User:MichaelGira23/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: American Indian boarding schools
 * I chose this article because our class is going to research American Indian boarding schools within the state of Wisconsin.

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
Not only does the introductory sentence give an overview of the term, but it also gives other names such as "Indian Residential Schools." After the lead paragraphs, it provides a table of contents. The introduction contains a lot of good information and hits on a good chunk of everything in the sections. There is a lot of information, but it is probably necessary for such a broad topic. Everything in the lead is covered within the specific sections.

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 article provides useful and relevant information about American Indian boarding schools. It talks about the general legality, effects, etc. of boarding schools, and it discusses the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which was used as an example for other boarding schools. The content seems up-to-date and follows suit with other sources I've read (although I don't yet know too much about these boarding schools).

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 seems to be neutral, with no biased claims. This page's intent is to inform, which it succeeds at doing. However, some people in the "talk" section contend that many of the negative consequences and positive intentions are omitted or downplayed. This article could benefit from a more comprehensive overview of different parties involved.

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
There are lots of sources for this page (currently 123 to be exact). Lots of these sources seem to be from books, which are generally more reliable. A few sources are from websites, but do not come from any press releases or blogs. Instead, they come from credible websites like the Smithsonian. However, a few links don't work anymore. There's a wide variety of sources, with some being as recent as 2018 or 2019.

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 well-written. It is easy to read, organized into sections that make sense, and the sections are placed in an order that makes sense. There are little to no grammatical issues.

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 article has 3 relevant images, each with sufficient captions explaining the contents of the photos, as well as proper credit to the original source.All the images are of public domain.

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
There are a few generic conversations, such as reorganizing a section or moving a paragraph. One user suggests mentioning how the original boarding school founders had good intentions despite the tragic reality. This makes sense to ensure that Wikipedia considers all perspectives. However, another user shot that idea down with a sarcastic (slightly rude) comment.

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
The article is rated C-class and the WikiProject Education group has marked it as high-importance. This entry has gained a lot of attention and is important, but as the C-class rating suggests, more editing could improve it. The article already provides good information, pictures, and a large list of boarding schools. However, there are certainly schools missing from this list, and one user suggested adding more information about these schools to the list. Finally, as mentioned before, some effects of these boarding schools are downplayed, so it might be beneficial to elaborate on the tragic details.

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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