User:Reshmijpatel6/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: Elizabeth Freeman
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.

Elizabeth Freeman was a former slave and abolitionist. She filed for and won a freedom lawsuit in Massachusetts, becoming the first enslaved African American to successfully do so in the state. I chose to evaluate the Wikipedia article on Elizabeth Freeman because of the significance of her legal battle and the resulting ruling to the ending of slavery in Massachusetts. I also selected the article after noticing it seems to be relatively short with sparse content, especially considering the impact of Freeman's life and legacy.

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 first sentence of the Lead is concise; it clearly states the contribution Elizabeth Freeman is best known for and identifies her as a formerly enslaved African American women who lived from 1744 to December 28, 1829. The Lead does summarize the main section of the article, Biography, and reference briefly Legacy. However, it does not include sufficient information about the third major section, namely Death. The Lead does not include information not present in the remainder of the article, although some of what is mentioned in the Lead, particularly relating to Quock Walker's freedom suit, should be elaborated on in more detail later in the article to justify presence in the Lead. The entirety of the lead is concise and not overly detailed, but the quotation from Elizabeth Freeman may belong in another section.

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 content of the article is all relevant to the topic, covering the life of Elizabeth Freeman with details in chronological order, touching on her legacy in contributing to the path to abolition in Massachusetts, and finally, mentioning Freeman's familial connection to W.E.B. Dubois and current-day media renditions. According to the Revision history, the last edit made to the page was on December 11, 2019 to revert previous vandalism. The page was created in June 2005 and since then has been subject to a fairly regular series of edits occurring nearly every month. However, substantial discussion on the Talk page concluded in 2014. Looking at the list of References, it is likely that portions of the content are a few years out-of-date. In 2019, several reputable sources, including National Women's History Museum, PBS, History.com, and Biography.com, have published newer or more substantial information about Elizabeth Freeman's life and work. While there is information about the freedom lawsuit, this section should be more detailed. Additionally, the Biography section is missing content on Freeman's life after gaining her freedom. It only briefly mentions her work in her attorney's household and skill as a nurse, midwife, and healer.

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 written in a neutral, informative tone, with facts supported by references and any uncertainties stated as being 'likely' not 'definite'. There is a sentence that seems to express an opinion, not a fact, discussing Freeman's strong will throughout her life, but this statement is evidenced by a direct quotation illustrating her strength of will. At no point does the article lean toward a particular view or stance. Even when discussing the lasting impacts of the freedom lawsuit, this is done in a factual way backed by reliable sources. The article cites the impacts of the lawsuit as part of Freeman's legacy by stating it was cited as a precedent in the Quock Walker v. Jennison case later that year, which was, in turn, considered to have implicitly ended slavery under the Massachusetts state Constitution. The article does not attempt to persuade the reader to agree with a specific line of thought, but instead presents all viewpoints in a balanced manner.

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
More citations are needed in the Lead section to back up the facts listed there. In the Biography section, the main portion of the article, all facts are cited with reliable secondary sources. The links to references do work but in one case, for citation 7, the source claims to be linked to 'Transcript of Case No. 1, Brom & Bett vs. John Ashley Esq.', but is instead links to a website that is relevant to Elizabeth Freeman but does not provide the transcript of this case. There is a need more more sources to be added, in particular more current literature from the past decade. One such example from the existing body of literature on this topic that could be added to the references to increase thoroughness is 'Good Mother, Farewell': Elizabeth Freeman's Silence and the Stories of Mumbet by S. Edelstein. Other more current works may also be added to increase the strength of the reference list.

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 page is grammatically correct and does not have spelling errors, but the phrasing and structure could be improved. Parts of the Biography section should be reordered or restructured (where paragraphs are broken up) to make it flow better and be easier to read. It is concise but this comes at the expense of missing information, which was mentioned above. Additionally, while individual sentences are clear, the structure of the page as a whole makes it confusing at points. The article lacks substantial or well-thought-out organization. It is unclear why the Death section is separate from the remainder of the Biography; the main content of the article can all be found in the Biography section without being divided into subsections, with a small Legacy portion following it. A better way to organize this article would be to break the Biography into sections, for example Early Childhood, Years as a Slave, Freedom Lawsuit, Years as a Free Woman, and Death. There could also be an entirely separate main section on the Freedom Lawsuit as well as on her Healing Work as a midwife, nurse, and healer.

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 is only one image included on this page, a miniature portrait of Elizabeth Freeman painted by Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick in 1811 in oil pastel on ivory. The image is relevant to the topic as it is a painting of Freeman; it has a descriptive caption and is marked for use in the Public Domain, thus adhering to copyright regulations. This one image is in the biographical facts sidebar and is formatted to be visually appealing.

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
The Talk page contains several short discussions about the article. The first is to determine the precise nature of Freeman's relationship with W.E.B. Du Bois, with a smaller, separate segment on the possessive form of the name Du Bois. A second thread of conversation came to the conclusion that Elizabeth Freeman did not have a sister named Lizzie, and the person the relevant anecdote refers to is her daughter, Betsy. Finally, there is extensive archived discussion on changing the title of the article for the purpose of disambiguation. Previously, the article was titled Elizabeth Freeman (MumBet) to not get mixed up with Elisabeth Freeman, but this was corrected as the two women's name's have different spellings.

The article is rated C-class, likely because it has substance but is missing significant amounts of information about Freeman's life. It is part of the following WikiProjects:


 * Biography
 * United States / Massachusetts (Low-importance in this WikiProject)
 * Law (Low-importance in this WikiProject)
 * African diaspora
 * Women's History (Mid-importance in this WikiProject)

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 C-class. It is largely factual and written in a clear, neutral tone, supported by reliable secondary sources. However, there is much room for improvement by adding relevant details about Freeman's life and legacy. More information is needed on the specifics of the freedom lawsuit as well as about aspects of her later life. Overall, the article is moderately developed, but in need of substantial edits to add information learned over the past decade about Elizabeth Freeman.

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: Talk:Elizabeth Freeman