User:Mjrcw/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.

Ancient Greece and wine

This article is related to some of the content we have learned in class at university. We have learned about drinking contests and had multiple occasions to discuss the Greek God of wine, Dionysus.

Lead

 * Guiding questions
 * I believe the opening line is slightly too specific. Other topics are talked about outside of the idea of how wine contributed to the Greeks trading with their neighbours, but it is the only thing mentioned in the opening. The lead is not general enough to be a strong lead. Either that, or the topic of the article should be more specific to the way wine influence Greek trade relations.
 * The lead briefly mentions the main topics that will be focused on in this article in a good, concise way.


 * 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?

Content

 * Guiding questions
 * None of the citations are dated within the last 10 years, so the information may not be all of the most readily available. I, however, have not read anything about this topic enough to suggest changes to be made to this. This is a very specific topic so I believe the fact there is enough neutral information about it it good.


 * 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?
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions
 * The article does not have an expressed view point. It is stating facts and there aren't any claims that seem to be biased. There is no part of it the seems to force the reader to believe one thing over another, just facts.


 * 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?

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions
 * There are 18 citations and about 10 different sources that the information is drawn from. I believe that proportionately, this is a fair amount of citations to have. I would recommend looking for more recent articles and journals to cite however because a few are very old.
 * A few of the articles have been archived and are no longer available to access so some information cannot be checked.


 * 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?
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Organization

 * Guiding questions
 * The article is broken down well into specific topics to focus on and it is a relatively easy read. There are few to no words that required external sources for definitions.


 * 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?

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions
 * The images provided reflect the content they are places beside. They add to the description because a few of the items are things Westerners typically do not use in their modern homes. The images give us a better reference for these objects mentioned.
 * A map is also provided which aids with the conceptualization of the location that this is all happening. This article talks about trade relations and neighbouring countries so having a map to show influence of Greece is beneficial.


 * 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?

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions
 * There are four chat threads started in regards to this article, some of with add citations and include external links to improve the quality of the article.
 * The article is a part of/is of interest to four WikiProjects, all also about Ancient Greece and its people.
 * Compared to class, this is a very specific way of looking at the topic of wine in Ancient Greece. We have only seen it in light of celebration and competition while this article explores how wine benefitted the entire civilization of Greece, not just individual cases.


 * 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?

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions
 * I think the intro could be improved first. It is quite short and does very little to provide enough information about what is actually spoken about in the article.
 * I believe the organization of the article is good. The subheadings are relevant and provide the reader with good information.
 * I would not use this article for a research project, but it does provide a couple good sources to use for further reading.


 * 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?

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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