User:Oliviascott99/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Octopus

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because Octopuses are my favorite animal and I always like to know more information about them.

Evaluate the article
Lead section: The lead section includes an introductory sentence that clearly and concisely opens the article and explains what the organism is. The grammar used in the first few paragraphs is a bit off and the writing style sounds like a less experienced person wrote it. It is easily understood and helpful for those that do not have a higher understanding of scientific terms. There are a few claims that are not backed up by fact. The lead section does include an introduction to most if not all of the information in the article, but it is still concise.

Content: The article's content is extremely relevant to the topic and is up-to-date. The page was last edited on Feb 9, 2021 so it is still being added to. I'm sure there is content missing but only because there is still a lot to learn about this species. All the content that is included in this article is well-researched and it even contains a phylogenetic tree. I think the only way this article contributes to equity gaps is by allowing people access to information mostly found in scientific journals that require an expensive subscription.

Tone and Balance: The article is written from a fairly neutral point of view, however, there are some sections that could be improved by using less objective language. There are not any claims that seem to hold heavy bias towards any opinions. There are not any view points that are over or underrepresented that I could find. The author of the article also does not try to persuade the reader in any way.

Sources and References: All of the facts in this article are backed up by notable sources. There is also a large number of sources used within the article to back up all the claims made. These sources do draw from other notable sources as well. The sources used are quite diverse as is the information pulled from each one and most of the information is current.

Organization and Writing quality: The article is clear and easy to read, especially for an audience with little to no scientific background. There are a few grammatical errors that could be changed to enhance the flow of the article but other than that it was well written.

Images and media: The article uses images that greatly enhance the information included in this paper. It includes images of the subject of the article as well as historical and culturally driven art that is relevant to the subject of the article. The images are well captioned and clearly state what each is depicting. Each image also adheres to Wikipedia's copyright policy. The images are also laid out throughout the article in an appealing way.

Talk Page: This article is rated as a featured article on the talk page. There are many conversations about the grammar of the article and one of the references that were improved upon after further conversation between editors. It is rated at a level-4 vital article and is listed under wikiProject Cephalopods. We have not gotten far enough in class yet to talk about cephalopods except for a very brief overview.

Overall impressions: This article is very important and it's status is very highly ranked in the Wiki Community. As we learn more and more about these animals it is important that people keep adding to this article, so the public has access to knowledge about these very cool animals. This article is very thorough in its ability to educate people about the octopus.