User:Gsinghubc/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Cora Taylor Casselman

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

Cora Casselman was one of nine female delegates to the San Francisco Conference discussed in the first HIST 432 Lecture. I chose this article because whilst researching her for the assigned group activity, I noticed that the Wikipedia article on her was sparse in information in comparison to other sources and did not mention many of her significant contributions. A fact missed is that she was the only woman in the Canadian delegation sent to the San Francisco conference, which created the United Nations Charter. She also remained active in federal and provincial politics and political organizations throughout her life. Noting her contributions is pertinent to conversations about the influences of women and feminism in the creation of the United Nations, and female politicians in Alberta and Canada.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)


 * Lead sentence is concise and accurate. There are no major sections within the article, and thus they are not mentioned in the lead sentence.
 * There are gaps in content:
 * Article does not mention she was first liberal woman elected to parliament, which is a significant fact of interest in regards to Cora Casselman.
 * The article deals with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps in regards to the oft-ignored role of women in shaping many political institutions. However, the tone and balance of the article attempts to minimize and ignore Cora Casselman's achievements.
 * Casselman being one of seven delegates from Canada sent to the United Nations is a fact missing mention, and her being part of the Canadian delegation is a small afterthought in a paragraph, rather than a significant and highly relevant achievement that could be mentioned earlier in the article.
 * The article mentions her being speaker in the House of Commons albeit temporarily, however a balanced view would also include her role in several parliamentary committees.
 * The article's choice of words in Casselman "succeeding her late husband" is not untrue. However, by choosing to not mention that she had won the byelection against other candidates, it insinuated that Casselman did not win an election but rather 'succeeded' a position attained by her late husband.
 * The writing structure is clear and easy to read. However, it can be better summarized by dividing her contributions and adding more information. Possibly a section each on involvement in Albertan provincial politics, federal politics, and role in the Canadian delegation to the San Francisco Conference.
 * The sources include a press article from the Ottawa citizen, although it is appropriate in that it announces and is used to confirm her election. The article needs more, and better sources to provide evidence to the many facts written about Casselman that are not cited.
 * The only media used is a 1941 portrait of her. There are clearer, more visually appealing images of her available online. However, they are copyrighted by the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
 * The Talk Page in recent includes little more than image improvements and additions to other relevant categories on Wikipedia.
 * My general impression is that although information about Cora Casselman is not widespread, there can be more use of well-cited details about her that are presented in a neutral tone. Although, the article presents some major facts of interest, they are not cited, and other significant facts of interest are neglected. The article could use more development.
 * Article