User:SKuehni/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Jerry Mander

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I originally chose this article to evaluate because I am interested in Media Studies, and after reading the article, I learned that Jerry Mander contributed significant amounts of research to the effects of television on society. I enjoy learning from leading professionals and researchers in the field of Communication and Media Studies, and therefore, drew me to a more person-centred Wikipedia page to evaluate.

Evaluate the article
I found the leading section to be well written and informative, highlighting the birth date, nationality, and the important works of the author. The first line is concise and detailed, much like the length of the first paragraph. As I move throughout the article, I enjoyed the consistency in the writing style. All the information was explained in chronological order, making for a stronger flow of the article from top to bottom. While the Wikipedia entry doesn't address underrepresented populations, it does mention the rise of Mander's immigrant parents. The Biography section of the page is well-developed and spans across the lengthy span of Mander's lifetime, an important section missing is a detailed description of Jerry Mander's works. A brief explanation of his most popular works and how they contributed to the media studies theories of their current time would be greatly beneficial to those interested.

The sources of this Wikipedia page are very slim, most coming directly from Mander's works or newspaper articles. For a biography, I understand the desire to use the author's recollections of their life events. It is when the subject is a part of academia and their work impacts the future of a discipline. In this case, Mander became an academic in the world of Communication and Media Studies, making his work valuable to media scholars worldwide. It would have only increased the effectiveness of this article if there were more peer-reviewed or academic articles about Jerry Mander.

I found the writing quality to be well-written and not overly complicated. Using plain language and no grammatical errors, the information was organized in clear, chronological order, attributing to the good quality of the article. Both headings, Biography and Works, are popular headings for Wikipedia articles. They are common questions individuals who visit author Wikipedia articles will ask, therefore, breaking up the article in such a manner makes the information easily identifiable. As for images, there are none displayed of Jerry Mander. It would have only increased the quality of the article if there were 1-2 photos of the author currently or in his early life.

The Talk page of this article is short, and unfortunately, not sweet. The only comment made belongs to what can only be assumed Quin Aaron Shakra, who claims he was cited as a source for this article when in reality, it came from one of Mander's books. Not having an extensive Talk section signals to the reader that the topic of the article is not of the changing matter like live historic topics or current event pages. This page, however, is a part of multiple WikiProjects including Politics and Government, Marketing & Advertising, and Television.

To conclude, I found the article well-supported but limited in information. While the article touches on both the early life and more recent life of Jerry Mander, it lacks important academic milestones for his work in the Communications and Media Studies field. To improve the article, I would suggest further research into the impacts of his work on the field of Communication and Media Studies.