User:Lbrown44/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when I was younger and I wanted to know more about the controversies of it that I might have missed when I was younger. I also think the book is very well known and taught in a lot of schools and has been prominent in children's literature.

Evaluate the article
The lead includes background information on the book and the effects it has had in the world of literature. It also briefly mentions the different sections that appear later in the article but I do think the themes should be mentioned more specifically in the lead. The lead includes no extra information and it clear and concise.The article provides relevant and very up-to-date content. The article also goes into some brief detail about African-American culture in the novel and the discussion scholars had on how the book was shaped by this culture. In the past this culture has been one of the more underrepresented topics, especially from the African-American point of view. The article also mentions Mark Twain's reasons behind the writing and how the current topics at the time effected the novel (voting rights, literacy debate). The article does a good job plainly discussing the controversies mentioned and keeps a neutral tone while using quotes and paraphrases. I did notice there are a lot more viewpoints on why the book should be banned or replaced, but the article does mention some viewpoints from the opposing side. The article does a great job quoting and citing the relevant and thorough sources of the quotes/paraphrases used. The sources used are both recent and older but for the most part within the last few years. The sources are from many different authors from different backgrounds. One of the links added does not work and leads to a 'page not found' response. The article is easy to read and provides quick information into the topics. No grammar or spelling mistakes found. The article is very well organized into the main sections that provide a comprehensive overview on the topic. The article has few images of the illustrations from the novel and an image of Mark Twain. Of the few images included, they have concise and clear captions and follow the copyright regulations. The images are very spread out since there are only 4 and include blocks of text in between them, but I think the images could be displayed in a more appealing way. The talk page has some posts about adding citations, adding subsections and the variability of some citations. This article is a part of 3 WikiProjects including children's literature, novels/19th century and books and is rated B-class. I think overall this article has many solid points and good citations involving the controversies discussed. I think the lead should mention the books themes more and I think the theme section could be revised and talk less about the controversies about racism in the book and more about the theme of racism and identity in the book. I think adding another image or two would be good and maybe moving them around to make them more appealing could help. I do think this article is pretty well developed overall, especially with the plot summary and the controversies.