User:Kimgarcia25/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Western chimpanzee

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I am conducting a review of the Wikipedia article pertaining to the Western chimpanzee subspecies. Although the common chimp species is labeled as endangered by the IUCN the subspecies is critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting.

Evaluate the article
The introductory sentence highlights this chimp as an endangered subspecies of the common chimpanzee. This sentence is concise and covers why this subspecies is important. My criticism of the lead is that there is no overview of the information that will be discussed in the rest of the article. Instead, the last sentence of the introduction is discussing the geographical range that the species covers which can be discussed in detail in the distribution and habitat subheading. My suggestion would be to shorten the details on the geography and replace that information with a brief description of the important headers that are discussed more thoroughly in the article.

The article does present information in a neutral manner it includes areas such as etymology, taxonomy, habitat, behavior, and conservation status without heavily biased claims or attempts to persuade the reader toward a particular position. There is a concern with the dependability of some of the sources linked and a few passages in the article missing citations. An important subtopic that is overlooked is the characteristics of this species and what sets it apart as its own subspecies. The subsection labeled as “unique behaviors” is a collection of facts that could be broken down into subtopics such as mating practices and group structure. Also, despite the importance of this being a critically endangered species the conservation portion of this article is three sentences long. A section on conservation strategies and the ecological significance of the species might help progress the topic further. The contents of this article seem unfinished and could use expanding or reevaluating of current information.

When reviewing the talk page there is a suggestion to add details of recent studies using this species to study human evolution. This species has been found to use tools to hunt and use bipedal posture frequently. This information could be added under the behavior’s subheading. Another thing discussed in the talk page is the confusing language when discussing genetics. The commenter asks for a section to be rewritten in concise language for the average reader understand. Finally, there is a comment on a picture needing to be deleted as it violates the copyright rules of Wikipedia. This Wikipedia article could benefit from more visual media to engage readers but there may be an issue in getting a good a quality photo that does not violate Wikipedia’s regulations.