User:Meghandelaney8/Evaluate an Article

User:Meghandelaney8/Evaluate an Article

Evaluating Content

I would say everything in the article I chose to look at (English Studies) was pretty relevant. The article gives a good description of what English studies are. The article also provides a variety of different fields English studies include. Then, the article talks about the English Major in the United States and gives a brief history of the college major in itself. I wouldn't say anything distracted me due to the article being to the point and it gave clear definitions when there was a term that may be unknown to the reader. For this particular article there were no notable equity gaps nor were there any misrepresented marginalized populations. I believe this article could have had a bit more history on English studies. The history is good and to the point (which for the purpose of what I was doing, it was great) but if I was wanting to use it for a term paper, I would more than likely use this history section as a guide and see how it relates to a more specific one. At the end the author includes a little section on Britain at the high school level. It was relatively brief and I believe the author didn't have to mention it. It is a great thing to discuss, but I think it needs more detail.

Evaluating Tone

Overall, I would say the article is neutral. There is one instance where the author says how individuals have questioned what the purpose of English departments are. A "Weasle word" was inputed saying [by whom?]. I too agree because there is no evidence behind this statement. That statement would have been a good opportunity to go into detail about what the author is implying. The author did not, therefore, it seems a bit biased. I do not have an extensive background in English studies, so for myself, I feel like the author did not overrepresent any topic discussed. I do believe he underrepresented the section on Britain due to it being vague and not giving much detail.

Evaluating Sources

As for the references, all but two do work. The one said they were updating their page. I would say the sources support the claims in the article but I also believe the article needs more distinct citations. Every fact is not accompanied by a reference but that could be because the author used multiple facts from each website which caused for the person to cite them at the end. The author uses a variety of different sources. There are multiple websites and studies. There is one titled "Literature and Science." The way the site is, I would not consider it super reliable but that does not mean it isn't. The only bias statement to my knowledge is the one where the author says the purpose of English departments are being questioned. Other than that, the author seems to have the works referenced. I would say the sources come from a diverse array of authors and publications.

Checking the Talk Page

One individual asks if getting a degree in English/English Studies is something someone should go for. Someone replied saying how this degree is difficult because there are not a whole lot of opportunities with it/you won't be doing exactly what you want with it. Another person responded with a more positive approach saying this can idea can be said for other majors not only English. Another common theme is people wish the author revised and made the article more fluid. It seems the article is rated both a C and Start. The article does not seem to be apart of any wiki projects. Our class has not gone into depth about English Studies with the subject in itself. Based on my options, this article had enough information to evaluate. Our class goes more into how literacy can be applied to every subject and the importance of it. I chose this article because it related to literacy but was more about the English major.