User:Juwanm/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
I am evaluating the Wikipedia article Amethyst.

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.)

This article is labeled a level 5 vital article, and ranked a C-class article by Wikipedia. I chose this article due to the popularity of the amethyst mineral in science, history, art, and culture. This makes the amethyst mineral a frequently searched topic. The mineral is also relevant to the topic of Earth resources. As a first impression, I was surprised that a popular mineral rock lacked a well-rounded article that lacked scientific focus. Amethyst is interesting to me as it can be discussed from several science view-points, including chemistry, geology, and earth science.

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

The article lacks a clear introductory sentence that discusses the topic of the paper, and instead only introduces the mineral name, type, and color. However, it does not introduce the reader the main topics of the article. The lead mainly focuses on one topic in the article regarding Greek history and mythology. It does not make any mention of scientific background information to introduce the rock, which should be included as a main theme of the article. The lead also mentions one use of the rock, which is not mentioned as a main topic in the article and should not be included in the lead. Overall, the lead does not clearly define the article and its topics, and lacks important details that would provide a clear summary of the article to the reader.

Content

The topics in this article are more detailed in the historical and and mythological aspects. Additionally, the historical and cultural topics lack diversity, and focus on one group in each topic. The cultural aspects lack detail, and can be more diverse in mentioning several cultural importances of Amethyst. The topic discussing the color of the Amethyst mineral is outdated, and needs improvement from someone with a good chemistry background as mentioned in the talk page discussion. The talk page discussion also mentions mistakes in that section, and questionable facts argued with evidence from improved sources. Finally, there are many topics from different fields that can be included to create a more complete outline for this article. Many of the topics in the article can also be improved with additional information and more detailed descriptions.

Tone and Balance

As mentioned, there is an overrepresentation in the historical and cultural topics of the rocks. Even within those topics there is a lack of diversity, as Greek mythology is the most overrepresented topic in this article. Additionally, the article lacks sufficient scientific content, of which most that is present is flawed.

Sources and References

Some of the sources in this article are outdated, and unreliable such as the use of public encyclopedias which provided incorrect information in one of the topics. The remaining sources are not outdated, with the exception of historical sources relevant to the history section of the topic. There can be more in-line citations throughout the article, and a more extensive list of resources for the information provided.

Organization and Writing Quality

The writing can be improves in the article for better flow. Some sentences can be edited for better wording, while others can be further explained. The organization of the topics is in need of major improvement, as the order feels almost random and makes the article difficult to digest. Some topics can be included as subtopics for a clearer article.

Images and Media

The images provided are clear and relevant. Some images can be replaced for clearer ones with the same content. The captions are in need of improvement in terms and content as well as grammatically. Most of the images published are sourced from the publishers, which questions the reliability of the image.

Talk Page Discussion

There are conversations about outdated and incorrect information, some topics to include, as well as vandalism of the work. The talk page discussion can be improved by discussion relevant topics to include that would provide a clear direction and good flow for the paper. The topics suggested seem almost randomly thought of, and do not provide a balanced article. There is also very little communication on some of the suggested topics.

Overall Impressions

The article can be greatly improved if a clear direction is set for the paper, and tasks are delegated accordingly. There is little progress on the improvement of the published content and suggested topics. The article is more history and arts-heavy, and requires more scientific content. It also lacks representation in terms of the arts. More inline citations and required in the article. Guidance can be very helpful to provide a better article on Wikipedia.