User:Lindseywilmot16/Evaluate an Article

Article:
Dolphin

Why I chose to evaluate this article:
I chose to evaluate this article because I like dolphins. I think they're very interesting animals and I also find them cute. Before reading this article, I have very little knowledge on dolphins. I know some basic information about them, such as their high level of intelligence and their habitat.

Evaluation:
Lead Section - This article contains a very clear lead section with a descriptive overview about dolphins. I would say that part of it is a little bit too detailed. The first paragraph shares the specific species of dolphins and their families. While I do agree that this is important information that should be included somewhere in the article, I don't think it should be in the first thing someone sees when they open the article. I think the information should be a little bit more general and more specific.

Content - The content of this article is on point. It talks scientifically about dolphins and includes information about their relationship with humans. This part of the article is really important because it includes information about how dolphins are at risk of extinction. This section is very lengthy and provides readers with information about their danger of extinction.

Tone and Balance - This article feels very neutral. The topic of dolphins isn't really something that is generally considered debatable or opinion based. I would be very surprised if while reading this article I found information that seemed to be biased. All the topics in the article seem to be equally represented.

Sources and References - This article contains a very lengthy list of sources and references. There are 219 different sources, to be exact. The few links that I clicked on all worked and brought me to another webpage. The sources all seem current and reliable. They range from dictionary.com to 400 page textbook all about marine animals. Scanning the references, I didn't see any peer reviews. This is something that is definitely important to include in the sources.

Organization and Writing Quality - The article was organized very well. I found it very easy to read and I thought that the way the topics were divided made it easier to find specific information. Within the topics, there were subtopics. This type of organization was very user friendly. I did not find any grammatical or spelling errors.

Images and Media - This article includes a handful of clear and helpful images. There are images of eight different species of dolphin, including the common dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the orca, and more. The article also includes a diagram of the anatomy of the dolphin along with informational photos about human endangerment of dolphins. They are very well captioned.

Talk Page Discussion - This articles talk page is not used very frequently. The last time a comment was published on this page was January 12th, 2024. The talk page is quite short and most conversations didn't last long. Some of the discussions are about climate change, while others are about adding a dolphin captivity map. The article is rated in the B-class, and it is included in three WikiProjects. They are; cetaceans, mammals, and marine life.

Overall Impressions - I found this article to be updated, informative, and organized. One of its biggest strengths is the organization. This article is very user friendly and I didn't have any trouble finding specific information that I was looking for. I think that the article is definitely well developed. One thing that I feel could be included is a link to resources about how to help save the dolphin species. The article talks about the endangerment of the species, but doesn't include ways to help. I think that could bring the article up a level and develop it a little more.