User:Patrickwiegand26/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: (History of the telephone)
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I have chosen this article to evaluate because it lacks citations in certain areas and there are several subtopics that could be expanded upon. I am also just generally interested in the history of the telephone, as telephones have changed a lot since they were first invented

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Lead evaluation
- The Lead includes an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic. The lead does not include a brief description of the article's major sections, it just shows what those sections are. The lead does not include information that is not present in the article. The lead is concise.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?

Content evaluation
- The article's content is relevant to the topic. The content is relatively up to date, but additional content could be added. The content itself is not missing, but there are multiple citations missing for the content of the article.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Tone and balance evaluation
- The article is neutral. There are not any claims that appear heavily biased. The viewpoints on 21st century developments are underrepresented. The article does not seem to attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one portion.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Are the sources current?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
- Not all facts in the article are backed up by a reliable secondary source of information. The sources are thorough, however more sources are needed for many of the claims in the article. The sources are relatively current, but more modern day sources could be added or swapped in for older ones. The links seem to work fine.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Organization evaluation
- The article is pretty well written. It is easy to read, clear and concise. There are no grammatical or spelling errors that I have found so far. The article is broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Images and media evaluation
- There are several images that enhance understanding of the history of the telephone. That being said, more could be added. The images are well-captioned. the images do adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations. The images are laid out in a visually appealing way, but could be rearranged to be even better.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Talk page evaluation
- There are several conversations on what to add in order to better represent this topic, and also what to take away or edit. One user comments on how "history of mobile phones" could be a subtopic for the article. The article has a C-Class rating, and it is part of WikiProject Telecommunications and WikiProject History. We have touched very briefly on the history on the telephone on how it has changed human communication culture, but Wikipedia discusses it strictly in historical terms, rather in terms of its effects.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * How can the article be improved?
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Overall evaluation
- The article's overall status is one that needs improvement, and has a moderate to high importance level according to the Wikiprojects. The article's strengths are that it is easy to read and navigate, and has clear and concise sentence structure. The article can be improved by adding more reliable citations for information within it, editing the different subtopics that are already there, and maybe even adding in additional subtopics to provide a better idea of the telephone's history. I would not say that the article is poorly developed, but it is underdeveloped in certain areas such as the topic on 21st century developments.

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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 * Link to feedback: