User:Oatmilklatte17/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
REDress Project

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose the REDress Project article because it is relevant to the Gender in IR class that I am currently in. Additionally, out of all the subfields within this course, the Indigenous women sector is one I am particularly interested in. Due to my Canadian heritage, I am keen to learn more about Canadian history. I have also recently seen red dresses hanging from branches along the highway. I knew that they symbolized something grand that was tragic and emotional. I also knew the movement correlated with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women but I wanted to know more, which led me here.

Lead section
The first sentence of the article includes clear and concise information that introduces the reader to the overall article. However, the article fails to mention a brief overview of all the major sections. Although, it does not mention any irrelevant information. Overall, the introductory paragraph is very concise and relevant to the rest of the piece. As a critique, I suggest that a sentence that includes the major points be added. This would help the overall organization of the article.

Content
This article contains relevant content about the REDress project. It also does not put too much weight on one specific area. Specifically, the discussion of how the REDress movement started helps the readers understand its origins. The article also touches on who the movement has affected, which is powerful because it proves that it truly is raising awareness about the affected Indigenous women. However, the article is relatively short compared to other wikipedia articles, which, leads me to the idea that there could be more research conducted.

The wikipedia page that this article is on claims that it was last updated on February 1, 2021 at 20:35, which alludes to the idea that the information is relatively current.

Lastly, the main purpose of this article is very important as an addition to wikipedia. This is because it is about an underrepresented group in Canada, who have been a huge part of Canadian history. It is important that this topic is brought up and discussed in order to raise awareness.

Tone and balance
The tone of the article is neutral, which is a key characteristic of a strong wikipedia article. There is no detection of a biased tone throughout the piece. Although the tone is neutral, the bulk of this article, particularly the Influence on others section, is advocating for the benefits of the REDress movement. The readers are definitely being persuaded to support the movement but, through a neutral tone of voice. The persuasion comes from the evidence of the impact of this social movement, however, the article refers to facts therefore, there is no emotional bias behind it.

Sources and references
The information in this wikipedia article is thoroughly cited and supported by references. The information is all accredited and the sources are all within the last decade, with the oldest one being from 2011. In fact, the majority of the articles are from 2017-2019. It should be noted that many of the sources are not scholarly or peer reviewed pieces. The bulk of the references come from online news sources, such as the Globe and Mail Canada. To improve the credibility of the article, more scholarly, peer reviewed sources should be used. An example of a useful scholarly, peer reviewed article is "The REDress Project: Casting an Indigenous Feminist Worldview on Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Programs in Ontario’s Universities (Dispatch)." by Elizabeth Brule.

Organization and writing quality
The article is well-written, clear and concise and well organized. The style of writing is professional and easy to digest. However, I did find some specific sentences that could have used better punctuation, such as a comma. Additionally, the subheadings of the article makes it easy to follow along and find specific information.

Images and media
The two incorporated images were relevant and enhanced the article. They adhered to the wikipedia copyright regulations and used captions that summarized the images.

Talk page discussion
There is only one discussion on the talk page, which talks about what a Head Young Lady Dancer is. With regards to the articles ratings, it is Rated-B class for the following categories: WikiProject Articles for creation, WikiProject Canada, WikiProject Indigenous peoples of North America and WikiProject Unites States.

This article differs in conversation about the REDress movement from our class conversation because, it solely focuses on this movement. In class, we have covered a broader sense of this topic being the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women. Our assigned readings from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women textbook help narrow the focus but overall, our class discussion is not as directly focused on the REDress movement.

Overall impressions
In summary, this article does a good job at covering the main concepts of the REDress project. It touches on the important areas but, there could be more elaboration in each section and, perhaps more subheadings? If there was more elaboration, the article could be more developed. The article is particularly strong in its references, there is support for every sentence that deserves it. Additionally, the language that is used is clear and concise.