User:Nomakm/Choose an Article

Article Selection
Please list articles that you're considering for your Wikipedia assignment below. Begin to critique these articles and find relevant sources.

Option 1

 * Article title
 * Tabby cat


 * Article Evaluation
 * Lead Section: The introductory sentence of the article clearly states what a tabby cat is. The second paragraph of the lead introduces each major topic in the article in a fluid way and does not discuss anything that is not in the article.
 * Content: The article's content is relevant to tabby cats and most sources are up to date ranging from 2009-2021. One section that I feel is not very needed is the attitude portion as the article does say that the tabby is not a bread but a coat pattern, so the attitude may be due to the cat's bread and not the coat pattern. Also in the Notable examples, Garfield, an orange tabby, could be added as tabby's in popular culture
 * Tone and Balance: The article is neutral and does not have any bias. No persuasion is used.
 * Sources and References: Some facts are not cited, including the statement that "some rare patterns are due to the interaction of wild and domestic genes, as with the...patterns found in the Bengal Breed". More un-cited claims throughout the article--especially in the genetic explanation section. Sources stem from cat related sources including animal journals, cat magazines, pet blogs, etc. Sources are current form 2009-2021. Article could improve on diversifying its sources with almost all the sources stemming from white authors. There are better sources available with a lot of facts from the article coming from cat magazines--it would be best to look at where the cat magazine got their facts from. A couple links don't actually link to a website, just the reference page of the article and in the reference page there is no link to a website or doi or ISBN.
 * Organization and Writing Quality: The article could benefit by moving the history page before the Patterns section as some of the history is introduced in the Etymology section. Writing quality could be better with a couple of run-on sentences. One confusing sentence, "Itself named after the Ummaya Governer of Mecca..." does not mention what itself refers to.
 * Images and Media: The article has great pictures showing the characteristics of a tabby cat with descriptive captions. All pictures are cited, yet 6 images are from a Wikepedia User--not sure if this is a reliable source to use.
 * Talk Page Discussion: In the talk page, people are discussing whether a word is Arabic or Aramaic, as well as issues with the photos in the article--too many photos or non-relevant photos. Also many people are asking questions on what is considered a tabby or not.
 * Overall Impressions: The article is at an S status meaning it is a preliminary article with room for improvement. The articles strengths include its neutral stance and description of the different types of tabbies with examples. The article could be improved with stronger vocabulary and more reliable sources. Overall the article is underdeveloped with plenty of room for improvement and constructive criticism.


 * Sources
 * For genetic information on tabby cats--epistatic alleles, O mutation in orange cats, dominance, etc. https://www-annualreviews-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/doi/10.1146/annurev-animal-031412-103659
 * Info on tabbys and cheetahs--same gene controls for blotching in cheetah fur. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/same-gene-guides-cheetah-and-tabby-cat-coat-patterns-44872618/
 * On tabby history and theories: Tabby cats and Muhammed https://www.worldhistory.org/article/466/cats-in-the-ancient-world/
 * On tabby history and theories: Tabby cats and Muhammed https://www.worldhistory.org/article/466/cats-in-the-ancient-world/
 * On tabby history and theories: Tabby cats and Muhammed https://www.worldhistory.org/article/466/cats-in-the-ancient-world/