article again.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * I do not think the article is underdeveloped. There have been many suggested edits over its lifetime and it covers a variety of topics relating to D. melanogaster. I think new additions to the article would not be harmful.

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

with four tildes — ~


 * Link to feedback: