User:KLJordan/Evaluate an Article

Great Depression in Washington State Project
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: Great Depression in Washington State Project
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I chose this article because the Great Depression interests me and this project examines the Great Depression.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Lead evaluation
The lead for this project includes a sentence that concisely introduces the article's topic. The content section of the article is only one paragraph long, so there is no mention of sections in the lead. The lead mentions politics where the article does not, particularly in reference to the Republican Party. Overall, the lead is solid.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Content evaluation
The content of the article was clear and concise. There was nothing distracting in it. The main content only mentions the date 2010 and the sources are dated between 2010 and 2013 so the content does not seem as up-to-date as it should be. There are no gaps in the information presented  nor any equity issues. The content could be improved in terms of updating research for 2020 but overall it conveys the point.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Tone and balance evaluation
The tone of voice in the article could be improved. It appears neutral except for showing partiality to the Democratic Party, though it does mention the Republican Party as well. Both parties are represented equally in the article, but there is a claim that might make readers lean toward Democrats.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Are the sources current?
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
The citations could be improved as well. While most of the links in the references do work, and the information is relevant to the topic and is from solid academic sources, most of them are from University websites and archives. Most of the articles are dated between 2010 and 2013, which could be updated for 2020. There was one link to the New York Times that did not work properly. In the content section, there are not very many hyperlinks to sources, though there are many listed under references.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Organization evaluation
The article is well organized with clear and concise language. It is also broken into clear sections and there are no grammatical errors.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Images and media evaluation
The article does not have any images to evaluate. There is a banner on the article urging people to add images.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Talk page evaluation
The Talk page for this article had no conversations between people on it. According to the date at the bottom of the page, it was last updated in 2012. It is part of Wiki Projects for Washington State and Seattle. It is ranked as Start class on the quality scale and as low importance on the importance scale.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * How can the article be improved?
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Overall evaluation
This article could be improved but it is a solid start. It could be updated for 2020.

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

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 * Link to feedback:Talk:Great Depression in Washington State Project