User:KatieRob27/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: Street art
 * NMAC 5108 has a group objective to research and write a Wikipedia entry about Norman Mailer’s the Faith of Graffiti. I wanted to improve my understanding of “street art.

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 is concise and includes an adequately descriptive, introductory sentence but does not include a brief description of the articles major sections. The lead includes terms that are not present further in the article like “neo-graffiti” and “post-graffiti.” The lead should be re-written to include the main sections of the article and other terms and types of art should reconsidered as non-essential to the lead and perhaps used within later sections like ‘Background.’

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?

Content evaluation
The article's content is mostly relevant. Some of the resources used do not further the topics validity like the use of an artist's personal webpage as a resource. Some information is interesting but not well developed or explored. For example a contributed cites an article about increased use of and changing attitudes on street art and how that is related to gentrification projects, but then there is no further information or documented proof of this shift of opinion.

Content focuses on more current street art trends, but does not explore origins through the use of reliable sources. There is no mention of the Norman Mailer essay or accompanying photography from Jon Naar. While the documentary film list is a good start to illustrate the art movement’s cultural impact and importance, there is no information about street art in literature, film, photography or music.

The background and origins section of the article are short and lack factual information. The article does highlight related art movements, mainstream street artists, and popular street art regions and cities worldwide. There is a section outlining documentary films on or related to street art. The inclusion of this type of information shows the scope of the topic and the potential for more in-depth research. The article focuses mostly on modern street art with only mentions of early works from the 70s and 80s.

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 article is more positive-leaning that neutral. It reads as being written by fans of street art or artists within the movement. There is little exploration of the negative public perception of street art. While not persuasive in tone, the article is mostly positive about the art form.

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?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
This article has a sizable reference list but not all of the links work or are current and as a whole, the article relies heavily on digital sources. Reliable sources like art history textbooks and academic articles should be explored.

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 tone of the article is casual, and the writing style is unsophisticated. This is best illustrated the short paragraph under the heading “Around the Globe.” There is no reference and the sentences are more supposition than fact.

The article uses extra words that often do not add to the meaning or understanding of the message. While contributions do not seem blatantly biased, there is little to no information on the negative views of street art.

The overall organization of the article would improve the coherency of the piece. There is no uniformity in headings especially later in the article. Users switch between headings and sub-headings, placing information under unrelated sections or topics. The main sections are not mentioned in the lead.

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 includes a lot of images, possibly too many, as some do not really help the understanding of the topic. Images used are mostly unreferenced and do not seem to follow copyright Wikipedia guidelines. Image layout choices could be more visually pleasing. Captions are as a whole straight from the text or make sense with the image. One caption and image did not match at all. Appearing both in a picture caption is a statement about art pieces installed in remote areas being “short lived.” Initially I wondered if this referred to a waning trend of art in remote areas or to the length of time these types of pieces are installed. Another possibility is the author meant that art pieces in public areas receive more foot traffic therefore impacting a larger audience and having a longer lifespan. Clicking on the corresponding reference in hopes of deciphering the author’s meaning, the user is taken to an artist’s webpage featuring colored smoke-cloud art. This form of expression would be time-sensitive or short lived but has little to do with how it’s used in the article and does not correspond to the picture above the caption.

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 has been active sporadically for the last 6 years, mostly by the same content creators. As a whole the talk page users are civil and supportive of each other, but there are a few entries from users who do not intend to assist other than to criticize research or work.

The article has a C-rating and is a level 5 in the topic of Art, meaning there is plenty of improvement that could be made to the article. It is part of a WikiProject - one of high importance (graffiti) and also under public art.

As a class we’ve discussed the importance of crafting Wikipedia entries that are quality in tone, grammar, and research. This article seems to have been crafted by casual users who are fans of or perhaps artists who create within the medium. Instead of relying on reliable resources it pulls heavily on digital research.

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
The article has a C-rating and is a level 5 in the topic of Art, meaning there is plenty of improvement that could be made to the article.

The article is a work-in-progress. There is a good basis for more detailed work as well as reorganizing headings and overall editing of grammar and word choice. There is a lot of opportunity to continue improving this article.

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:Street art