User:Mkhurley19/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.


 * Affirmative Action (Affirmative action)
 * I am choosing to evaluate this article because I have had experience debating and researching this topic. I believe that it is an important policy that many are ignorant or unaware of. I hope to make this information understandable and accessible to more people.

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? The articles touches on 5 out of 7 of the major sections. It does not mention women and the effect of affirmative action or the role of International Organizations.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? No.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? The Lead is very concise. It could probably be expanded if necessary while still maintaining a brief summary.

Lead evaluation
Overall, I believe that the Lead for this article is well written. The areas that is could improve in is maintaining a neutral tone as well as adding in a sentence or two mentioning the role of international organizations and the effects affirmative action has on women.

Content
Guiding questions:


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic? Yes.
 * Is the content up-to-date? Yes.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? Articles or summaries of articles stating benefits of the policy are often unmentioned or not fully developed.

Content evaluation
The content of this article is relevant and up to date but information on the benefits of the policy are not always present.

Tone and Balance
Guiding questions:


 * Is the article neutral? Not really, it tends to slant against affirmative action.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? This article seems biased against affirmative action.
 * Are there viewpoints that are over represented, or underrepresented? Problems with the policy are often presented without the counter arguments mentioned presenting a view that it is almost entirely negative.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? Although it is sometimes subtle, the article tends to persuade the reader against affirmative action.

Tone and balance evaluation
Overall, this article could be improved in presenting advantages and disadvantages equally. This would require some restructuring in the placement of the information and rewording to make the tone more neutral. Additionally, crediting opinions to the sources would improve the tone of this article making it appear as a presentation of facts rather than the opinion of the author.

Sources and References
Guiding questions:


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? Many facts are backed up by reliable secondary sources.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? The sources include legal journals, opinion articles, and policy articles. I believe they are thorough.
 * Are the sources current? Yes, most are within the last 10 years.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? Yes.

Sources and references evaluation
Overall, there is a good amount of citations and the sources cited seem credible and thorough. Although there was a slight increase in the amount against affirmative action, it was a good mix of both neutral and biased opinions on both sides of the topic.

Organization
Guiding questions:


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? Yes.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? There are a few grammatical errors or places where the sentence structure could be revised for clarity.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? Yes.

Organization evaluation
The organization of this article was one of it's strongest points. It was clearly broken into digestible sections and clearly indicated transitions. The only criticism would be some of the sentence structure made the intended message unclear.

Images and Media
Guiding questions:


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? No.
 * Are images well-captioned? N/A
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? N/A
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? N/A

Checking the talk page
Guiding questions:


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Most of the conversations for this topic have to do with needed clarifications or improvements.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? This is a C-class article apart of 4 WikiProjects: Business, Discrimination, Politics, and Sociology.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? We have not yet discussed Affirmative Action in class.

Talk page evaluation
The talk page only has 2 comments, both having to do with improving the quality of the article. This article is apart of WikiProjects which are clearly designated on the talk page. More commentary and constructive discussion is needed to make this article great.

Overall impressions
Guiding questions:


 * What is the article's overall status? This article needs improvement but is a good start in learning about Affirmative Action.
 * What are the article's strengths? The article is very well organized and easy to read. This makes it accessible to readers and therefore broadens the scope of its impact.
 * How can the article be improved? The article needs a more neutral tone in order to accurately represent the topic on hand. More research into differing opinions would be useful as well as crediting those sources for their opinions.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? Overall the article is underdeveloped but has some admirable qualities.

Overall evaluation
This is a good starting point in summarizing information on affirmative action but needs improvement in sentence structure and maintaining a neutral tone.

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 with four tildes ~


 * Link to feedback:Talk:Affirmative action