User:Mayadray/sandbox

Evaluating Content
Everything discussed in the article is relevant to the article topic. It is very informative and concise for readers who are beginning to learn about the MAS program. The article is fluid and accurately explains and discusses the purposes and the curriculum of the program. It also goes into detail regarding the demographics and controversy surrounding Mexican American Studies. The article seems to be up-to-date because it includes recent happenings from 2017. I think that the article can go further into detail by explaining the purpose of the program. I think that it can go more into depth of the curriculum as well. The lead section could have been a little bit more descriptive in its summary by stating the specific cultures that the class focused on.

Evaluating Tone

The tone of the article seems to be very neutral. There are no claims that stand out to me that point to the writer being on any specific side of the argument. The writers have just presented facts and occurrences of what has happened with the MAS program. The writers did not emphasize the students protests or response to the laws against the program.

Evaluating Sources

The sources that are cited within the article work and provide accurate and similar information as what is provided in the page. These citations are a mix of sources that can sway to either side of the controversy. The citations are also reliable and help prove the facts that are provided.

Talk Page

In the talk page people are mostly discussing what the article is missing, such as information that should be added and will provide more facts that are helpful to the readers. The article is rated Star-class. The article is apart of two Wikiprojects. Wikipedia discusses the article in a more factual standpoint whereas in class we were mostly bias towards the MAS program, the students, and the teachers.

Evaluation of The Handmaid's Tale Article
This article has a lead section that discusses the basic information within the novel, although it needs more work. The introduction does not flow and includes information that is unneeded. There is not background of the novel that discusses how the book came to be and what Atwood's inspiration was for writing the novel. The article could have included a interview of the author that displays the background of the novel. The summary section in this Wikipedia article is far from concise. It is very in-depth and some readers might believe that it is a spoiler. It also includes very descriptive character traits of each character within the novel that is unnecessary. Some characters should be deleted and the article should focus on only concise information of the most important characters within the novel. The article explains the fictional society that the novel is based upon, although it does not discuss the authors others novels and how they relate to "The Handmaid's Tale". The article does not go in-depth about the impact that the books ideas have on readers and society. It does include scholarly analysis that explains the race and feminism within the novel. In the introduction, the article includes the publication date but does not go into detail about the publisher, formats, and other translated languages that the book is available in. The article described the awards that the book and the author were given.

CONTENT GAP CHANGE:

Race

Ana Cottle characterized The Handmaid's Tale as "white feminism", noting that Atwood does away with black people in a few lines by relocating the "Children of Ham" while borrowing heavily from the African-American experience and applying it to white women.[46][47] '''Atwood fails to acknowledge the parallels within her novel and racism and slavery that are presented in her novel. These parallels "between race and sex is itself hidden in plain sight" (1).'''


 * 1) Merriman, Ben. "White-washing oppression in Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale." Notes on  Contemporary Literature, vol. 39, no. 1, 2009. Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A206534450/LitRC?u=wash43584&sid=LitRC&xid=a7ab0743 . Accessed 26 Aug. 2019.

Evaluating "Fun Home" Article
This article is considered a quality article because it includes majority of the information that Wikipedia requires. In the lead section, the article notes the credentials of the author and illustrator of the comic, the challenges that the comic faced, and the background of how the comic came to be. The "Plot and Thematic Summary" section of the novel gives a good amount of detail about the experiences and thoughts that the character, Alison, faced while growing up. The article also provides a section that explains the main ideas, themes, and allusions, that the Bedchel focuses on in the comic. In addition to the literature section, the writers included information regarding the illustrations within the novel and discuss the importance of illustrations within the comic. As the article continues, it goes into depth surrounding the awards and challenges that the novel received from readers. The article concludes with the musical adaptations of the comic. One change that could be made is to separate the themes and allusions section from the summary section and add an analysis section for it to go under.

In contrast the "The Handmaid's Tale" article, the "Fun Home" article provides a good amount of information and sources that support each point made. Whereas in "The Handmaid's Tale" article, there are plenty of areas that need improvement. The article provides way too much information regarding the summary section and the lead section and has plenty of important content gaps that should be added.

