User:PunxsutawneyPhiladelphia/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
I am evaluating Wikipedia's Tamsui District article

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I am evaluating the English-language Tamsui District article because a) I lived in Tamsui and can therefore use my firsthand knowledge to assess the article's quality and b) I suspect the English-language version will be less complete and less informative than, say, the Chinese version. If an article quality gap exists between the English and Chinese version that would be an unfortunate barrier for English speakers to learn more about a really cool place! My preliminary impression is that this article has a solid foundation but could definitely benefit from more contemporary information. The history section really drops off after 1945, and there is little mention of modern-day life in Tamsui. Also, a few of the hyperlinks further down the page are broken.

Evaluate the article
Lead Section:


 * Good introductory sentence
 * No brief description of article's major sections
 * Includes a mention of Tamsui's "large role in Taiwanese culture" that isn't substantiated later in the article, and also mentions Tamsui as a popular sunset destination without detailing why (although two sunset images are included, with minimal context, later on).
 * Very concise to the point of being a detriment. A few additional sentences would really help

Content:


 * Mostly relevant, although a lot of contemporary content is lacking. The history section has two small paragraphs covering the "post war" period (1945-present) which is hardly adequate to cover 80+ years of content. The sections on "climate," "education," "tourist attractions," "transportation," "sister city," "notable natives," and "gallery" are only hyperlinks or images without any written context.
 * Content not up to date (see above). Most images are also quite dated.
 * All current content is useful, but flushing out additional sections and explaining many of the currently unjustified claims (see lead section) would be incredibly helpful.
 * I found the phrasing of the "notable natives" section to be slightly problematic. Many American cities/locations have a "notable people" section; why would an article about a Taiwanese place break that convention and pick "natives" instead?? (would be a priority change for me)

Tone and Balance:


 * Article is neutral
 * No visible biases
 * Over-clarification of the naming history of Tamsui shows a Western perspective in interpreting Chinese/Hokkien words, but not necessarily in a negative way.

Sources and Reference:


 * As far as I can tell, all facts are substantiated by a reputable source.
 * Sources could definitely be more thorough and more modern. A wealth of modern events are skipped in the brevity of the article and could be put to good use in further revisions.
 * Not current sources
 * Decently diverse spectrum of authors, and even some Chinese-language materials that the editors translated to English for their usage.
 * Yes, and I also think the article could use it's current sources to greater effect. For example, the article "Tale of Two Towns" hints at an interesting comparison between Chico, CA, and Tamsui, TW that is never flushed out in the writing.
 * "Tale of Two Towns" link is

Organization and writing quality:


 * The writing is fine. I noticed some passive voice and grammatical mistakes.
 * Yes to spelling and grammatical errors, which I have already begun to clean up.
 * I don't like the organization of the article. The "modern" section really doesn't add anything and is more of a discussion of Tamsui's historical naming convention. I would put the full history of Tamsui's name in one place to streamline the article because right now, discussions of each era's naming crowd more valuable discussions.

Images and Media:


 * Images do increase understanding, although I would edit them significantly. The three outdated maps are repetitive, and adding a more modern take would do the article good. I would also scatter more images throughout rather than relying on a "gallery" section to no-context dump photos. Also, the "Tamsui district office" photo seems like a waste; it's not particularly interesting or informative and it doesn't highlight any of the best features of Tamsui.
 * Captions are ok.
 * As far as I can tell, everything adheres to copyright.
 * Could be arranged in a much more visually compelling manner.

Talk Page Discussion:


 * Most of the discussions are from the mid-2000s and debate whether to use "Tamsui" or "Danshui" as the article title name (reflecting uncertainty of the proper Chinese-->English translation)
 * C-class low importance for Wikiproject Geography, C-class mid importance for Wikiproject Taiwan

Overall Impressions:


 * Definitely a solid foundation that could be greatly improved
 * Strengths in reporting of Tamsui's history, particularly as related to colonization by Western and Japanese powers.
 * Lacking content for a more modern look at Tamsui. Fill sections with actual content rather than a list of hyperlinks
 * Underdeveloped