User:Maisyboss/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) Environmental science
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. - I thought that it pertained to my course and I find environmental science interesting.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Lead evaluation
The lead does have a good introduction, clearly defining the subject and explaining it in detail to the reader. The lead does not include a description of the body of the article, but it does give a broad overview of the entirety of environmental science. There is some irrelevant information added randomly into the lead, without any referencing. In my opinion I think that the lead was done well, but has some information that could be better suited in another section of the article.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?

Content evaluation
The content provided in the article is very relevant to the subject, but a little bit light on content. I believe more information is needed in order to complete the article properly. The article is up to date with relevant information. There is definitely more information that could be added, as environmental science is a broad topic that can be expanded upon with great detail.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Tone and balance evaluation
The article is written in a neutral tone, presenting no arguments for or against the topic, and presenting no non-reliable sources of information. The article is written in a manner in that it only presents the facts and allows the reader to interpret them without bias. In the missing information, perhaps a section regarding opposing views on environmental science should be included, in order to show how different people view the subject.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Are the sources current?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
Most of the facts stated in the lead of the article are backed up with references, however the majority of the remainder does not have references. Most of the references are from websites, and not peer-reviewed journals, they are however educational websites run by universities or government websites. The links do work and they are current. The few references do not reflect the amount of information in the article.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Organization evaluation
The article is very clear and well-written, i feel pretty much anyone would be able to understand it. I did not notice any grammatical errors. The organization of the article is good and I like they way it is laid out.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Images and media evaluation
The images are mostly relevant, some are questionable. The good ones do enhance the understanding of how broad and diverse the field of environmental studies is. The images are not captioned well, some are detailed, but for the most part they are lacking. The images adhere to the copyright regulations and they are laid out in an appealing way.

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?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Talk page evaluation
Many of the conversations on this article are criticizing it for a lack of good content and its poorly written material. A few people arguing, and many adding suggestions without actually contributing to the article to fix it. This article is rated C-class for wikiprojects environment and technology. The changes people are suggesting in the talk section are similar to the material I've heard in class, to look away from a USA-centric point of view, to be reminded of all aspects of environmental sciences and notice how they are all interconnected.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * How can the article be improved?
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Overall evaluation
overall this article is good at summarizing environmental science as a whole, if someone wanted a more in depth explanation of the subject, they would have to look elsewhere or spend lots of time researching the various topics mentioned in the article. This article requires more information from a variety of sources, not just North American and Northern European sources. I would say that this article is poorly developed.

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

with four tildes — ~


 * Link to feedback: