User:Ojpotts/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: Cantata
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. I chose to evaluate this article because from reading the recent textbook chapters, cantata really stood out to me. When I searched for this topic on Wikipedia, I found that the page was listed as a Starter page and was open and asking for help and edits. This seemed like the perfect page to evaluate.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? Yes, but it could be more concise.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? Yes, except for the last section within the article isn't included in order in the lead.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? The lead does mention oratorio, and this word is only mentioned, with a definition later in the article. No other reference is made.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? It appears to be overly detailed to me, which is why above, I stated it should be more concise.

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? I feel that more content can be added and more sources to help give the article a more reputable position and more information to readers.
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics? No, this article doesn't deal with a minority group. The majority of the article references the Church and it's music at the time, and we all know, Churches are not underrepresented.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral? Yes
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? No
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? I feel the Bach era could be expanded, but after reading what another wrote in the talking points, I fear that our textbook is incorrect and I would need to look for other sources.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? No

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? No. I added a couple areas where I felt a citation was needed, and I feel there could be more expansion in the information given.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? There are only 7 listed sources, and of those, one isn't even linked, so I feel that it needs more sources.
 * Are the sources current? Yes, but one source isn't dated.
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible? The sources do include female authors, but there seem to be no minorities listed as authors.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? One source (#6) doesn't even link to it's source. There are also page numbers missing and dates.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? The article is fairly easy to read, considering the topic itself is confusing in nature.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? There are some grammar errors through the article, but no spelling errors that I could find.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? The article is very well organized.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? There are images linked with some definitions and hyperlinked with some of the words through. Not every definition or link has an image.
 * Are images well-captioned? Yes
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? There were no images within the article itself so yes, but it linked to outside images, where those sources where listed.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? There aren't any visual images placed on the page, just accessible via link.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? There was a conversation between two individuals about including information from 1911, and another individual pointed out problems where other information for the era was left out.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? The article is rated at Start Class.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? I am taking this class online, therefore I am not in any discussions.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status? Needs improvements as Start Class.
 * What are the article's strengths? It is a great start, with relevant sources and many background information pieces covered.
 * How can the article be improved? More information can be added to the Bach era along with equaling out the amount of information between the early centuries and most current information.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? The article is underdeveloped, only due to a few people working on it. As more people gather information and share, the article will start moving along.

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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