User:Ginny Sadlier/sandbox

"Article Evaluation" I found the training for this week to be quite helpful. It has been ingrained in me over my four years of university that wikipedia is an unreliable source. But this training helped to nuance that understanding. I was previously unaware that wikipedia articles had a quality rating. Now that I am aware of this, it has helped me to better use wikipedia for preliminary background research. I had viewed wikipedia as a quick reference site that should never be relied upon for quality information, however, I think it was helpful for me to see it as any other source which I would evaluate based on references, biases, and quality of information.

I have chosen to evaluate the wikipedia article entitled "Wolseley Expedition." The information seems relevant to the topic for the most part. I am not sure how important it is to the history of the expedition to note that Wolseley named the Department of Public Works station at Thunder Bay after Queen Victoria's son. This distracted me a bit from the actual expedition. The article lays out the information without any obvious bias. It is certainly lacking detail, but it does not appear to be from one particular bias. The information seems to be broad and general. The first reference link took me to the correct source which seemed to match the information presented. The second source took me to a government site with no problems, while the third brought me to the correct book through google books. The fourth and fifth reference links were not found, and the sixth did not have a link. Only one of the external links worked, and was simply an image of the plan of route for the expedition. The first source is a good, academic primary source. The government site is certainly a bit biased, since the expedition was a government-sanctioned endeavor. The book seemed to be a fairly in-depth source on Sir Garnet Wolseley. The talk page contains a few comments on the political intent of the expedition. The article is rated as a start-class, and is part of the WikiProject Canada, supported by WikiProject Ontario, WikiProject Manitoba, and by the joint Canadian military and military history task force. It is also part of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Overall, this article is lacking sources, references, and details. Although it provides a decent general description of the event, it does not really discuss the significance of the expedition, nor provide enough reliable sources to base further research on.

Ralph Connor Article Lead:

Rev. Dr. Charles William Gordon, or Ralph Connor, (September 13, 1860 – October 31, 1937) was a Canadian novelist, using the Connor pen name while maintaining his status as a Church leader, first in the Presbyterian and later the United churches in Canada.

Gordon was born in Glengarry County, Ontario, the son of Rev. Daniel Gordon (1822–1910) and Mary Robertson Gordon (d. 1890). His father was a Free Church of Scotland Missionary in Upper Canada. Like many other young men in the area, Gordon went to Toronto to study at University of Toronto. He then attended Knox College and graduated with distinction in 1886. While at Knox College, Gordon was inspired by a lecture given by Superintendent Robertson about the challenges in the West, leading him to pursue his summer mission work there, and ultimately to spend his life on reform and mission work in Western Canada. Gordon’s views were largely shaped by Robertson, who believed that the settlers lax attitudes towards irregular church services and lukewarm spirituality could only be remedied by missionaries. Gordon felt called to be one of these missionaries and establish not only churches, but Christian social and moral reform in Western Canada. To this end, Gordon completed his theological training in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was even further affirmed in his desire to bring the church to Western Canada. The theological atmosphere in Scotland during the 1870s and 1880s was increasingly liberal. This movement towards harmonizing traditional Christian doctrine with modern advancements, such as science and evolution, greatly appealed to Gordon. He became an influential proponent of social reform in the West, as well as for the union of the churches. The union, which resulted in the formation of the United Church of Canada in the 1920s, was a response to the increasing liberalization and secularization growing in prevalence especially in Canada.

Gordon's views of Western Canada were intricately connected to his views of religion and Christianity. His social and reform work were rooted in his call to ministry and his desire to see Canada united both in faith and in Nation.

The difficulties on the mission fields of the Canadian West was one of the motivating factors for him to write fiction, and he successfully had many of his writings published and sold.


 * 1) Early Life
 * Gordon was born in Glengarry County, Canada West, in 1860

2. Education
 * his father was Daniel Gordon, a Presbyterian cleric
 * completed B.A at the University of Toronto and also attended Knox College


 * Gordon's impression of the religious situation in the West was strikingly similar to that of the Superintendent


 * Gordon completed his theological training in Edinburgh

3. Religion and Ministerial Career
 * His mentors while there, he considered as trail blazers of the 'new attitude'
 * Mission Work in Canada
 * he returned to Canada in 1890, he was ordained and was appointed missionary to the Banff area where he carried out religious services
 * established worship services in unchurched areas
 * St. Stephen's Church
 * Social Stance/Morality
 * Temperance
 * Social Service/Evangelism


 * Doctrine/Union of Churches
 * Presbyterian, Anglican, United Churches

4. Writing Career 5. View of Western Canada
 * National and Global Implications
 * World Conference on Faith and Order
 * Role of Religion in Post-War Canada
 * Role of religion in Uniting Canada
 * the difficulties on the mission fields of the Canadian West was one of the motivating factors for him to write fiction
 * received a positive response he received from other clergy men encouraged him to continue
 * his early novels were set in the Western mission fields that Gordon had become familiar with during his service
 * the plot of his early novels followed a similar outline
 * criticism of the romantic view of the West in Gordon's writing
 * fiction with a religious foundation
 * By writing novels Gordon did not think he was abandoning the Christian ministry, instead he was expanding it
 * to establish Christianity in the West would be a struggle because settlers were not alarmed by irreligion and seemed uninterested in forming congregations


 * Frontier Law
 * The Church in Western Canada
 * Women's Role/Suffrage

6. Marriage and Family
 * War politics and Nationalism

7. Final Years

8. Death

9. Legacy

Peer Review
Ginny, I think you did a wonderful job at outlining exactly how you will format your article. It looks extremely well thought out and organized and has a clear flow to how you will present the material. The objective of your paper is clear and comprehensive and the outline leads the reader to understand clearly what you are trying to achieve with your article. Your phrasing and the way it is written looks really well done. Although I don't see any sources noted, you have clearly done a fair amount of research and seem to be knowledgable on your topic. I look forward to reading your finished product and seeing how your outline comes together.