User:S300777482/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: Saxon Math
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.  I had previously homeschooled for 4 years during elementary school and my main math and grammar curriculum was Saxon.

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 introductory sentence does not accurately describe what the entire article is going to be about. I do not think the lead of this article covers all of the major sections. It does not go into phonics or spelling which is covered in the third section. The lead does not include any information that is not already in the article. The lead is very specific about only math, it should address all Saxon not just math. It does not sufficiently outline the entire article.

Content

 * Guiding question


 * 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. It goes into great detail about specific Saxon items, but doesn't focus on math which is the topic. The content is not up to date. It was last edited on December 28,2019. It also has expired links. There are references in the article from 2006 and 2011 that need updated. The topic either needs to be updated to all Saxon subjects or if it is focused on one subject the information needs to be on that subject.

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

 * This article appears neutral or possibly for using Saxon books.  The article reviews the general levels of the math and grammar books and how the information is taught. There is a small section on replacing standard textbooks with Saxon books which would indicate the writer is in favor of Saxon books. This is referencing test scores which eliminates most of the bias if the scores actual reflect the claim. This article is a straight forward article that is mostly stating facts. This could possibly sway homeschooling families since it mentions many other homeschoolers use this curriculum.

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
The sources are not clear and that is indicated by the box at the top of the page. Sources need added with content to this article. I checked every reference at the bottom since there were only ten. There were 2 references that were not reliable sources. One was an online bookstore trying to get the reader to purchase the book from them. Another was a personal reviewer who was reviewing the books. A third reference could not be found through the link nor in the archives, it was clearly outdated.

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
In some aspects, the article was well written. It does briefly cover Saxon math and how it is designed through the increasing levels and series. This article does the same with the grammar section. However, the article does not detail anything about Saxon nor how Saxon has changed over the years. The sections do not represent the topic well. The only section that covers the topic is the first section. I do not see any grammatical or spelling errors.

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
This article does not include any images. I would like to add images when I edit.

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 conversations going on in the talk page. Many of the conversations are questions or discussions are from people who used or have used Saxon books describing their experiences  People were either commenting that they liked the series or did not like the series. The article is not rated and is not part of any projects except mine. Wikipedia has people talking about their opinions. In class, we learned to write articles without bias nor to create a bias opinion.

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
This article needs a lot of work. It needs organized and updated to reflect Saxon math and grammar if required. It needs sources and references. It can be improved by adding a lot more detail of Saxon math and the timeline or history of Saxon math. It can also be improved by adding where Saxon math is today and its use. The article is underdeveloped. It has some necessary information but, lacks other information.

Optional activity

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