User:Mgb86/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.


 * 3rd Massachusetts Light Artillery
 * I am from Massachusetts and enjoy learning about war history, and thus I wanted to learn about this particular artillery battery.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? Yes
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? No
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? No
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? Too concise—it is only one sentence

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic? Yes
 * Is the content up-to-date? Yes, but also N/A since this is a historical battery
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? No content that is obviously missing, but the article does not focus on much—just the locations/dates, organizational attachments, and some commanders.

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, it is very factual
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? No

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? The one reference is reliable, but using only one reference may not be reliable
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? There is only one source, but there is also not a plethora of literature available on the topic.
 * Are the sources current? No, the source is from 1908. However, this article is about a historical battery from the Civil War so this may be less relevant.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? Yes, the hyperlinks work

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? No, the majority of the article is not in sentence form and is very choppy with awkward punctuation.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? Not necessarily a lot of grammatical errors, but definitely awkward grammar. The article does not flow well or have a positive appearance.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? Yes, but there is no significant ordering and there are not enough sections.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? There is one photo that does at least provide a visual depiction of some of the battery.
 * Are images well-captioned? Yes, but the caption should include the date.
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? Yes
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? There is only one photo in the main photo section.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? None
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? C-class. Yes: WikiProject Military history and WikiProject United States/Massachusetts/American Civil War/Military history
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? They seem to match up, although this is more technically focused rather than discussing social biases (e.g. in relation to gender).

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status? It needs significant work in terms of structuring the information in a visually appealing way. However, I understand if there is not more information on the topic. Grammar and structure do need to be fixed though.
 * What are the article's strengths? Detailed information on dates and locations.
 * How can the article be improved? Structure, visual appeal, grammar, more discussion on significance of battery to the war.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? Underdeveloped, but given that there is not much literature on the topic, there is not much that can be done regarding more content.

Overall evaluation
Poor. I understand the lack of information, but the structure/organization, and grammar of the article all need work.

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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