User:Mbbahen/Evaluate an Article

Which Paradise Lost article are you evaluating?
(Provide a link to the articleParadise Lost here.)

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.)

I had chosen the Wikipedia page of John Milton's "Paradise Lost", as it has been one of my favorite poems that I have read in University. The poem is a revisualization of the biblical story of Adam and Eve being tricked into eating forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. Specifically, Milton's poem allows readers to re-visualize the story of Adam and Eve by his sources and descriptions within the text. Ultimately, Milton's poem differs from the original biblical text, allow readers to critically analyze the functions and differences between both texts, and why this is so crucial to emphasize when studying English Literature. Furthermore, when we consider the foundations of Milton's "Paradise Lost", the central theme of perspective, and more specifically agency. Milton fully embodies the crucial components of perspective and agency to contribute to the poem's prominence within English literature, and why this ongoing theme of agency is relevant to why this poem is prominent when we examine the construction of perspective throughout other works of literature that we study in English.

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.)

The Wikipedia article that I have decided to do this assignment on is on the article about John Milton's poem Paradise Lost. The Wikipedia article does an excellent job of covering the various aspects of information on the text, including it's publication, the life and times of the poet John Milton, its significance within English literature, and why we study both John Milton and Paradise Lost. In reviewing this Wikipedia article webpage, I had noticed many great components and ideas on what constitutes as a great Wikipedia information page. Additionally, I had noticed areas of the article that I had would have improved upon had I myself written and contributed to the Wikipedia page. Overall, by acknowledging and analyzing this Wikipedia page on Milton's Paradise Lost, I had gained a great deal of new knowledge on both this fantastic text, and on the proper style and format of contributing and constructing further on an existing Wikipedia webpage.

Firstly, when I had read the initial introduction section, I had paid attention to any possible grammatical errors in the discussion of John Milton's poem. Overall, I did not notice any grammatical errors that were present within the opening section of the Wikipedia page article. Next, I had noticed the organization of the opening statement, including the usage of the central image located within the article. The page article does a really great job of keeping the opening statement to be full and organized, however, the information is kept to a shorter description, allowing a basic opening and not revealing the full details to spoil the later descriptions within the article. Additionally, the article does clearly divide up the sections properly and accordingly. However, one of the main issues I had with this article was that some sections were very full and had great descriptions and source material (e.g. the Synopsis). However, there were areas that could have had much more content in order to clarify balance within the Wikipedia article (e.g. the historical and construction of the poem component). Furthermore, an example of this would be with the description of Milton's lifetime and influences in constructing the poem was vague at times, with very little description and sources within this area specifically. Overall, I did feel that the article did have clear and correct usages of grammar throughout, however, the article needed to be more balanced in certain areas for information in order to have a successful Wikipedia page. Additionally, the page seemed to be fairly neutral in it's content, therefore not addressing the issues that are surrounding the Wikipedia's equity gaps.

Secondly, as discussed earlier, the Wikipedia page being reviewed does do an excellent job of staying neutral throughout the whole duration of the page. For example, the sources all seem to come from scholarly and trusted sources within my findings. Additionally, the page is written within third person perspective, making this page very professional and neutral in it's deliveries and findings on the topic of John Milton's Paradise Lost. The sources, along with the voices and perspectives creates an open ended discussion on the context and meaning of the poem that is used within the Wikipedia article. Furthermore, many different perspectives and voices are clearly used in the discussion as it takes place within the Wikipedia page, also avoiding any biases or stereotypes within the process. Additionally, the sources used all come from trustworthy secondary sources, originally published on certified academic websites and University presses. The sources were tested and examined within reviewing this Wikipedia page, allowing room for trustworthy and academic sources. Additionally, with all sources being from academic or scholarly articles and webpages remained with neutral and unbiased opinions, making the article more enjoyable to read.

Thirdly, the article contributors does an excellent job of organizing and structuring the Wikipedia article to have a clear objective. However, one of the issues that I had with the article was a lack of content in certain areas. For example, all of the highlighted and important sections were included within the article, however the information wasn't divided up equally. Furthermore, because certain areas were more fuller than the other sections, it made me want more description in the areas that were lacking. For example, their seemed to be more information and sources regarding the synopsis of the poem, and little on the construction and influences on Milton's creation of the poem. Therefore, it would have been a much more stronger Wikipedia page if there were more sources and content in relation to the origins and construction on Milton's Paradise Lost. The images selected are both appropriate for the topic, and clearly enhance the overall understanding and structure that is outlined within the description of the webpage. All of the images used within the Wikipedia page adhere to the guidelines and rules within Wikipedia's terms and services on the usage of images. Therefore, the images are used and sourced properly through examining that all images used are under public domain that adheres with Wikipedia's terms of services.

Lastly, the talk page features many interesting discussions and debates behind the article's intention and meaning. For example, one of the central issues I had with reviewing this specific Wikipedia page was its depiction of the origins and construction of Milton's poem. For example, many of the contributors on the talk page were debating about what sources were stronger than their other contributors within the talk page. However, much of the conversations taking place on the talk page were regarding the neutrality of the sources when examining which sources and points are the strongest overall to use and contribute to the Wikipedia page. Additionally, another theme that I had noticed about the talk page was the perspective of how the characters and story of Paradise Lost are being portrayed throughout the source material. Therefore, the discussion going on in the talk page included user's own individual interpretation at times. Ultimately, it is important to examine your own feelings regarding the meaning of a specific text, but you also need to be able to find sources that support your argument. According to the page statistics, John Milton's Paradise Lost Wikipedia page has had 3,008 different edits since the page was created. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this Wikipedia page. For example, there were certain aspects that I found were very helpful in understanding how to examine and begin editing pages as a Wikipedia user myself. The overall completeness of the page was very close to being finished, however, there were certain areas that were not as complete as they could have been. Additionally, the article is a great starting point to examine as we further explore the functions, features and contributions that is available to all Wikipedia users.