User:Macybartlett/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
“Incarceration in the United States”

"Prison education"

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

Incarceration in the United States:

I chose this as an area-focused article because of its wide breadth of focus on the carceral system within the United States. This article matters because it gives a large overview of incarceration and how the ideologies of punishment and/or rehabilitation have changed over the past 500 years. My preliminary impression of this article was that it touches on many important points regarding the carceral system, however its lack of people-first language dehumanizes those who are incarcerated.

Prison education:

I chose this as a sector-focused article due to its comprehensive overview of educational programs within prisons around the world. This article matters because it goes in-depth into the history, practices, and opposition surrounding education in prison. My impression of this article is that it is well written and well researched, however there are shortcomings in citing information thus possibly being considered conjecture. My area focus is on the United States, but it is helpful to understand the ways that prison education has developed in other countries.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)

Incarceration in the United States:

My biggest qualm with this article initially was the inclusion of taxpayer costs within the first introductory paragraph. It felt dehumanizing to talk about monetary cost rather than the cultural and personal costs associated with incarceration. Further in the article, there is much more talk about the dangers of incarceration for specific groups of people, especially Black people of color and people with mental illness. I think this article can be improved by adding more context and perhaps reorganizing the contents in a more person-focused way.

Prison education:

This article has a plethora of information regarding education in prisons across the world. The majority of information shared in this article is well researched and cited, however there are parts of the article that are possibly conjecture and are contradictory to information shared later in the article. This article is considered a "featured article" and claims that there is not much room for improvement, however I believe I will be able to add information to solidify points already being made and bring in new information regarding specific programs and practices. Overall I think the article is good, but there is always room for improvement.