General Observation: In "The Handmaid's Tale" article, the headings and subheadings do not correlate

Concrete point of evaluation: In the wikipedia article, there is a main heading entitled "Setting". Within this section there are subheadings entitled politics, religion, caste and class, sex and occupation, legitimate women, illegitimate women, babies, the ceremony, and language. These subheadings have nothing to do with the main idea of setting within the article. This is hard to follow and confusing for readers.

Actionable item: Move these subheadings into a different portion of the article. A heading entitled "Analysis" of the novel would be a good place for these topics and subheadings to be discussed.

Draft One of Contributions to Wikipedia Article on "The Handmaid's Tale"
Content Gaps Draft:

RACE:

Many argue that readers cannot simply ignore the parallels between racism and sexism within the The Handmaid’s Tale. Ana Cottle characterized The Handmaid's Tale as "white feminism", noting that Atwood does away with black people in a few lines by relocating the "Children of Ham" while borrowing heavily from the African-American experience and applying it to white women.[57][58] Atwood chooses to erase the black community from the novel by sending them elsewhere in order to make the Republic of Gilead a white society. In the novel, she refers to blacks as “The Children of Ham”. Plenty of critics and scholar, Ben Merriman, believe that Atwood's portrayal of society in The Handmaid’s Tale mimics that of a society run on black slavery. The novel heavily focuses on “sexual exploitation, isolation, and compelled ignorance that accompany severe economic and political powerlessness”, of white women, which are themes often associated with African-American slavery. In Gilead, Handmaid’s are forbidden to read or write and the men in charge have a strong control over literacy. In black slavery, African-Americans had restrictions on what they were allowed to read in write. Atwood pools from a norm in slavery times while refusing to recognize it. In addition, many believe that the novel is a mimic of a slave narrative. The Handmaid’s Tale is meant to be an oral narration of Offred’s escape. Oral narration’s are often a huge theme within slave narratives. Once again, Atwood is drawing from the African-American slavery experience without acknowledgement. Critics believe that Atwood purposely did not acknowledge the parallels between her novel and slavery due to her talent.

Final Draft
-CONTENT GAPS (350 WORDS) (70 MORE WORDS)

+(WORD COUNT 283)> Many argue that readers cannot simply ignore the parallels between racism and sexism within the The Handmaid’s Tale. Ana Cottle characterized The Handmaid's Tale as "white feminism", noting that Atwood does away with black people in a few lines by relocating the "Children of Ham" while borrowing heavily from the African-American experience and applying it to white women.[57][58] Critics believe that Atwood chooses to erase the black community from the novel by sending them elsewhere in order to make the Republic of Gilead a white society. In the novel, she refers to blacks as “The Children of Ham”. Plenty of critics and scholar, Ben Merriman, believe that Atwood's portrayal of society in The Handmaid’s Tale mimics that of a society run on black slavery. This is due to the novels heavy focuses on “sexual exploitation, isolation, and compelled ignorance that accompany severe economic and political powerlessness”, of white women, which are themes often associated with African-American slavery. In Gilead, Handmaid’s are forbidden to read or write and the men in charge have a strong control over literacy. In black slavery, African-Americans had restrictions on literacy as well. Atwood pools from a norm in slavery, uses it in her novel and, refuses to recognize it. In addition to the beliefs of the novel pulling from the Black experience, many believe that the novel is a mimic of a slave narrative. The Handmaid’s Tale is written as an oral narration of Offred's experiences. Oral narration’s are often a huge theme within slave narratives. Atwood also draws from the African-American slavery experience without acknowledgement. Because Atwood’s talent, critics say that Atwood purposely did not acknowledge the parallels between her novel and the African-American experience

+Add sentence regarding the critiques of the novel in the lead section

-CHANGES TO LEAD SECTION & STRUCTURE (FIVE EDITS)

+move historical context to background under the lead section

+delete unnecessary information in lead section

+delete large bulks of quotations

+move language under caste and class section

+create analysis section

-SMALL EDITS (TEN EDITS)

+