User:Lin.jaide/Choose an Article

Article Selection
Please list articles that you're considering for your Wikipedia assignment below. Begin to critique these articles and find relevant sources.

Option 1

 * Article title
 * Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area
 * Article Evaluation

Lead section -
The lead section for the article contains a concise opening sentence that describes the topic with tangible metrics based on the assessment of official government bodies and organizations. However, the lead section does not include more elaboration based on a short sentence briefly outlining the nature of the next sections, not making the sections entirely clear to the reader. The lead section is overall concise but a little sparse in description in comparison to other articles of similar breadth and sections detail.

Content -
The content covers information relevant to the topic at hand - although affordable housing is described in the context of each respective country, region, or state. Writers included topics not only on the broad definition and accessibility of affordable housing within each area, but also how government bodies and organizations were involved in terms of rent assistance, etc.

Overall, based on references the article is relatively well-updated, but ranges extensively based on which country or region affordable housing is being regarded in - while some countries and regions have updated sources published in 2008 and later, others (such as the country of China) contain information based on more outdated sources (in the 1990's, etc.) that may need to be revised. In addition, several countries and regions (including Indonesia) have only 1-2 sentences of description and many gaps in information in comparison to countries such as the U.S. that have a wealth of sources and references.

While "affordable housing by country" arguably is topic that addresses one of Wiki's equity gaps (ie. addresses an issue that disproportionately affects underrepresented minorities and population), these topics also aren't strongly elaborated upon within the article as well. Underrepresented racial minorities comprising the majority of low and median-income housing do not form a large part of the elaboration in the sections of the article.

Tone and Balance -
The article carries an unbiased and neutral point of view, but grossly under-represents certain sections and areas while over-representing over areas, with the most apparent example of this being the disparities in detail between different countries and regions. While the United States section contains sub-sections elaborating upon the situation of affordable housing within various states and cities, the entirety of some countries are represented by a few sentences, often lacking detail on a larger scale as well as smaller regions.

Sources and References -
Based on cited references, the article uses unbiased scholarly sources and verified texts from government databases, etc. to support the content and information included.

Organization and writing quality -
The article contains relatively clear organization by country and region, but the sub-sections are allocated haphazardly and aren't consistent from one region to another - while some regions contain sections on the history of affordable housing as well as specific measures or nuances of housing, others contain only the general overview. Furthermore, the sections do not seem to be organized in any specific order.

Images and Media -
There is little presence of any supporting images and media, aside from some visuals included for the U.S. section of affordable housing that provide some detail on the distribution of median household income based on each respective state. Otherwise, the title's cover image also seems arbitrary and does not fully encompass the theme of the article. Other countries and regions also do not have any supporting graphics and images.

Talk page discussion -
Within the talk page there were some recommendations for additional sources and links to reference, as well as some recommendations on the revision of External Links (which are limited to 3).

Overall impressions -
Overall, the article appears to have a well-organized outline and structure that can be further expanded on, but contains several significant gaps in terms of which countries and regions are being represented in the area of affordable housing.


 * Sources

Option 2

 * Article title
 * Affordable housing by country
 * Article Evaluation

Lead section -
The lead section for the article is extremely well-detailed and descriptive, and extensively covers various themes and topics (housing shortage and its relation to homelessness, efforts of city government to address homelessness, and rent pricing and control, etc.) However, the lead section also contains some information that does not appear anywhere else on the article, including some statistics on the population of the San Francisco Bay Area and the overall poverty rate. Otherwise, the lead section appropriately covers the proceeding sections and issues that will be discussed in further detail.

Content -
The content within the article is overall very descriptive and contains supporting evidence and statistics to reinforce claims and arguments. The historical context for homelessness within the San Francisco Bay Area is fully discussed, as well as includes some federal-level policies and regulations that have impacted or influenced the situation within the area. The content also details some efforts by policymakers and government leaders (ex. California Governor Newsom, etc.) that were known to have taken specific measures to address homelessness.

However, the article also under-reports the issue within certain areas, including the City of Berkeley, in comparison to other cities that saw much more content and specificity. In addition, the article also contains some gaps in how other social issues (healthcare, mental wellness, etc.) intersect with homelessness, although some discussion is made in the section to address these themes.

Tone and Balance -
Overall, the tone is neutral and information-centered, allowing for an objective delivery of the problem. The article also aims to include various viewpoints that prevent an over-representation of any certain points of view.

Sources and References -
The article contains an extensively cited and well-updated list of sources and references, ranging from more dated passages on historical context to recent updates on housing ordinances and legislative measures to combat homelessness in the area.

Organization and Writing quality -
The article is well-organized and easy to follow, with overall sections clearly outlined - however, there is some lack of continuity in the labeling of the subsections as well as organization of the titling for these areas.

Images and Media -
Images and media aren't strongly included within the passage; when they are, the graphics are generally visual descriptions of homelessness rather than specific graphic representations and models to further understanding on the topic. There is some potential to include more graphic representations that reinforce the evidence outlined in certain sections on median household income, rent stabilization, etc.

Talk page discussion -
One of the key concerns outlined in the talk page was the need for the section on homelessness impacts on social and physical well-being to be broken up, since the current organization of the section does not clearly display sub-topics and is more difficult to navigate.

Overall impressions -
Overall, the article was extremely well-organized, fully researched, and detailed - the structure was easy to follow and there were many supporting statistics, readings, and quotes from known figures and governmental bodies specializing in the area. However, there were some gaps in detail concerning specific cities of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the article could also include more supporting visual cues and graphic representations that contribute more strongly to the information being presented.

Sources are included but not comprehensive, many of the citations included are extremely dated when discussing previous legislative actions and regulatory practices on affordable housing (especially for countries such as China), which may also point to a lack of accessibility in governmental publications on affordable housing and housing standards.
 * Sources