User:Madison.platow/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: (link) Belews Lake
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * It is missing information on the ecological effects of the contamination present in the lake.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? I
 * It gives a short history of the man-made lake but fails to mention the significance of the selenium contamination in the lake and its effects on resident organisms.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * No, there are no major sections
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Not applicable
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * I think there are some details that are unnecessary to include in the introduction.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * No content
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * No content
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * Yes, there is no information on ecological impacts or the lake's contamination
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?
 * No

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Yes
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * No
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * No viewpoints necessarily but underrepresentation of the ecological issues in the lake
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * Due to the fact that the article doesn't include any of the environmental history of the lake, it may persuade the reader to believe the lake is clean and that the Duke company did not cause any environmental harm.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * No, there are no proper citations.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Not at all, no unbiased or academic sources cited.
 * Are the sources current?
 * No, the second source's link is unavailable
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * No, the primary source is the company that created the lake which is creating a bias.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * No, the second one doesn't.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Somewhat well written introduction.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * I don't think so.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * No, no sections present.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * To an extent, yes. It shows the lake on a map, an aerial view, and a photo of the factory.
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Captions could use some editing
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * I believe they came from Wikipedia commons, the map I am unsure of.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
 * Yes

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * It is stub-class in quality. It meets criterion for WikiProject Lakes to improve coverage of lakes on Wikipedia. It also meets requirements for WikiProject United States
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * I'm unsure, it does not yet cover any ecological topics.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * Very poor, "stub-class"
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * Not much, the introduction is an okay start giving a basic history of the lake.
 * How can the article be improved?
 * Coverage of the environmental and ecological importance of the contamination at Belews Lake.
 * Citations from academic sources
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * Extremely underdeveloped

Optional activity

 * Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

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 * Link to feedback: