User:Hayleyhonescko/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Socratic dialogue

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I am interested in the subject and have a little bit of knowledge on this topic. The article is long enough to be able to give a substantial evaluation while not presenting a challenge with its length.

Lead section
The first sentence in the lead section gives a clear overview of the subject at a high level. The first sentence gives the general definition, while the rest of the lead section gives more substantial information without straying from a description of the topic. The second sentence is important in the content of the entire article; however, it may be unnecessary to be included in the lead section. Additionally, the lead section could include a better overview of the main sections of the article. From the lead section alone, I do not know what will be addressed in the article.

Content
The content of the article is all relevant to the topic. There is nothing out of place or unnecessary. Additionally, the content appear to be up-to-date; however, for the list of modern dialogues, it would need to be verified that this is an exhaustive and current list. I am not aware of any additional dialogues, but it is something to be aware of that this list will likely need consistent updating.

One thing that may be beneficial to the readers to add is a section about the general themes or ideas in the dialogues. As a reader of this article, I know now what the dialogues are, who wrote them, and the process; however, I do not know the themes or philosophical ideas proposed in each. It is likely that I could search each of the dialogues and find a synopsis of the philosophical themes, but this article could compile that information for the reader. For example, in the medieval and modern dialogues, there is a brief synopsis below each title. I think that would be useful for the list of Plato's dialogues.

Tone and Balance
The article provides a neutral tone. There is no swaying in one direction or another. With there being a debate about the authenticity of the dialogues, the author did a good job at acknowledging this debate and providing the information without showing a stance on the matter.

Sources and References
Although most of the resources are scholarly and peer-reviewed, I am not sure that this list is thorough. I would advise more primary sources (e.g. the dialogue text) and more reliable and diverse secondary sources. Most of these works are online education sources, but I know there are more available. Additionally, the reference list looks lengthy, but it is mainly due to the other dialogues (modern and medieval) mentioned in the article. Only about 5 of the sources discuss Socrates'/Plato's dialogues. The other 13 sources are all references to other authors of dialogues. Of those 5, one of the links is broken. (This is the link that was broken: Smith, Nicholas; Brickhouse, Thomas (2002). The Trial and Execution of Socrates : Sources and Controversies. New York: Oxford University press. p. 24. ISBN 9780195119800 .)

Organization and writing quality
The organization of the article was clear and appropriate. The writing of the article seemed to be without errors and was written in a professional manner.

Images and Media
There is only one image on the page (the image of the statue of Socrates). This image does help the reader understand generally the topic and timeframe since most would recognize this as an ancient statue. Other images may help the page be more captivating/

Talk page discussion
The talk page has a substantial amount of conversation relating to the authenticity and facts within the article. Most of the comments are from 15-20 years ago and seem to have been addressed in the current version of the article. The most recent discussion was about adding a dialogue to the list of medieval/modern dialogues in 2020. This suggestion has not been added to the list of medieval/modern dialogues.

The article was rated at Stub class because it is a general description of the topic but lacks substantial evidence and needs more detailed information.

Overall impressions
The article gives a substantial general understanding of Socratic dialogues and gives the readers a list of dialogues to continue to explore; however, it lacks strong evidence and details about the topic. Although this article is very easy to understand, it could benefit from more narrative – which would come from more reliable sources. This article's first priority should be to accumulate and present more meaningful and comprehensive information.