User:Rp8848/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article

 * De Brazza's monkey (De Brazza's monkey)
 * I chose to evaluate this article because I was disappointed by the minimal information proposed on such a unique species. I was also surprised by the lack of information under the "Behaviour" section. Primates are very knowledgable animals that carry out a variety of complex behaviours. This article failed to provide insight on even some of the basic behaviours, such as the species reproduction methods. I am also very intrigued by primates meaning this evaluation sparked my interest.

Lead
The lead for this article could use some work. The introductory sentence was strong as it effectively introduced the species by stating the scientific name and the region where they can be found. The introduction sentence was not misleading, as it was very clear that the article would be specifically focused on De Brazza's monkeys. However, the lead failed to highlight key concepts that would be covered later in the article. For example, there was no indication that the species physical appearance would be discussed or that any of their behaviours would be stated. By reading the lead alone, one would have a difficult time determining the major sections that this article was going to cover. The lead could have been improved with a brief description of these major sections. For example, the species communication process was covered under the behaviour section, a simple description of this in the lead would have prepared the reader with what was to come. Overall, the lead was too concise but had an effective introductory sentence and did not include any information that was not present in the article.

Content
The content within this article is all relevant to the De Brazza's monkey which created unity to the piece. However, a lot of necessary content is missing. The article fails to discuss basic behaviours of the De Brazza's monkey such as their feeding processes, reproduction methods, defence mechanisms or any other unique social behaviours. Instead the content provided is very broad. For example, it discusses how the strongest male present is responsible for protecting other group members but does not provide details on how he goes about this protection.

The content in this article is not up-to-date. The newest information included in this piece comes from 2008, which is over a decade old at this point. Including recent studies and new information would make for a stronger article. Overall, the content lacks specific detail and has no recent information added.

Tone and Balance
Respectfully the article remained neutral throughout. There was no apparent bias or personal viewpoints. Most of the data provided was cited and factual. There was simply minimal opportunity for bias views and persuasion based on the data discussed. For example, it is difficult to be persuasive when directly stating the physical description of an animal or their typical lifespan.

Sources and References
Most of the information in this article is backed up by a reliable secondary source. However, the first paragraph under the description section is not obviously supported. It is difficult to determine if the citation at the end of this section is for all of the information covered or solely the last paragraph. In this specific example the writer should have included a citation at the end of both paragraphs. The sources used throughout this article are not completely up-to-date, most come from the early 2000s and are over a decade old. To improve the quality of this article, information and studies gathered more recently should be proposed. From a quick search on the scientific data base it is clear that multiple works surrounding De Brazza's monkeys have been published in the past few years. It may be possible to pull new information from these pieces to enhance the article.

The links present in the citation section are all working.

Organization


Overall, it seems as if the article is well-written. Although it is short and lacks a lot of necessary detail, there is no rambling. The text is both concise and easy to read. Words which may not be understood by the average person are linked to a definition. For example, under the description section the word "guenon" is linked to the wikipedia page which describes this term. No grammatical or spelling errors were observed. The organization of this article and the subtitles used were also effective, highlighting major topics. However, as previously stated some of these sections could have been more in-depth. Also, switching the location of the "Description" and "Etymology" may be effective as the description section seems to be more important and include more relevant information.

Images and Media


The use of media and images in this article was successful. The biggest section of this article involved the physical description of the De Brazza's monkey which is supported by the visuals presented. However, in the description section it speaks about the species being sexually dimorphic, a possible advancement would be including a photo that displays this difference between sexes. The second image present in the behaviour section is also effective as it displays an interaction between an adult De Brazza with a young. Both pictures were also very high quality which is appealing. The caption of the photos could be more descriptive, for example the first photo simply says "De Brazza's monkey". The writer should have included more detail such as the gender or the age of the individual. The first photo was properly cited while the second did not include an obvious citation.

Checking the talk page
No conversations are currently going on behind the scenes in the talk section of this specific article. However, it is a part of the Wikiproject Primates and is rated as a low-importance start-class.

Overall impressions


The overall status of this article is start-class. It could definitely use more detail as it seems underdeveloped. For example, the behaviour section is very simple and broad for such a complex animal. There was no information on important topics such as mating, reproduction, development, unique behaviours or defence mechanisms. Including these topics in the article would enhance it. More references could also be used as most of the information only came from a couple of sources. Some of the strengths of this article included the introductory sentence and the photographs used as well as the information being concise and to the point.

Optional activity

 * Link to feedback: Talk:De Brazza's monkey