User:Sarahbrown5/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Resource depletion

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I believe resource depletion is a very important topic/issue within the context of our course and it is a topic that I find quite interesting as an economics major with a concentration in natural resources and the environment. Specifically, seeing how resource extraction, use, and depletion have major economic, social, and environmental consequences is an extremely fascinating group of topics to explore in my opinion. My preliminary impression of this article is that it is very surface level, and although it does provide information about a number of different resources and how they experience depletion, there is plenty of room to expand upon these topics to create a more detailed and well rounded article.

Evaluate the article
Lead section:

The lead section of this article does provide an introductory sentence which states exactly what resource depletion is. It however does not include any description of the articles major sections, and has a section where it discusses in what context the term 'resource depletion' is commonly used, but does not elaborate on any of these topics throughout the article. With that being said, the lead is fairly concise in explaining the definition of resource depletion, but does not summarize all the key points/topics in the article. There is also information presented throughout the article which is not mentioned in the lead which would be beneficial in order to introduce the reader to the article's main sections and important points before going into full detail.

Content:

All of the article's content is relevant to the topic of resource depletion, however it does not thoroughly/sufficiently explain these topics in relation to how they are resource depletion and the implications that depleting specific resources has. Most of the content in the article seems up to date at first glance however a majority of the sources are 10+ years old and it is likely there is new information available which can be used to update and expand upon the facts used throughout this article. The article focuses largely on non-renewable resources as resource depletion but fails to explore renewable resource depletion which is equally important in this context. The article also specifically has a section on deforestation however it is an excerpt from the deforestation article available on Wikipedia and therefore does not focus on how deforestation is depletion of a resource but simply what deforestation is in general. To my knowledge, this article does not deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps. It is not related to and does not address topics related to historically underrepresented population. However, as an academic topic it is lacking information which would create a more thorough article for readers.

Tone and Balance:

This article has a fairly neutral stance on the topic of resource depletion and does not present any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position that is not backed up by a specific/reliable secondary source which states it as a fact based on research. The viewpoint of non-renewable resource depletion however is overrepresented in the article compared to renewable resource depletion. In my opinion this is because renewable resources can be less prone to depletion because of their nature as being renewable, although it is important for it to be included within the context of resource depletion since it is defined as the consumption of a resources faster than it can replenish which obviously includes renewable resource that are being overused. This article does not necessarily attempt to persuade the reader in favour of one position or another, however it does provide facts to support the perspective that resource depletion is a serious issue that can have major consequences if these resources continue to be used at the current rates.

Sources and References:

By examining this article it is clear that not all the facts presented in this article are backed up by a reliable secondary source, there are sections where information is simply stated as a fact but is not backed up in any significant way. Most of the facts presented however do have some kind of source. For some of the topics discussed throughout the article, the sources provided may reflect the most accurate available literature on the topic. However, as an article overall since a majority of the provided sources, although being scientific/research based papers, are significantly out of date, being 10+ years old. It is therefore almost guaranteed that the information provided is not completely accurate. By searching around on Google Scholar it is clear that there is a large number of articles written within the last few years which may have more accurate information/statistics/facts which can replace older sources found throughout the article currently. These sources can also possibly provide more insight into topics of resource depletion which the article currently does not include.

Organization and writing quality:

Given the length of this article it is fairly simple to read if you have any existing knowledge/understanding/interest in resource depletion. It is however not completely clear and concise, there are definitely sections which are wordy and could be cleaned up in order to make it a more straightforward read and ensure understanding throughout the entire article. The article is well organized considering the information provided and is broken down into sections that reflect the major points in the article regarding resource depletion in a sufficient manner that works with the flow of the article.

Images and Media:

The article does include images that enhance understanding of the topic by providing examples of the resources it discusses, however the article would be functionally the exact same without the images. In my opinion the images do not provide significant additional information to the article. All the images included however are well captioned and provide a clear and concise description of what the image portrays, and are laid out in an appropriate manner that makes sense for the flow of the article. To my knowledge all the images used in the article also adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations.

Talk page discussion:

Many of the conversations that have happened on the talk page of this article are about how underdeveloped the topic is and explaining edits which have been made. There are also many old conversations/comments about what should be added to provide more information and what should be removed because of author opinion/bias, not having sufficient sources for information, and overall poor grammar/structure in the article. This article is of interest to four WikiProjects according to the information provided at the top of the talk page, which are: Environment: Sustainability with C-class and high importance, Futures studies also with C-class and high importance, Economics with C-class and low importance, and Science Policy with C-class and mid importance.

Overall impressions:

This article has done a great job identifying non-renewable resource depletion and explaining these resources in a general sense, by providing the definitions and involved elements for each resource. However, one very important part of the article which should be improved/added is information related to renewable resource depletion since the article currently focuses heavily on non-renewable resources. As well as making sure each section discussed is related back to resource depletion in general and how depletion can be avoided, or at least improved, for the specific resources mentioned. This article is not necessarily poorly developed however it is underdeveloped, there are many opportunities for the topics in this article to be expanded upon and which can be added based on the information in the lead. The sources of information/statistics/facts should also be updated to create a more well developed article with current and accurate information.