User:Natfowler99/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: (Women's studies)
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. As this is a Women's Studies course, I would like to evaluate the history and meaning behind the term to better understand what this course will be about.

Lead

 * Guiding questions

The Lead of the article "Women's studies" gives a general overview of what the subject is about and what followers of this topic focus on and try to combat.


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? Yes, the lead clearly states the meaning behind Women's Studies in a clear and easily-understandable way.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? The Lead briefly states a few of the popular concepts and theories surrounding the topic of Women's Studies, but there is not a full overview of the article's main topics.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? Yes, the Lead mentions some concepts that are not further evaluated within the article. Some of these ideas include bio-politics, affect studies, and embodiment.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? The lead is concise and generally explains the idea of Women's Studies.

Lead evaluation
Overall, the lead is informative and to-the-point. The last paragraph seems slightly out of place for the lead, and should be it's own section that relates to the education of Women's Studies.

Content

 * Guiding questions

There are three categories in this article: the history of Women's Studies, theories and research methods (with subcategories of each), and pedagogies.


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic? The content of this article is relevant to the topic, but the theories mentioned should draw back to Women's Studies in more detail.
 * Is the content up-to-date? The content seems to be a little outdated, and should include some recent studies as more research has come out on the topic. Updated information may include how many universities offer Women's Studies now, as it is gaining popularity. All of the References come from the early 2000s, while the Notes seem to be up-to-date to about 2015.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? The article does not mention important figures who have excelled in the field of Women's Studies.

Content evaluation
Overall, the content of this page is sufficient. Updates on particular topics may be useful to provide the most accurate information possible.

Tone and Balance
The article is mostly neutral and unbiased. However, there is not a much information that shows the opposing side.
 * Guiding questions
 * Is the article neutral? The article is written in a neutral tone, but it fails to include oppositions on the subject and critiques people have of it.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? In general, the position of the article seems to be in favor of promoting Women's Studies.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? People who oppose the study of Women's Studies are underrepresented.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? Since it has little-to-no criticism on this topic, it seems like the article was written in favor of the study of Women's Studies.

Tone and balance evaluation
Overall, the tone and balance of this page is mostly neutral.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions

This article references many informative sources.


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? Yes. The original article had a self-published source found on Weebly, but this has since been updated and corrected. All of the sources come from reliable secondary sources of information. Most of the sources come from universities that have their own departments of Women's Studies.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? The sources found throughout the article are thorough and relate back to the information found throughout.
 * Are the sources current? The sources range from the 1990's to 2015. This is fairly current, especially since this is a fairly new topic in general.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? After opening a few links, they do indeed work and are reliable for information.

Sources and references evaluation
Overall, the sources and references included in this article are sufficient and reliable. In order for readers to have the most accurate information possible, it would be helpful to include more recent sources that highlight key factors that are already mentioned in the article as well as new factors that can be found with these up-to-date sources.

Organization
The article is organized with a Lead section, a section on history, theories, and pedagogies.
 * Guiding questions
 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? This article is very easy to read and written in a clear way.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? I only noticed that the "B" in "Black" should be capitalized when referring to people's race. There are a few unnecessary commas added throughout.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? The article is generally well-organized. However, it would be helpful to list the theories in the same order as it was displayed in the Lead section.

Organization evaluation
Overall, the organization of this article is concise.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions

The article includes three pictures relating to Women's Studies.


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? Yes, the images included in this article relate to the subjects at hand.
 * Are images well-captioned? The captions to the images are clear and concise
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? Yes.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? Although a little small in size, the pictures are visually appealing.

Images and media evaluation
Overall, the images and media included in this article are relevant, but not extremely eye-catching.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions

The talk page of this article consists of suggested edits along the lines of refining sources and adding important information.


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Conversations around this Wikipedia page include altering the first sentence of the lead to be a more informative definition from a reliable source. A link was modified as well as some irrelevant information. Also, there are suggestions of adding more content to the education of Women's Studies as well as including a Criticisms of Women's Studies section.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? This is a level 5 vital article with a C-class rating, meaning the content is useful, but there is much information that is left out. It is a part of WikiProject Gender Studies, WikiProject Feminism, WikiProject Sociology, and WikiProject Women's History.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? Since this class will focus more on women in art and their culture, Wikipedia focuses more on the popular theories that Women's Studies courses discuss. This page does not really review the specific topics of our class.

Talk page evaluation
The talk back page of this article has some good discussion that has overall helped the page be more informative.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status? This article should have more information in general. Women's Studies is a more talked-about subject and it would be helpful to have as much content written about it as possible in an unbiased way.
 * What are the article's strengths? All of the sources are reliable and there are minimal spelling or grammatical errors.
 * How can the article be improved? The article could be improved by provided more information, especially up-to-date information that focuses on the education of Women's Studies as well as notable people that relate to the subject. In an effort to keep the article unbiased, there should be a section that goes over criticisms of the field.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? I would assess the article's completeness as a little underdeveloped. While the information is sufficient enough to get a very basic understanding of the subject, there should be more content in order to understand Women's Studies as a whole.

Overall evaluation
Overall, the article is sufficient. It is clear and concise, but there needs to be more up-to-date information on new topics.

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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